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BEHIND Astonishing Details of u Id tn i« i uq r, woic! 5. *1 n off dt y. 11°. a stuff inds y mo r Jank r. lie ci- for had le o )», Kill Joh: y and l- rapi y lanlti 'a to p is re il it ither the is mi and and enter g ivolvj e. •ectai k mi le Ul Jived a tint rtly o id lies i id for/ te e- * the Robbery of the Man hattan Bank in New York; the Biggest Cracksmens Job Ever Accomplished. Hope had decided at the last moment that ae long as he had to tackle the janitor, he might as well make him surrender the combination It possible and save the trouble and uncertainty of working with the wire and the hole which the bank had obligingly neglected to repair. Werkle volunteered the objection that the combination numbers would be no use unless they knew how to operate them. Hope inserted a gag in the janitor's mouth and assured him that he need not worry on that score as he was in posses sion of all the information he needed Leaving Johnny Hope and Nugent, the policeman, with cocked pistols watching the bound and gagged janitor and wife and the silent and mysterious Eddy Goodey mounting guard over the helpless old woman, Jimmy Hope and Johnny Dobbs hurried downstairs to the vault, accom panied by Ned Lyons. Lyons was always a desperate man who could think and act quickly. In emer gency he was governed by instinct, which is quicker than the quickest intellect. In time of trouble Lyons was always a tower of strength. He would not hesitate at murder if necessary and his sudden hand would bolster up a hesitating member of the gang. For this reason he was held In reserve and worked in the vault with Jimmy and Dobbs. Robbery Was Discovered -lope disarray of clothing his old friend the Werkle, janitor of the bank, who had irber been bound and gagged by the bur- tome glare. i the The gag removed, Werkle was able man, to blurt out the fact that the bank had 1 be- been robbed. The policeman across the street was summoned, and With his him came Coakley, the robber Hope peak had left behind to watch what hap- and pened. They heard an amazing and like somewhat incoherent tale. The police man, being rather young and inexpe- and rienced, listened open-mouthed, and at Coakley’s suggestion arrested the unty i faithful and abused watchman. THE SCENES AT A $3,000,000 BURGLARY—The r & 1 3 How Jimmy Hope and Each Member of His Famous Band Played His Part. Jimmy Hope, the leader, had considered with minute care every possible avenue of danger, and he placed his men on guard with the precision of a general. Three living human beings were in the building in the rooms over the bank—the janitor, his wife and aged mother in-law. These were quickly taken by surprise, bound and gagged. John Nugent (1), with drawn piston, stood over Werkle, the janitor; Johnny Hope (2), the very promis ing burglar son of the leader, was left In charge of Mrs. Werkle with cocked revolver, while in the next room Eddy Goodey (3) answered for the silence of the trenv bling old mother. Outside the bank was a more important work to be done. On the Broadway front of the building the ven erable Abe Coakley (4) was assigned to duty. On the Bleecker street side George Mason (5) was on post. Just inside the side door, to protect the line of retreat, stood Billy Keely (6), with pistol in hand. There still remained a delicate matter. In the early hours of the morning it was customary for the old be whiskered janitor, Werkle, to be seen busy sweeping up and dusting off the desks of the bank clerks. The po liceman on post always nodded to Werkle, and if h< was not on the job as usual that morning it might arouse suspicion. In Hope’s gang was “Banjo” Pete Emerson, who had been an actor of no mean ability. To him was assigned the job of playing the part of the janitor. With a wig and whiskers made to Imitate Werkle, and in shirt sleeves, Emerson (7) busily dusted and re-dusted the desks, keeping close to the street windows, where he could be eeen by anybody passing and where he could see and repeat any signals from Coakley and Mason, who were on watch on the sidewalk. “Banjo” Pete played his part so well that the policeman in going his rounds glanced up, saw what he was sure was his friend Werkle dusting the desks, nodded “good morning" and strolled on up Broadway. Jimmy Hope reserved for himself, Ned Lyons and Johnny Dobbs the delicate work of blowing the steel safes and taking care of the $3,000,000 of plunder. Downstairs, they found, as expected “Banjo Pete" Emerson In overalls and false whiskers armed with a feather dus ter and made up to look exactly like the Janitor, Werkle. "Banjo Pete,” as