Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              DRY LA W GRAFTER TRAPPED HERE,  SA Y THE POLICE
*
i
I THE FAVORITE
I       SUNDAY NEWSPAPER IN MORE THAN 18,000 HOMES
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
THE WEATHER
LEASED WIRE TELEGRAPH REPORT TO 3 A. M. SUNDAY
FIFTY-TWO  PAGES
Entered   at   Wilkes-Barre.   Pa., as   Second   Class   Mail   Matter
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, DEC. 17, 1922.
The   Only   Sunday   Newspaper PubllshM   in   Luzemo ¦ County
Washington. Dec. 18.—Elaatem Pa.: Rain or snow Sunday and Sunday night followed by clearing and colder Monday.
PRICE EIGHT CENTS
4 ARRESTS HERE IN AMAZING DYNAMITE PLOT; MOVIE HERO AT DEATH'S DOOR THROUGH DOPE
TRAGIC
.STORY
OF REID
Star Of Filmland Another Vic¬ tim Of Hollywood Traffic In Liquor And Poison
.   WIFE RESCUES HIM
False Friends Are Accused Of Preying Upon Good Nature Of Famous Actor
MAKES ^RAVE FIGHT
Los Angeles. Cal., Dec. 16. — As great a human Interest story ns was evir depicted on the silver screen came to light tonight In the heart of Hollywood, when roporta were con- tlrmed thut "Wally" Reld, one of the iK^st known Btars In fllmdoni. after hrwikint; physically through the con¬ viviality of his "fair weathert' friends, has i-cUeoincd himself through the love of Dorothy Davenport, his wife, who Flood by him. and i.s flghting de- tc-imine<lly back lo health.
.Mthouch  lying  weak  and  ill  at  a Hollywoo<l sanitarium.    "Wally"    has \ conquered tho  narcotic    habit,    con-; tracted by   overwork    and    insomnia,! and is on the upgrade on the road to health, according    to    his    wife    and .   inoihcr-in-law.
.\boiU two years ogo^ when Wally wn.s    skyrockotlnB    to    .rsicccss    andj fiiine, Heco.iliii^ ti> -Mi's, llcid,  he be-i g«h Ut bo surrounded    by    "friends'I who imposed on hla good nature.      j At  the hHm)> time  he  was working .ilmost twice as hanl as most movie »i»r«. protlucInK no lesa than ten bis picture.'! 'n one year.
In uddlUon. his "friends" mad& his hxmc a regular "road hou.se," accord¬ ing- to Mrs. Reid. They dropped in day or nisht. and the genial "Wally" mver turned them down. He had a larjre supply of liquor whon pro¬ hibition canr«3 Into effect, and his "fricn<l.s" swarmed dny and night to help hini ron.sumo It. "Wally" tried to entertain thiiii und burned the! candle at iMjth ends, she explained.
"It WPS Inevilablo undor the cir- cuiiisUincfs that he should resort to Hriiflciul stimulants." said Mrs. Reid. "I don't know just when he started. 1 think it WII.S when they were working him terribly hanl in New York about a year and a half apro.
Mave To Duty "When he camo Iwck ho wasn"t the »ame happy l>oy I had married. He XVa.s sick,— his fever was somo times 104. But the studio nun came and sat on his l>o<l, tolling him 'you must come over and work; you must work." Wally prided himself on his loyally. Ho used to boast that he never held thom uj> on a picture.
"1 don't know whoro he got 'dope' In Iho colony, or how much. Jlut I be¬ lieve it was liquor ju.--t Jis ;nuch as 'dope' that wivckoil him. Ho UoOd to drink to sustain him.>ioIf in working so hanl. and tho uninvited guosts would make thom.solv.-s at homo in our hou.se al iilRht. anil "Wallj' would give them liquor and novor turn thom ...w:!y.
".\bout throe months ago Wally be¬ gan to n^alize what condition he Mas in. and that the thing simply could not go on. Ho doclilo<l to leave the fllms for ji timo and tight the "great fljfhl" with him.solf. Ho was put on 'half pay by the I.askys nnd first went .o tho mountain.s with a iralncr, away from Ills friond^ liquor and ovw-rylhinK »lsi^.
