The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-06-26
CHUCK CONNORS TELLS THE PlTlFUL STORY OF
ANOTHER SUNDAY SCHOOL GIRL IN CHINATOWN

| NEW YORK, June 26.-"l've
seen a lot o. COILS like Elsie Sigel
hike in and beat 1t from China
town-come firm good homes n
poor homes and go to h always
nors, mayor of Chinatown.
Chuck Connors is a man with a
hard face. who speaks hard Ian
guage and has known hard life.
He has seen the seamv side of
Bowery life for 80 year, I,c is
crude and culgar. But Chuck Com
nors has heart, big and red and
lpulsating, and in his curious way
he has done some good among his
kind in the evil haunts of the dis
trict over whiche he rules as
mayor"
Seated nthe back room OF Bar
ney Flynn's Bowery saloon, Chuck
Connors shook his head sadly at
the mention of Elsie Sigel's name
and discoursed as follows: 81
seen her many a time in Mott and
Pell streets, sometimes with her
old loidy and udder times with a
chink. Dat little skoit was like a
bunch o. little COILS I've seen blow
into Chinatown. Her heart was
In de right place, an say! You
can bet dat when dey put up de
barrier In dis here mission race
she got away ahead o. de bunch
and started to lead de field. But
dey got 'er d same as dey get 'em
all.
"Dere is whole lot queer about
desc chinks. De women, dey get
crazy bout dem slant eyes, and
when anybody gets to hittin' de
hop desc chinks smoke it's all off
den.
"Sayi Dere was a swell skoit
came down here a few years ago,
and she took up wit a highbindin'
chink in an old dump down on
Pell street. She was a quiet kid
and we didn't t'ink much of her,
an nobody knew muffin bout her
hist'ry. Den she got sick and it
was de gallopin' con for her-she
was Hunger for fair-and my
wife Nellie she went in to take a
look at her. She found de poor
little kid a-cryin' her lamps out,
Iall wrapped up on an old musty
flop.
"Dis here kid seen her finish
ahead Of her, / guess, cause she
got mushy all of sudden and
spelled it all out to Nellie. She
used to be a Sunday school woiker,
too, and had a swell dump up near
Central park, she said. She met
up wit a bloke what t'rew her
down and got her head twisted.
Den she went to the bad.
TITS soin'nly a quick change
from Central park down to 14th
street, from 18th street to the
Bowery, and then down to China
town, when foolish little kid like
dat gets bughouse notions in her
coco. She made 1t in less than a
year.
well, Nellie, she tole me about
| 1t, and l couldn't get it off my
noodle.
"a couple o. days later sent
me wife down to see de poor little
ting again, and asst her where her
home was. She didn't want to tell,
but Nellie kind Doomed her to
tell it. Well, not spielin' out the
phony bunk or anything like dat,
| just want to say / sneaked up to
Central park and beat 1t for dat
house where dis skoit's ole man
and her old woman lived. Den ]
told her old man where the goil
was. Honest, l tot her old lady
would bawl her lamps out.
II hung arou' de house and fer
a long time dere wasn't no actions
but bawlin' gofn' on. Den I says
to d. old man, says, you'd bet
ter cut out de tears and get heavy
on the way If you want to get dat
little goil out o. dat chink's joint
an see her alive again.
DE old man hung back fer a
minute an I seen maybe dat he
didn't want her-dat he didn't
want her now dat she was spoiled.
An I up and says to him: .Ye
don't want her, Ell? You don't
want yer own flesh and blood Just
because she's spoiled? II yer'd a
KEEP out your ham for her when
she was slippin' mebbe she
wouldn't be there tonight says I.
just like dat.
"'If you dom wan her, den,' /
Says, III turn her over to de cops,
cause I amt goin' to see a goil
like dat havin' de raisin' she's got
with that finish In that stinkin'
bed
"we1l, say! Mebbe you don't
t'ink dat oil guy didn't get a hump
on den. He got a swell rig, all
shined up like a hearse, and pulled
me in wit i'm, and we beat it
down to Pell street. We hiked to
dat chink's room and dere was de
goil all alone. She seen it was
her dad wit me, and she jest let
out one cry and shut her eyes.
Then the old man he put her
In blanket and put her In the
cab an drove away as fast as dem
nags could step. I amt heard o.
nuthin' more bout the skoit, but
she didn't die in no musty bed.
That's a cinchi
"A woman dat would let her kid
come down here and mix it up
wit dat Sunday school bunch o.
chinks amt right In her noodle,
OATS what she amt.
Its tough enough when dey git
the wrong lunch and sneak down
here themselves. 1t don't make no
difference where they come from,