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WUuMElTfc FKLE PUbUC UBRAR* The Lake Shore News Nearly Everybody In Wilmette Reads The Lake Shore News VOL. VI, NO. 37. WILMETTE, ILLINOIS. THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1919 EIGHT PAGES PRICE FIVE CENTS Bank Robber Dead After Daylig^l Gun Battle RECRUIT PATROLMAN PICNIC PARTIES ARE GETS BANDIT IN DUEL1 CALLED BIG NUISANCE Henry Brautigam, Latest Acquisition to Police Force, Engages Quartet of Burglars in Gun Battle Lake Avenue Residents Enter Com- plaint of Paper-L'ittered Streets Following Beach Affairs MANY SHOTS EXCHANGED Three Make Get-Away While Fourth Surrenders; Is in Police Custody Henry Brautigam is the latest ac- quisition to the Wilmette Police force and already has experienced his baptism of fire in the role of foiling a bandit escapade. Brautigam didn't start his first police battle with one bandit but ' picked out a quartet of thieves seek- ing entrance into the home of Frank J. Baker, 507 Lake avenue. "I was walking along Sixth street in company with Special Policeman Jacob Smith." says Brautigam, "we had just crossed Lake avenue going south when I heard a door slam. I cautioned silence but in crossing the street Smith scuffed his foot against the curbing and the noise was heard by the four men who were in the act of entering the residence of Frank J. Baker. 507 Lake avenue. In fact one of the men was entering the win- dow when Smith made the noise. "The man jumped from the window and fled, pursued by Smith. The other three men crouched alongside of the window and began firing at me. I jumped behind a tree and re- turned several shots but as they were very near to the windows I had to be careful and not shoot astray. Sud- denly I heard a cry of "Ouch" and saw one of the men drop. The shot probably just touched him as a sec- ond later he and the others fled, run- ning along the house directly beneath -be y inHr'xs. Tt \v«s ii;i i busiflehS sh< ot at tnem as 1 was atraid oi a shot entering and wounding some- body in the house. However, with only one man left. I Ordered him out into the open. He came out with his hands up and I took him to the sta- tion." Disclaims Me Is Thief At the station the prisoner gave his name as John Micke and his res- idence as the corner of Madison and Halsted streets, Chicago. He said he recently came to Chicago from Ok- lahoma and was looking for work. He also stated he was walking down Halsted street when three men in a car approached him and asked if he didn't want a ride. He said he did not know they were a band of robbers. Find Valise and Loot On the porch at the side of the window on which the men were working was found a valise contain- ing the loot taken from the Harlan D. Bixley home at 601 Elmwood ave- nue, entered earlier in the evening. No exact estimate of the amount tak- en from the Bixley home has been made. It is supposed that the bandits had their car in which they made their escape stationed nearby on Sheridan road. These men operate much like the gang that has been working in Evanston recently and it is believed that they are the men who entered the Brothers home in Evanston and several other homes ip the north shore towns recently. Micke is being held at the station without charge. Series of Burglaries Earlier in the evening, according to Micke, the men visited the Bixley home. They drove up in a machine, removed the glass from the front door and looted the house. They con- fined their thefts to jewelry, silver- ware and clothes and such other ar- ticles as were hard to identify and easy to dispose of. Monday night's burglary was the culmination of a series of house- breakings in the Village during the past few months. Ten days ago burglars entered the home of Morton A. Bassett at 510 Lake avenue where silverware to the amount of $1,000 was taken. A short time later in the same night the home of William F. Babcock was broken into and $500 worth of jewelry taken. Practically all of the recent burglaries have been committed in the vicinity of the five hundred block in Lake avenue. SAY VILLAGE RESPONSIBLE Declare They Are Weary of Cleaning Parkways In Trail of Miscreant Picnickers Residents along beautiful Lake avenue are proud of their street. There is keen rivalry evidenced by the householders in the maintenance of verdant, closely-cropped lawns, j splendid flower beds and neatly trimmed shrubbery. Now the res- I idents on that particular thorough- fare have declared war on careless ' picnickers and bathers at the Wil- mette