Fatal Accident Angers Union Men When No Report Is Made To Family
A two-day search for Thomag Smudgen, 55 years old, a miner residing^! 68 Morgan street, Pringle JBorough, ended last night when his wife was informed by telephone that his body would be found in the morgue of Moses Tay¬ lor Hospital in Scranton. Smudgen had been dead since Friday afternoon, following an accident in the Woodward colliery of Glen Alden Coal Company, but his widow was without news of the fatality. Officials of the United ]\Iine Workers declared they will make a rigid investigation of the case tomorrow. While working in the Woodward mine at noon Friday Smudgen was crushed beneath a fall of ixKik. After being given first aid at the colliery he was sent to jMose's Taylor Hospital. He died at 1:45 o'clock that day, seven minutes after being admitted. Meanwhile his wife was waiting at home for him. The couple lived alone. When the miner failed to return that night, his wife believed he was working an extra shift. His continu¬ ed absence yesterday moming caused his wife to begin a hunt of her own. She inquii-ed of neighbors and relatives but they had not seen her husband. According to infonna- tion supplied to John B. Gallagher, district auditor for tlie miners' union, Mrs. Smudgen as a last resort finally tele¬ phoned last evening shortly before 6 o'clock to the Wood¬ ward colliery. Her plea for infomiation concerning her husband was answered by a colliery official who told her that her husband's body was lying in the Scranton hospital moi-gue. To telephone the colliery, it was necessary for the widow to go to a comer store near her home. After getting the news she hurried to the home of a relative. The infomiation given miners' headquarters led to a pre¬ liminary investigation. It revealed that Smudgen's death had resulted from internal injuries and a fracturod pelvis. "Bnion Offlciais in promising a further investigation, regis¬ tered a stern protest against the alleged oversight that permitted the victim's body to remain in the hospital while his widow searched. The body was brought home by Un¬ dertaker Charles Bates of Luzeme. Besides his widow, the miner is survived by two daughters. Mrs. John Corri¬ gan of Elm street, Kingston, and Mrs. Mary Borkosky of Price street, Scranton.
POLISH RULER KILLED
Maniac Art Student Ends Life Of Narutowicz After Only Five Days In Office j
MARTIAL LAW RESULTS
Speaker Rata] At Thirty-eight Years Of Age Takes Up Duties Of President
PILSUDSKI ACTS
F DUE 10 E PIUS BAD LiOlt
Body Of Hanover Green Resi- Men Jailed HereFaceCharges dent Lay In Field Not Far,    Of Government For Attack
From Home
POLICE GET EVIDENCE
Police Investigating the death of John Wisniek.ski, i)7 yoars old. of Water street. Hanover Township, round dead ycstei-day morning near hi.s home, announced last night that Ihoy had conflsc»tod flve gallons of moon¬ shine whisky at the home of William Toresavicz, a neighbor of the doad man. Wisniewski had been at the Toresavicz liouse prior to his death, authorities claimed, and was over¬ come by bad liquor while on his v.ay home, death flnally resulting from ex¬ posure. No arrests have beon mado. Wisniowski's body was found at 8:30 o'clock tly his gnind.son and another boy. Howanl Keiser. Thoy discovered him lying in Iho snow bo- tween tho home of his dauglitor, Mrs. .\nlhony Stofafski, with whom he re¬ sided, aud tho dwelling of Toresavicz. He wa-s coatless, while a pair of slip¬ pers previously worn by him were found on the porch of the neighlwr's house. . .^    ..        . Wi.sniewsW left home Kriday in ap-
(It was at this limo thit la.sUys | parently pood health.    Kor somo time.
On Rail Equipment NOT KNOWN AS STRIKERS
Four men were arrested late last night on orders Issued by the United States Mai-shal's office charged wilh conspiring to obstruct the passage of the United Statos mail by the doslruc- tion of the Packorlon dam of the Lc-
Warsaw, Dec. 16.—Troops enforcing martial law patrolled Warsaw tonight, following the assassination todiy of Gabriel Narulokicz, President of Po- lan<l for flve day.s. The city, at first stunned by the shooting down of Ihe executive without warning by a mani¬ ac at an art exhibition, reacte<l ^\ ith excitement and a wave of an.;i-y feel¬ ing swept through the nation. Im- medialoly after tho assassination, loi-- mor President Pilsud.skl .issuincd charge of tho cabinet, which isjrjcd Ihe martial law edict lo checkmate .o threatening flare-up of vengeance again.st the followers of the "lefls"" or radicals.
