The evening world. Newspaper, May 18, 1914, Page 2

Mr. Whitman beunded “Weren't you charged with a nigger?” asked Manton, ines aa ob; jection ‘was sustained. . Weren't you sued in a civil ac- tion with Becker for shooting a man ina raid? A. I was. Did you write to him at Bing jt bout that? A. I may Q. Remember writing to tell ker you must have a lawyer? A. I don't remember. Mr. Manton sent Plitt a piece of paper and asked him to write his name, also “opportunity,” Re “expense,” “minute,” “consult,” “ voluntary.” Q. When did you first see Becker bored A. At the last an foom 106, er. Q. When did you first speak to him of these alleged conversations? wersation? A.) A. In July or August of last year. Brown After a long pause. would! @. Why did you take so long to answer? A. 1 wanted to refresh my sure to memory HARD. ‘Work TO MAKE PLITT SPEAK LOUDLY. Plitt testified very siowly, uttering he got the | a few words of a sentence at a time, ‘with long pauses between them, dur- {ing which he stared biankly at the Counsel table through his big yellow- slansed spectacies. It was almost im- ble for anybody except the Jus- and Mr. Whitman to bear him. Lawyer Marshall was constantly complaining to Justice Seabury, ask- ing him to make Pltt speak more distinctly. ‘The twelfth juror asked if he could hear replied: “At times, only.” Mr. Manton asked Plitt numeric. ally about his meetings with Groeh! J got up to ten or twelve Q. Weren't you charged with per- jury just before you went to see M Groehi and wasn't it understood that if you'd tenity the indictment would be quashed? A. N S eo the indictment wan quashed? A Becker smiled broadly as Mr. Man- ton shouted these questions to Plitt. Q. Didn't you write out on a type- writer your testimony before the Gyea Jury? A. Yeo, { think I did. Mr. Manton gave the witness sev- eral typewritten sheets, which Plitt ident: as this transcript, which he had given to Mr. Hart, counsel at the time for Becker. The whole story of Plitt's indict- ment for murder, carefully excluded hitherto by Mr. Whitman's objec- tions, came out through the reading of this abstract. The narrative with Plitt's description of his de- flance of Moss. “Get out! Get out! Get out of here!” Mr. Moss shouted at Plitt as he concluded, TRIES TO SHOW THAT PLITT WAS AN ACCOMPLIC! Mr. Pogo ought to establish that Putt, by his knowledge of the mur- der, fore and after it was com+ mitted, was as much of an acxom- plice as was Behepps, whore testi. mony was ruled out by the Court of Appeals. Therefore, even were his story true, according to Mr. Marfton, it must be ruled out of the record. Q. Your idea in writing letters to Becker, which were to be opened by an ASKED IF ROBE | Officers of the law, was to create an WOULD SQUEAL. opinion that he was innocent? A. Yes, Mr. Manton showed him a letter C 9 re © Se alter this con; | Plltt was not gure the signature was ye fi Berd wie vo enuine. ‘The letter w. typewritten, “L a - bya was @ letter to » Summit, N. J., ewspaper, com aending the ‘s - there (in the Tomba), m editorial polick toward Decker. = It contained charges that District- Attorney Whitman had bired a news- paper man as a presse agent Lg Bete making « sacrifice of Becker own political ambitions. Plitt rg this letter charged The World with caus- all Becker's troubles. te. you write a letter to Becker teat faitne, him “Dear Pal.| ping at the stage door, while Mitchell Q. Did you over write “Piitt framed, | wae making his rounds at 9 o'clock, indicted for murder, acquitted?” A.| and orened it. A well dressed man of T don’ bia son aves Ceara forty-five pushed forward and flashed ecko framed. Indicted for murder, convict. | What seemed to the stage carpenter to od A. L don't remember. be @ police shield. “We've got a report that a woman Foye framed; will never «0 A. I may have written this! tot a $10,000 lavailiere in here last want to ask you men = BURGLARS TEE p | FIVE MEN AND ROB THEATRE OF $10,000 Strand on Broadway Is In- vaded by Four Desperate Armed Men This Morning. vege & bia] it ssi $ 3g = 2 5 j Z a iy it 2 3 = 3 i i H ¢ 3 t = 8 woo Mr. trial of 5 : STRONG BOX BLOWN UP. Nitroglycerine Explosion Near- ly Wrecks Lobby —Guard Forced to Punch Time Clock. The Strand, a newly opened motion Picture theatre two doors north of