The times., 1899-06-07

! ridge Street. Il have occasion 10 go IN
! 10 Eldridge Street every night" he said.
On Eldridge Street there is a billiard and
pool room in a basement, in the rear of
which gambling is carried on-the game
! OF stuss. A crowd of young fellows hangs
around there all night and terrorzes the
neiShborhood. There are fights there all
/ the time. / have seen pedestrians he'd up
! in the street there often. woman who
was assaulted in the street eompla ned
to the police and they told her she Was
crazy. | complained a number of times
to the Eldridge Street police. and they
( told me they would see about it. Thel e
are disorderly houses. plenty of them.
around there; they distribute their cards
around the streets giving the addresses.
Every child knows that. The women so
I licit from the stoop."
| While Wolf was testifying Chief Devery
sat in the rear OF the room listening in
tently
sigmund Neftenberger. an employe of
the committee, was the next witness, and
he told about the Eldridge Street house.
Il went there last night about O'Clock. :"
he said, land played pool for awhile in the
cellar. After that we went into the back
room and found men gambling at tables.
They were playing three games; enc a
German. and one a Scotch game. The
other was called turnover
did you play?' Mr.. Moss asked.
Yes, and won money"
Did you buy drinks there"
Yes"
''Is that place licensed saloon?''
ut is not
liquor saloon and a gambling den in full
swing said Mr.. Moss.
Then John C. Ellis. the big. husky pro-
prietor of the White Elephant, Tender
loin resort. was called. He told about the
nature of the resort that he kept and said
that its character had not been as bad as
painted.
WAS any approach made to you to pay
for protection % Mr.. Moss asked.
Yes he said.
Ibid Captain Price ever approach you on
! the subject?"
did his ward man ever approach you?"
mo"
How were you approached"
"A man of the name of Fitzpatrick came
| to me and asked me to go with him to an
opium joint. We talked to a man named
George, who ran the opium joint, and he
said that If 1 would give him half Of the
receipts of my place l would be protected.
! l asked him IL that meant protection all
| along the line and he said No, Just for
| that one place / asked him il he called
| that protection. / refused the proposition
and left
Was this full -fledged opium joint?''
Yes. Men and women were smoking
there Some of the women were partially
| undressed."
Ellis said he had been continually har-
assed by the police. policemen had been
stationed at his door, his place had been
denounced as the resort of thieves, and he
himself was denounced as thief and rob-
ber. Ii was this condition, he said, which
caused him to desire protection.
Il couldn't give up half the receipts of
my place said Ellis. unless l robbed
| people. and didn't want TO do that"
What was the next time you were ap-
proached?" asked Mr.. Moss.
Il met man in the Grand Hotel" re-
piled Ellis, and We had a conversation in
regard to fixing up matters. | was taken
to this man by another. The man l talk
ed to was a short. thickset man with a
grey mustache. / never heard his name.
was told he was very prominent man who
was Devery's standby when Devery was In
trouble. This man wanted one-third in
terest in my business for nothing. He said
the policemen would be taken away from
in front of my doors and | wouldn't be
bothered any more. l thought third of
my business was too much TO give and
negotiations fell through. Some time later
a brother of a police commissioner told
me he would see what he could do. He
told me to go to see C. B. Waite Waite Is
the husband of Lillian Hurd a milliner on
Fifth Avenue. near the Waldorf Astoria |
went TO see Waite. He asked me how l
wanted TO fix it. / told him the talk was
$3.50 a month. He said that was all right.
Next day he came to my Office and | gave
him 5000 in cash. That night carried the
other $50 around to his place. He said
would have no more trouble. | waited two
or three days and the policemen were not
taken away from my place. l went to see
Waite. He said Amt that matter attend
ed to yet. paid over the money all right.
I'll go and see about it He went out.
When | saw him again he said he'd been
thrown down. l tried to get my money
back, but didn't.
Ellis told about an offer of protection
which was made to him contingent upon
his backing a man who wanted TO open
policy shop. He refused. He was ap-
preached after his refusal by two men
who he understood were central Office men
Going back TO his relations with Captain
Price, Ellis said:
Captain Price has bounded me ever
since | have been in New York"
Did you hear that Captain Price was
going to the Tenderloin before he went
there?"
Yes. He sent for me one Sunday to
come to see him at the West Sixty-eighth
Street police station. | mad very pleas
ant talk with him and he said: I'm going
10 be the next commander of the Tender
loin.' | told him that l hoped he would
treat me very well, and he said at first
he would place two policemen in front of
my place"
He said that Captain Price had fire.
quently visited the White Elephant and
ordered everybody to leave. We had
club license" said Ellis price would
come in there sometimes as late as
o'clock and run everybody out. His men
capped for the Bohemia. the Haymar-
ket, and the Curio. They told people to
go to these places, but not to go TO the
Broadway Garden. the Artistic Club. or
the White Elephant. They kept pound
ing all the time on these last places.
Women were arrested coming out of my
place who had not spoken to men"
Has there ever been any pounding of
the Haymarket?"
Yes. They arrested Corey the other
night because his band was playing too
loud
Has there been any pounding of the
Cairo?
Not since last summer
Has there been any pounding of the
Tivoii?''
Il haven't heard of it"
is it not true that there are many
places. Just such as yours. where men
and women congregate. in the Tender
loin?"
Yes
At the afternoon session Ellis told
more about paying for protection"
He said that in the fall of 1897 he made
an arrangement with Policeman Becker,
one of Captain Sheehan's ward men, whare
by he was TO nav Recker 81 n month in