The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-04-19
eddie HALHY'S DEATH.
The Boy Murphy is the
Key to the Sad
Story.
HI e H "A 8 FL E D.
HA 8 FILE d
What Saloon Keeper Sold the Poison
That Killed the Lad?

The death of fourteen-year-old Edward
Haley, of No. 272 Twelfth street, from al
coholism, as reported in yesterday Is
NEWS, was the cause of much talk in and
about Twelfth street.
There was an expression Of horror at
the idea of boy only thirteen years old.
dying the death of a drunkard. From
the past behavior of young Haley, it is
not believed about the neighborhood that
he wilfully became drunk. The general
opinion is that he was led off by older
boys who persuaded him to drink a
quantity of whisky without his knowing
what it was.
HOW THE BOY WAS FOUND.
Special Policeman Patrick Malone, who
is on duty in the Erie freight yard, lives
next door to the Haleys. He said this
morning, Il know all the Haleys and
know the boy Eddie well. On Sunday
ticed two boys staggering and scuff-
ling along the tracks of the
yard. Thinking that they were
nghtlng went up to part them, but saw
that they were both drunk aud recog-
nized the younger one as Eddie Haley
He was so drunk he could scarcely
stand, and as the other boy, who is
named Murphy-I know nothing more
about him-was handling Haley pretty
roughly slapped him and drove him
away. That was the last seen of him.
Then I laid Eddie up in box car. for
fear that he might be run over by train
and went for his father.
Coming back we met Policeman Har-
ney, and when told of the boys condition
he rung for the patrol wagon. When we
got to the car the boy was in horrible
state. He was wholly unconscious and
perfectly limp. When taken into
the Second Precinct station hous e
from the wagon he appeared to
be dead. Captain Kelly said SO when he
confirmed what we suspected. He said
the boy was dead, and that alcohol was
the cause. Mr.. Haley and l then took
the body home"
John Haley, the father of the dead boy
is milkman, and he and his family are
highly respected in the neighborhood.
His family now consists of his wife and
four children. Two are boys younger
than Eddie. The others. q girl and a
boy. are older,
MRS. HALEY's GRIEF.
A large number OF friends were In and
out of the house all day yesterday Offer
ing their sympathies to the grief-stricken
iHobuer. MrS. marcy WAS aiIuoS6 CraHeu
with grief at the sudden shock of her boy
being brought home dead, and it required
the kindly efforts of a number of her
friends TO keep her composed.
John Haley has very little to say. He
does not know the boy Murphy by sight,
but has heard his son speak of him. He
declares that his son did not drink except
when little beer was given to him at
home. He has no idea where the boys
got the whiskey, for they could easily buy
it from any one of dozen saloons in the
neighborhood.
Twelfth street is not the most desirable
thoroughfare in the city for an evening
stroll 1t Is frequented by gangs. They
are not the desperate sort that "hold peo-
pie up" They are too young for that
yet. But they do occasionally ask a
passer by for 1.-The price of the beer"
This morning group OF lazy, dirty look
ing idlers-none over eighteen years old
were asked if they knew young Haley or
Murphy. They looked at each other sus-
piciously, and finally one of them said:-
Nav, we don't know um."
WAS 1T A GANGS WORK?
The police think that Murphy may be-
long to one of the gangs and that he, with
some of his associates. persuaded young
Haley to drink a quantity of the vile stuff
sold in the neighborhood under the name
"Old Bourbon" or ''XXXX."
captain Aelly, OF Ine second precinct.
and Detective Clark have been investigat-
ing the case, but have so far been unable
to locate the key to the whole affair
Murphy. No one knows or will tell his
address, and he seems to have dropped
out of reach entirely.
Superintendent Smith declares that
everything possible is being done to get
Mt the bottom of the cause of young
Haley's death, and he promises to deal
severely with the saloon keeDer who sold
the boys the whiskey.
In the meantime the saloon keepers
continually violate the law by selling
beer and whisKey to little boys and girls,
no matter what their ages, so long as
they have the money.