his name Implies, was a mueician, In fact had been a member of a negro minstrel troupe, and was an actor of no mean ability. It was the ability to make-up and act which made Hope cast him for the part of coun terfeit janitor. During the entire pro ceeding. he walked about the front of the bank in full view from the street, dusting the furniture and keeping an eye out for signals from old Abe Coakley, dean of the burglars, who had the responsible posi tion of watching all that went on outside. Fooling the Patrolman A policeman was In sight of the bank during the entire activities and actually walked up and gazed in the window. "Banjo Pete” looked up from his dusting and waved his hand to the policeman, who thought he recognized his old friend Werkle, nodded “good morning,” and then passed on Meanwhile Billy Kelly had taken his place just Inside the back door with a pistol and a lead pipe and seated himself on the back stairs, while George Mason was sauntering about outside the door to give warning and prevent interruption from that point All these men covered the operations of Jimmy Hope and Johnny Dobbs, who opened the vault door with Werkles key and combination, and fell to work on the steel safes within. There were three, one on either side and one in the back. With the sledge hammer and knife-edged wedges the two burglars spread the crack of one of the safe doors wide enough to force in the necessary explosive. Pausing only long enough to learn from his confed erates that the coast was clear, Hope touched it off A muffled reverberation reached the policeman across the street He glanced over at the bank. "Banjo Pete" dropped his duster, crossed to the window and peered out as If the explosion were from outdoors somewhere, and he were mildly wondering. The po liceman resumed his reflections and the work went on. Fifteen minutes later an other muffled boom marked the blowing of the second safe. At this point Hope and Dobbs paused to collect the booty. It was more than they could carry, so half a peck of bonds was passed out to the vigilant Billy Kelly on the backstairs, as much more to the silent Goodey, unwelcome watcher by the bedside of the feeble old woman. With bulging eyes, Mr. and Mrs. Werkle saw a few bags of gold tossed In to their guardians and pocketed. The gang had been growing richer at the rate of about a hundred thousand dollars a minute for some time. As Hope and Dobbs returned to attack the third safe, which stood In the rear, there came a threatened interruption. George Mason, outside, gave the signal to Billy Kelly, inside the back door to be on guard. A milk wagon stopped, the driver descended with a quart of milk, opened the back door and was about to ascend the stairs with it to deliver to the Janitor. Billy Kelly, on guard on the stairs for Just such an emergency, politely informed him that the janitor and his family had gone away and would need no more milk for some time. The milkman replaced the bottle in his wagon and went on, while Hope drove home his wedges But now came a serious interruption, the ■wily old Coakley signalled that the end of their operations had come. It was inevitable that Kohlman, the barber, would soon open up his little shop be neath the bank. This was what Coakley signalled to “Banjo Pete,” who called the news to the workers within the vault. Immediately Hope, Dobbs and Lyons laid down their tools, put on their coats, stuffed the remainder of the undistributed plun der inside their clothes and told the band to quit. Johnny Hope and Nugent, with a last bloodthirsty threat left the Werkles. Eddy Goodey pocketed his revolver and joined the group collecting around Billy Kelly on the back stairs, where “Banjo Pete" was getting out of his overalls and pocketing his false whiskers. George Mason gave the “get away’’ sig nal on the outside, and one by one the gang, carrying nearly $3,000,000 in money and securities, mingled with the crowd and vanished. Coakley on watch in front stayed around and waited for further developments. About ten minutes later the early cus tomers of Kohlman’s barber shop heard someone leaping down the stairs from the bank. In burst apparently a madman, half-dressed, his hands handcuffed behind him. The Janitor’s Escape A gag in his mouth added to his strange appearance. Unable to speak or use hie hands be danced up and down and made growling sounds like a mad dog The barber shop emptied itself and Kohlman was not able at once to recog nize behind the gag and the Jaunty dis array of clothing his old friend Werkle. janitor of the bank. The gag removed. Werkle was able to blurt out the fact that the bank