The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-04
WEEPING JACKS NEW SCHEME.
A Benevolent Looking Lady Has Now
Become His Partner.
Ero,a fba Na,r Vork IIo.oJJ

A Benevolent Looking Lady Has Now
Become His Partner.
From the Ne,o YORK Herald.
"Jack the Weeper" is we'll known about
the lower town. He has been exploited in
the newspapers in connection with arrest
and incarceration, has been interviewed
and had his portrait printed, and on vari-
GUS occasions has sworn Off from profess
sional weeping "Jsok the Weeper" is a
diminutive looking specimen Of a 7-year-old
boy, with a 2O-year-old face, and stock
OF experience and cunning rarely &C.
cumulated by mankind this side of 80.
He is ostensibly a newsboy, but the
fraternity hold him in great contempt
or know him only to thump him. His
racket" has been to get bundle of papers
together late In the evening aud weep at the
foot OF the elevated stairs downtown. SYM
pathetic people cast him pennies and nickels
ana dimes, and sometimes an occasional
quarter or half dollar found an abiding
place In the weeper's inside pooket-all on
the superstition that he was an honest led
who had been stuck" Thus the weepep
found that tears could be coined into cash
more easily aud proftably than by the ordi-
nary course of the news trade But just as
Jack" had worked up a fairly regular
Grade In came policeman, a cold and call
culating man Of the world, with club, and
broke up the business by arrest, examina-
ton and consequent publicity.
AT the foot of downtown stairway at a
Sixth avenue elevated station in the most
fashionable part Of New York recently &C.
CURED q scene which demonstrated that
Jack the Weeper" had not only not gone
out Of business but had vastly improved
upon former methods.
1t was about the fashionable shopping
hour, and the swell women and dilettante
young men were tiocking to the downtown
trains. delicate lad with a consumptive
cough and bundle of cast-off morning
newspapers stood shivering at the foot of
the stairs, two great big homemade tears
blowing their way through the dirt on
his cheeks as the muddy waters OF the Mis-
souri, seek the sea. Several of us stopped
out Of sympathy and began TO question the
boy, At the same time nearly every hand
in the crowd instiuctively sought for change.
An exceedingly sharp eyed lady impulsiyely
pulled out a bill aud pushed it into his
trembling fingers, accompanying the act
with an appealing look around upon the
rest. II worked
EVERYBODY ia sight gave silver, and an old
lady who came in later on the scene pressed
a $2-note upon the child | missed two
trains TO note the goodly sight, and l felt
pTOuu Oh my IeiiOW creatures ana the Dedu-
tiful sympathy of my kind. The boy never
said word; he merely coughed and wept
and scooped in the coin. In the excitement
of the moment forgot an errand had at
the next station and went past ii. Then l got
out, went up the other side and went back.
There was q little mob gathered on the
downtown side at the foot OF the stairs. So
nearly like the other mob was it that at
first / thought had made another mistake
and gone back TO my starting point. But
no; 1t was the next station.
Well. "shtver my timbersi" as the old
salt says II here wasn't the same boy with
the same graveyard cough, the same weep,
the same cid papers, and, what was more
astonishing, here was the same sharp-eyed,
benevolent lady in the midst of q group Of
sympathetic women, just starting liberal
subscription.
Ny first impulse was 30 jump IN and grab
her and yell for the police, but conquered
is and walked away, wondering how much
money there was in this new snap of the
woman and the weeper.