The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-04-12
qHIGF'S DARING DASH
Finger" Morrison An All
Around Crook Once More
in the. Tolls.

Finger Morrison, an all round crook,
who has served four TERMS in prison for
various robberies, most of which were
committed in conjunction with ASH
Smith, who has been a terror to the
police for years, was arrested last night
by Patrolman Burke Of the Seventh street
station, for attempting to tap a till in
the grocery store of Martin DAILY of No.
S24 Third street. Morrison must have
been hard pushed. for he took desperate
chances. Daily keeps a small grocery
store. In the rear are his living apart
almost to the partition which divides the
store from the rooms. To get behind the
counter a person must pass around the
end which is nearest the partition and
farthest from the street door.
DAILY and his wife were sitting in their
dining room last night, shortly before
eight O'Clock when they heard the bell
which is attached to the cash drawer
ring. Mrs. Daily ran into the store. Daily
stopped 10 peek through a hole in the
partition and tnen ollowed his wife.
When he got into the store he found Mrs.
DAILY blocking the passage to the rear of
the counter while a strange man was try
ing 10 force his way by her. DAILY
grabbed the man. who proved to be Nor
Mrs. Daily called for a policeman. Pa
trolman Burke happened to be at the cor
ner and he arrested Morrison.
Before Burke arrived. Morrison, who is
up to all the lodges of the professional
crook. pretended TO be drunk, and in a
maudlin manner begged him to let him
go, as he was drunk. He continued to
pretend that he was drunk until he was
well on his way TO the police station in
the patrol wagon. Burke did not know
with whom he had to deal and did not
guard Morrison any more closely Ntnan
any other prisoner. Morrison diverted
the patrolman's attention from him for
an instant and then made a daring break
for liberty. Burke %grappled with him
Just as he was jumping from the wagon.
Morrison was arraigned before Police
Justice Potts, in the First Criminal Court.
this morning, and was held for the Grand
Jury. He refused to make any statement.
Morrison is about thirty-eight years old
and has been a thief pretty much all his
life. He graduated with Ash Smith and
other notorious crooks. He began as
most burglars do, by sneak tnieving along
Newark avenue. Then he did considerable
sfanlight' work, that is he robbed saloons
fanlights. After that he became a full
fiedged burglar and since 1880 has been in
prison four times for robbery. The case
which brought him into prominence as a
crook occurred in October, 1880.
In that month a number of stores were
ROBBED in the lower section of the city.
No trace of the thieves was found for
some time. On the night of October q
the cigar store of Charles Steinbecker
was robbed Detectives Dalton and Hottie
arrested Morrison, whose right name is
Frank, and Smith for the job and fastened
it on them. They also implicated a wom-
an named Emma Mcclure. When they
searched the Mcclure woman's rooms
they found a great deal of the property
which had been stolen. Thu woman con-
fessed that she was one of the gang and
tina her business was to ngage the
policeman on the post in conversation
while a robbery was being committed.
Morrison was sent to States Prison for
five years for hat job.
He was next arrested with Smith in 1891
for having committed a number of burg
laries on the Hill. The last time he was
in prison was in New York, for robbing
a-Chinaman on Pell street. He got eigh-
teen months for that He gave his ad-
dress when arrested last night as No. 10
Coles street. Chief Murphy, who has had
min pretty closely watched, says he lives
in Second street.