The cabinet flxed December 20 as the date for an election to name Xaru- towlcz's successor. In the me.intlme Maclej Rataj. speaker of the House of Deputies, will act as president.
The bofly of Narutowicz was sol¬ emnly carried to Belvedere, the official home of the executive .and is lying in stato there. Tho catafalque is sur¬ mounted by the Polish Eagle. Great crowd.s murmured in protest at the killing of Iho man who ruled so briefly through such stormy scenes. Women and mon stood with bowed heads as the sentries shuff-shuffed back and forth, bayonets fixed, should llie ruler's former antagonists in the crowd start a disturbance. Naruto¬ wicz is the flrst ruler, King or Presi¬ dent ,in all I'olish history, to be as- .sasslnated.
Despite the fooling against Ihe pro.';- idont, the reaction from the nation as a whole was one of horror at the crime.
Officials declared they believed the assa-ssination was the Individual act of the fanatic named Niewadomskl rath¬ er than the result of an organized plot. Niewadomskl was long known to be mentally irresponsible, fellow art stu¬ dents declared tonight.
In Office Five Days Inaugurated President of Poland amid .scones of bloodshed and riot. Gabriel Narutowicz fell before an assassin's bullet today, after having been in office flve days. Narutowicz was assassinated by an  art Btudent
Last Of Moonshine Gang Taken After Three Lose Lives In Hunt
Mount Sterling, Ky., Dec. 16.—Eighteen revenue offi¬ cers marched out of the hills tonight with Charley Ballard, object of a 24-hour man hunt, in custody. Ballard was the last of the Bob Ballard moonshine gang to be taken. Wounded, he was weak and near exhaustion from loss of blood. Capture of Ballard marks the end of Kentucky's fiercest war against moonshiners. The posse found Char¬ ley hiding in a cave far back in the "moonshine valley," Charley Ballard, the last of "fighting Bob" Ballard's moon¬ shine gang, was hunted through snow and sleet. Five oth¬ er members of the "tribe" in jail at Lexington await ac¬ tion of a federal grand jury investigating the three gun battles of the past week in which Robert Duff, Dave Treadway and Guy Cole, revenue officers and "fighting Bob," moonshine chieftain, were slain. Ballard escaped from a log cabin during yesterday's fighting which result¬ ed in the capture of five members of the ga,ng, and the deaths of Cole and "fighting Bob." U. G. MacFarland promised before the hunt began that his party would not retura without Ballard. MacFarland has participated in every fight between officers and the moonshiners who have in the thickly wooded districts even longer than has the Ballard gang, and knows almost every landmark in the fa¬ mous "moonshine valley" where the gang operated.
^•>
CA UGHT UPON JOB WITH WET MONEY FOR 'TROTECTION"
Police Of Luzerne And Enforcement Agent Harry Williams Cause Arrest Of Man In Alleged Effort To Keep Liquor Flowing In Towns Of Wyoming Valley
ATTEMPT AT RESCUE FAILS
Governor  Allen  Says  Thati Men With Guns And Masks
Loose-Minded   Clergymen Also Accept Donations
CONFERENCE ENDS
announce<l that Hoid ha.l loft bec.".use  it is said, ho had>boon drinking hoav- of  "kloig oyos."  canse<l   by  tho severe   ily.    Police learned that he was •« "" Itloic  lights  u.sod  in  filming  interiors,   iutoxicntod condition that  iiiRhl. Thai •\V;illy'   won-   a   pair  of  dark   glasses to Mid this plan)
P5:
••Ho iiimc bjiik fooling fine." Mra. Rold ccnlinuod. "and ovon i«porte<l for work. His narcotic flght was ovor, and "Wally^ was a mighty happy boy.
"Thon I'O was taken ill ap-iiiu
{»ope .Xlmost Fatal .sent lllniss is a f>uz;',lo to rliyslclanj ,;;nd uo have ciillei In thi ! vt ones in tho »-ounlry. "In all probability It is the nor\-ous shock duo to tho sudden : toi>ping of Stimulants tho bo<ly had become ac- cu.Momcd to* AltliouRh physicians almost gavo up hope last week, tho cnsis »as passotl two d;iys uko, and toe is showing m.irketl improvement.
