Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-05

The Good work or Disrsosing Of the idle
Worthless Element Goes Bravely On.
The rnod work ~iDaugurated within the
last lew weeks by Marshal Coulter to nd
the city OF the class Of idle, worthless
characters iniesting it, characterized under
the generic term ways 10 continuing
without intermission, and If kept up at the
present rate win soon result in relieving
the community Of their undesirable pres
ence. Last evening another batch Was
placed on trial before Judge Lippincott
sitting as q Justice Of the peace. The conrt
at the City Hall was crowded with q mot
ley audience outside the railing. The
arrests had been made during the last
couple Of days. County Attorney Dewitt
prosecuted, and the defendants were IN
| represented.
The first cases taken up were those
against Howard Breckinbridee, alias
nStraight EDGE" and Louis y. Waxen-
baum, alias 1.-THE Kid Both were virtu-
ously indignant at posing in such an atti-
tude as yags, and protested that II they
| were given an opportunity they could show
UuG HEGuuulcebHcb6 OiTtnO SnNA6O So
them. Straight Edge is q smooth-faced
| Young man with a plausible and a
yoluble tongue. The Kid laid great stress
ON the value OF come letters found on his
person at the time Of his arrest, to which
be made frequent reference by way OF a
plea in bar to the officers testimony
against him. Both presented a respectable
appearance, being decently dressed.
slim young fellows. tall and not bad
looking. But the evidence was dead
against them. Officers Anderson, Carroll,
James and Layton testified that for the
last couple Of months they had seen them
at all hours of the night and day IL gamb-
ling houses, lounging about In the style
that young men do who have no respect-
able means Of support. Several gentlemen
connected with various gambling houses
testified to having known n or both OF
them for various periods and to their ire
quenting such places at all hours.
Straight Edge tried to elucidate the fact
that at some vague period in the past he
had been agent for a patent furniture pol
ish, to which he parenthetically alluded as
the greatest invention OF the age,n but
could not get the witnesses to admit that
he had yet made a fortune out OF it, or was
to any serious extent engaged in pressing it
the public. the Kid rejected With scorn
the imputation by Officer Carroll thai M
had been seen sleeping in a chair in a gam
bling house with his shoes of, and warmly
that he had never been without a
room in town for which he paid rent. Their
case was adjourned until this morning to
give them a chance TO prove their asser-
tions.
John Newman, George 0'Dare, Richard
Gasad and w. H. Bowers formed the next
batch. They were a tough-looking lot OF
customers with the exception OF the last
who presented some title TO respectability.
He was the only one, however, to plead
guilty to the charge OF vagrancy and was
sentenced to 80 days imprisonment and a
fine Of 500 and costs, but the sentence
was suspended until 5 o'clock this evening
with the assurance that if he was seen in
town after that hour the officers would ar
rest him and he would made to serve out
his sentence.
The others stood trial, and the evidence
OF the officers was to the same effect in
each case of hanging about low dives at
all hours. None of them looked as if they
had done a days honest work for ar indefi-
mite period, but each, when asked, had q
pitiful tale to tell OF having worked some
where until lately, when, in spite of their
e%xertions, they could not get
any work. They we're each sentenced to
80 days in jail and committed.
The police force under Marshal Coulter
are doing all in their power to convince the
idle vagrant element that Butte is an I'M
healthy winter resort.