Forty-seventh atreet and Broadway, was the scene this morning of as bold & holdup and safe robbery as was ever conceived by the most sensa- tional of scenario writers. The safe was robbed of the house receipts of both Saturday and Sunday, amount- ing to $10,090, and the robbers escaped without diMculty. ‘The robbery was accomplished only after four men with revolvers had jandcuffed three artisans who were at work on the stage, had tied and gagged another who interrupted them, and had made the night watchmai keep up for three hours his hourly rounds of punch electric time-clocks which communicated with # burglar alarm company’s office. It was more than three hours after the victims had got out of the the- atre before the police of the West Forty-seventh street station got their handcuffs off. Then they did so only by borrowing a bolt cutter from the Fire Department and clipping the steel. None of their keys fitted. All the men had good looks at the robbers, Only one wore a mask—a handkerchief over the lower part of his face, The rest seemed not to care for concealment. All four were men of middle age and clean shaven. They seemed to be perfectly organized for they addressed each other as “Cap- tain, “Lieutenant,” “Bergeant” and so forth. ‘The treasurer of the Strand, which (is the largest motion picture house in New York, left the theatre shortly after midnight to-day, after locking all the cash in a eupposedly burglar proof safe of chrome metal steel in the office, which is to te left of the lobby. In the theatre he leg Martia Mitchell, the night wachman, and three work- ald to me “I want you.to get touch with Rose.” i STAC a en crt, i A. Yes, and got @ reply. I next on ‘the Saturday murder. He was in bis room telling about your Gilbert. After .eesing Do did you next sce Becker rd. Becker told had talked told Becker "he ain't more i) coer up on the wire- back of the stage. Onsining. Several letters Plitt in alleged to have written were placed in evidence by Mr, Manton. BECKER OPENLY SNEERS AT THE WITNEGS. ears. Pitt eyed Becker uneasily while to the fast | testifying. Becker sneered at him of the answer, which he charac- | openly when catching hie eye. Piltt ood oe actin, id on such oca) ane looked away quickly. ‘al Pus vert Hee Ae po ‘i Mr. Marmal i ene oe letters. The hy a Me rat was from tt to e1 te" Bal Poe avealing oe cae tell you that day? the Soenrcoin < The workman opened the door without question and allowed the speaker and three others to enter. At the atranger's order he assem- bled the other two workers and called Mitchell, who came immediately. Mitchell did not like the appear- ance of the four strangers, nor had ee ae THE WRECKED he heard anything about a loss of Jewelry. “Show ua your shields or a search warrant,” he demanded. At a signal the four strangers drew revolvers and covered the five theatre employees. “Here's our warrants,” said the leader, ordering the four to hold up thelr handa. As they did so some one knocked | loudly at the stage door. While three | of the robbers held thelr guns on the, a , se 7 | Iittle group the fourth went to the! door and admitted Herbert McSpad- | den, an organ constructor, of Hart- ford, Con: who lp installing a bie | organ In the theatre. McSpadden was | marched to the group on the stage. ' The robbers took out a pair of handcuffa and joined Andrew Gable and Thomas Baun, who are McSpad- den's men, with “Tedd; Whelan, a cleaner in the theatre. Then one man took charge of the three, took them to the basement and locke! them in a closet. “I'm on guard,” he warned them at frequent intervals thereafter. “Make a cry and I'll shoot through the door.” ONE PRISONER 18 BOUND AND GAGGED. MecSpadden's hands were tied be- hind him, and he was taken to an- other closet in the basement, where he was tied securely to a water pipe after being gagged. The door was closed and tied fast with rope. third robber took charge of men who were making alterations | Mitchell, the night watchman, and | trying several doors, an it was time to punch the tric One of the workmen heard @ rap-| Clocks, he forced the watchman to and through it he boosted Mitchell make his rounds and register at every lock. When this was done he brought Mitchell back to the lobby and placed him in a chgir with