Evening star., 1932-01-16
Sedan Was Taken From
Salesman of Motor Con-
Germ at Point of Gun.
POLICE BELIEVE GUNMEN
LEFT CAPITAL BY TRAIN
Quartet Flees With $14,135 After
Herding Clerks and Gus
toners Into Room.

DdIluiJS wiz 4INAA up bAAS I" Wal
Mechanics g. Savings Bank branch at
Ninth and East Capitol streets yester-
day afternoon spread over a wide
area today, as police positively identi-
fed the automobile used by the gun
men as the one stolen from a salesman
OF the Blanton Motor Co. here Tues
day.
Pe..ca of neighbo-ing cities through
ous t-.is secoicn of the country were
armed with descriptions of the bandits
who escaped with Slabs after herd
ing four clerks, janitor and three
customers into a rear room in the
bank, and sharp look-outs are being
kept at railroad stations.
Inspector F. S. w. Burke, chief OF
detectives, said today members Of the
force have been instructed to give spe-
cial attention to the guarding Of bank
ing institutions in the Capital follow
inS yesterdays hold-up.
Send Gard to Newspaper.
A postal card purporting to have
been sent by one of the members OF
the robber band, was received by an
afternoon newspaper here, and suose-
ouently turned over to police. The in
scription on it read: well, well. De-
pression-no work-bank, $4,000. l
hate to do it but can't starve. A. B.
M. one member" 1t was written with
pencil. The card bore Washington
postmark.
The stolen machine, it was explained
by investigators, was abandoned by tne
hold-up men at Second ana u streets
northeast, in close proximity to Union
Station. and it is thought the quartet
may have fled the city by train.
Described by Statesmen.
Two statesmen of the Blanton Motor
Co had detailed descriptions OF four
men who visited the automobile con-
cern Tuesday on the pretext OF trying
ont some used cars, two of whom later
forced Rudolph Dossett, salesman, to
surrender the small green sedan as he
was demonstrating it to them on the
extension of New York avenue north
east.
oscar Blanton. head of the automo-
bile firm, said the other two men had
taken out another machine, driven py
Charles Claybourne, another salesman.
Claybourne, Blanton said, became sus-
picious of the men, however, and re-
fused to allow them to drive the car,
returning after short ride to the show
rooms.
DoSsatt, meanwhile, was demonstrat-
ing the machine for the other members
of the group when one of them showed
"a big gum in his back and elected
him from the car.
TaIIies With Bandits.
The description of these four men
tallies closely with that given Of the
bandit party who visited the bank
branch at 2:45 o'clock yesterday. The
tags on the small sedan had been sub
stftuted with Maryland license plates
No. l24-256, which were issued to Dan
lei M Blumenthal of Baltimore.
Blumenthal had reported to police
that his car had been stolen from
parking lot in Baltimore January and
had not been recovered.
The hold-up yesterday apparently had
been carefully planned and was carried
out with quiet deliberation. Three OF
the men entered the bank, while a
fourth remained at the wheel of the car,
waiting, with motor running, on East
Capitol street
The first of the trio went directly to
the glass door connecting with the back
part of the Office and the safe deposit
vaults. The door is controlled by an
electric button i'll the cage of Joseph
M. Mccarthy, assistant cashier OF the
Washington Mechanics Saving Bank
and manager Of the branch.
Produces Machine Gun.
Mccarthy said he did not recognize
the man as a customer and motioned
him to come toward the cage. Instead,
however, the stranger greeted him with
a gruff demand to open the door, at the
same time producing submachine gun
from brief case.
simultaneously, the two other mem
bers of the band who had entered the
bank drew guns one of them guarding
the door, while the other covered the
three customers and four employees.
The foremost bandit, apparently the
leader, a gray-haired man about 40,
who carried the machine gun, smashed
through the glass door and walked
around to the back of the cages.
Mccarthy said he at first thought
the bandits planned to lock them in
the vault; instead, however, they ush-
cred them into the rear room of the
bank. Besioes Mccarthy, other clerks
on duty were Gordon E. Arnett, 35, pay
teller of 37o1 Sixteenth street; Arthur
l.. Deuterman, %, Of 20 Eighteenth
street southeast, and T. Grand Ridg-
ley Of 2l2 Sixth street southeast. The
colcred janitor, Walter Jones, 81, of
7l8 Sixth street northeast, was already
in the rear room.
Customers in the bank included Mrs.
Lena Staples, 803 Massachusetts, ave-
nue. northeast; Miss Anna J. Ready, 2l0
Prospect place, Friendship Heights, Nd,
who is executive secretary of the Christ
Child Society, with headquarters in the
300 block of East Capitol street, and Mr..
and Mrs. Armand Runnels of 1903 West
Virginia avenue northeast.
AS the bandit leader motioned the
group into the rear room he admon-
ished them not TO move for 10 minutes
ana you'll be all right"
Loot Placed at Slabs.
Ezra Gould, president of the concern,
said the estimate Of the loss had been
placed at S;E,l35, adding that each
empioye is bonded at $4,000. The ban
dts secured only such paper money as
was in the cashiers cage, diSregardlng
all silver and gold, amounting 10 ap-
proXimately $1,000.
A check for Slabs, the amount OF
the loss already has been turned over
10 the bank by R. B. Cummings & Co.
general agents for the Globe Indemnity
Co, which insures the bank against
robbery and similar losses. This was
done only an hour after the hold-up
according to bank officials.
Flee at High Speed.
Bystanders said doors on each sidS
of the small sedan were wide open d!
the machine made its getaway at higr
speed along East Capitol street.
Residents of the neighborhood re
ceived their first intimation of thu
hoid-up they said when the bandits rar
from the bank. leaped into then ca
ard sped away. The car made so mucf
noise on the getaway, it was said, tina
occupants of several nearby houses RAJ
to windows and watched the machin
HoSh 6ouTp the straet Police arrlVe