Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-07-28
ltzig:: "A Reporters Boy

not expected to do SO. It is their
business to collect facts, which they
telate to others who put them in form
as a''news story"
Something is lost, of course, by this
method of secondhand telling, for the
writer cannot reproduce scene from
Imagination so we'll as he could if he
had seen.it, but the assistants, or ''re-
porter's boys" as they are called, are
not sent out alone on any incident
that promises much Importance. Their
work is the small news of the day,
which is intended only for short para
graphs. That their results are often
interesting enough for long accounts
is due, in part, to accident; in part,
however, to the industry and the un-
derstanding developed by long train
ing of native intelligence.
Isaac Hofstein, or Itzig, as he was
called for short, was such an assistant.
He was child of the East Side tene-
ments, and his work. at police head
quarters, was chiefly among the Jews
of the New York Ghetto. Shrewd
and accurate, he was always to be
trusted to fetch all the facts and to
state them correctly. None of the
other boys could ''beat" him, and none
was so accurate as Itzig, who never
failed to get names and addresses, and
never get them wrong.
This devotion to completeness and
accuracy made his accounts sometimes
bore, for he brought in details that
were of no use, but it was an invalu-
able trait, of course, and very rare,
except among first-rate men of all
sorts. His work was libel proof, and
no other paper could go over his inves-
tigation and add new particulars to his
story. When he came back he was
done; and be would sit down with his
notes and tell all about the fire, acci-
dent or crime, with swift ease and un-
hesitating assurance.
One day, however, there was an ex-
ception. He had been to fire. To
cover so commonplace an incident was
child's play for him, and something he
liked, bee ause he rejoiced in descrip-
tion and the heroic. 1t was a never
falling pleasure to him to discover and
celebrate bold rescue by police
man, fireman or neighbor.
'':5ay, it was great!' he used to say,
when he came to tell about such a
deed. 'William J. McGlory, number
four truck, twenty-eight years old,
No. II Cannon street, he" then, lay
ing down his notes, Itzig wouldrepro-
duce with gestures, grimaces and Ian
guage, often slangy, vivid picture.
The picturesque details were always
as complete as the names, initials,
addresses, etc.
But on this day, while several repor-
ters were waiting for his fire story, he
was shu Hing and hesitating over a
fire. His sense of ''the great" was
evidently struggling with some other
feeling or observation, and it was i'm
possible to make out what was the
matter:
''It wasn't much, only two-alarm
fire, and it didn't do no damage to
speak Of" he said. '"Twasn't in a
good neighborhood, either-iust a
tenement house, No. Is Essex street,
fve-story, red brick, full of families
with kids, kids by the hundreds,
eighty-seven. But you see there was
q panic and a-somebody had to-
you know how it is when the geese
the East Side Jews--get scare trun
into 'em Just describe topfoor
families ont by way of the roof to the
next house, third and fourth cooped
up in halls, some of 'em rushing to
the ire-escapes, others too askeered to
move, just shriekin' and 'rending their
,ka 10
"Across the street." he hurried on.
''the other 'Motzes'" +" another slang
word for East Side Jews--''out on
fre-escapes, with their hands and
faces raised to the sky, crying, Ell
wei, Ell wei' You know how it is.
You can describe it an I'll give you
the names. But the fremen were late,
on account of no one knowing how to
ring in an alarm. Samuel Bernstein,
forty-two years old, Mole Essex, next
door to the fire, tried it first, then
"Oh, come to the point!" inter
rupted. "What about it?"
"Well, there was fire rescue. II
wasn't very hard, either. You see-'
''Give us the name of the rescurer,
while you're about it.
ooh, it was just fellow passing by
ran in and saved some people, mostly
children"
Didn't you get his name?"
4 got the names of them he saved,
which was the most important"
"Well, go on"
"The fire., resumed Itzig, 'started
In the basement, shoemaker shop
Abram Koswinky, thirty six years old
married, three kids, oldest four--,;e
you want names and ages?"
"If they did or suffered anything.
''No, they got ont easy by the real
window, through the area to No. 9.
la,l. But the flames were just climb.