•"1 regret the publicity at this time, BS we had Intended, as soon ns he ^•Hs released, to see the pipers and make a frank statement and tell thpm of his flght with himself. He h.is not been informed yet and in his prcsell coadilion wo aro afraid to toll him. No ono outsido mother and I are allowe<l to visit him now.
"I always told Wally that the poople whom he thought were his friends only came around to his house to get what they could out of film." de¬ clared Mrs. .\lice Davenport. Wally's lly mother-in-law, who is iu charge jf his house.
•They knew Wally had a large sup-iln Holy Trinity Church at Nanticoke. iney»" _    J _^ ,,   ,, _^„    ^    .^    Holy Trinity
ply of liquor and called at all hours, tnowing that he was a good fellow and would always set up the drinks. They are the ones that caused him to drink too much.
"They calUnl night after night, pre- vrnting him from going to bod. They wore yes' men. They 'yes.«icd' him to death and now, because he wore out his body trying to ontei-tain thom. h>>  _
is paying the price.    I told him thex (j,^ 1^.^ ,v,js ,^ gix-prong beauty tContiauod on Page 4, Thinl Section) j unusually large.
was the last time ho was .soon allvo.
His daughter with whom ho mado his home Informed the authorities tliat he had $25 in his pocket Kriday night. When the body waa found, the I>ockets contained %t. It is believed that   he spent   tho   other  for  liquor.
Police believe that aflor he had taken enouBh liquor he made for the air. It is thought that he was over¬ come and foil lo the pround. The body was not fully clothed.
Deputy Coroner Homer Graham of A.'-hloy waa called to the place and after .a preliminary examination he permitted the removal of the body to the family home.
Chief of Police. James Campbell of Hanover Township started an investi¬ gation to determine the circumstances leading up to the man's death. State I'olice from the Wyoming Barracks were al.so working on the case.
Wisniewski was a miner In the But¬ tonwood Colliery of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barro Coal Company. Several years ago ho was caught in an ex¬ plosion  and severely  ihjurcd.
It is reported by Deputy Coroner Graham that'fotU play Is not sus¬ pected.
The funeral will be held tomorrow- morning at 9:80 o'clock with services
Interment  will Cemetery.
TWO DEER THEIR KII.I.
John T. Norman and a party of nimrods from Nanticoke met with re¬ markable success on Kriday, the last day of the deer season, when they mo¬ tored to North Mountain nnd ivtum- ed later with two prize bucks.   One of
nd
high Valley Railroad, . -^r,       j,       ¦, .
A heavy guard of officers was ovor i who gave the name of Niewadomskl. the prisoners when they were, The President was Inspecting an art brought to this city on the 1:28 gallery, when attacked by the student o'clqck train this morning and placed who,    without   hesitation,   fired   five
^  ~ shots    at    Narutowicz,    three    taking
effect. Tho I'resident crumpled to the floor. He was bome to an anto room where physicians pronounced him dead.
Me.anwhiio. a Crowd seized the art student and he wag rescued by guards .after a struggle and hustled away. After he had been questioned, police stated he was a mad man and that he acted alone, not as the agent of a group opposed to Narutowicz and his radical policies. However, the cabinet was summoned at once, and It issued a proclamation of martial l.aw throughout the entire country. This makes it appear there may be more behind the assassination than has boen  di.sclosed.
Narutowiczs brief reglrao was stormy throughout. He was elected after bitter balloting In the national assembly and strong Polish nation¬ alists asserted he waa the candidate of the Jew.<!, Germans and other non- Polish factions.
Mobs attempted to prevent him going lo the government buildings to take the oath of office and he was finallv sworn In amid the howling of a hostile crowd outsido. In a cham- t)er from which all the nationalist members absented themselves.
Surrounded by troops, the President loft tho building afterwards, passing through mobs which pelted him with snow balls and other missiles.
In the few days which have elapsed since then have been marked by fre¬ quent disturbances. Antl-Narutowlcz demonstrations were held on street comers. The President was heavily guarded wherever he went. His politi¬ cal opponents and bitterest enemies, however, received news of his death to-day with expressions of horror, RataJ New President
Maceij Rataj. 38, Speaker of the Polish House of Deputies, will, under the country's con.stitution, temporari¬ ly assume the duties of President of Poland, as the result of Narutowicz"s assassination.
