Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-03-12
yot away with the 500 iii cash.

"oIhtu VIC IStaltuic VI tuc cucSh
through reformed crook who was in
my employ. l said, 'I'll give you 10
minutes to get that check He got it
for me, but could not get the money.
| warned Kid Miller from the island,
and he stayed away"
1t was under such conditions "a he
describes that McKane first got in the
habit of dispensing with ordinary law.
1T was one thing for crooks to run the
risk Of indictment and conviction, with
all the loopholes for escape in their
favor and Il good sharp lawyer to point
them ont, and quite another thing to
encounter the certainty of being seized
at Coney Island, dragged into dark
room, and there dubbed for merely
living and being on the beach. Nc
Kane had loaded cane that was as
bad as II Russian knout, and it was
his custom to go down in the cellroom
and personally attend to the most
odious prisoners. He thrashed some
of the prisoners numerically and let
them go. This made him decidedly
persona non grata with the GRO ks.
A man came into police headquarters
one afternoon and complained that he
had been robbed by the proprietor of
perfumery counter where prizes
were given. McKane sent u sergeant
and two men with wagon, telling
tn em to seize not only the culprit and
his men and apparatus and stock. but
all similar counters everywhere on
the beach, with proprietors and en-
ployes and all their stocks. When
warned that he was running big risk,
lie said: 81 take this responsibility
in the interest of the public. If these
people don't like it they can fight"
In 1892, aprize fight, in which
Warren Lewis of Coney Island was
engaged, came off at Fort Hamilton.
The papers set it down as occurringa at
Coney Island. McKane probably be-
lieved the papers. He had every
pugilist on the island arrested, and,
after putting them in cells for time,
gave them Is minutes in which to get
out of his territory. They got. He
bea. on, brute. who had injured a lit
tie gil, so hard that his yells could
be heard half a mile. He entered the
dining room Of hotel proprietor who
had been brutal to a woman and
kicked him across the room and back
again. When Red Leary defed his
authority he broke into his place, with
u sergeant and two policemen, arrested
Leary and cleaned the place out,
smashing the gambling tools, in spite
of the threats of 200 as tough citizens
as con.I be gathered in this vicinity
10 years ago.
McKane was a despot. He got in
the habit OF disregarding all law.
There was another thing, also, that re-
suited directly from his peculiar sur
roundings. He trained himself not to
know that there was any gambling or
pool selling on the island. He be-
came so proficient in this that he was
ablc to swear positively on the trial
that he did not know that there was
any Sunday liquor selling on the
island. In the same way he probably
co WINGED himself that he did not
know that his lieutenants were stuff
ing the ballot boxes.
McKane was stout, placid-looking,
brown haired, brown-bearded man Of
50 years before his trial. He was s
feetG 1-2 inches in height, and weighed
21O pounds. At the present time he
weighs little more than 165 pounds,
aud is said to be suffering
from complication of dis
eases. He told a gentleman who
called on him recently that although
he did not know what he had been
punished for, he would have no re-
venges to attempt when released.
"My only desire will be to live quietly
and support my family i'll comfort"
he said.