Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-08
Hooligans Are Likely to Make Trouble
in London.
MENACE TO LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS
Seem to Have Lost All Respect
for the Police.
ONLY NEED A LEADER
Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.

the increase in what Is now known as
Hooiganism continues In the present ratio.
The word did not come into general use
| until lately, and 1t began to figure daily in
the newspapers only since the last outbreak
of patriotism over soldiers returning from
South Africa. One story of its origin Is
that police magistrate trying case OF
unprovoked assault-one of uncommonly
many that had come before him In a short
time-said to the officer who had arrested
the prisoner: What Is this man." mean
ing, doubtless to ask the prisoners nation
ality.
Hes Of Hooleys gang, your worship"
said the officer.
"A Hooligan!" exclaimed the Judge, mis-
understanding. well, we have had enough
of the Hool!gan."
And the name has been applied to prowl-
ing street ruffians ever since.
The HooHgan Is the germ of lively a
riot as any modern city has seem He has
far more stamina than his French confrere,
| who has turned Paris upside down occasion
ally, and once he gets a-going 1T will not be
so easy to stop him. Heretofore his healthy
fear of the sturdy London policeman has
kept him In check. But that fear has been
diminished by a series Of extraordinary
manifestations OF human nature over cpl
sodeS of the war.
The cables reported at the time that staid
old London had gone mad" and was hold
Disorderly Gangs.
What really happened was a quickly sub
siding outburst OF genuine patriotism, fol-
lowed by festival for the Hooligan. In
the general joy the bonds of propriety were
relaxed little, and the Hooligan took ad-
vantage Of the opportunity to let himself
out correspondingly without being frowned
upon by Bobby.
When Mafeking was relieved the vast
crowds that jammed the open space be-
tween the Mansion House, the Royal Ex-
r rge and the Bank Of England were
{ posed early in the day Of law-abiding
citizens. who were permitted to celebrate
as much as they pleased But between 5
and 9 o'clock the character Of the crowd
changed ominously. Groups of muscular
young men with colored handkerchief In
place of collars, and caps In place OF hats,
poured in from Whtechapel, Seven Dials
and Bethnal Green, and ventured little
further in license than they had cared to
do Ladysmith day Their rather ugly
but generally good-natured capers were
| what was generally described as a demon
stration Of London patriotism, whereas it
was chiefly demonstration of the inge-
| nuty of riotous gangs in seeing how many
new liberties they could safely take with
the police.
From an English Viewpoint.
When the City Imperial Volunteers re-
| turned from the war a few weeks ago the
gang went d Slep 1uIllleI ludI
| they had ventured to go before. This let
ter to the editor Of one Of the conservative
papers soon afterward presents one view OF
what happened:
rs it not time that all true citizens. that
all true Christians and that all true Eng
| ltshmen set their faces steadfastly against
any more public demonstrations Of the kind
that we have witnessed lately? However
patriotic and loyal we may feel and how
ever much we may desire to welcome
our gallant soldiers home in a fitting
manner, yet 1t is imperative that such
scenes were witnessed on Mafeking day
and on Monday afternoon and evening last
be not repeated. On Monday 1t was almost
impossible for lady any respectable
| woman to be in the crowd in certain parts
of the city without being openly insulted:
and later In the afternoon and evening such
awful sights and scenes took place that no
such things possible in this so-called
Christian country The police. although
they did their best, were almost powerless
| to cope with the immense crowds, and
| 'ruffia nism had a free hand. Drunkenness,
! immortality and indecency Of every kind
theft, Hoolinganism and crime-these are
at present the chief results Of a day de-
voted to welcome or demonstration
POwerlessness Of the Police.
It seems to an impartial observer that
| the writer Of that letter drew it rather
strong. but there could be little doubt about
the TACT IHdC lIc ueUSc CTOWuS Iudt LOOK
possession of Pail Mall and the Strand
after the little parade was over. and had
everything their own way until o'clock
the next morning. were largely tinctured
with a sinister element that was busily
taking note Of the powerlessness Of the po-
lice.
In the daytime force OF $1,000 militia
and police had been wholly unable to keep
the crowds In check, and the homecoming
volunteers. instead Of marching proudly
single file through a squirming. painting.
suffering mass Of humanity. At night
every police officer in the carnival was tic
killed. under the chin with a peacock feather
by at least one person In every twenty that
passed him. He saw every girl who chose
to walk in the street Rugged, kissed and
pulled about by every young man who
could get within reach of her. If her escort
objected, so much the worse for him. The
officer himself was considerably ebowed at
times and got many furtive poke in the
ribs and many a tap on the helmet. 1t was
great fun for everybody. but most of all
fo- the Hooligan, who was summing up the
result of his experiments with the police
In some such words as these: '"E amt naw-
thin to be a-skeered Of no more"
If when Lord Roberts returns to England
q few weeks hence. he is paraded in the
streets instead Of being permitted to slip
in quietly as Gen. Butler did, We may have
a demonstration of the result OF the Hooli-
gap's deduction. A few more opportunities
Of this sort, little more incentive to mis-
chief a few daring loafers and London
has all the material for recurrence OF the
scenes Dickens has depicted so wildly In
"Barnaby Ridge"
The Individual HoOliEan.
The Hooligan, as he has now come to be
defined, is not simply young ruff1an. He
Is not professional bad man; he Is not
even a loafer, and after he has reached the
age Of twenty-five or twenty-three it not
infrequently happens that he joins the army
and becomes first-rate soldier or settles
down into a moderately sober workman
who has lived so rapidly between fifteen
and twenty that he is middle-aged at TWEEN
ty-fiye His most distinctive feature is that
he belongs to a gang with headquarters in
some beer dive. He earns money enough
to buy his share of the drinks to pay his
share of the fines Of members Of the gang
who get arrested. and usually to have
girl. He lives, after a fashion, with his
parents. He rarely smokes a pipe like his
more law-abiding brethren, but nearly al
ways has a cigarette in his mouth. His
costume has distinctive features, the muller
and cap already mentioned, leather belt
in lieu Of braces, and trousers tight at the
| knee and broad at the ankle. He dearly
| loves good fight, and goes up step in