The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-28
HOODLUMS.

The hoodlum question is constantly
coming up before us. Yesterday a set
of young hoodlums who had been mis-
behaving themselves outside of the car
riage shop of w. w. Wright on King
street, appeared in court and were 1un-
ished by fine uy Judge Wilcox. But
these young rascals are not deferred by
fine, they can manage to / ct the money
out of their parents or relatives and
friends and are as ready to go on with
their misconduct as ever. The only
thing that will deter them - a spell of
work upon the roads or in the stone
quarries, and when such opportunity
comes it is to be hoped that Judge Will
cox will not hesitate to make the most
of it.
There are several gangs of these
young roughs and budding criminals in
town. One infests the upper part of
Emma street and the slopes of Punch
bowl This is composed entirely of
Portuguese. These youths through con-
ti4ual immunity are waxing holder and
holder. Ordinary passers by are very
apt to be hustled and their ears are GER
tain to be insulted by the language
these young blackguards use. Little
children entrusted by their parents to
run over to the small shops which are
to be found on the skirts of Punchbowl
are waylaid and their nickels or ten
cent pieces taken from them. Woe be-
tide any Chinaman who goes along that
vicinity towards dusk, he will be mob
bed and stoned to certainty by these
noble representatives of the Caucasian
race.
This may seem a highly colored pic
ture, but let any one go round Punch
bowl any evening but preferably Satur-
day or Sunday evening, and there will
be found to be no eXaggeration. 1t may
be said, why do not the police break up
the gang, but as a rule the sight of a
policeman sends them scurrying
through the alley ways and esag! of
that region, and 1t is like looking T. /
needle in a hay stack. T drunk enough
half a dozen or a dozen may make an
attack upon a policeman, as they did
some months ago, but it is only if they
think that they can come off with whole
skins. The hoodlum is always a
coward.
Another gang is to be found Palama
way, it's depredations being specially
leveled against the Chinese, some of
whom they fairly tyrannize over, but
the sn.,.ll store keepers do not complain
because they think that if they do they
would lose the custom of the parents.
1t is not an uncommon thing for a
Palama Chinaman to come to the police
station and request Charlie Chilling
worth or some policeman to come out
and brighten the boys. but not to ar
rest them. The Palama contingent of
hOodlums is a mixed one. several races
uniting to form that bouquet Of black
guardism.
Then there is a select posse of hood
lums who congregate in the neighbor-
hood of Wiley street These are mostly
natives and part Hawaiians They de-
vote tn mselYes chiefly to gambling, 1
but they can be abusive to passers by
upon occasion. This is the gang that
always has pickets out to give notice of
the approach of any one who might .
break up their game. 1t is also a Gu
Tious gang in this way that it attends
Sunday school and the afternoon church
services held in the Chapel, and then
proceeds with its game as unconcern-
eddy as ever.
The harm that such gangs of hood
lums do is not confined to themselves.
Enough mischief is wrought among
themselves, it is true, and from their
ranks come the graduates in crime, but
there is deeper and a more subtle
danger The members of these gangs
are looked up to by the idle small boy
as veritable heroes, and the said small
boys copies his manners. his oaths and
hopes in time to emulate his vices. 1t
is in this that more danger lies than
in the actual acts of the hoodlum.
The hoodlum in a community is like
a subtle poison and hoodlumism keeps
spreading, Something, probably a very
great deal, can be done to counteract
this influence by the establishment of
Industrial schools. But Industrial !
schools can only deal with the budding ,
hoodlum.. The full fiedged hoodlum
'heIe seems 70 pe notHlng TO DO with
unless we can get some self devoted
man to go among the class, win conf
dence and then lead TO better things.
Such men are rare. They are not pro-
fessional philanthropists, they are made
of very different fiber. So rare are they {
that there are not sufficient to go round
even one of our great cities. We have {
not yet developed one here. !