Rataj, backed by the Right and the "Plast" party, was formerly minister of religion and public Instruction. In his recent election as .speaker of the House of Deputies, he defealetl Eu- geniusz Smiarowski. a "liberationlst" backed by the populist left.
He is a popular offlcial. a journalist active in popular education, and comes from that part of Poland formerly under .\ustrian administration
in cells at police headquarters. Cap¬ tain of Police M. J. Booth of the Lehigh Valloy; Corporal l.rfi.nce of tho Stato police and Deputy Marsh.U George Groon of Scranton headed the force of ofEicers in charge of the ac¬ cused.
Tho d<iXendants arc Lester Frey, Harlan Frey, Louis Kcglovitz and Samuel M. Hosier, all residents of Packerton .and Mauch Chunk. They were held under J3,000 bail each by L'nited States Commissioner Ro.sco K Smith for a further hearing in this citJ^ on January 5, 192.^. In default of bail they will bo committed lo the Lu¬ zorne Couniy prison this morning, it was announcetl. The arrests ropre- Kcnt a mighty victory for Captain M. J. Hoolh of the Valley police.
The chai-ge against the men are by far the most serious that have grown out of the railroad shopcrafts strike. Governmeut agents who have been searching for the dynamiteri since September 8 last, when the Packerton dam was blown up, said early this morning that they are not certain whether the accuseil four are railroad strikers. It was Inliualed, however, that the men formerly held positions with the Lohigli \'allty.
Text of Warrant Information contained in the Pod- era.! warrant on which the arrests were made declares that the two Freys, Keglovitz and Hosier did "knowingly and wilfully conspire, con¬ federate and agree among themselves and with oach olher, and with other pereons whose names are unknown, to commit an offense or offenses agains the United States, and more particularly to violate Section ^01 of the .Vet of Congress, .approved March 4, l&Oit, that Is to .say, that the said defendants uiilawfuUy, wilfully wd knowingly did conspire, confedermto and agree to-obstruct or retard the passage of the United States mail while contained In a car or cars In the possession of a carrier or carriers. "-\nd It wa* a part of said con¬ spiracy th<at the said defendants should unlawfully, wilfully and know¬ ingly blow up, dynamite or destroy by dynamite, gunpowder or other means, a certain dam at I'ackerton. owned by the Lehigh VaUey railroad, which dam was necessary to retain water lo be u.sod by the said Lehigh Valley Railroad so that its engines used in the drawing of cars carrying.*Buch mail might not or could not be fed or supplieil with such water and thereby could not travel or operate i (Continued  - "        -
White Sulphur Springs. W. Va.. Dec. 16. — Without taking formal action on the Ku Klux Klan, Prohibi¬ tion enforcement, or any of the State issues confronting them, the gover¬ nors of a score of States today ad¬ journed their annual conference here.
The flnal session waa marked by a concerted attack on the Ku Klux Klan, during which several Governors warned that If the Klan cau.ses trouble in lheir Statos they wllLtake extreme measures against it.
Govemor MoCray. Indiana, said that if the Klan causes law viola¬ tions in Indiana, he will go the limit In flghting it. Governor Morrison, North Carolina, alao declared If clansmen nro found responsible there for depredations, they will quickly flnd tijem.selvcs on the   chain    gang.
Just before the conference closed, Samuel Adams, President of the Farm Editors" .^ssoclatlon, created a stir among the Bovemors, when it was announced that the Association will strive for a bone dry Republican party and will flght for a bone dry candidate for the Presidency at tho next convention.
The campaign Is designed to pre¬ vent tho Republican party from weakening its stand on the Prohibi¬ tion Issue, as secretly advocated by some of Its leaders. Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas would be an ac¬ ceptable Presidential candidate to this group, Adams said.
The Klan di.scusslon foUowed a speech by tJovornor .\llen, Kafisas, In which he denounced the organization and Us doctrines as "religious bigotry" and "race prejudice wrapped in the i American flag, labeled 100 per cent. I Americanism and sold for ten dol¬ lars."
Alien Is Ashamed
Allen sold ho was surprised and ashamed that the Boy Scout organi¬ zation in St. I.ouis had nover refused an offer of $2.'>.000 from the Klan.
