Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-04
BAD BOYS OF new YORK
Rowdyism Of Children Grow
ing Worse and Worse.
NnaF7 1HrTnT1 1nnnTO
SOME UNIQUE CROOKS
DISGUSTING EATING CONTESTS
PATRoNIZED BY CROWDS.
Extortion by Cab Drivers Has Finally
Received Paralyzing Blow From
the Corporation Counsel.
,dnnce of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, July 3, 1903.
They are talking of reviving corporal pun
ishment for boys in the Scheela of New oFk
That would help some IT, after that, they
would revive the good, old-fashioned and eff
fective scheme of lathering the daylights
out of the New York boys at home, TINS
town would be a good deal more enduraple
as place of residence and vast amount
of whelpishness would be drubbed out of
the uprising generation of New Workers.
In no city in the world are the boys such
hopeless ruftians and such insufferabie
nuisances as they are in New York. This
may sound like sweeping assertion but
it is not. 1t is a simple fact that has. been
observed with amazement and disgust by
every open minded visitor, even the visitor
who is hearty subscriber to the "give-the-
boys-a-chance'' theory, who has ever ram
bled about for a single day in the reslden-
tial districts of New York.
Nor is reference here had to the street
gamins, the urchnS of the newspaper-Sell-
ing army, the wharf rats who rejoice in be
longing to de gang" the hard-luck little
tads of the cutters.
Knickerbocker Hoodlums.
The knckerbockered, well-conditioned
boys, those that live in good homes, VINO
are the apples of proud but paretic parents
eyes, are meant.
AS rule, such boys in New York are
simply shocking, obscene-mouthed hood
lums, and this statement is made with
perfect appreciation of the breadth OF the
imputation. They are worse in every con-
ceivable respect than the homeless waits
of the streets.
The outcast Cherry Hill youngster who
"hustles f'r de grub by selling ''papes on
the streets, or by the simpler method OF
.'swping" lead pipe and gas fixtures from
vacant houses, is simply no match at all IN
general deviltry and depravity for the we'll
clad cub of the residential district whether
it be Murray Hill or upper 9TH avenue. IL
is not mere freshness.
The boys of New York are fresh enough,
in all conscience, but it would be hard for
them not to be since, with the natural
apishness of boys they emulate the
speakable freshness of New Yorlzs grown
men. But it is more than freshness. 1t
is kind of viciousness that is little short
of degeneracy
Flogging Badly Needed.
1t is observed, moreover. that those MEM
bers of New Yorks board of education
who when the revival of corporal punish
ment in the schools was preached a dozen
years ago kicked the most strenuously
against il are now disposed to vote in ia
vor of the measure Gentlewomen living in
excellent New York neighborhoods where
their lives are rendered miserable by the
studied malevolence of precociously devilish
small boys are writing pathetically entreat-
ing letters to the newspapers all the time,
inquiring if something can't be done to eS-
tablish the boys on some kind of plane of
decency.
An imbecile measure providing for the
muzzlng of dogs was tackled on to the top
heavy ordinance book of New York the
other day. The aldermanic body received
about a thousand letters from justifiably
sore owners of dogs, many of whom sub
mitted the query:
Why in view of the fact that New York
dogs are a whole lot better behaved than
New York boys, don't you pinheadS order
the muZzling of boys?"
Ironical suggestion, that, but it mghtn't
be such bad scheme after all.
An Audacious Crook.
The most uniquely audacions crook :hat
ever turned trick on this narrow island
got away with his amazing scheme one
afternoon last week.
A stout richly-dressed woman, verging
upon forty, was IN big Broadway art store
selecting bric-a-brac for a summer home,
which she is furnishing down on Long Is
land, when tall fine-looking, middle-aged
man, with grayish hair, entered the store
and advanced upon her. He appeared to be
in a towering rage.
See here, madam" he exclaimed holly
when he got up to her, what do you mean
by ransacking my desk and going through
my clothing and taking all of my money?
What sort of wifely conduct do You call
that? Don't | provide you with sufficient
money without your resorting to theft to
get more out of me?' and he deliberately
snatched her fat pocketbook out of her
hand and stuffed it into his breast pocket.
''Y GU must think L m crazy to stand for such
n 81 a nd and hat retrt T.
our home instantly and explain your con-
duct as best you can! oh, you decline, chg
Very well, III take a few little measures
that1l bring YOU home in hurry, I'll war
rant your and he strobe out of the store
talking angrily to himself, jumped into the
cab that was waiting for him, and was
gone.
The stout, richly dressed woman had
stood like one struck dumb from the mo-
ment of the mans entrance to his depart
ure from the store, and the employees of the
store. fancying that they We're the wit
nesseS of a domestic scrap between high
grade folks that ought to have known bet
ter. exchanged grins with each other.
The woman gave a shrek and tainted
when she saw the man being whisked away
in the cab, gasping, Il have been robbed!'
before she lapsed into Inconsistencies.
She had never seen the robber before in
her life, and his game q pure, phe-
nomenally audacious bluff. But it had en-
abled him TO get away with a pocket book
toHldIHlHS $l,poV, nor is there the SISHteSt
likelihood of his being captured, either, I'M
less he repeats The trick and has poorer
luck with it the next time
Unique Trade Catchers.
The department stores are continuing 20
outvie each other in novel schemes in their
reaching-out efforts for more trade One
of them now has an immense '.sea beach"
for children.
1t is a vast room on the ground floor in
the rear of the store. covered with beach
sand to the depth of five or six feet The
walls are canvas scenes skillfuly painted
to portray the sea. A heavy stream of
water flows swiftly through a ditch dug
in the sand. Shovels and buckets are pro-
vded for the kidlets and they roll around