The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-08-16
New York Ward Worker
Dying in Roosevelt Hos
pital From Wounds In.
flicted by a Thug.
sALooNKEBPER's SON saw
FIGHT BUT REFUSES TO NAMR
AssAILANTs OF INJURED MAN.

Shot down by one of a quartet of
thugs at Ninth avenue and Fifty-ffth
street, New York, early to-day, man
known to the police only as a ward
worker" named Duffy, is dying in Roose-
welt Hospital from bullet wound in his
left ttmple.
His death, which the hospital surgeons
says is most likely, will mark the first
murder to result from the three-cornered
political fight which is being hotly waged
for the Tammany leadership Of the Fif-
teenth District.
| Since "The" McManus and John Dor
don have come out to contest with
George W. Plunkitt for the district lead-
ership, beer has flowed ike water night
" in the saloons along Eighth. Ninth
and Tenth avenues in the Fifties. Po-
litical feeling has run high. and the bad
blood engendered has led to innumera-
BILE fist fights and assaults. The work Of
the West Side Police Court has practi-
cally been monopolized by the outcome
Of the Fifteenth Districts Political
brawls. but the shooting of Duffy marks
the first attempt at assassination by the
Jealous partisans.
The key to the full solution Of the
shooting of Duffy is held by James Nc
Tiernan. the ffteen-year-old son Of a
saloon-keeper. but he stoutly refuses to
give up any valuable information. The
lad knows nearly every character in the
district. and he had good look at the
quartet by whom Duffy was held up and
shot. but he will not give their names
nor descriptions to the police. He was
sent to the Gerry Society rooms and
locked up over night. If he persists in
shielding the murderers he will be severe
ly dealt with
The shooting was called to the atten-
tion of the police by Joseph Reddy, of
No. 749 Ninth avenue, who was on his
was home through Ninth avenue. when
he heard shot. He looked up and saw
two men dart east through Fifty-fifth
street. A third man. who was Duffy,
staggered up Ninth avenue. then fell in
doorway. Reddy ran to him. saw he
was mortally wounded, and cried for
help Policeman Hoolihan responded.
DR.. Coerr, of Roosevelt Hospital, hur-
ried Duffy to the institution. where he
was pronounced dying.
Detectives Mum and Fitzpatrick when
sent out to work on the case learnad,
that young James McTieman, who e
father keeps a saloon at No. al Wesei
Fifty-sixth street, had been telling
around the neighborhood that he know
all about the shooting. He was fou 4
at his BROTH RS home No. 415 We +;
Fifty-sixth street. At first he refuse
fatty to give the police any information
Sergeant Stahl, of the West Forty sev-
enth street station, gave the lad al
sweating" but got nothing from min.
and ordered him locked up.
After an hour in a cell the boy was
willing to be more cmmuuicatiys.
said he knew Duffy and had been
him all evening looking for one cf +
ward AIcTieman's teams which had gone
astray in the storm. At 1870 o'c;Geiz}
they parted at Ninth avenue and Fifty
fifth street, the boy saying he was goinas
i to bed and Duffy agreeing to keep up theN
search
The lad said as he went up the street
A Ho+
; he heard shot and. turning around. he
saw the outside man of the quartet with
his hand in his right-hand coat pocket
and smoke coming from the pocket. His
impression was that the bullet had been
fred from a revolver held in the mans
pocket. Duffy, with his hand to his head.
was staggering up the street The quar-
tet watched him for a moment and then
broke and ran, two going east and two
west through Fifty-sixth street. The lad
said he ran to his fathers saloon, not
wanting to get mixed up in the trouble.
He would not deny that he knew the
four men, but he stubbornly refused to
give their names, and no amount Of
threats could extract any more informa-
tion from him.
Every one in the neighbcrhaad seemed
to know the wounded man. but no one
knew anything more eff him than that
his name was Duffy and that he was a
hangeron about the corners. Where he
lived and how he existed no one seemed
to know. He was always fairly well
dressed and not infrequently had money.
The one important clue developed BY
the police was the fact that Duty had
recently come to be regarded with sus-
picion. the charge having been made that
he was getting money by 5rafsickiag in
the secrets of the rival Political camps,
This seemed to furnish the only clew for
the attempted assassination, as the man
! was otherwise noffensive.
Detectives Fitzpatrick and McGrath.
of the West Forty-seventh street station,
later arrested Thomas Magrane. aged
twenty. Of No. AS West Fifty-sixth
street us a suspicious person. They say
he knows all about the shooting but they
have been unable 10 get word out Of
him on the subject