New Britain Herald Newspaper, August 29, 1927, Page 3

POLIGENAN HELD ONNURDER CHARGE Yictim Found in Auto With Payroll Gone New York, Aug. 29 (#—A patrol- man who was accustomed to guard Judson Hewitt Pratt, construction engineer in the transfer of the week- 1y payroll money for his firm was arrested today charged with the murder of the paymaster and theft of $4700. Pratt was found dead in his auto- mobile shortly before noon yesterday under a viaduct in the Bronx, a bullet through his head and the pay- roll money with which he had start- ed from the office of the T. E. Rhoades company, builders, missing. . Danlel Graham, 25, a patrolman attached to the Fifty-First street station is the man accused of tne murder and robbery. He was arrest- ed today when he returned fromn an ,all night party in a new automobil which he was said to have purchas- ed a few hours after Pratt was found ‘dead. He denied all knowledge of the crime. The patrolman’s arrest was or- dered by District Attorney John E. :McGeehan after detectives had traced Graham's movements for a week before and several hours after the crime and had rounded up sev- cral witnesses who they contend connected him with the crime. Graham, police said, had been the patrolman usually assigned to ac- company Pratt when the construc- tion man took money to pay em- ployes of his company engaged in the building of an apartment house on East Fifty-Second street, Last Monday, police records show, Graham asked and was granted a sick leave. Detectives told the dis- trict attorney that during the week the patrolman told several persons he was going to Albany to collect a legacy of “a lot of money” left him by an aunt. Say Graham Was in Car Graham, who was known to fellow patrolmen and persons on his post as “Handsome,” being off duty an- other patrolman was detailed to accompany Pratt with the payroll money. but, detectives say, before the substitute arrived, Graham, in civillan clothes came up and step- ped into Pratt's automobile, as though he was taking his regular assignment. Just when the shot that Kkilled the construction man was fired detec: tives did not know, but they said they believed Pratt was shot near the new building which was his destination. They said four children in the neighborhood, who recognized the patrolman as “Handsome" told of seeing the policeman shove Pratt from behind the steering wheel of his automobile less than 200 fect from the construction job, put the enginear's hat on the right side of his head and drive away. g Identified by Woman First reports of Pratt's slaying said he had undertaken the trip from his company’s office on Madi- ton avenue to the Fifty-second street job unaccompanied by a guard but detectives sald a woman, whose name was withheld, had called head- quarters to say she saw an officer in the car with the holdup victim. She was said to have identified the po- liceman as Graham. The district attorney said that his office had learned that Graham had gone to an automobile agency yes- terday afternoon and paid $1600 cash for a new roadster. A short time later, Graham was said by detectives to have met an- other patrolman whom he invited to “make a night of it.” The patrol- man sald they went to a Coney Is- land club where Graham spent more than $200 and tipped cabaret per- formers lavishly. Failure of Graham to appear for a medical examination in connection with his sick leave started detectives on his trail. $100000 JEWEL THEFTINNEW YORK No Clue to Robbers Found, Police Report New York, Aug. 20 P—The theft of jewelry valued at $100,000 from the summer home of Mr. and Mrs. James Hastings Snowden at South- ampton, L. L, was revealed today when private detectives and police said that after 24 hours' secret in- vestigation they had been unable to pick up a single clue to the identity of the thieves. Although the theft was discovered by Mrs. Snowden at noon Saturday she concealed her concern so that it might not affect the "Hampton Fol- lies,” a society fete in which she took a prominent part. At Saturday night's performance she wore imita- tion replicas of the two ropes of pearls, two rings and several brace- lets for which detectives had already begun a quiet search. Investigators for insurance com- panies, as well as city and county po- lice, failed to find any trace of forc- entry into the Snowden home. They advanced the theory that the robbery might have been an “inside job” and interrogated twelve serv- ants in the hous OUTING COMMITTEES NAMED A music committee, a transporta- tion committee, and a publicity committee were appointed by Presi- dent Donald Bartlett of the Third Ward Republican club in connection with the annual barbecue at Lake Compounce on September 17. Howard A. Timbrell has been