The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-02-27
FOR | ACk OF
Nine CENTS.
Yellow Journal Suicide Yarn
With Two Heroines
Fizzles Out.
THEY ONLY HAD ONE CENT
And Ten Was the Least They
Gould Pay for Car
bolc Acid,
THEY ONLY HAD ONE CENT

seventeen years old, who claims Sne mas
no permanent home, were last night re-
turned to their fathers by Detective
Frank Bennett of the Fifth precinct.
The two girls had been missing from their
homes since Monday evening. John Fa-
gan reported his daughter as missing
about four o'clock Tuesday morning, but
Tessie Hartman's father did not know
she was missing, as she worked as a ser
want in the family of a citizen of Green
vile.
About ten o'clock last night Detective
Bennett received word from the officer on
this post that Katie Fagan had returned
to her home. In a few minutes her fa-
ther, who is trolley motorman, came in
to the station house and asked if there
was anw news. Detective Bennett told
hing that his daughter was then at nome,
and to go and get her and bring her to
the station house. When the girl was
questioned, she said she had been with
her friend, Tessie Hartman, all night
wandering around the streets and sleep
ing in hall ways.
Detective Bennett Immediately started
out to find Tessie Hartman. He located
her in short time in the home of Mrs
len, on Winfield avenue and the Boule-
ward. He brought her to the station
house, and when both had been questioned
separately the following story was the re-
suit
Katie Pagan went to work in shop
where tucl1s for dresses are made and
Monday was her first day there. When re-
turning from work about half-past SIX
she met Tessie Hartman and Maggie Gill
len on Ocean avenue, near Claremont av-
enue. She asked the girls where they
were going and Tessie Hartman said that
she had no home and did not know where
to go. Katie said to go along with her
ana she would give them a cup of tea.
The three girls then went to her home,
and while she brought the tea the other
two waited in the hallway While drink
ing the tea Katie said her father was out
and that she would be able to get out of
the house for little while and walk
Ground with them. The three girls left
the Pagan home and walked around until
about nine o'clock, when they met two
young boys, and while talking with them
Mamie Fagan, Katie's younger sister,
came up to them and told Katie that her
father was looking for her and would give
her whipping when he caught her. Katie
said she would not go home at all but
would stay with Tessie all night.
She saw her father coming down the
street and to use her words, 1--WE took a
sneak down Linden avenue to Garfield
Mamie Gillen became frightened and
went home. The two other girls walked
down Garfield avenue to Woodlawn, then
to Jackson, then to Communipaw avenue
and then down to Westervelt. where
Katie said she knew somebody. It was
after eleven when the girls reached Wes-
tervelt street and they found the folk
they wanted to see had all gone to bed.
The long cold walk had taken all the
spunk out OF them both, and when they
Were on the way back Tessie Hartman
proposed that they ask some man for ten
cents and each buy five cents worth of
carcolic acid and commit suicide She
stopped and prayed to find some money.
and in little while she says, she found a
cent, bur that was not enough to get the
poison.
The two girls kept walking and walk
ing until they reached Lembeck avenue
when they crawled into the vestibule of
the Greenville Banking and Trust Com
pany's building, which led to the flats
on the upper floors. They lay down and
slept until about three o'clock, and then
they were scared away by hearing a
policeman go by. The baker and milk
man left some of their goods on the steps
for their customers and the children were
going to eat some of the buns and drink
some milk, but they were afraid they
would be caught and arrested They
walked down to Winfield avenue and the
a11l lnXTa nd 1t1d s,, NJ
house and knocked on the door Maggie
Gillen came to the door and told them
to lie in the hall until it was daylight.
when she would ask her mother to let
them come in. The children lay down
until about six o'clock. when they got
up and walked out of the house, around
the block and then knocked on the door.
AS they were almost frozen and were
crying pitifully, Mrs. Gillen took them
in and warmed them at the lire She
told Katie Fagan she would have to go
home soon, as her father would be wor-
ried about her. Katie said she would.
but instead of going the girls walked
around Greenyille all day. When night
came on Katie Pagan wanted to stay
out again, as she was afraid to go home
but Tessie Hartman said she would sleep
at Mrs. Gillen's, so Katie went home.
Both of them were glad to have a warm
bed to sleep in last night, and they
promised never to run away again.
John Pagan, father Of Katie, has had
his full share of trouble in this world.
His wife has been a hopeless lunatic and
confined in Snake Hill for some time.
He has had to bring up his three chill
dren alone, which was not very easy,
when his work required him to be out of
the house so much of the time.
Tessie Hartman claims that she could
not stand 1t to live home, as she had a
: step-mother who beat her for any little
thing she did, and her father never in
terfered. She had been a servant in
private family for the last three weeks,
but said as the washing was so heavy
she left She has her wages and the
balance of her clothes still at this place.
After Detective Bennett gave both of
the girls some excellent advice about be-
ing good girls they both went home
with their fathers. When questioned as
to why they wanted to die, by taking
carbolic acid. they both said the only
reason was they were so tired and cold
that they did not care what became of
them.
Don't think less of your system than you do
Mi. ,f,cir4