his back to the office, so that the three might keep watch on him while drilling a hole in tho safe. For two hours the three worked desperately, pausing at the end of each hour to force Mitchell to make his rounds. Drapings from the boxes and windows were torn down and packed about the safe to deaden the nolse of the nitro-glycerine explosion, while the theatre's electricity wai used to operate the electric drill, At last the safe was blown, disrupt- ing the office, tearing out windows Shattered Theatre Safe and Man — Who Was Shackled by Burgtare nial troubles of the Andersons do not end, As soon as the verdict was made known to Adam E. Stricker, the at- torney for Mrs, Anderson, he an- nounced that he would ask for the| immediate trial of a separation suit | brought by Mrs. Anderson against her | | husband, and doors and spreading havoc in the handsome lobby, Ten minutes later the four securely tied and’ gagged Mitchell and departed, bidding him @ mortal, rt, and managed to get facetious farewell. Saveral ainaa ak wal there stocky 2 toe | back shed, probably while trying ROBBER LOCK VICTIMS IN| the trip to we th Pole, which he is | to rea: b the hotel. WHEN THEY LEAVE. confident’ of” reuching. ” Sussane® fs | Iackmur had lived in the Rocka- thirty-five years old. ways for many years. He was em- , McSpadden managed to free his ~ ployed originally by a Texas firm hands a short time afterward, and which sent polo ponies to the wealthy Established with his pocket knife cut the ropes KILL NON-COMBATANTS, hunt clubs of Long Island. He had 52 Yeare. on the closet door. He releaseé a worked for many millionai lolats. As Li Mitchell, and the two started for the|Americnn Naval OMicer Makes Pros = ittle as $2.50 police, but found the robbers bad taken Mitchell's keys and that all the doors were locked. After vainly McSpadden re- membered @ coal hole in the cellar, to the sidewalk, Policemen Abrahams, Everson and Barrett, who were half a block away, | found none of them could get througn the coal hole, and finally they climbed the fire-escape of an adjoining bulld- ing, crossed the roof, placed a step- ladder over the areaway and went Gown the theatre's airsnaft to # win- dow, which they broke through. It Was necessary to file the steel hand- cuffs from the robbers’ prisoners. 3. le thpte treasurer of the theatre, said the safe contained $10,009, The police found near the shattered safe a three-foot jimmy and an empty bottle, which had contained nitro- erine. No finger prints were Sing. It was full of wordy sympathy, UNDER FIRE OF sometimes rhymed. Q. When you firat went to Sing Sing BECKER'S COUNSEL. Booke then began the cross- 1 refused to see you? A. Yen. Piltt couldn't be sure ad was for? A. No, Q. Didn't you say he told you to make Somorendas for yd fae ant didn't you eay ws, saeas Be about No, You went up then with a lawyer Basten he still refused to see you? ™ ition. Herman? i o- + atts birth: | 'Q. After that rot 0: Was Bherift Harburger with you (ingle lh oil 4 wedi! A. {rank cei Peet on the train to @ing Sing? A. He f have written that, was, —o insti- This letter was written shortly |, @ How did he happen to let Becker into the washroom? A. I asked him to let Charite have a last drink and he eaid all right. Q. Wasn't Mra. Becker there in the car, A. Yea, Q. Who clase? A. Several reporters (naming two). Q. You asked the Sheriff for per- misiaon for Becker to go into the washroom? A. I did. Q. How long were you in there? A. About two or three minutes, Q. Don't you know for a fact that Becker never left his soat from the tafire Becker was removed to the Tombs from Bing Sing, wasn't it? A. It looks like my algnature, Q. Tan't all this letter in your handwriting? A. I won't say posl- tively, Something may have been done to it. It probably is my writing. SWEARS HE WAS TRYING TO SAVE BECKER'S LI Q, Didn't you aay you were i tlating with Groehl as long ago Novembe: * A. I was trying to wave Becker's life. When You went to Sin, examined as to your T know of. charged with in. Before he RIVE AWA AWAY FCIEM PIMPLES ig Sing you | time the train left New York City tll went to save Becker's life? he Yea. it got to Ossining? A. No, I don't, Wi p LAM ne itor say 708 were froin io @ave pHa IE Os ary ving the testimony you attempted