Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-06-27
EASTERNERS
CARRY H0
THE GUNS


When Bat Masterson came here from
'ne West to be deputy United States
marshal, he sPid. 'more mem car,rv re.
vol1srs in New York, in proportion to
tne population, than in any Western
town in which l ever lived.
The police say that one man ont of
every five carries a revolver. and in
some pats of the city the ratio is
even higher.
skeptical persons can have no better
proof of the truth Of these assertions
than is contained in the record of the
events of almost any day. Scarcely a
day passes, that an argument. and as.
sault or an alarm of some kind does
not collect a crowd and in the crowd
can always be found enough pistols
to put Deadwood to shame.
And do not think that New Ydkers
carry revolvos merely for the sake of
carrying them, for on the slightest
provocation they draw them and conn
mence to shoot.
Only few days ago, a negro. ar.
rested by policeman, broke away and
ran up Broadway A passenga, just
aighting from q car drew a revolver
and began shooting at the fugitive. A
man in an automobile drew a revolver
and fred a few more shots; a man
standing in 'front.' of a hotel joined in
the bombardment and the negro, for
his own protection stopped and allowed
the policeman, who alone had refrained
from shooting, to rteeapture him.
Members of a wedding party in El-
dredge street drank too much. A fight
started and in the twinkling Of an eye
foun nevolvers were hOurishing in the
little ROOM
A policeman is authority for the
statement that every other italian car
ries revolver and some of them two.
Two small boys, one thirteen and
the other fourteen years of age, nearly
caused a riot in BrooMyn one dsy last
winter by drawing revolvers and shoot
ing at the school house because one of
their companions had been kept in.
Detective-Sergeant Dominick Henry
of police headquarters was on his way
ten, early one morning last winter.
Two men and two women on their way
home from an evening of pleasure were
directly ahead of him. Suddenly an
argument started and one Of the young
women drew revolves. Detective
Henry was quick enough to prevent
trouble and the young woman was ar
rested.
This custom of carrying revolv@s has
steadily grown in New York dsspite
more and mde stringent laws to pre-
vent it. At one time more than three
thousand permits to caH-y revolvers
were in force in the city. The reckless
use of them, however became so COM
mon that all but about four hundred
of those pd1mits were revoked.
But although the police made fire.
quent arrests for the violation Of the
ordinance forbidding the carrying Of
deadly weapons, the $40 fine was not
sufficient to impress the offenders. 1t
was chanad ID to short term in prison
and now ib is a fine of $3.50 and six
in prison. But Notwithstanding
that the habit continues to spread.
The very lowest estimate made by
the police places the number of revolv'
ers sold daily at soml thing more than
one hundred, and Of that number about
one-ffth 90 TO women.
How many of the handsomely dressed
and dainty looking women who wander
daily through tho department sores
carry little psaDl-mounted revolvors in
theia spacious shopping bags is hard to
saw, but that has often been proves.
The cost of revolvers carried In New
York ranges from 81 TO $3.50. Some Of
the little short -barreled, pearl-handled
reyolvers carried by women are set
with Jewels and inlaid with gold and
silver. They are of little practical use
At the time Of the riots between the
rival factions of Chinese, search was