The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-21
RowsiyIsm and Vice


 | and San Francisco were the most wicked cities in this country, but recently have come to the conclusion that New York leads in respect of rowdyism and vileness," said an old citizen who has | travelled l good deal in this country and abroad All cities of great size are very much alike as to their seamy sides. speak, of course, of European and Amer ican cities, for, although 1 have been in Asia, l am not we'll acquainted with Oriental sociology or crlminology But when 1t comes to cities peopled chiefly by Caucasian stock have seen not a lit tie To well behaved persons visiting New York our great metropolis seems as orderly as orderly can be. but if they look up vice they can find 1t in as ag- sravated forms as it thrives in the slums of London or Paris. The same remarks will apply to Chicago, but what makes me think that New York is about the worst place In this country is the news paper reports and newspaper editorials of the past four or five years. There is, it seems, much more rowdylsm in the street cars of New York-surface, ele- vated and subway-than there Is in Chi cago and infinitely more than in Paris or Berlin In fact, on the continent of Europe no such thing as rowdylsm in public service cars or carriages is tol- erated for moment
 Some of the New York rowdysm comes from grown up school boys. The New York Sun has been writing strongly. against street car rowdyism. and in Mon-. days issue it published a list of seven fellows, all under the age of 19, who act ed ungentlemanly in a subway train Sun day night. They were arrested by detec uves and Magistrate Krotel sentenced them to five days in the workhouse Among the charges against them was that they were 'skinning the cat on the straps of the car and pushing each other into women's laps They told the magis- trate that they were members 0. 8 Bible class in St. Georges Episcopal Sunday school. When one of them reminded the court that he and his companions were all church members the magistrate said Church members or no church members you will get five days in the workhouse, and more if necessary The Sun pub fishes a list of the young gentlemen and their respective residences. They all come from a high class part of New York. These boys probably knew very little, if anything, of parental reproof or discipline; mores the pity. The Rev. J. r. Scott of St. Georges church called on Magistrate Krotel Monday afternoon and asked that the sentences be set aside or modified; said the boys had not been drinking, and that the cause of their be- havior was simply exuberance of spirit They were members of the church and he felt sure that they would not be guilty Of breach of decorum in the future. The magistrate replied that he would be glad to show mercy, or words to that effect, but that the law was very clear. He said the sentence would stand No ap- peal was taken. and the young rowdies are now serving their sentences.
 Tn the same Monday issue of the Sun is column and a half account of Corey Islands carnival night which was extremely rowdyish. Between midnight and daylight there were something like aO) arrests. and if all the men who had acted indecently or had raised rough houses had been arrested. the number would have run up into the thousands. Such low conduct as characterized the Coney Island crowd could not have been possible. I think, in any city outside of New York