The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-05-22
Young Toughs Who Terror
lied the DWe11ers in
Certain Parts of
Jersey City.
THE CORNER LOAFER GANG.
Its Members Insult Women and
Rob Everybody Whom They
Dare to Attack.


They were terrors to the neighborhoods
they infested and held the community in
awe.
The police turned their batteries upon
them, and that part of them which is not
in the Penitentiary or in Snake Hill has
been disbanded.
There were the Red Tiger Gang, the
Lava Bed Gang, the Growler Gang at the
canal bridges, the Glass House Angels
and half dozen other combinations of
young toughs. They just had their own
way for some months and then the police
got after them, and now they are having
some one else's way-Which is the way to
Trenton.
GRADUATED TO NEW YORK.
Chief of Police Murphy is authority for
the statement that all the gangs have
been driven from their haunts. Some Of
theHa-the ringleaders-are serving heavy
terms in the State Prison. The rest have
graduated into New York criminal circles.
'.Ash'' Smith, whom the Chief regards as
one of the most expert and skillful of
thieves. piloted Finger Morrow,
graduate of the Jersey City criminal
school, to base of operations In this city
a few weeks ago. Finger has just been
taken into custody. He is the last rem
nant of defunct gang, and will soon be
sent to rejoin his fellows in convict garb.
Signs of reviying activity are noticeable,
however among the growler gangs at the
Henderson street bridge. A woman who
ventured to pass there the other night was
held up" by crowd of young toughs,
and requested" in a way that meant
md fr farY WI
to fill their growler. To escape assault
she handed over the money. The police
are looking after them.
AFRAID EVEN TO COMPLAIN.
Captain ''Archie" McKaig, of the Greg
ory street police, said that his bailiwick Is
practically free of gang terrorism. 1t Is
not many days, however, since he with
force of men and himself led 9 raid on the
Warren street canal gang. The main diff
ficulty after making an arrest is to secure
evidence. Those who feel themselves
forced to complain of them are SO much
afraid of them that they hesitate to step
forward to substantiate their complaints.
They fear outrage and assault IN retalia~
tion. So" Captain Mckaig says, II am
pelted with anonymous letters making
complaints; but when the arrests are made
the anonymous writer keeps in the back
ground, and no one appears in court to
help us make the arrests effective.
"We had better luck, however, with q
raid we made q night or two ago on q
gang at the Warren street canal crossing.
Three young toughs were taken into
custody, and Police Commissioner Kelly
and ex-Police Commissioner Buckley told
Justice Stilsing what kind of fellows
they were. The result was that all three
were put away for the summer.
CORNER LoAFERs.
In the absence of the gangs who rob on
II -. 80 a1 -r.x4 n
houses the corner loafer nuisance is the
one the police have chiefly to contend
with. There is scarcely street corner
which is not the rendezvous, after night
fall, and even during the day sometimes,
of young fellows whose chief business is
to insult and offend passing ladies.
"Christy' Smith, the acting Captain at
the Grove Street Police Station, described
the whole tribe when he pictured the one
that hangs around Jersey and Newark
avenues, in the vicinity of Whites drug
store.
"They are contemplate nuisance, he
says, "to the storekeepers, and scarcely
woman passes but some callous dude with
weak lungs and bullet-shaped head
sings out 'Ah, therer and All,
girls and other expressions Now,
there are some respectable young men
in the crowd who are not so fly as others.
Mr.. White is continually telephoning me
to break up the gang. detail q special
officer to patrol that section. The fly
Young man recognizes him block away,
and by the time the officer reaches the
spot the fly young loafer is non est.
''If the officer makes an arrest, in nine
cases out of ten the accused party can
bring any amount of witnesses to testify
to his responsibility, and evidence to prove
he is not an habitual loiterer in that pre-
else neighborhood And so it goes on
throughout the district Those who conn
plain are not so anxious to appear against
any one.
SECOND PRECINCT GANGS.
The Captain also finds gang of growler
workers and worse in his precinct. The
growler workers hang out at Sixth and
Cole streets, and even more disreputable
one on Tenth street, between Monmouth
and Brunswick The latter gang is a very
serious annoyance to the women passers-
by, but no one will scarcely ever prefer a
charge.
city is in the "Red Tiger gang, whose
members loiter around the corners OF
Seventh and Henderson and further on
down Henderson in the vicinity. OF
Eleventh. They are pretty well broken
up, however. About one-half OF them are
now in State Prison and the other nall
have served sentences. This crowd will
wayiay and rob persons every time II gets
a chance.
Then there's gang of thieves that
hang around Cassidy's mill, and steal
corn oats, etc. Captain Smith has men
constantly on the watch for several who
have skipped bail for sentences-Dan
Clifford, for atrocious assault; the tWo
Gallaghers, and Others.
The corner of Pavonia avenue and Grove
street is another resort for street lofterers
| at all hours of the night. Many respect
able individuals stop there on their way
| home and become mixed up with the gang
of regulars.
"But you may rest assured, the captain
| saws, that am doing all in my power to
but an end to corner loaing In my pre-
cinct.n
NO GANGS ON THE HILL.
CAPTAIN James McNulty, of the Sixth
! Police precinct, on the hilltop, said:--"We
are not troubled so much with corner
| loafers up this way as the folks down pc
| low. We have more respectable eles
| ment."
,sDo you mean to say you do not have g
| contend with single gang, even IN ths
outlying portions of your precinctF
| asked. ~.
'That is precisely what mean Ws
| never did have much trouble, and whai
we did have was soon made away WITH
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