The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-02
WHAT is A CENT?
Some Definitions Given to the World
by MIR. chuck Conners.

by MIR. Chuck Corners.
From the New York Mail and Express.
Chuck Connors, as is well known, is
king of a certain section of Chinatown.
But he has little of the haughtness of the
aristocrat. His royalty shows itself in a
certain tough dignity. which is not low
ever, inconsistent with affability towaI d
even unintroduced strangers, whom he
receives as courteously as il they were
ambassadors from a foreign land.
I'm glad to meet yer, bloke." Chuck
said TO a visitor in one of his haunts on
Pel street; land I'll drink wild yer Nid
pleasure"
Chuck Counors is fun of philosophy.
which is quite his own, and he hadn t
talked five minutes before he plunged
into the essence of things.
"A gent" he said. wat some eau gen
tleman is a bloke wat amt a junk.
A sent is a man wat shakes hands Wid
yer, wat don't wear no fence round his
neck, wat don't wear no tail hat. and wat
don't call yer a bum. When a bloke. at
amt got a nickel, asks a junk fer a nickel,
the junk wat aln't gent, calls him a
bum. You kin always tell a junk that
way. junk ain no gent. OATS ALL see?
"A gent is a good man that amt look
ing fer no good advice. A bloke wat
takes good advice ain't no gent. I nate
a man wat takes good advice. A gent
takes no advice. partic'ly no good advice.
He's too good a feller, yer know.
"A chump is a good, good man. Chump
is slang for sucker. If you fetch him
a jab in the wizard. he'll grin feeble-like,
an if you tell him you didn't mean IT, he'll
shake yer hand as friendly as yer ike.
He's a good good man. chump is, which
is slang for sucker but he amt no gent,
though he's a lot better than a junk. A
junk is the worst thing there is. A
chump is good to yer, but he's mean TO
himself. He does himself all the harm
ne does, and dats why he's a sucker. But
junk is a down bad man, real bad, yer
know, with a fence round his neck"
Are You married. Mr.. Connors?"
Married? I'd like ter see de girl wat
could hitch up ter me. She might as web
hitch up to a post. But booze too much,
and may hitch up some time. It's a Won
der amt dead. I've done it all, yer know;
up all night fun of booze and fight yer
know. aud dey say dat when a bloke
bitches up it's easy to stop de booze, but
Ia like ter see de girl wat could hitch
up ter me. If 1 ever do hitch up, she'll
t'ink I'm a post, sure.
"You t'ink de war II last morn a month";
Well if it do, III raise up five hundred
of my friends down here, ana go and
settle it myself. Yer know dem Bowery
blokes. Dey don't care wat dey do. Dey
throw a man down the cellar If ther is one,
quickeru lightning. We don't stop at
nothing, we don't and if dem Spaniards
come dis way we won't do a ting TO EN-,
we won't If dey get past desc streets
round here-my sueets-dey may do some
thing w north-dem parts are kinder
light, yer know, but dey'd never get past
us, OATS sure. Dey wouldn't have much
trouble in de light parts of town, but
we'd never let EN- get dere. Dis here
mob won't stop at nothing, an an Ameri-
can yer know is worth NOR all the rest
of the trash put togedder. You know dat
ae wei as l do, bloke We know so many
tricks that dey wouldn't know where dey
was"
Here a man came along and asked where
Steve Brodie lived. Chuck directed him to
the morgue, and said, with chuckle, after
the man had gone:
"Deres where he ought ter be.
81 get into all my trouble" he continued
cause of other blOkes. 1 amt had ten
fights for myself in my life Some bloke n
come up to me, and say, Chuck dat Teller
wants ter fight me- and den l fight See
dat scar, and dat, and dat? Dey's all got
fer other fellows. not fer me. But I'm
tired of 1t, and I'm going 70 quit. Won
der l amt dead. Maybe I'll hitch up.
Il thot Ia have q s'loon Of my own,
but dat wouldn pay, fer all de old boxes
would come in and say: Chuck I'm dead
broke, gimme drink, Chuck, and I'd
give 'em a drink, of course But dat don't
pay I'd be in de air every time, right up
in de air, yer know. But I'm going TO
git place right here in dis bar here bar
and l tell yer there'n be lots O bokes
watIl come to see me, and when tother
men are round, p'raps dey'n pay, but
when 1 m alone faint no use"
Chuck showed the visitor a book of
Chinatown stories. and pointed out some
of the places where the name CHUCK
Comors" appeared. On the fy-ieaf he
wrote in tortuous scrawl: ME Chuck
Connors to Mr.. II. H."
81 learned to write" said Chuck, 'ln
six months But / can't read de black
marks wot dey make wild de pen, but de
marks wot dey make in the newspapers,
dem l can read a little"