named chairman of the music com- mittee, Sherwood R. Raymond head of the transportation committee and Sernard G. Kranowitz, Robert C. Vance and E. J. Clerkin appointed to the publicity committee. MAKES GOLF RECORD Worcester, Mass., Aug. 29 (P— William Lawlor made secure his membership in the Hole-In-One club by getting his second ace yesterday afternoon at the municipal golf links. He holed his drives on the 178 yard second yesterday. Last year he got an ace on the 100 yard fifth. MPW DRITAIN DAILY HERALD, MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1927. VIGTIM OF ATTACK DEADAT HOSPITAL Death Deepens Mystery; Six Al ready Arrested Providence, Ky., Aug. 29 (P— Death in an Evansville, Indiana, hospital early this morning of Miss Pauline De Armon added to the dif- ficulties of officers seeking to solve the mystery of an attack upon the sixteen year old orphan girl and the murder of Fred Russell, her 21 year old flance. . Although the attack is believed to have taken place on Wednesday night or Thursday morning of last week, Miss De Armon still was alive yesterday when a searching party found her lying near the body of Russell at a point just off an un- frequented road leading to the old fair grounds, now abandoned, near here. She was rushed to the hos- pital at Evansville but died at 12:15 o'clock this morning without re- gaining consciousness. Meanwhile six persons, including two brothers and a sister, were held in the county jail at Dixon, near here, in connection with the crime. Although all denied any implication when taken into custody yesterday, officers planned to question them further today. They are: Claude, John and Ethel Stevens, Joe How- ard, Harland Reynolds and Homer Winstead, all of Providence. It was Winstead and Howard who, on last Friday, discovered the auto- mobile in which Russell and Miss De Armon were riding Wednesday night. They found it abandoned near the spot where the couple were discovered. Each of the other four was reported to have been with Miss De Armon and her flancee sometime Wednesday or Wednesday night. All six were to be arraigned before the judge at Dixon today. De Armon lived with an uncle, Charles Gansler, who led the party which found her and the body of Russell after two days search. Russell had borrowed an automobile Wednesday afternoon and called at the Gansler home that night to take the girl for a ride. When they did not return home Gansler, knowing of their engagement, thought they had eloped, he told officers, and did not worry. When no word was re- ceived from them the following day, however, he began the search which ended yesterday. The body of Russell was found lying about 300 yards from where the automobile had been located. He had been badly beaten and shot through the head. Seventy-five vards further on the searching party came upon Miss De Armon, bound and gagged and stripped of most of her clothing. She too, had been beaten as if by some heavy instru- ment and her lower right jaw was fractured. Trampled weeds in the vicinity indicated there had been a struggle. More than 45 per cent of the windmills of Holland have been re- moved or demolished since 1926, ac- cording to a report from an official imill association in that coumtry. s GRAY DENIES CONNECTION WITH JOHNSON ROBBERY Vermonter Who Was Assaulted and “Rolled” For $50, Implicates Allen Street Man. Although he was identified by Vic- tor Johnson of Brattleboro, Vt. as his assailant in a lonely spot in Wethersfield Friday night, William Gray of Allen street will not be prosecuted, it was said today, be- cause the prosecuting attorney in Wethersfield refused to issue a wa rant, on the ground that the absence of witnesses to the alleged assault and robbery, and the fact that Gray insisted that he was innocent would make the case a difficult one to prove, According to the local and state police, Johnson admitted that he had been drinking prior to the al- leged assault and went riding with a man and woman on an under- standing with the latter. Before they left the car, the woman is sald to have asked Johnson for $10 and when he showed a “roll” containing $50 to prove that he was able to pay $2, he was struck and knocked senseless. When he awoke he miss- ed his money and complained to the local police. State Policeman James Parrott assisted Detective Sergeant W. P. McCue and Sergeant P. J. O'Mara in the investigation, the lo- cal police having notified the state authorities because the alleged of- fenses were committed outside the jurisdiction of New Britain authori- ties. Baby Thrown to Death When Auto Turns Turtle South Harpswell, Me., Aug. 29 (P —Lillian Ratte, three months old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ratte of Waterville, was killed when