"And though I nm a Methodist," he said. "I am ashamed   to say   that   a Methodist     hospital   accepted   J8,000 I from this Klan." i
Governor Cox, Massachusetts, asked Allen what Kansas authorities did af¬ ter alleged Klansmen had whipped the Mayor of Liberty, Kas. Allen said hundreds of dollars had been spent in trying to bring them'to justice, but that the authorities had utterly failed.
"Have they threatened yoil person¬ ally?" askod Governor McKelvic. Ne¬ braska. Allen repliod that he was on the "regular Klan mailing li.st."
Governor Morri.son asked Allen whether the Klan endorsed 'nanifesta- tions of lawlessness ,or showed a de¬ sire to stop them.
"No," said Allen, '"the men who be¬ long to this association think they are doing a noble work. When you charge them with an outrage, they .say the Klan did not commit It. Then they .slip a contribution to some looso-mlnd- ed minister and he says 'thank God for the Klan.'"
Govemor Parker, of Louisiana, ad¬ vocated a law curbing the activities of tho Klan.
Governor .Mien stated that .t1! secret
] organizations should be i;omp<;lled    to
register with the Justice Department
and should not be   allowed   to   ^.ear
masks.
Governor McCray asked the confer¬ ence to hold its 1923 conference et French Lick. Ind., but this matter was left to the executivo committee.
fake Large Sum From A Washington Street Hotel
STREET THIEVES ACTIVE
Page 1, t Sec.) ' (Continued on Page 4. Third Section)
ANTOINETTE MIRACLE
Tha death of AntoTnette Miracle, flve months, old occurred yesterday afternoon at 2 o'clock at ths home of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. George Miracl^l^S Simpson street, Swoyer¬ ville The funeral will take place to- morrcnv afternoon at 2 o'clock. In¬ terment will be. in St. Mary's Ceme¬ tery at Hanover.
The reign of terror which svvopt over Wilkes-Barrc and surrounding territory several weeks ago continued unabated the past few days with ban¬ dits and highwaymen reaping large harvests In a number of l)old-ups and robberies. One gang of masked ban¬ dits operating in a stolen Hudson sedan are known to have corralled at loa.st J800 in two expeditions on Kri¬ day night while a lone purse snatcher obtained .a sum of money from a woman on North Meade street laat night.
.Mthough   the   strictest   censorship, rivalling    that    of    war   time    army operations is being maintained by the local     police     department.      It     was learned last night  that majsked ban¬ dits held up the saloon of John Po- lak at  758 North Washington  street j on Friday night   at    11:20    and    ob-1 tained  $400.    It  is  said  that  a man believed    to    be    implicated   In    this | hold-up   was  arrested   and   placed   fn i the local police station yesterday but authorities refused to confirm this an¬ nouncement.
It is believed that the hold-up In the North Washington street hotel was perpetrated by the same gang of ban¬ dits which one hour later entered the hotel of Frank Bonsavage on Hudson rond. Plains, where they beat the pro- rnolor into inscrsiblllty and after lin¬ ing tVc patrons up against die I).'ir re¬ lieve 1 thom ami the ca.sh re rlste," of apprcxlraotcly *100. A Hudson »<>di.n was used which was taken from Peter MiJitione. a ta-.icab drivor .if I "; *:¦!• on, when the men had Mantlono drive them toward tho Carey avenue bridge where they ordered the car stopped and before returning with the machine relieved the owner of his overcoat, watch and money.
Rob Cily Hotel As the car wn."- takon from Man- , tione shortly before 11 o'clock It is ^>e- lleved tho l)andits mado lheir first slop at thp Polak saloqn on North Wash¬ ington street. The machine pulle<l up In front of the establishment when two men, masked with blue handker¬ chiefs and with tlrawn gun«, brushed through tho front door.
They ordered the proprietor and two other men In the room to hold up their hands and stand against the bar. They went through tho pockets of the three men and rifled the cash ^egl8ter. obtaining something morf! than $400. Several women, relatives of the proprietor, who wore in the house in tbb roar of tho .saloon, heard the comm&nd and .screaming came to the front of the building in an effort to escape. As they reached the saloon, three other masked men en¬ tered the front door and waved the women back. One of tho male pat¬ rons attempted to assist the women In making their escape and was hit over the head with a gvun by one of the bandits.
