Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-07

instilled by the BLACK Hand" organiza-
ton was strikingly shown in New York
recently. A theatrical benefit for the
family Of Lieutenant Petrosino, the New
York police officer assassinated at
Palermo. Sicily, last February, was only
a partial success owing to fear Of a Black
Hand outrage during the performance. As
such benefits go in New York. the affair
should have Melted 5000. Scarcely half
that sum was realized. Threatening letters
had been received by the managers OF the
benefit, and the publication OF their re-
ceipt prevented the patronage expected.
This is but one OF many instances Of the
malign influence exerted by this criminal
Organization and its suppression is the
most serious problem facing the police au-
thorities OF New York and other large CT
ties. A writer in The Survey suggests
that New York must organize a new and
distinct branch OF the police force in
order to control the criminal tendencies OF
the large immigrant populstion-an expert
foreign squad in short, recruited from
the countries from which the immigrants
Nave come. The writer argues with con-
siderable plauslbility. Speaking OF the 75o.-
5000 Italians in New York he shows that
the Italian quarter can be effectively po-
Iced only by men who know the Italian
language and Italian life. But what are
the existing conditions? The New York po-
lice number 10000 men, but out of this
army only about fifty are Italian, and
many of these are American born, un-
acquainted with the dialects Of southern
Italy and from families which are out OF
touch with life in the local colonies. The
consequence is that New York has become
a paradise for the Italian criminal. The
average policeman of Irish OF German de-
scent Is as helpless to deal with conditions
as an American traveller set down for the
first time in Naples or Milan. A Black
hand plot may be Matched out under his
very face and he be none the wiser. Under
existing conditions the residents of the
Italian quarter are at the mercy of any
blackmailers who elect to prey upon them.
Some times surprise is manifested because
Italians are so unwilling TO come forward
and testify against the men who are ter
rorising them. There is nothing strange
about this. Their explanation is that IL they
set themselves against these gangs ven
geance would surely be visited upon them
in spite of all the police might promise or
attempt in the way of protecting them.
The walters unions of the East Side of
Manhattan are emulatlng Sampson before
the Temple of Gazo. The unions, in their
might have declared that tips must go,
and that, instead Of the waiter being de-
pendent upon what he can work out of the
customer, his employer shall pay him a
minimum wage of s2.5O per day.
II the unions can carry through the pro-
gram they will be greater than the legisla-
ture OF the state Of New York, greater
than an endless roll OF social reformers
who have tried to do away with the sys-
TEN of tips. but have ANONYMOUSLY failed.
Unionism, II 1t succeeds, will deserve a
statue in Union square from the thous-
ands Of homeless men now left to the .un-
tender mercies of the restaurants. In the
less pretentious the restaurant the better
the walters are paid. In those rush eating
/ houses, where a man s allowed to carry
six dinners balanced upon an appraised
palm, the employer is compelled to pay
living wages, because no customer VIII tip
for such service. From that level up to the
lobster palace the walters wages decrease
because his tips increase. In some OF the
high priced places, where the proprietors
compel their patrons to pay the walters
wages, in addition TO the scheduled price OF
food. 1t is reported that walters pay a
bonus for their jobs. That practice is com
mon in Europe, but has not become do
/ meStiCate0 mere as yet bIOduWdy
ants do. however, permit the walters to
extort TIPS by any sort OF coercion short OF
actually going through the customers book
cts.
Climbing by means of a drain pipe up the
side Of the building to a height of sixty
five feet, Fred Ferguson, broke open a
kylieh then lowered himself to the main
floor by means Of a slender rope, packed
twenty live chickens in a bag. and, then
repeating the perilous climb, reached the
street without injury, but just in time 10
be arrested. Arraigned before Magistrate
Crane in the Harlem court, the owner or
the chickens, Bernard j. Wroth. Withdrew
the complaint. and the climber was sent
to Bellevue hospital TO have his sanity
looked into. ANY man who for so small a
gain will take such desperate chances with
life is, in my opinion, insane said the
magistrate.
Hal" is dead. Suicide say the police, He
jumped out of a window at 245 West Nine
teenth street into the bssemen OF the
tenement house at 222 West Twentieth
street. His neck was broken and the police
say his suicide was due to grief.
Hal was a mule, is years old. He was
the property OF Mrs. Kate Hyland who
owns the Central boarding stable al 245
West Nineteenth street. He was used to
haul a truck. Six months ago his team
mate. Daisy. died and since then Hal has
erieyed. James Wilson, the night watch
man. said that Hal moaned continually
and spent many s~leepless nights in his
stall. Night after night, he said, the mule
would keep his eyes on the stall where
Daisy formerly slept and weep bitterly
When Wilson went out to breakfast Ha
kicked a hole through "A brick partition
crawled through, went to a window and
jumped to the cellar OF the tenement
house. He was instantly killed.
While Hal was kicking the tenants OF
the house in the rear became alarmed. Sew.
eral ran into the West Twentieth station
next door, and told Policeman Hughes
Before the officer reached Hal the lattei
had accomplished his end.
1T was a suicide pure and simple TN
lieutenant at the desk Of the station-hous'
said.
The outcry among the clergy that New
Workers are not bothering much about re
, ligion, is borne out strikingly by the fig
ures from the building department for tn
last eleven years, from 1898 TO 1905, inclusive
Roughly speaking 200 churches have beer