Smyrna times., 1932-10-26
TWO YEAR SEARCH
FOR JUDGE CRATER
His Disappearance From New
York Still Remains a
Mystery
SEARCH IS UNAVAILING

Crater sauntered casually out of
Haas restaurant, $50 West Forty
fifth street. Manhattan, stepped
into taxicab. waved jovial fare
well to the friends with whom he
had been dining, and drove off into
oblivion.
Not only have the police been
unable to find any trace of him,
dead or alive, but they have been
unable to locate the taxi driver or
cab in which many Of his friends
believe he took his last ride.
But whatever his fate, he left
behind him a battling mystery that
already has taken its place beside
the mysterious disappearance of
Dorothy Arnold and Charlie Ross.
Intensive Search Futile.
Never in recent years has there
been so intensive or so futile a
search for a missing person. Com
ing in the midst of the investiga-
tion of charges that District Lead
er Martin J. Healy had accepted a
W. Ewald an appointment as city
magistrate, it created a political
sensation.
The attorney generals investi-
CATION into the Healy-Ewald
charges was extended to cover 9TH
er charges which were sent from
various sources to the attorney
general affecting higher and low
er courts. The attorney general
dug deep into the Crater disap-
pearance in an effort to learn
whether his mysterious absence
had any connection with the judi
cial probe. He could find none.
The police, personal friends and
members Of the family Of the jur-
list were equally unable to find any
reason why he should vanish. The
board of aldermen offered a re-
ward Of $4,000 for Information as
to his whereabouts. Mayor Walker
offered $1,000 reward. Other re-
wards were offered by the news
papers.
1t was estimated that in all
some $250,0O0 was spent in run
ming down will-'o-the-wisp clews in
various parts of the United States,
Canada, Mexico and Cuba. The
search is still on.
Legally Justice Crater is still
alive. His wife, Mrs. Stella Crater,
still clings to a tenuous hope that
he may actually be so.
If he is alive, a secondary mys-
terry is how a man with such un-
usual characteristics can remain
undiscovered after his photograph
and description have been spread
so widely throughout virtually the
entire civilized world.
For Crater's appearance was
such as would attract attention
anywhere. Although he was six
feet tall and weighed 1S5 pounds,
his head was so small that he
wore a 61s hat. With all his bulk,
he had long. thin neck. and wore
a size IA collar.
Crater was appointed to the Su-
preme court bench on April s,
1880. by Governor Roosevelt to
succeed Joseph f. Proskauer.
Spending the summer of 1890
with his wife at Belgrade Lake,
Maine, where they had been going
for Is years, Crater received a
telephone call on August 2 and
told his wife he was going to
Manhattan on important political
business.
Never Saw Him Again.
On August 4. and 6 he was in
his chambers in the New York
county courthouse, according to
his personal attendant, Joseph
Mara, son Of John Mara, Tammany
leader. On August 6, Mara said,
Justice Crater spent most Of the
morning tearing up papers and
putting others in a brief case and
in four cardboard boxes.
Then he sent Mara out to cash
two checks tOtaling S5,100. Mara
returned with the money and
helped the jurist to carry the boxes
Of papers and the brief case to his
apartment at 40 Fifth avenue.
Manhattan. He told Mara he was
agoing up in Westchester for a
swim" and would be back the next
day. That was the last Mara ever
saw Of him.
But he did not 90 to Westches-
ter that afternoon and his move
ments have been traced that night
up to the time he entered the mys-
terry cab. At $3.50 he purchased a
fheater ticket at the theatrical
ticket office Of Joseph Grainsky in
Times Square. Then he went to
the Forty-fifth street restaurant.
In the restaurant he dined with
william Klein, attorney for Shubert
brothers; a show girl named Sally
Lou Ritz, and her parents. They
left the restaurant with him and
IL was to them he waved farewell
after he stepped into the taxicab.
College Building to Be Dedicated
The ninth annual sfparent, Dav'i