The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1921-02-24


running revolver duel on last Satur-
day morning have escaped. Late Sat
urday night officers who had sbeen
securing the north shore all the way
south Of Chicago and the adjoining
territory all the way west to the Inn
it's Of Walworth county returned home
empty-handed and without getting a
trace of the battered and ,bullet-rid-
den Ford sedan in which the two men
ESCAPED Police Office and sheriffs all
over this district are searching for the
battered car and it is expected that 1t
will be found abandoned on some in
frequently travelled road and that the
men who were passengers in it have
escaped Police have been urged to
search for wounded man and make
prompt report Of the arrest of any
man seeking to secure surgical att
tention for a wounded left shoulder
but no word of such man has been
received and the officials are inclined
to believe that the bandits who staged
the running battle with the police Of
fcer have escaped into Chicago where
thew have found safe hiding place.
Police Officer Kirsch was today re-
covering from flesh wound in his
arm and his condition is in no way
serious. He will probably be back on
duty within couple of weeks.
Believed Part Of Organized Gang.
The two men are now believed to
have been a part of an organized gang
Of automobile thieves and the raiding
of the room which had been occupied
by one of the men has given out lot
of evidence that this is fact, In the
room Of the man located on West
Grand Avenue the chief of police re-
covered a vast amount of evidence Of
the connection of this man with a
band of auto thieves. In garage at
the same place the chief found another
Ford automobile which is now in the
custody Of the police and which is sup
posed to have been stolen. The man
who lived at the house on West Grand
avenue had given his name as j. O'Neil
and under that name he had inserted
advertisements in the local papers for
the sale of the Ford automobile. He
had declared at the house where he
had taken a room on last Tuesday
morning that he was a salesman for
life, insurance company, The other
man had not lived at the room with
him but he had been at the room on
Friday evening and the same evening
he had placed the second Ford automo
bile in the garage there
Nc Trouble About the House.
ONeil had been little bother to his
landlady according to the story told
Chief 0'Hare at the house on Satur-
day afternoon, when he searched the
room. The man had insisted on TAX
ing care of his own room and had
kept it in perfect order. He had even
insisted on making his own bed and
the reason for this was discovered
when the Chief of Police found a box
Of cartridges under the mattress. In
the same place he found two Illinois
automobile license plates with the
numbers changed. Rare skill had been
shown in the, changing of the num-
bers of the automobile plates. Fights
had been converted into threes with
such degree of skill that the police
were forced to make very close in
spection, of the plates before the
change of the figures was discovered
In addition to the two Illinois license
plates the police found one old Wis
consin plate,
In a leather case in the room the
chief found full set of machinists'
dies for the making and changing Of
numbers and it is believed that these
tools were used to change numbers of
automobiles which had been stolen by
members Of the gang of thieves.
Had Little Personal Property.
The men had little personal prop
erty at the room. A suit case taken by
the officers contained new rain coat,
two silk shirts an old cap and a shaw
ing brush. There was also in the
rooms a number of rubber stamps and
ink pads. It was not apparent for
what these stamps and pads had been
used
While the identity of the two men
is not known to the police it is declar-
ed by Officer Kirsch that he had seen
both of them about Kenosha in for
mer weeks and itois possible that both
are Kenosha men. The two men did
not live together at the house on West
Grand avenue and the police have not
been able to learn anything in regard
to the identity of the companion of
"O'Neil't
Men Desperate in Escape.
That the men were desperate in max
ing their escape was shown by the
stories told by officer Kirsch and his
companion, William Hewitt of West
Prairie avenue, who had part in the
wild ride to stop the bandits. Hewitt
had been a volunteer in the chase and
he picked up the trail of the bullet
ridden Ford over on Newell street after
Kirsch had emntied his revolver into
it and after Kirsch had been pinked
in the arm by a bullet from the revolt
yer Of one Of the bandits. Kirsch was
following the car on his motorcycle
riding on the sidewalk and Hewitt
when he joined the chase took to the
road. He tried to ride the men in the
Ford off the road and finally passed
them on the Rowland avenue road just
south Of the city. AT this time the
men showed their determination to get
@s. Kirsch had stopped to reload