bathing beach. "Tired of Cleaning Up" "We are tired of cleaning up park- ways and lawns littered with cracker- jack and lunch boxes and remnants of newspapers," declares Mrs. E. H. Yonkers, Sheridan road and Lake avenue, who has come to the fore in complaint of the deplorable condi- tion. "I think the Village officials should attend to this matter at once and rid the village of this nuisance. It is to the interest of the communi- ty to keep this and other streets clear of picnic litter. They should as- sist residents who have taken it upon themselves to clean up the parkways in the trail of the miscreant pic- nickers." The condition in Lake street, it is said, applies alike to other of the Village streets leading to the park at the Lake front, as well as to the park and beach itself. Repeated complaints have been made to Village officials and particularly to the police, without ^pparfn* result It i> exnpr p.;' Hip uiai.c .Vlii ot *>jugiu ioriii.,ll!' to the attention of the Village Board by a fjroup of representative household- ers at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees. Strangers Are Offenders Most of the offenders are out of town pleasure seekers, it is said, who, after concluding their stay at the beach and park, cast the remains of their banquets to the "four winds of heaven" without consideration for the residents in the vicinity. WILMETTE ARTIST. SOLDIER HONORED Over the contributions of notable French and English artists a Wil- mettean won the prize for the poster chosen to herald the allied Olympian games held from June 22 to July 6 in the Pershing stadium on the out- skirts of Paris. Lieutenant James Harvey Dulin of the 333d heavy field artillery was the artist. He received his com- mission at the first officers' training camp. Fort Sheridan, and sailed for France early last September. The prize poster is 33x48 inches and shows a young athlete in a hurdle over a barrier of allied flags. It was reproduced in postcard size. Lieutenant Dulin has returned to America and is expected in Chicago within the next few days, where he will join Mrs. Dulin and make the acquaintance of his little daughter, Dorothy Jane Dulin, who arrived dur- ing his absence, at their home, 1330 Sheridan road, Wilmette. Miss Laura Flentye, 729 Lake ave- nue, left Monday to join her family at Bay View, Michigan. BICYCLE THIEF WORKS ON MID-FORENOON JOB Theft of a bicycle from the private garage of the E. H. Yonkers home at 911 Sheridan road, was perpetrated in broad daylight last Saturday morning. The garage has a direct exit to the street and the wheel was taken without detection. Police were notified of the daring theft. NEW EATING HOUSE OPENS AT 1161 WILMETTE AVENUE "The Yates Cafe," designed to be a first class restaurant, opened for business this week at 1161 Wilmette avenue, in the Brown building. The new eating house is conducted by F. N. Yates. The restaurant will make a special- ty of "business men's luncheons," family chicken dinners on Sundays and regular six o'clock dinners daily. Robber Fires on State Bank Cashier; Is Felled By Police in Gun Duel Wilmette is no place for bandits and police are death on crooks. Re- sult. George Micke, alleged burglar, is communicating his misfortune to the black walls of his dingy cell in the Village lock-up. Peter Swanson, bank bandit, is dead, pierced through the heart with a police bullet. The story of George Micke's capture on Monday night by Patrolman Henry Brautigam graces another column of the Lake Shore News and here is the account of how Swanson met his fate after a thrilling revolver dual with assistant chief of police Sam Hoth. Attempts Early Robbery Promptly at 8:10 o'clock this morning when commuters were passing hastily to the Chicago trains, a lone man entered the Wilmette State Bank at Twelfth street and Central avenue. The big front door of the bank had just swung open for the day's business. Officers and employes were making ready for the day of toil and an air of busy preparation pervaded the place. William D. Leary, assistant cashier had just taken his place at the win- dow in the front enclosure of the banking room. Up stepped Swanson and pushed what at first glance ap- peared to be a genuine check on the Wilmette State Bank. Imagine Leary's surprise when he read the paper. "Pay to the Bearer all you have." —signed, bearer." "Why this check isn't signed," half- queried Leary. "That don't make any difference," came the reply. "Well how much do you want?" Leary questioned. "All that you have," was the answer. "But, I can't give it to you this morning," from Leary.