The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-05-05
SEAMEN RESPECT
Fighting FATHER
CONTINUED from first page,

bum. When Father Magrath first
went to West street there was no
tougher section Of the city, and few
as hardened and WIDELY wicked in
the world. The rough necks' who
came ashore to squander their earn
ings Of two transatlantic voyages or
the fruits Of months Of service on
tramp steamers in night were bad
enough. but it was the swarm of
crooks and gamblers who gathered to
entice the unwary mariner into
crooked deals Of all sorts that made
the district notorious for murder and
assault.
The advent Of Father Magrath, the
smiling, big jawed young priest,
caused but little excitement at first.
No one attended his meetings nor
was his cloth respected as it. should
have been. Father Magrath looked
around his parish" silently for few
weeks and then decided that the only
way to make these water front gangs
step around to be converted was by
force. So one night he started to
s'clean up his district, alone and UNI
armed. They tell still on the street
Of that glorious first night of battle
and CORY fistic display. He went from
saloon to saloon, sorting out the big
gest and worst looking men at the
bar and urging upon them the error
OF their ways and the advantages of
the life religious. When scoffed at
he laid down his prayer books and
rolled up his sleeves. There was US
ually just two blows struck. One was
when the doughty priests doughty
hist landed on the jaw Of said offend
|er. The other was the echoing wal
lop when said offenders Uranium col
lided with the floor III. -
Then Father Magrath went about
systematic circuit of the crooks
which led through Diary alley ways
where the human sharks waited to
pounce upon one of his beloved sea-
man when that jovial rover of the
deep should be wallowing in the
trough of too deep a land sea. The
police had made sporadic but futile
efforts to clean out the nests of
thieves and tin-horn gamblers, thugs
and lodging house crooks that filled
the water front district. Father Ma
grath simply waded into a crook
whenever he saw one, ordered him
to get out Of the district and if not
met with instant response sank one
of his justly famous private-stock
sleeping potions into said crooks
masticatory apparatus. -. -
The result is that today only one
gang of. unregenerates worries the
good, stocky priest of the Seamen's
Union. It is known as the Tin Can
Alley Athletic club. It's athletics
are confined to whatever calisthenic
exercises are necessary to the hoist
ing of copious "slugs" of liquor to the
lips, teh blackjacking of drunken
sailors and a brisk departure when
pursued by the police-or Father
Magrath.. These athletes are de-
scended from the Pig Alley Guards, a
similar organization completely rout-
ed and disbanded by the almost sin
gle-handed operations of the Flight
ing PRIEST They had other affilia=
tons with the Hudson Busters, an
aggregation of humorously inclined
young hoodlum-bandits whose favor
tie pastime was the beating up" OF
policemen-when the latter weren't
working in pairs. Father .Magrath
licked seven Hudson busters in quick
succession and the rest "dusted.'
Father Magrath is product of the
East Side. He knows we'll the wants
of "his people," and he is beloved by
every seaman, of New York's "Barbary
Coast" Father Magrath's constant
companion is .Bum," rangy, mon.
grel dog. Between them, they are
literally clicking hell'' out of West
street. = - .
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