she was thrown from the sedan driven by her father as it skidded and turned turtle as it proceeded down Scofield’s hill here yesterday afternoon. Mr. Ratte accompanied by his wife and eight children, the oldest of whom is about 12, was on his way to a picnic when the acci- dent took place. Mrs. / Ratte sus- tained numerous cuts on the face and was severely shaken up as were all of the children. Astronomers now selieve that the temperature on Saturn :s far below zero-—probably about 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Uranus, another planet, is even colder. |events were as follows: |beauty contest, peanut CITY PLAYGROUNDS HOSTS TO 125,000 Popalarity Demonstrated in Im- pressive Attendance Figures Saturday's rain failed to keep the youngsters away from the city play- grounds, many turniing out to assist the directors in the final dismantling and storing away of the apparatus, once more to gather dust and cob- webs until next season. The Willow Brook playground will prove a haven and Mecca for large numbers as it will be kept open until Labor Day. That the playgrounds were appre- ciated by the youngsters and even the older folks was clearly demon- strated by the numbers who daily attended. Attendance checks showed that more than 125,000 during the season, visited the groumds, this cov- ering total attendance at morning, afternoon and evening sessions. There were many who spent almost the entire day on the grounds, while others would come for an hour or 80 to enjoy a game of paddle tennis, baseball, folk dancing, a ride on the merry-go-round and swings. Others found their interests centered in the Junior Achievement clubs, where they were able to show their skill in handwork. The older girls made clothing, table covers, napkins and other fancy work, while the young- er ones outfitted their dolls. The boys constructed handy household articles and toys. Special activities were carried out at the grounds under the direction of the directors. A few of these a bathing hunt, hare and hound chase, sand box competi- ftion, in which the entrants matched their skill in sand modelling, and an- other—that of working with gaffia in which the youngsters showed their ability along the lines of elementary stages of basket making, producing such articles as brush brooms, hot dish mats, picture frames, simple baskets, etc. Inter-playground com- petition in various forms such as the Rotary Baseball league, boys' and girls' playground baseball league, paddle tennis tournaments and athl- ¢tic track meet, kept interest and rivalry at a high point throughout the season. Combining - their forces the play- ground and Junior Achievement or- On Rising Drink "SALADA” TEA . Itstarts the dayright. Tryittomorrow. ganizations planned a parade for the purposc of giving the children a final get together, in which they could demonstrate their ability and originality, as well as bring home to the grownups, their appreciation for the opportunities the city has given them for recreation. With but a week to prepare for the big event, the youngsters went to their task with such keen enthusiasm that clos- ing hours were forgotten in the bustle of getting things ready. direc- tors going home to cold meals, and for once the children were not scold- ed for tardiness as the parents were T New as interested in the affair as the youngsters themselves. Thursday afternoon all roads led to the Burritt school grounds. The numbers increased until it seemed that the school ground would hardly hold them. At 2:30 the parade started with the T. A. B. drum and fife corps at its head. The llne of march led down Main to Park and Elm, back to West Main to Walnut Hill park where refreshments were served. Parents and friends were along the line of march. Traffic and business was at a standstill as everyone stopped work to watch the rs spectacle offered by the youngsters in every imaginable costume—from the little queen on her moving throne to the ragged tramps depict- ed by the youngsters in {li-fitting clothes with bright colored patches. Witches, old fashioned styles, sol- diers, sallors, and other get-ups brought many a hearty laugh from the onlookers. The event was a huge succes, with 800 actually in line. Dick Anderson has been general administrator of the playgrounds for the summer. Willlam W. T. Squire is director of Junior Achievement Foundation work in this city. / §‘eries ; 3 71 \\ | # Most Luxurious cars ever offered in this field You must SEE these new Nash models to realize all Nash has done to give you the utmost in luxury and quality. Varied and beautiful color finishes attract your eye at onces The interiors are enriched with appointments of exquisite artistry. 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