to give this morning? MRS. ROSENTHAL ‘ ker 1 counsel fluttered atill more SWEARS BECKER SAID ; letters before the halting, uncertain eed a remedy to eradicate any | Pruitt und asked him who wrote them. HE'D AID HUSBAND ible ay illtt refused any positive Wentifiea- . |tlon of either the handwritten or type- written letters and Was at all times}, MF Zdilian Rosenthal, widow of most bafflin the slain gambler, was the first reticent about acknowledging as hia he signatures subscribed to thei Q. Were you lying to tha paper man in New Jersey might have been, Q. Don't you know whether you were lying or not? A. No, GETS $30 A WEEK FROM ois- TRICT-ATTORNEY. Q, When did you start to get your $30 a week from the District-Atto: ney? A. In February or March, 1914, when T was sick. Q. What did you say to Becker the second time you spoke to him of the Dora Gilbert uffidavit? A. He sald to me: “Leave the bunch. better make a memorandum as to your whereabouts and keep from Times Square. prepare for an alibi. Q. Didn't you know clde was to ve Acne, Itch, Skin-' “ ae rapid action amazes from first ap- when itching is sto id ESPs is the remedy to use for pim- Pe ne: to clear an inflamed complexion or mose overnight. vats Bey A For free woney Kehesatorion, oe esi with Poslam, beautifies tee ekin and witness called to-day, She was Greased in black with a heavy ‘veil pinned beck about her neck. She was pale and nervous and District- Attorney Whitman and Martin T. Manton, Becker's counsel, had to ask ber to raise her faint voice, Q. When did you first meet the de- fendant? A. Thanksgiving, 1011. That night my husband and J were intro- duced to Mr, and Mre. Becker at the Elks’ ball, Q. Did you see them again. A. Yes. New Year's Eve at the Elks’ Club, Q. State what happened then? A. Mr, Becker went behind my husband, put his arms around his shoulder and @aid: “Don't worry, Everything will be all right.” Q. Did ho say anything to A. Yes, ho said not to worry, he would give Herman some money and that @ homt pmmitted? A. No, uo hoow Ghat, io the ey W, You were an accomplice? . You talked about you?! MELLEN READY TO RESUME THE NEW HAVEN EXPOSE Returns to Washington and Will Tell More in Private Be- fore Resuming Stand. WASHINGTON, May 18.—Chai 8. Mellen must submit to another pri- vate examination before he resumes the stand at the Interstate Commerce Commission Inquiry on the looting of any time I needed him, day or night, he was at my service Q. Was anything else said? A. Yes, he told my husband that he would put somebody in charge of his interest in the gambling house. Jack Rose, he said, would take care of that end of it. Mrs. Rosenthal then described Becker's raid on the gambling house in April, 1912. Mr. Manton cross-examined Mrs, Rosenthal! Q. Haven't you sald that Jack Rose was partner of your husband in the gambling business? A. No, not a partner, Mrs, Rosonthal upon the stand, trol of the detective work in retold his testimony at trial. aifbi, didn't your Ac Yor" ""| help bim all he could, He sald that Q. Didn't you know what the alibi SS ena ee oe em nba i x Hundred and T on one streets. This has a oe ee ecene Former Deputy Commissioner of Police George 8. Dougherty followed He} 8 expecially gbarged with the con- . He the former Alexander F, Neuling testified as to | the distances from the corner of One wenty-fourth street ae Fee | nna Havonth avenue, to the building the New Haven Railroad to-morrow. Commission officials made this an- nouncement to-day intimating that important new evidence bearing upon the “high finance” of the road has been ‘covered since the former New Haven president has searched his homes at New Haven, Conn,, and Stockbridge, Mass, Mellen is expected here late to-day, As soon as he reaches his hotel Solicl- tor Folk of the Interstate Commerce Commission will begin the private examination, Further than statinw that to-morrow’s questioning of Mel- len would centre upon the political activities of the New Haven in West- chester County, New York, Folk re- fused to comment on any phase of the investigation, For three days Mellen has been searching through his personal cor- respondence for “every paper with a New Haven mark on it.” It is believed that scores of important documents have been uncovered and Folk expected to look these over while questioning Mellen to-night. No further steps have been taken by the commission to reach William Rockefeller, who is reported ill in Georgia. ae, Live Wire Fences Killed Four Men, MONTREAL, May 18.