New-York tribune., 1921-10-27
Bond Houses Keep Ticker
Buzzingg With Reports
of Securities Taken in
Hold-Up in Broadway
Second Car Hell lped
Block Postal Truck
Hays To Be Here To-day
TO Take Charge Of Hunt
for the 3 Highwayrlnen

The magnitude of the loot taken h,
robbers who held un a mail truck al
broadway and Leonard Street Monda,
night caused Postmaster General Will
Hays to determine yesterday to come
to New York and take personal charge
Of the hunt for the criminals and the
hve missing pouches of registered mail
Mr.. Hays will arrive this morning
Stock tickers buzzed and clicked of
long lists yesterday of additional bones
and notes that were among the two
hundred neatly wrapped packages that
were taken. When banks and brokerage
houses closed yesterday postoffice in.
spectors had reports of S767,5O0 worth
OF missing securities, and admitted
that the ultimate total of the bandits
spoils might reach S10,0C00O0.
When Mr.. Hays arrives to-day the
inspectors will have little helpful in
formation for him. Frank Hayranick
the driver of the looted truck has been
questioned almost steadily ever since
ne reported the robbery.
Identifies Photograph
1t became known yesterday that dur.
ing a visit to Police Headquarters in
the afternoon the chauffeur had Sc
lccted the photograph of gunman
from among hundreds shown to him in
the Rogues' Gallery. He said, accord
ing to one of the inspectors, that this
photograph closely resemblcd one of
the three men who held him up. The
inspectors, however, did not attach
much Importance to this identified.
ton.
They were deeply interested, though
IN what they described as additions to
Havranick's account of his experience
with the highwaymen. They said he
had mentioned second group in a
car and that this group participated in
the hold-up; This machine, according
to Havranick's story as repeated by in
spectors, held the center of Broadway
ahead of the mail drivers truck.
When this car slowed down abruptly
near Leonard street, Havranick also
WAS forced to slacken pace. 1t was
then, the inspectors said Havra X
told them, that the green car-now
identified as a Cleveland-drew abreast
of him.
The inspectors, rarely communica
tive, themselves added trifle to the
account they had previously given OF
Havranick's story. They said that
the robbers had pulled laundry bag
over the drivers head while they held
him passive under threat of death
This laundry bag was at first counted
upon TO aid thom in tracking the
bandits. 1t was the only souvenir of
the robbery left to Havranick, and ap-
pears to be of the type used in col
lecting linen in hotels. A label had
been torn from the inside except for
an end that bore the letter 'e." The
inspectors have been unsuccessful in
their efforts to find where the robbers
got the bag.
Car Is Main Clew
More and more they are pinning
their hopes of capturing the thieves
on Identification OF the Cleveland car
or through the additional information
they may get from Havranick. Hay
ranicks record in the service is good
incidentally, and he has been driving
mail truck for about three or four
years.
He told the inspectors - there are
nine on the case-that he was certain
the first three figures of the license
plate were 200. He cou'd not dis
tinguish the other three numerals. But
even this narrows the search to 999
machines. There is small chance that
more than few of these are Cleveland
cars, and the fact that this particular
machine was green one brings the
search to a decidedly slim margin, pro
vided, of course, that Havranick's story
is accurate.
A list of automobile owners whose
siX-hgure license number begins with
900 is being compiled from the
records of the State Tax Commits.
will be interviewed, in the hope OF
striking a lead that will cross trail
leading into the City Hall postoftice
station.
In the last few years $500 chauf
feurs have been on the pay rolls o1
the contractor who hauls the mails
from City Hall station. Many of these
men have been discharged or have left
the service of their own volition. But
all OF them are to be checked up, fol
the postoffice inspectors are convinced
the robbers were men well versed ir
the system of handling mails at City
Hall station.
Another Robbery Recalled
The only other extensive robbery oil
New Yorks registered mails that came
to the attention of the public took
place in 1916. A thief managed te
abstract sacks containing mails valued
st S1,o0o,oo0 from a truck that was be
ng ferried across the Hudson on {
Jersey Central boat. But there ha.
been at least one other robbery of the
ff.onfinua6 nm mana rfnhtssnt