The San Francisco call., 1896-04-21
MANGLED BY A
FATHERS HAND,
The Inhuman Flogging of
Little Johnnie Nc
Cafferty.
FURY OF A DRUNKARD.
Whipped His Boy With the
Buckle End of a Big
Leather Strap.
POUNDED AND KICKED HIM.
Cruelty and Maliciously Beaten Be-.
cause He Did Not Sell Enough
Newspapers.
FURY OF A DRUNKARD.
POUNDED AND KICKED HIM

A revolving case of cruelty to child, one
OF the worst that has come to the attention
of the police for long time, occurred last
night at 395 Broadway.
Martin J. Cafferty, laborer for Grey
Bros, contractors, lives there with his
wife and four children. The Oldest is
Johnnie, a bright boy years of age, who
sells papers to help the family along.
Last night Cafferty went home in half
drunken state. He was in an ugly mood
and asked the boy how much he had
made by selling his papers. Johnnie gave
him % cents, telling him it had been
poor day.
Cafferty scowled and sent Mrs. Cafferty
out for cents worth of beer to get her
out OF the way. Then he took hold of the
boy, threw him on the floor and beat him
over the back, legs, arms and head with a
strap having heavy buckle on the end of
It, Not content with that he jumped on
the boys back, kicked him in the ribs and
dashed his head against the hard wooden
floor.
The boy begged piteously for mercy, but
his cries only enraged the brute the more.
When Mrs. Cafferty returned with the
beer her husband was standing on the top
of the stairs. He saluted her with the re-
mark: 81 had good mind to brain you
with hatchet as | saw you coming up the
stairs, and l may do it yet"
Suspecting that something was wrong
she pushed past him and saw Johnnie
standing with the tears running down his
cheeks and his face swollen. She took
him in her arms and he sobbed out his
pitiful story of what his father had done
to him. Cafferty came into the room, and
after storming around for a few minutes
went to bed, where four-year-old boy was
sleeping.
As soon as he was sound asleep Mrs.
Cafferty took her 7-year-old girl, her baby
OF months, and Johnnie and walked to
the Central police station, arriving there
about 10 o'clock. To Acting Captain Bird
sail she told of her husbands cruelty and
made the boy take off his clothes.
a horrible sight presented itself. The
boys entire back was covered with big red
blisters and stripes. His arms were in the
same condition and there were big lump
on his head from contact with the hard
floor. He also complained of pains in his
III.
CATER mother left" said Johnnie.
father told me to finish my supper quick
and ne would fix me- He did not wait till
finished, but threw me on the floor and
kicked me in the ribs. Then he sat on my
head and beat me all over with the buckle
of a strap. Then he bumped my head
on the floor till he got tired l feel
so sore all over. He told me when l gave
him the % cents that other boys made 81
and 50, and was no good at rustling'-but
do the best l can. l generally make
from 40 to 90 cents day by selling papers
round the ferry, but this was bad day
and l only made % cents profit.
II sell the morning papers in the morn
ings. Then I go to the Irving Primary
School and get out at 2 o'clock, which
gives me time to get the evening papers to
sell. | sell more CALLS than any of the
other morning papers,"
Mrs. Cafferiy said her husband was al
ways nagging and slapping Johnnie. He
seemed to have spite at the boy. He
had also abused her and called her vile
names and she had made up her mind to
live apart from him and endeavor to earn
living for herself and children.
Souto hoNcE lOISlNe ulm Tor MS brutal
treatment of our boy" said the little
woman with tears in her eyes as she
looked at his SCARED and disfieured BODY.
Mrs. Cafferty is bright little woman
and talented. In last Sundays CALL on
the children's page there was a short
poem, Fair Tears" signed E. ]. Cafferty.
which was sent in by her to amuse the
little folks. She has written other poems
for children, and intellectually is far supe.
rior to her husband. She was married to
Cafferty in Newcastle, Australia, where
Johnnie was born.
Acting Captain Birdsall sent Policeman
Foley with the mother and children to the
Receiving Hospital with request that
they should be kept there if possible all
night, as she was afraid for her life to 90
home, and she could swear out warrant
for her husbands arrest in the morning.
AT the hospital Drs. Thompson and
Stice and Steward Mogan at once agreed
to find quarters for the family and John
nie's wounds were attended to, but later
Judge Low was communicated with py tele-
phone and he went out at once to the
hospital. He was Mortified at the boys
appearance, and wrote out com plant
for the husbands arrest, which was signed
by the boy. Policeman Irvine, one of the
stalwarts of the force. took the warrant
and went with Mrs. Cafferty and her chill
dren to 1886 Broadway, and arrested CAT
ferty.