—Four Russians engaged In repairing @ power line at Black Lake, Quebec, were to-day elecs trocuted by’ contact with a | ing 60,000 volts. One man wire and the others wei tering to pull him away. Us “A Habit Worth Forming” FIRST THING In the morning—LAST THING at night, rinse the mouth teeth, a sweet breath | clean mouth are the RAJ, RESULTS. | from her husband, Percy FE. @ wealthy drug manufacturer, w exonerated of all charges he made against her in his sult for divorce. 'W. Hanner of the Medical Corps, U, 8. A; Bert Grant, song writer, and ‘Herman Douds, a young engineer, Grant was the only alleged co-re- spondent who appeared at the trial. On the last day he took the stand and unequivocally denied the charge that he had roamed in the woods sur- rounding the Summit Lake House, a summer resort in Central Valley, N. French Artist of W S itis companions will be George Wa. and Ralph Jordan. firing by Gen, has caused many casualties among non- combatants in the the Dominican republic, uccording to a report received to-day at the Navy De- |partment from Capt ng, |Puerto Vata wi as the four had used rubber ?: JURY EXONERATES POLO "MRS. ANDERSON, THE “PROXY BRIE” WN WOODMERESHED = re “Husband's Sendonaten Kiss] Walter J. Sitio Had Long Won Favor and Alleged Co- Respondent Helped. In a sealed verdict handed to Su- preme Court Justice Cohalan to-day| Lawrence and the other villages of Mrs, Emily B. Anderson, the “Proxy| the Rockaways worked all night, the Bride” for whom the jury had to con- sider a “condonation” kis recelved) death is as complete to-day as when | © was, however, nderson, The verdict also exonerates Capt. J. who were named as co-respondents. With to-day’s verdict the matrimo- ——— OFF TO NORTH POLE. Along Thirty Enqaima: Jacques Suzzana, a French whose home ts at Dogs. x 0 *, which on his present urney, which he Is financing ni elf. | ener He will proceed fo | teat to Dominicas WASHINGTON, May 18.—Desultory Bordas's Federal forces besieged town of | Puerto Plata on the northern coast of | Eberle, commaud- the crulser Washington, | pt. Eberle hi the latter’ cr that uarantes to sale hon-com- atants, pt. that th fall of ‘La Vega into the hands of the ravolutiontats has been reported in| Puegto Plata. } CS ——_ | Put Dynamite on Tracks, (Special to The STAMFORD, Conn., May 18.—Ratlroad detectives of the New Haven road are busy here to-day with local policemen trying to find out who placed three Sticks of dynamite on the New Haven yards here ear! mornin, yesterda: Eh dynamite ee neh Py re bout 3 A; ENJOY EATING? is ftw neceneary evil? Tou CAN’, “Hz what you % Blass br two of MAN-A-CEAWATER Fue Mette anteater ee } Noe fa betwey you wi | Gases. 8tom. ‘a Atlal Te conclusive. ACKER, MURRALL & CONDIT CO. og, first class Grocers and igulate Generally, G° -—~Punches, nat Soe pu ite rey pal fier that POUND BOX oo 10c ‘Bt. and Hrookly: piste 11.80. All our Gloom in Bagiand, ca ONDOM, May 18—Gloom bes bese oy ine death yesterday of Consal- ral John I. Griffithe, Ge gue A) heart Gissasa. fe ts E- tted not enly in the Bugieh throughout the country, where he ‘Was almost as well known es i= Lenien on account of his brilliant after-@laner Speeches. Mr. Griffiths was ene of the Most papular Amerioam officials Whe has et held office in npomny I - British prees pays the Mghest ¢ri- Been Employed by Million betas lo-ay to Os te : i 7 a as an effielal, while the news- aire Horsemen. |segers voter 60 Sim as & popular dagre “and praise his efferts on behalf af geod relations between the United States and Although the police of Woodmere, |Great Britain. Mr. Griffiths, who fell iM white he was in Paris some weeks age, returned to mystery of Walter J, Blackmur’s|London only to be confined to bed again. able to go to his office he was discovered just before mid- {0° two or three occasions, although this night last night dead In a shed back ye Come Againet ie doctor's wae of the Hamilton Hotel, Broadway Histol when his @eath occurred yee- and Pearsall place, Woodmere. Black- | t6, iiftithe te prostrated by mur, who