— Then a shot. Leary ducked out of sight. Em- ployes stampeded to the back rooms of the building. Leary arose and the bandit was gone. Leary rushed across the street to the Village Hall. Policeman Sam Hoth was standing outside the build- ing. "A bank robber ran up Twelfth street." shouted Leary Hoth commandeered l ' ':-;"-ri, ne:i-l -- •:■! Tweittli street at top spei a man turn west on Lak block north. The car turned west in Lake ave- nue and bounded over the railroad tracks in hot pursuit of the fleeing man. "-cab sta r>d ;,;■■■ . lie saw avenue, a At Seventeenth street and Walnut avenue the fugitive caught sight of his pursuers. The car gradually drew down upon him and he slackened his pace. Hoth called a halt, he was answer- ed by a bullet whizzing by his left ear. Bernard Smith, the chauffeur, dropped to the floor of the machine at Hoth's command. There were three swift and true shots and the bandit lay, bleeding, on the pave- ment. Before Hoth could get to his side the man placed his gun at his own chest and sent a fourth bullet near the heart. • At the Evanston hospital the bandit gave the name of Peter Swanson, his address as Chicago, his age as 32 years. He was well dressed, smooth shaven and about five feet ten inches in height. He died at 12 o'clock. Miraculous Escape That Leary escaped with his life is declared nothing short of Miracu- lous. The bullet glanced off a slender steel bar on the cage window nearly snapping it in half. The bullet was later found in a pile of canceled checks a few feet away. Business was resumed in the bank witliin Li half hour after the attempt- ed -nbherv. -l' 'poi ta vvei e "<:""..-* i- ■•<'>* *? Village today that special action would be taken by prominent citizens to grant appropriate rewards to both Hoth and Brautigam for their display of bravery and highly creditable police work. PHILATHEANSPLAN ORPHANS' BENEFIT Annual Lawn Fete To Be Held at Panushka Home on Afternoon and Evening of August 2 HELP LAKE BLUFF KIDDIES Affair Promises To Be One of the Season's Bright Events; Treat for Children The Philathea class of young wom- en of the Wilmette Methodist church are to sponsor a lawn fete to be held on the lawn of the Panushka home at Forest avenue and Tenth street, Sa- turday afternoon and evening, August 2, for the benefit of the Lake Bluff Orphanage. The fete will commence at 4 o'clock and continue until 10 o'clock. Annual Event The lawn fete is an annual affair and has always proved one of the most beautiful events of the season. The young women of the church promise many new features and at- tractions this year and it is expect- ed the fete will yield the largest fund in the history of the annual benefit. Entertain Kiddies Just an inkling of what the kiddies may expect on that afternoon and evening: There will be ice cream, sandwiches, lemonade, peanuts, pop corn. The regular "parcel post" table will jiso be in evidence. A portion of the lawn is to be re- served for games and an entertain- ment in the evening. Everyone is extended a hearty in- vitation to the fete, say the Phila- theans who express a desire to make this the banner benefit year for the orphanage at Lake Bluff. Township Commercial Men Lay Plans for New Trier Day; Gates Named President The New Trier Commercial asso- ciation is not dead. Monday even- ing the officers of the organization appeared in the Wilmette Village Hall at what they had fully conclud- ed would be the final sad obsequies of an organization slowly but surely passing into history. To their extreme but pleasant sur- prise twenty-five enterprising mer- chants of the north shore were on hand early to greet them with the happy news that the New Trier Com- mercial association was destined to) live—to live and become useful, if possible the most useful civic organ- ization on the north shore. It must be said here that one of the surest indications of that renewed vigorwas the initialact of themeeting namely, to elect, upon the announced resignation of Leo M. Dean as president, one of the north shore's most active citizens, Henry B. Gates, of Wilmette, to take the helm of the tottering civic structure. The election came unexpectedly to Mr. Henry B. Gates, who. as superin- tendent of the Evanston District of the Chicago Telephone company is one of the busiest men on the north shore. Like all really busy men however, he announced his readiness to take hold of the troubled organ- ization and, counting upon the co- operation of every