The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-06-02
A REIGN OF VIOLENCE
REMARKABLE CONDITIONS ON
THE WATER FRONT.
Another Man Who Was Beaten, and a
Third Attacked-Evidence of a Con-
spiracy Thursday night.

Investigation into the case of the
shipping master who was assaulted
early yesterday morning has resulted
in securing strong circumstantial evil
dence against several suspects and has
| revealed a most remarkable condition
of affairs along the water front, where
! from the captains down, everyone
! seems to live in fear Of the shipping
master crowd that is running the front
/ The case of the man under investga-
! tion, whose name is Erdall, not O'Del,
! is not the only one of the kind. Last
/ Tuesday another seafaring man, almost
| in front of the police station, was set
| upon and beaten severely because he
! refused to go on a ship where he was
wanted. He is said to have been paid
to keep quiet about it, and is keeping
out of the way. Yesterday afternoon a
| sailor was attacked in the halls OF the
! United States consulate because he re-
fused to hand over money to Turk &
! Lewis The man had just received his
| advance through the consul. When he
| refused to hand over piece OF paper
money he had in his hand, Shipping
Master Lewis with Turk close behind,
ran at him and kicked him out. The
man had a bandaged hand and skunk
away saying if he had two hands to
fight with, he would look after himself.
This morning Captain Flint of the
water front police, arrested sailor John
Wilson and booked him for investiga-
ton. Wilson is said to be one of the
men who attacked Erdall, and he is
said to have admitted his part in the
affair. There were others, as is evident
from the victims condition, for it would
take one man some time to strike as
many blows as Erdall can show.
The conspiracy to attack Erdall ap-
pears to have been Matching for more
| tbop dow On "Wednesday scheme
was adopted to find out If he carried a
weapon, his arrest being secured on a
charge of carrying a concealed weapon,
by a sailor. After Erdall was searched
at the station and the matter invesu-
gated, the officer who arrested him was
censured for making an arrest on such
I small excuse as was given. The arrest
and events that preceded it were wit
messed by a water front clerk who has
made a statement of what he saw, de-
claring that the man who had Erdall
searched was put up to it. Thls man
states that he saw the two shipping
men and four or five sailors watching
Erdall as the latter entered saloon or
Wednesday afternoon. After he enter
ed states the witness, Turk sent sail
or after him, shouting to the sailor
I-"Be sure you get the right man, ana q
few moments later, this man, SAID to
be the sailor arrested this morning, ap-
after Erdall was taken to the police
station and searched for weapons. None
were found on his person, and the neXl
night he was set upon and nearly beat
en- to death.
Lewis e. Turk have secured an abso-
, lutte mastery of the whole shipping
! business along the front, and there is
hardly a captain among all here who
dares to go against them The case OF
the NJ P Grace shows the danger OF
trying to do so. Captain Grant got hV'
men through Erdall, but the five mer
suddenly disappeared. They could no
be found and after the thraShing Er'
dali got, he was not in condition to dc
anything yesterday Grant made 9
contract with Turk & Lewis and they
agreed to get him men at once. In M
teen minutes they brought to the con
sul's office and signed fifteen men Wh(
, disappeared after Erdall had secured
them.
One captain of a large ship here hal
stated his intention to have no deal
ings with the shipping men and see 1
he can get away without them. so far
he is the only skipper who has had th'
nerve to take such stand, and his sue
Ncess or failure will be watched will
Interest. The bitterest denouncers o.
the shipping men are those who dea
with them, but the captains generally
swallow their medicine and pay for i
well. One man who has got crew ant
paid for it put a notice, mo admit
tance" on his gangway. Then he called
his crew together and told them tina
, he would give any one of them tel
dollars If they would knock the shipping
, men down on the deck of the vesse
in case the latter made another visit
at is not that they charge for crew,
he said, but after / pay for 1t, the!
steal the men away in order to get al
order for more men,"
= The case of Erdall, charged will
threats to life and carrying a concealed
weapon, which remains on the calendar
though he was not held at the pollc'
station, came up this morning and wa
postponed, pending further investiga
tion, until Tuesday morning. Erdall ap
peared in court with his bandages, AM
| his wonderfully marked face and head
L The investigation is being carried on b.
Captain Flint, who has done mucl
clever and energetic work in running
down and finding the slight clews tina
he had to work on, when the half-dea'
shipping master was picked up on tn
street. Flint is rapidly gathering evi
dence, and something is likely to dro
before many days