had been robbed. The policeman across the street was summoned and with him came Coak ley. They heard an amazing and some what Incoherent tale. The policeman be ing rather young and inexperienced, lis tened open mouthed. and did not know what to do Coakley, the elderly and rather distin guished looking gentleman, suggested that the story sounded "fishy” and the police man ought to Investigate. He did so. The whole party entered the bank and Coak ley was able to note that no telltale clues had been left behind. He observed “with regret that while twowof the safes gaped wide open and the third contained several wedges, it was still shut tight The policeman held the haif-crazed Werkle prisoner and guarded the safe while he sent Coakley to the police sta tion to call out the reserves. This er rand Coakley neglected and, instead, looked up Jlmmv Hope, who- like most robbers, was leading a double life. He had a wife and children In one part of the ctly and in another a fashionable apartment where he was known as Mr. Hopely, a retired capitalist, and had quite a circle of friends, mostly prosperous business men. From this point luck turned against the band. The tremendous proportions of the robbery caught everyone's Imagination. The underworld was as much excited as the police and talk and speculation would not die down. The neglected hole in the lock came to view again and it was now appreciated In its full significance The police recollected their tip about Hope and his gang which had come to them at the same time as the discovery of the hole and their suspicions began to grow against some of the real perpetra tors. Still for many weeks there was not an atom of evidence against any member. Patrick Shevelin, the weak link of the chain, began to feel the pressure. The Weak Spot Not only was he a man lacking Is the robust nerves essential to a successful criminal and also one who drank too much, but he was cruelly disappointed as well. He had been led to believe that a quarter of a million dollars in cold cash would be handed to him within a day or two after the robbery. He was going to buy a castle In- Ireland and a few other things with the money. Instead of all this Hope gave him only $1,200. He explained at the time that this was only his share of the cash stolen, and that the balance of the quarter million would be forthcoming as soon as the bonds and stocks had been converted into cash. But alas for poor Shevelin. The bonds never were converted and instead of more money, Hope brought him bad news and actually forced him to return half of the $1,200. He told Shevelin that a bill was being prepared at Washington to compel the Issuance of duplicate securi ties in place of those stolen. This would, of course, make the originals worthless and kill the sale of them and make the robbery a financial failure. There was truth in Hope’s plea for the bill was actually passed, but it Is doubtful if poor Sheveiln’s $600 was used, as Hope promised, to bribe Senators and Congressmen to obstruct the bill. The horse being stolen, the bank took pains to lock the barn door. They not only rearranged their locks and filled up the hole, but investigated Werkle, Keely and Shevelin. Finding that Shevelin was drinking and frequenting disreputable places, they were about to discharge him. But the detectives pe snarled the bank to retain him for fear discharge might ex cite the suspicions of the gang De'ectivea shadowed Shevelin night and day. Some of them became acquainted with him under one guise or another. They even became intoxicated with him. On one or two occasions he let slip re marks that he was connected with some big secret affair. One day they saw a bartender get a package from a drawer and hand it to Shevelin, who opened It and took out some bills, and then returned the package. The detective was able to see that the package contained several hundred dollars. This was more than Shevelin. In all probability, would have saved out of his small salary with ail his bad habits. In spite of all this they knew Shevelin was not ripe for arrest. Finally, In a maudlin moment he conveyed the infor mation that he had been the means of making a great achievement possible and that he had been treated very shabbily. The detectives at once had the bnnk discharge him on some pretext foreign to the robbery. This added to Shevelin's gloom. When, on top of this, he was ar rested, he was quite ripe to confess. That the gang might not become suspi cious, he was arrested for intoxication, taken to court the next day and dis charged. As soon as he stepped out of the court room he was re-arrested, and this procedure