for twenty years had been |her vr Rusband’h suede ith, and the renowned as a trainer of polo ponies, |funerel arrangements, In consequencsy had been murdered. Dr. A. H. Bea- man will perform an autopsy. Until Saloon Keeper Kille Himectt. then he has refused to say positively! NEWARK, N. J., May James &. how Blackmur died. He belleves,! Pryor, & saloon or of 3 Helland however, that he was choked to death | *treet. shot oe Bat Se rs Bad or poisoned. The physician and the | have made him despondent. police favor the first theory. clothing was still soaked with per- | spiration as though he had engaged Y., on moonlight nights with Mra. | in a hard struggle before he died. | Anderson, “who was summering there | His face was discolored as a choking with her son, would have left it and on his left cheek was a deep gash an inch and ® half long, such as might be made by a knife or stilleto. tive of whoever attacked Blackmur, His gold watch, an expensive one, and $17 in cash were found in his pookets. | The case of the watch was bent as | it might have been in a fight, and the | hands had stopped at the hour of | seven, je Takes jlackmur was last seen alive by any one whom Justice Raisig, acting as Coroner, has been able to locate, 6 o'clock he was in the hotel and nue, Woodside, Queens Bor-| just before departing he went to the ough, starts to-day on a trip to the Arctic zone and expects to be away at least three years. He has been with several Ave Seco parties, before, And on his Tine eatate at e Ree oh Fae side he he ls taking with nln hotel, stumbled over Biackmur's body in the sled He gave the alarm. fefund your money. ere brought and the shed] , 10¢ end 28 « i Sold_by ned thoroughly, There was| @ But it no trace of @ fight and it is believed thet Blac tests every batch of Presto in her own oven. OD Cheer and Good Health Bubbles | Out of Every Glassful of LOFT’S Our Delicious Sundaes, Flipps, Float: beverages and ices radiate good health and refreshin; Choicest, Bow Luscious Fresh Fi most sanitary conditions. When he was found, Blackmur’s Robbery, however, was not the mu- Pierce’s Corn Plasterse act like magic on everybody's corms—we guarantee them ‘a od Fy * thin — handy to of court Sroty stop 9 the we ont ‘in @ jiffy. corn is Scorer ually cee ‘an unusually stul corn, 6 days fray (pepigetond Pay altel WW aserre tte Grae om It was two hours before this when At fer, ene dina: aone booth. An effort is being now to trace the telephone call. | Emanuel ericks, who lives at the rogg ists. buy them in your” cannot conveniently. dime for a small ry crrgniomedy op M '0., Springfield, Mass, ur WAS attacked elsewhere, May Save Your Eyesight! —Does it pay to hesitate about wearing glasees when so small a sum may save your precious eyesight? Eyes Examined Without Charge by Registered Eye Physicians. Perfect Fitting Glasses, $2.50 to $12. 184 Broadway, at John St. (42279. ) 223 Siath Ave., VSth St._ 380 Sith Ave., 23d St. 101 Nassau, Ann St. 17 West 42d—New York Fulton St. Cor. Bond St. Brooklyn iguor or Drug Habit Quickly and successfully Overcoum by the scientific UPTONE TREATMENT SELF-RAI Our expert woman cook anes re calified Foods seasoned with ‘Eddy’ anne Evereee Sauce always tempt the appctite. Ne otoring, Mer en 2 UPTONE INSTITUTE, 7S (Phone 1889 Chelsea) 441 W. 23d St. New York SSS BRAND 1d Saglivh ce Grocers and Delica- Oc tessen Stores Sell It. Made by E. Pritchard, 331 Spring St;, N.Y. LOST, FOUND AND hEWAHU Per Bottle... May Money That currency is being given a loose rein is evidenced by: Land developments that are giv- ing Father Knickerbocker a wider girth, The building of residential ana business places in all sections of the city. New business enterprises Chat are being started at every hand, The ease with which mortgages may be marketed. Activity in the buying and editing of asks bonds and other securl- 4,106 World “REAL ESTATE,” “BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY” and “FINANCIAL” ads. last week— 1,537 More Than the Herald, Ineestment Bargains That Werld Ads. Don't Happente Show, Werld “Wanted” Ado. Find. Fizzes and other en, ‘uits yield thi ner Everything bunch of June Rose at dor Tuesday AND | COCOANOT le, Joy blorks EB—A choice assort- ment of chewy delight edn Rs aa i"erneer Bs te ar ee a