The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1870-07-13
Who Shot Florence scanneit

FLORENCE SCASNEL is dead. After moro
than eight months Of suffering, caused by an
act of lawlessness and ruflianism, of which
he was certainly the instgator, he has ended
his | fe victim to the violence that has be-
como too much Il part of the conduct Of
pol teal affairs in this city On his deathbcd,
and amid all the solcmnti,s Of an imme.
date entrance uYon eternity, the unhappy
man made statement charging his murder
upon THOMAS DoNonUE, the keeper of the
saloon in which the affair occurred. To
deny the truth of that statement at this
tiuie seems Ike trenching upon forbidden
grounl. aud questioning the sealed records
Of eternity.
But the statemea: is 80 inconsistent with
the facts as developer! ~ tho ''"o OF the
fracas and with the dead L. nj own "seer
tons at that time, that we are con. "'i'eo "
recall the event, and place the circumsts~,,S
afresh before the public. The affair occurred
o.: the Sd of December last On the forenoon
of that day, FLORENCE SCANNED and his
brother JOIN, VIII q company Of ten or a
dozen partisans, all under the influence of
liquor and armed with clubs and pistols,
visited registry Office on Second avenue, be-
tween Twenty-fourth and Twenty shh streets,
and forcbly closed it, throwing the police
man in attendance. the registers, clerks. ind
bys.anders, into the street, This transaction
was called a joke, a good-naturcd affair
there being no malice displayed or bones
broken. But the policeman Immediately
repaired TO the station house and reported it,
when two other officers were sent out to
watch the gang and restrain their exu'
berance of spirits.
From the registry Office tho riotous party
proceeded down Second avenue, assaulting
quiet and peaceablc citizens whom they met
on the sidewalk in the most shameful man.
ner. Coming to DoNoHUE's saloon, at the
corner of Twenty-third street, the lawless
party entered it in a very similar manner to
their entrance TO the registry Office. DoSo-
uUE's saloon was the headquarters of the
| Tammany nominee for Alderman, against
whom ScANNEL was running as an indie.
| pendent or Anti-Tammany candidate Back
of this saloon was private room, in which
| at the time of the advent of the SCANNED
party there were two or three persons who
were strangers in the ne ghborhood. In the
saloon there were in all five persons, includ
| ing the saloon keeper and his bartender
These persons were MILES T. CoNSELLY, q
wcllknown haLitu6 of the place, and JOSEPH
MARTIN, of 25 Chambers street, who had
| in In, I'll.
friend GEORGE JOHNSTON, for a drink
When the SCANNED party entered, police
men were In the neighborhood watching
them, and had their eyes on the building
Had any large crowd left the premises they
would have seen them, and they will bear
witness Thatthe above is full enumeration
of thsoccupants OF the premises. .--
FLORENCE SCANNED headed his gang Or
entering, he saluted the saloon keeper in O
friendly why, saying, How are you, Tom
MY 2" to which DoSoUUE responded will
equal friendiness. The intruders then
started for the back room, when DoNoHUF
wishing to protect the privacy of his guests
cried out: "FLoRRY, don't go in there.
SCANNEL replied by calling out TO his fol
lowers, Come on, boys" and at once forced
the door open, in his haste not stopping to
raise the latch. immediately a riot com
menced. DoHoHUE, who was standing be
hind his bar was shot through the arm
GEORGE JOHNSTON was shot in the neck,
and FLORENCE SCANNED was shot in tn,
back, falling by the door Of the back room
He was not at the bar when shot, nor had
he been standing at II. The SCANNED party
were armed with dangerous bludgeons o
hard wood, with which they struck abou
Unfortunately. wounding their own friend
as well as the occupants Of the saloon.
As soon as he was wounded, DoNouUI
escaped from the place. and ran to the station
house on Twenty second street for heir
CoNNELLY, one of the loungers in the place
followed him to the station house, The