When the loot had been obtained the patrons were held at bay by one of the bandits while tho others en¬ tered the standing machine. When everything was ready th'e lone ban¬ dit dashed from the place and the gang made a quick getaway In the automobile.
The man who was hit over the head with the gun was taken to City Hos¬ pital but ho refused to b© treated and waa retumed to his home.
Picking up a posible link to a chain | of liquor scandals in Northeastera I Pennsylvania, J. B. Clark of Philadel- ' phia, representing the Department of i Justice, reached here yesterday after¬ noon and took possession of evidence socured by Luzeme Borough police who placed under arrest Homer Rob¬ bins, special Investigator for the local prohibition authorities, on the charge of attempting to extort the sum of $300 from Joseph Zelinsky, a council¬ man of Luzerne antf proprietor of the Hotel Leonard In that town. Homer Robbins called at the hotel of Joseph Z>lin.sky flrst on Wednesday and is .said to have demanded that he be paid a sum of money to protect the hotel man from rald.s. He was insistent that his demands be met with, il i.s .said, and called the following day. The hotel, man took Chief of Police Thomas Ford and his assistant, police offlcer Thomas Krokusky, Into his confldence. The police officers Immediately laid a Imp.
When ho called again Robbins was tol<l that the money was reaiiy for him. He was ushered into another room where the offlcers wore concealed. Tho bills were carefully marked. Tho hole! man stated that he was prepared to hand over the money and Robbins is .said to have accepted it with the dec¬ laration that this amount would pre¬ vent Zelinsky from ever being molest¬ ed by the enforcement officers. .\s he was about to put the money in his pocket. Offlcers Fonl and Krukusky camo fi-o:n concealment and placed Kchbins under arro.«t. He was taken to the police station and placed in a cell.
However, before this wa.s done the officers made a search of his clothing and came on a diary, unfolding alleg¬ ed liquor transactions,of the past, also many letters from various offlciais in high rank in the employ of the federal <lopartment of Pennsylvania. Mo.st of the letters, however, dealt with in¬ st mctions. The last letter wos from .State Knforcoment Offlcer Rev. John Davis, of Philadelphia, relating to tho payment of bills rendered for special servico by Robbins.
Another loiter is allege<I to h.ave dealt with pay for service for tnins- port.ing liquor. Tho communication and other papers while not In any way Incriminating against prohibition of¬ flcers were taken by the police offlcers to mean that he had been In close touch with .some of the raids that had l)cen pulled off.
Williams Takes .\ction
Chief Enforcement Offlcer Harry Williams, with headquarters in this city, wa-s notified by the police offlcers land he wont to Luzerne Borough. Ho ! a-sked that Robbins \>e tumed over to him so that he could be transported to I'hiladelphia for immediate prose¬ cution. Mr. Williams further stated that he had dismissed Robbins. J. B. Claric, representing the Department of Justice, arrived then and the police tumed over the prisoner. Clark and Williams Immediately took Robbins before Roscoe Smith, United States (Commissioner, and arranged a hear¬ ing. Tho defendant was reprosontod hy Attomoy William J. Butler. .The police offloers presented strong testi¬ mony and Robbins was held under the sum of two thousand dollars ball for
THO.MAS  KOIID Cliief of Police of  Luzeme Borough
his  appearance  In   Federal Court  at Scranton in March.
Ilud Park.ard Car Besides a I'ackard <ar which was taken by tho police, the offlrers jijso camo into pos.sossion of hundreds of checks indicating that Robbins had plenty of money in the bank until lately. His Ixmk biilanco only showed two hundrod and ninety dollai-s. Whm Robbins was confronted by tho offlcers with tho many personal chocks he is .sjiid to havo replied in a jo<-uIar moo<l: "If I jrot away with the threa hundred nry liank balance would be further increased."
It is Ihe theory of the polite offlcers of Luzeme Borough that Rohbin.^ headed a gang that w.-is vjotimizine many .saloon mon on the pictenso of giving protei'lion. An amusinir docu¬ ment dealt with the list of iwlloe offi¬ cers of Luzerne t'ounty. Whether they were friendly to liquor violations or not was noted. In his cell when an Independent reporter called to seo him Robbins persistently stated that he was employed by the Revenue de¬ partment. Ho also was bitter against somo of his frionds for not «alllnir. Ho refused, howovor. fo dlviilK" the nature of the work that ho did in the interest of law onfon-emont. Rescue .\ttcmptod Believing that it would be easy to effect .a rescue from the borough lock¬ up, tho Burge.ss ot Luzorne appoint¬ ed a special police officer to keep guard. Along toward morning, a car with several men arrived In the vicin¬ ity of the jail. Tho officer who was doing pruard duty made an inve.stiifa- tion with tho result that tho men quickly entered the car and mado a hurried get-away.
