Evening star., 1901-02-23

price o n nights lodgin, or "a dime
git sometin' t eat, cap" have blossomed
out into plain. neutrality-suspicious. rob-
bers. They still tackle pedestrians on the
streets with the same old formula, 1t Is
true, but they have taken to the less fire.
4uented streets for the practice of their
graft" and their former whnes have
given way to demands. They now pick
ut understood men, as rule, and they
ute decline to break step and let their
ictims alone when ordered to 10 SO. IN
stead. they become impudent, all the time
keeping step with the citizens they mean
to terroriZe. and they declare in SO many
words that it'll be best for the pedes-
trians to 'give up an save trouble The
only thing to do under such circumstances
is to kick the bulldozing palhand!er on
both shins with all your might, but lot
of men, not in a good state Of health ana
strength. hesitate to adopt such measure,
and therefore incredible as 1t may appear,
they end up by paying for immunity at
the hands of the clustering beggars. NOT
do these cheap, degenerate Turplns OF the
paVes balk at holding women up, ilSHt III
the most crowded shopping centars' ny en-
ploying the same methods. The employees
of downtown stores are no longer Pdrticu-
larlv surprised when women rush scream
ing into the establishments Inc pan
handlers pursue them to the very doors OF
the shops and not few of them nave OF
late struck women who decillsa 10 opeu
their purses for them.
The number of battered-up men who nave
been found dead on the streets and IN area
ways with their pockets turned inside out
during the past few months Is little short
of startling. Most of these victims or the
sandbaggers have been men of standing
and means who have thus met their DIS
NAL finishes through lack OF appreciation
of the new condition which makes IL very
dangerous indeed for partially 'lntoNicateu
man to walk the streets of New YORK ifter
nightfall.
Remarkable Incident.
The dangers to which respectable women
are subject in New York were never more
peculiarly shown than by an incident that
occurred at one of the railroad ferry
houses here last week. young married
woman and her husband were about to set
out on a journey from the 23d street ferry,
When they reached the ferry house, the
husband found that the trunks had, by an
error of the eXpressman, been taken TO the
dCwn town ferry So he told his wife that
he would rush down and straighten out the
mix, and be back to the I'D street ferry
house in time to make the train.
He had sooner set off than his wife,
a most attractive woman, was approached
by a well-dressed blackguard who had been
oeling her in the car when she was with
her husband on the way to the ferry house
The chap addressed her insolently, and
took a seat beside her. Very much alarmed
but endeavoring not to exhibit her alarm,
she moved to another seat. The loafer fol-
lowed her. and continued to address her
insultingly. She warned him quietly that
he had better deSist, but he only laughed
a her and fatty told her that she was in
his power-that she was helpless in his
hands.
She rose from her seat and crossed over
to three gentlemen who were standing talk
ing together. The insolent maSher followed
her J..
This man." said the young matron to
the three gentlemen, "is annoying me. He
saw that my husband left me for a short
time few moments ago and he has been
insulting me ever since. L appeal to you,
as men, for protection from him.
The three gentlemen were, naturally, just
about to make it warm for the masher
when he sidled over to them, and in the
most matter-of-faCt plausible fashion in
the world said to them:
Claimed She Was Insane.
This lady is my wife. She has been
through a long and severe illness and is a
victim of delusons. 1 am taking her to
sanitarium in Philadelphia for treatment
She fancies that 1 am not her husband,
although we have been married for six
years. Be good enough to pay no attention
to what she says or she Is liable to become
violent. 1 fear l shall have to call a coupe
and remove her from the station, as the
matter even now stands.
The three gentlemen looked al the young
woman, noticed her great state of trepida-
ton, and, not unnaturally, considering all
the circumstances, they thought that the
masher was telling the truth. The young
woman protested that the man was lying,
but it was plain to be seen that the gentle
men did not desire to take chance on
mixing up in a case wherein husband ap-
peared to be having difficulty in caring for
a demented wife; and so they passed the
matter up and went their ways. The
masher laughed at the entreaties of the
woman, and inquired of her what she
thought she was going to do about it at
that stage of the game.
The young woman went over to the ticket
,,l1t1- ar,1 aIaI to he fipE
The masher was right on her heels, how
ever and told the ticket seller the same
story that he had related to the three gen.
tlemen to whom she had appealed. The
ticket man therefore shook his head to her
appeals and advised her to be good and do
as her husband said.
Desperate and weeping violently, the
young woman started out of the ferry
house the masher right at her heels. She
appealed to a policeman standing outside
the door, and the cop was Just about to
rough it with the masher when the latter
stepped up and had his little say about the
insane wife he was taking care of. He was
so low-voiced and sorrowing and plausible
about II that the policeman took his word
for it, and when the masher asked the cop
to help him get her into a carriage the
policeman took her by one arm and the
masher by the other. and struggling violent
ly and perfectly hysterical, they led her to
the carriage the masher had signaled for.
The Husband to the Rescue.
1t was just at this stage of the proceed
ings that the young woman's husband
jumped out of another cab on his return to
the ferry house, and was amazed to see his
weeping wife being thrust toward car
riage by a policeman and a strange man.
He jumped into the center Of these pro-
ceedings, and when his wife saw him she
fell into his arms and gaspingly told him
what had happened to her. The masher
took to his heels. 1t is cheerful thing to
record that the husband was the best when
1t came to sprinting; that he caught the