The Alaska citizen., 1911-02-06
SHOT HIMSELF AT.
 OPEN PHONE
so THAT THE WOMAN AT THE OTHER END COULD
 HEAR HIM.


 NEW YORK, Dec. 9. Hard times in Chinatown had as much to do as anything else perhaps with Dippy Rice's third attempt yes terday morning in the Chatham club 70 put a bullet through his head Time was when Dippy. always with wary eye on the Headauarters bulls. walked the Bowory with a canary diamond in the front of his soft shirt. But a succession of Elizabeth street police captains un friendly to Dippy's only profession pocket picking, and the growing be. lief uptown that Chinatown after dark and Chuck Connors and opium smoking were a bunk" impoverish. ed MT. Rice and tinged his thoughts with purple.
 This at any rate is the explana. ton given by James Kelly, leader of the Jimmy Kelly gang, for Dippy's annoying conduct yesterday morn. ing.
 Tt just shows you" said Jimmy yesterday, that some fellys canr be trusted wit gun. 1 always says you know that, COmmodOre-that unless a guy cant keep control of hisself he ought to let the cannon alone"
 Never carried anything in my life but me punch" said Commodore Dutch, holding
 Times have been rotten down here for a year." continued MT Kelly. Most of Us have felt like cashin' in or takin' to tn hop or do. in something foolish, but what's tn use? Take my own place. I'm tell in yuh straight that when l hear th' cash register ring up I think it's a fire, tn bell sounds so loud. I've had to fire four barkeeps because they didn't have anything else to do but get stewed. and when they got hat way they didn't know how to act like gen'Imen.
 Tony had 10 close mp and beat it to Brooklyn You know Tony Kelly, one Of tn squarest guys in th' woild Tourists have been so scarce that when one of them toins up all tn Chinks run out in tn street 10 see him. l dunno what's got into h. cops. There's been million of 'em here night and day. and mach ully they frighten trade away.
 I'm tellin' you this so you can see how Dippy was affected. think his game was punk lay. Any man ought to be strong enough 10 dc some kind of honest work but Dippy's pretty good mutt, and ain't findin' fault wit him. He was dead sore on tn world and l'dn't have any strength of charaC- ter. The bulls had chased him away from so many marks that he lost his noive.
 Last night l closes up my dump early and goes around wit Niger Mike to call on Jimmy Brown. You know Jimmy, he runs tn Chatham. We pick up Dippy on tn way and he looks rotten.
 Whats tn complaint Dippy?' l says.
 "'You can go to he'll he hands me back, and what dye think of that for q crack to a friend? But l fig ures he's sore, so we take him along O Jimmy's and go to tn back room for a few drinks. Dippy had had about all he needed, but it looked cheap to sit there shcotin in tn lrinks and leave tn poor guy out, so Dippy gets his wit tn rest. About o'clock, l 'spOse, he says:
 "'What dye think of guy who hasn't got enough sugar to hand his goil tn electric seal coat he promised? And last year was Ieakin' money!'
 "Nigger an l tried to cheer him up, We said if she was the right sort of skirt it wouldn't make any difference to her if she only got a Merry Christmas over tn phone so long as the words sounded sin cere; you know what l mean.
 I'm goin' to phone her." says Dippy, and he calls up tn lady. don't want to mention her name-it isn't her fault. Dippy gets her on tn wire and makes a talk we can't hear Then he winCs up wit. Well you listen, Kid, an you'll hear tn shot Tn next minute it's bang! An Dippy is on tn floor. Jimmy hung up tn phone and tn rest of us lifted up tn poor felly. He had his sense all right and I figured then he'll pull through. The phone commences to ring and keeps it up until Jimmy unhooks the receiver and wants to know who's there We'll, you know, it was the girl, scar ed to death, natchully. Dippy wants to talk to her and we hold him up.
 You ought to see me now,' he says. I'm a sight,
 Then the doc came from Hud- son street and took him away and We had tn job of cOnvincin' tn lady that he wasn't goin' to die.'
 Dippy Rice will get well they said yesterday at the hospital. The bull let entered his head in front of the right ear, but it did little more than blow the scalp. The wound was not so serious as the one he gave himself two years ago in lodging house at Delaney street and the Bowery. The first time Dippy tried it was three years ago in a Water