was repeated day after day. Still Shevelin refused to confess until a detective telling him how much the authorities knew about the case, Informed him that all the gang were rich beyond measure except Shevelin. ‘What a sucker you were, Pat.” he con cluded, "to accept a measly $10,000." Shevelin leaped to his feet and shouted. “It’s a lie, I never got any $10,000, so help me, heaven, I never got more than $600 for it.” “I apologize,” said the detective, “you are a ten times bigger fool than any one supposed.” Shevelin realized he made a hopelessly damaging confession and within a few hours the police were in possession of the complete details of the case. The Watchman’s Confession For fear anyone should not believe the actual amount that was taken from the bank, 1 refer you to the following official list of just what we got from the Man hattan Bank as It was announced by the president of the bank: NOTICE. THE MANHATTAN SAVINGS INSTITU TION was, on the morning of Sunday. October 27, robbed of securities to the amount of $2,747,700. and $11,000 in cash, as follows: THE STOLEN SECURITIES. United States 5's of 1881, 8 of $50,000 each, 10 of 10,000 each.. $500,000 United States 6'b of 1881, 20 of $10,000 each 200.000 United States 10-40 bonds, 60 of 10,000 each 600.000 United States 4 per cents, 30 of $10,000 each 300.000 United States 6-20's of July, 1865; 26 of $500 each, 35 of $1,000 each 48.000 New York State sinking fund gold 6’s, registered, No.. 32 32.000 New York City Central Park fund stock, certificate No. 724. ..... 22.700 New York County Court House stock, 6 per cent 202.000 New York City, accumulated debt. 7 per cent bonds, two of $100,000 each, and one of $50 000 250.000 New York City Improvement stock, 10 certificates of $20,000 each.. 200.000 New York City 'Revenue Bond, registered 200,000 Yonkers City 7 per cent coupon bonds, 118 of $1,000 each 118.000 Brooklyn City Water Loan coupon bonds, 25 of $1,000 each 25,000 East Chester Town coupon bonds. 60 of $1,000 each J 50,000 Cash 11,000 Total amount stolen $2,758,700 CHARLES F. ALFORD, Secretary. EDWARD SCHELL, President. If Hope had found ten minutes more time at his disposal he would have entered the third safe, and, as it happened, come upon almost three million more. How ever, as It stood, this was the greatest robbery ever achieved and as things were each man of the gang should have been rich. Hunting Down the Gang Now we will see how much crime, even in the most successful case, profited the criminals. In the first place, Tracy was in prison before it happened. "Western George,” who solved the lock, was mur dered. Patrick Shevelin, tl.e watchman received, instead of the quarter of a mill ion, actually $1,200 in cash. Within a few days Jimmy Hope took half of this back again on the plea that It was needed at Washington to buy off legislators who were to pass a bill through Congress or dering the issue of duplicates in place of the stolen securities. As an actual fact, all Shevelin ever profited from this rob bery was $600 Jimmy Hope and John D. Grady, the fence, quarrelled over the disposition of the bonds and stocks, which Hope spirited away and hid In the Middle West. The dis sension spread to other members of the gang and the underworld began to hear details of the robbery. Hope failed In blB efforts to prevent the passage of the bill cancelling the stolen securities and then came the final blow —the confession of Shevelin. Hope was caught in San Francisco, his son. Johnny Hope, was captured tfi Phila delphia while trying to dispose of gome of the bonds—and one after another the gang was run down Considered from a technical viewpoint, this robbery was the most Napoleonic feat ever achieved My husband, Ned Lyons, said Hope ought to have managed without the aid of Shevelin or if his aid was ab solutely necessary, he should have been killed. This point of view regarding mur der is one of the distinguishing differences between my husband and Jimmy Hope. And thus we find that the greatest bank robbery in the history of the world, which enlisted the time, brains and special skill of a dozen able men over a long period of time resulted In failure to dispose of the valuable securities, and landed sooner or later most of the operators In prison. II an enterprise of such magnitude, success fully accomplished, was not worth while, then surely CRIME DOES NOT PAY! SOPHIE LYONS. NEXT SUNDAY SOPHIE LYONS WILL REVEAL THE PRO- BT 5 s * MOTERS OF CRIME WHO BACK THE PROFESSIONAL CRIMINALS— The Notorious “Mother” Mandelbaum, the “Queen of the Thieves,” and Grady, Who had Half a Dozen Gongs of Cracksmen Working for Him.