The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-12-30
BORN TO THE GAME
Lille Loeffler's Father and
Grandfather We're Pol
icy Runners Be-
fore Her.
REVELATION OF CRIME AND MISERY
A Twelve Year-OId Child Breaks
the Law to Help Her Stary-
ing Mother.

The arrest of Lille Loefler, the twelve
year-old Hoboken girl, who was caught
by Detective Quinn on Saturday with
| policy slips in her possession, reveals d
career of crime and misery which world
hardly seem possible in this age OF CIVIL
cation and enlightenment. She comes
of a family of policy dealers. Her father
is Charles Christian Angus Loeffler, a
big, hulking fellow, more than six feet
high and fat. His fat, round head IS
| covered with tousled hair, as is his ffabpy,
red face. His nose is red and dubious anu
his weak blue eyes are bleared. HE IS
undoubtedly a hearty eater, and more
than a hearty drinker. He is forty years
old, but doesn't look more than thirty.
The mother, Fanny Loeffier, is a con-
trast to her rotund and rubieund spouse.
She is p~itifully small of frame and fright
fully emaciated. She seemed more a
corps than a living woman. She has a
startled look in her poor, fearful eyes,
and shrinks before her sealthy huspand
like the faithful dog of a brutal master.
But her misery will be short-lived. she
is not long for this world. She is thirty
seven and looks sixty
Lille is the oldest of the offspring OF
this strangely mated pair. The next
child is Charlie. ten years old. physleai-
ly, mentally and morally the prototype
of his father. happy-hearted. a glutton
and shrewd as a policy runner OF many
years experience. He was arrested
with his father on a charge Oh pohcy
running on December 10. and discharged
bv Recorder McDonough. The father
was admitted to bail and is now at lib
- 49,, +r;oH Ia admits his guilt.
The smaller members of this unfor-
tunate family for whom Lille beeame q
subject to her fathers craze IN order 70
buy bread for their hungry nttle nouns
are Eddie, nine years old; Carollne. sew
en- years old: Sam, five years old' Leonr
ora, four years old. and Fanny, a year
ana a half old d. born r While Fhn H heE : 1a'n eou mfy
in his hat for a New York house. Four
children have died in the sixteen years
of the Loefilers' married life
This family lives in a tiny cottage az
No. 40 Willow Terrace. Hoboken. Inc
habited by Industrious w~orkingmen ana
are neat and clean and happy looking
little homes. This Loefder 6 fo sn ! ( al 81
that It ever contained that was, bright
or useful or attractive or comfortaDle
has long ago been 6eipk pl Fey fbe at fa afa pa"d or
food for his starving babies: In this
eomforfiess. cherries home little Lille
was porn anu TdlS6O. liz -
a policy sharp by birth and a loafer by
choice, a Jail bird. a drunkard ana a
good for nothing, the fatherly adVlce ior
which a child hungers never came to TINS
ii Her mother, w~eak-willed, delicate in
health and beaten into imbeeillty BY nef
animation to train Lille in the way sne
ought to go. Nothing then Was more
this slip of a girl, amid such Influences,
should take to the policy game business
as a means of livelihood for herselI. her
helpless brother and sisters and her
J LoefHer was born. in Jersey City Of
parents who started one OF ME the h 4esl
sey. The father was ostensialy q brok-
er. but really a gambler; The mother the
was little better. Ia Before re. th nlf son {o v wak
in a policy shop in New York, and he
never did any other work until ms o OBJ
pressed wife asserted herself IN lSSz
Wwhen little Lilies advent was daily an
ticipated, and besought him on account
of his child to leave the d~lsreputaole
She revealed her secret savings of five
years. a sad $500. which Loeffler quickly
appropriated, and after going g on ina a uw9
what was left in a picking store on
third street. near Garden avenue. For
four years the Boeffiers struggled along
there and managed to keep up the bus
10 be sure, the man was drunk the best
IA ri of the TIME, dlld L WOAh liz
rest. but his brave little wife, mo- yet
totally demoralized, as she is today, work
ed hard and got a living for herself and
her babies out of the store. Early in
1856 Loeffier returned to his policy bust
ness, and kept it up until 1873, wnen ne
opened a cigar store on Third street, near
Park avenue. This soon Went under,
and again he resorted to his old occupa-
In December Of last year Loefler tried
to be respectable again under The in
Mof 1;c r1yifo n6 nnGnad = &h11fehfT
shop and grocery store on Fifth street,
near Garden avenue. The last venture
lasted only a month, and again LoeHfer
returned ait to no dplnk wi Eng 10 bea lne w pos3e bro Ius1-
She rapidly failed. and now fingers on,
tired Of life.
This morning LoefIier chatted spirited,
ly on the subject of policy. He seemed
to think he was in no way to blame for
his connection with it or that of his chill
dren. He said he didn't like the business,
his fear of arrest disturbed his peace
Of mind. He said there were at least
twenty games in Newark and hundreds
in New York. The house he works for
in this city is on Washington street, near
Park place. He said that they were
very good people at the head of the game,
kept his family out of the poorhouse.
He intends to bring up all his seven chill
dren in the policy business. He calls
himself a qualified agent, and the
children collective runners" He esti-
mates his average commissions at $40 a
day, and still pleads abject poverty. He
said quite coolly that he didn't always
care to work. There was always more
or less risk about working:
The collections of Lilies book We're in
driblets of three and four cents. She
MRS. Connors Of No. 219 Washington
street. She had the discriminating slips
in the pocket of her dress
EfF N