business and com- mercial man in the township of New Trier, see it through the "period of depression" back into the strong and useful body it had been in its earlier prosperity. So it came about that, when Gates the new leader rapped the gavel to open the initial session of the re- juvenated association, twenty-five men of New Trier pledged themselves enthusiastically to "stand by" and lend every effort to make the New Trier Commercial association the most popular and generally talked of civic body on the north shore. Having thus pledged, what did the twenty-fisje enterprising merchartts and their new leader do, but inaugu- rate plans for the biggest event of the year in New Trier township. It is designated as New Trier Day, it is decided will be Thursday, August 4. Every business house in the town- ship will close doors and all who can will repair to Skokie Park at the west end of Elm street, Winnetka, for one grand outing and day of jol- lification .There will be games, field events, speeches, music and ever'- thing for everybody. A committee of twelve were appointed by President Gates to conclude all preparations for the biggest New Trier Booster Day in the history of the township, New Trier Day or, "Boosters' Day"_ then will be the big, grand opening event to start the New Trier Com- mercial association off on the bigger and wider activity. "We have suffered a period of*de- pression," said President Gates in an interview with a representative of the Lake Shore News. "The new Trier Commercial association, it seems to me, has lacked a definite plan of action. Too much emphasis has been placed on the value of the organization to the individual and not enough on the value of the indi- vidual to the organization and the organization, in turn, to the town- ship. Too much emphasis has been placed upon the collection agency idea or the following up of so-called "dead-beats" which, though very im- portant and useful, had had the re- sult of obscuring the really import- ant thing, namely, of making the or- ganization a truly civic body, repre- sentative of community ideas, spon- soring every movement for better- ment in Township affairs and becom- ing a veritable Boosters' club for the township." Mr. Gates concluded the interview with the announcement that special efforts would be made to make the regular meetings of the association especially interesting by the discus- sion of business methods not only, WILMETTE GIRL HURT IN "BLIM'"' TRAGEDY Fate played favora >ly to Miss Jo- sephine MacBeth, 121 Woodbine ave- nue, Monday afternoon when the giant dirigible "Wing Foot" caught fire and plunged through the skylight of the Illinois Trust and Savings bank building, Jackson boulevard and La Salle street, Chicago. Stands In Rotunda It was shortly before closing time and Miss MacBeth was standing with a group of other employes of the bank in the center of the rotun- da under the great skylight. Sudden- ly there was a terrific crash as the fusilage of the blimp with two heavy rotary engines and two gasoline tanks crashed to the floor. The gasoline tanks exploded, casting a wave of flaming gasoline over the workers as they tried to crowd through the two exits. Taken to St. Luke's Hospital Miss MacBeth was burned about the face and hands and was taken to St. Luke's hospital, where her condi- tion was pronounced not serious. She later returned to her home. REV. STEPHEN A. LLOYD SUNDAY EVENING SPEAKER The Open Air Sunday Evening Service this week will be addressed by the Reverend Stephen A. Lloyd, pastor of the Congregational -church, and Mr. H. U. Thompson, who is al- ready well known in Wilmette, will be the soloist. It is a great pleasure to all in charge of these meetings to find that the audience is so well pleased with, the evening's program. So far, they have heard nothing T)ut praises for the services. If you have been away and do not know about them, come next Sunday evening and see for yourself. They are held on the lawn in back of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the hour is from 7 until 8 o'clock. All are welcome. but of matters of interest in the township at large. Special speakers will be called upon to discuss township betterment af- fairs. Special "open meetings" would probably be held, he said when all residents of the township would be invited to discuss with the business men, maters pertaining to New Trier township. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sanford Clarke, 526 Washington avenue, are spending a month visiting in the east.