All *)apors that were tn tho r>o.s.<5cs- sion of Robbins nre in tho hand.s of the agent of the Department of Ju.stice.
SHOT IN GUARD HOUSE; VALLEY CLERK VICTIM
While sitting In a police shanty of the Ijohigli Valley Railroad l.nst night at Plainsville, I'eter Lesno.ski, 18 years old, of 283 River'street, Plainsville, was shot in the right leg by the acci¬ dental discharge of a revolver. He Is in City Hospital. His condition Is fair.
I..esnoskl. who was employed :ts a clerk for the railroad, is reported to have been examining a revolver. Find¬ ing the chamber empty ho iltonji«fed to insert several cartridges. They were too large for tho weapon. When 'kos- noski ciosod the revolver ,one of the cartridpes became wedged .»nd was discharged.
F.-ank Rogers of 4 Penn street, l.oe l^rk. a Lehigh Valley guanl, who was also in the shanty, summoned aid. The wounded youth was takon to City Hospital In the automobile o.^ Edward Groux of Pittston. I.,esnoskl reached the hospital at 9:30 o'clock.
CHARLES BROWN DEAD; AN ESTEEMED CITIZEN
BOOZE RIDES WITH GOAT; STATE POLICE GET BOTH
his   namo   as   John    Marcavage    cf North Washington street, Brookslde.
Karly last evening It was reported lo the police that a woman  residing
Charles Brown, 61 years old, for many years a resident of this city, died la.st night at 10:40 o'clock at hts home, 287 New Hancock stret. He had suffered from a complication of diseases for the past six month. Mr. Brown wa.s a member of St. Nlchola.s He gave i church and was highly esteemed.   He
Liquor v;diied at $1,000 jinil oae billy goat, of uncertain valuo ly^crime the property of the United St;;tos government yesterday afternoon In the arrest of Anthony tJentile, 17 years old, of 7 Hospital street. Car* bondale^ on tl;n charge of transport- tag Ilquor. Chief Prohibition En¬ forcement Officer Harry Williams de¬ clared that tho liquor as well ns a Ford truck lioing u.^ed in the trans¬ portation will remain with tbc gov¬ emment, but the goat will likely be given buck to (Jontilc.
Sergeant Tipton and Private Ba- lunis of the State police ma^c tb* seizure In Olyphant. Gentile was at the wheel of the machlna when tb* police stopped the outfit. Search re¬ vealed that the Ford contained ten cases of supposed high grade liquor and 10 gallons of alcohol. The goaf was perilously anchored In the mlJwt of the booze cargo.
Gentile was brought to the wiling Barre police station. He was held under $1,000 bail last night by Com¬ missioner Roscoe B. Smith. Bail was furnished b» a relative.
HELEN KELLY ALLOWED DIVORCE FROM PRINCE
Paris. Dec. 16.—Princess Vlora, ne* Helen Kelly, an Amorican wpman. better known as the former wife of
followed the occupation of blacksmith
for many years. His wife and the following children
survive: Mary, George, Mrs. WllliaA on tho Heights had her purse j Metzger, Mrs. Edgar Reese, E-sther. I Frank Gould, was Kranted a divorce snatcbed on North Meade street. The ! Ix)uis, Elizabeth, Carl and Frank; from hor third liusban>l to<lay. After purse contained a sum of money. | also the following brothers and si-sters: j divorcing GouUl sho married Ralph City Detective Olds was assigned t/i Peter, John ond Jacob Brown. .Mrs. j Thomas from whom sho ul.so was di- this case but up ta an early hour j t^therine Forve of Fort Wayne. In-, vorce«l. Grounds for her decree to- thls moming no arrests had been diana. and Mrs. Peter Becker of South I day from former I'rince HourcdUlU made. 3tate street i Vlora were uot ouiUe yubUc