Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-01-07
HAzLEToN'S DISGRACE.
Streets Filled With Ruffians and
Highwaymen.
THE sELF-sTYLED COUNTY SEAT OF
HALLE COUNTY UNABLE TO CHECK
LAWLEssNEsS- S-OTHER TOWNS ARE
HURT BY ITS RECORD.

The new city of Hazleton, which has
county seat aspirations, is making a
record for itself in one way at least
This is in the alarming increase of crime
at that place. Besides holding its own
in the number of ordinary misdoings
that take place in any community, its
residents are living under reign of ter
ror which must bring unfavorable results
in the future. According to the news
papers of the town a large number of
people have been wayaid or chased bv
unknown men within two months in
Hazleton or its immediate vicinity As
several of these included young ladies
whose names were given it may be taken
for granted that the attacks really took
place, and are not. as might be supposed,
due to the imagination of sensational
writers. Last week two men were held
up on the Audenried road short dis
tance out of the town and robbed of S31,
which happened to be all that they had
at the time. 1t was done in true Wes-
tern style, and would furnish an excel
lent chapter for dime novel writers, but
it was out of place in Luzerne County
and should never have occurred.
Two days later, New Years Day,
young lady named Ellen Englehart, was
going to visit her sister, and while on
the road to Hazleton met three men who
caught and tried to choke her. They
were frightened off by her screams
after a struggle. She went only a short
distance further when three more APP
peared and a somewhat similar scene
took place. With the assistance of
good pair of lungs these were also com
PEELED to flee, as they feared discovery,
it being on the public road and shortly
after noon. The next victim to report a
thrilling escape was Miss Maude Ianyon,
relative of Poor Director Monroe.
This took place near the centre of the
city, at Tamarack and Vine Streets. She
was returning from visit to friends in
another part of the town at half past
seven O'Clock Sunday evening. and met
a masked man who grasped her by the
throat and threw her on the sidewalk.
As in the former cases the girl screamed
and the man disappeared This was all
done under the glare of an electric light,
in a city of 1000 inhabitants, and where
paid bluecoats are supposed to patrol the
streets. The affairs mentioned here, it
must be remembered, are only the doings
of one week, and matters have been
going on at that rate since early in No
vember.
Not a single arrest was made after any
of the assaults, although the police We're
notified in every instance. Such record
does not speak well for third-cass city,
and if something is not soon done to
bring the offenders to justice Hazleton
can lay claim to the credit of placing this
section under a stigma which will require
time and trouble to remove. The coal
regions of Pennsylvania are yet regarded
a l. L., ,f l., .lN
cities as a section of the country where
lawlessness and disorder are the reigning
elements, and when they hear of the
narrow escapes from rutlians and high
waymen in Hazleton this belief will be
all the harder to eradicate.
If Hazletonians were the only people
who would have to suffer for allowing
deeds of that kind go unpunished no
one would complain, but as 1aZleton
proclaims itself to be one of the repre-
sentative cities of Northeastern Pennsyl-
vania then the people outside that town
have right to demand an accounting.
The whole region suffers when such in
formation is sent ont through the coun-
try, and it is now Hazleton's duty to put
q stop to lawlessness or else aCknow-
ledge that the Governor made mistake
in granting a city charter to one-horse
village filled with murderers, thugs and
desperadoes.
And the most ridiculous feature in
connection with this is that HaZleton
imagines it is on the verge of big
"boom." Well, when the "boomers"
are sounding .he praises of the town
they must not forget to give extended
space to the excellent police protection
the residents enjoy, A few paragraphs
stating that girls and women are in i'm
minent danger of their lives after dark
will prove a grand advertisement At
tention should also be called to the fact
that citizens who carry money or valu-
ables must 90 about weighted down with
weapons to defend themselves against
the highway robbers that infest the out
skirts Among the lesser advantages of
the town the "hoomers" can point to
their undermined streets, Inefficient
water supply in case of fire. tumble-down
structures on Broad Street, an neXhaus-
tible supply of mud, cattle and cows
roaming about the CITY, etc. If that fails
to draw on smokers let them fall back
upon their old song of regret for being
placed so near Freeland, where the
awful crime of playing Sunday base ball
is committed every summer. And the
overgrown company town wants to be
the county seat of Halle County,