Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-09
AsSAL A PEDDLER
Citizen Comments on Outrageous
Performance in Streets
of City.
MEN URGE BOYS TO ACT
Good Name of Community Demands
That Such Practices Be Rigor-
ousIy Dealt With.

Rock Island. H., Oct 9.-Editor
Argus: Yesterday afternoon the at
tention of the writer was called to a
disturbance directly under his ofhce /
window, on West Seventeenth street. /
The street was full of boys and men.
The boys were pelting and jeering at
a Jewish citizen, who exasperated by
their attacks. was undertaking 10 drive
them off with his whip. When ne
charged after them the boys fled.
When he mounted his wagon and
sought to drive on he was again sur
rounded by constantly increasing |
crowd. There were plenty of men
there. who. for the most part seemed |
to be enjoying the fun. AT least they |
did not undertake TO stop it, There
was no policeman in sight. Finally an |
irate citizen came out of a neighboring |
building. collared one of the boys and |
ordered them to quit. thereby produc-
ing a diversion which permitted the |
victim to escape his tormentors. Some |
of the men apparently resented this |
interference with the sport Others |
wearing convention badges and APP
parently strangers expressed surprise |
that such things were permitted on
the streets of Rock Island
Have Become Too Common.
Occurrences similar to this, unfor-
tunately, are all too common, and they /
are absolutely outrageous and dis
graceful 1t is a fact that a class of Il
|, 90 tod fr,i
go about their lawful business on the II
streets of this city without being sub
jected TO assaults. insults and revilings II
that are a shame and a disgrace.
There are boys whose sport it is to
pelt and revile Russian Jew, there
are parents who knowingly permit
their children to do SO. and there are
grown men who will stand by and see
Il Russian Jew i'll treated and by their
manifest sympathy egg on the young
hoodlums to yet more outrageous con-
duct
This condition will not be corrected II
until the orderly citizens of the COM
munity array themselves on the side of
the defenseless victims of these out
RACES. The policeman cannot be ev-
not depend upon them for protection.
They are apt TO be absent when most
needed. Prosecutions in justice courts
are most likely TO be futile The RENE
dy ought 10 lie in the sense of fair
play of the community.
Ought Themselves he Sent.
One of the crowd yesterday called
out, GO back to Russia" 1t seems
to me that a crowd of men and boys
who find delight in pelting and tor
a defenseless Jew are the
ones who ought to go to Russia Rus
STA and not America is the home of
the Jew-baiter. If the American spirit
means anything it means fair play,
equal rights and orderly conduct. A
hundred against one is not fair play.
Peltfng and insulting a class of citi-
,ens on the streets is not giving them
equal rights and it is most emphati-
,ally disorderly conduct. There is no
in it. 1t is tyranny and
outrage
Many persons apparently do not
'ealize that the deepest injury that
zones from such lawlessness comes to
he boys who engage in it. A disre
gard of the personal rights of others
'ngendered by tormenting a Russian
lew may very easily lead to such dis
egard of property rights as will brand
he boy a criminal before he is a man.
t is from the ranks of such boys that
he jails and penitentiaries will re-
eive many recruits during the next
o years. =
Can He stopped. III
If every person who reads these II
words would exert himself to put
top to this form of lawlessness it
would soon be ended. An appeal to
he honor of the boys will not be in
ain. Parental authority, and the in II
luence of the press, if exerted, can
cry shortly bring about an improve
nent. Let us hope that it may be
one. H. A. WELD.