Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-02-03


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the foot board of the racing car. A
sharp swerve that all but sent the fly.
ing vehicle into the curb, shook off the
policeman and sent him sprawling. He
managed to fire two shots at the car,
but missed.
Communicating taxieab, the second
policeman set off in pursuit of the
black automobile firing six or eight
shots at its tires. Other policeman,
hearing the shots tried to stop the car
and almost lost their lives for their
pains. As the flying jugernaut flashed
into fashionable St. Nicholas Avenue,
every policeman who saw it shot at the
tires and many citizens, hearing the
hub-bub, turned out end tried to head
off the automobile. The car though,
distanced all pursuers, lodged all bul.
lets and disappeared into the night.
All this happened in the heart of New
York's residential district before, 9
o clock at night. The unidentified
girls, doubtless white slave victims,
were completely swallowed up.
Gangsters Are Feared.
The gunner of New York are no less
picturesque in their carrying-on.
"Dopey Benny" Fein, head of the East
Side band of brigands shot a policeman.
He was arrested and put on trial before
a jury of unidentified men. To induce
citizens to serve on the gangster jury
it was necessary to assure them their
names would never be known to the
friends of the defendant So wide has
spread the terror of the gunmen that
men refused to qualify for the jury un-
til reassured that their names would
never be known to any but deputy
sheriffs who drew and summoned them.
Dopey Benney" did not know the
name of one Of his "peers" who found
him guilty and sent him to Sing Sing
for twenty-one years on the double
charge of assault and of violating the
Sullivan law which prohibits citizens
from having deadly weapons in their
possession.
Immediately on learning of "Dopey"
Benny's conviction, his gangsters set
about their campaign of reprisal. A
rival gunman was shot to death the
very same night in a Bowery saloon
known as the "The Tub of Blood" "
The place was invaded while three wo-
men were in the rear room and the
women saw the death duel.
The next night gunmen invaded an
other saloon. This time they were not
after any rivals, but they needed
money to carry on their operations. Be-
fore the eyes of his little girl the gang
sters beat the saloon man into insensi-
bility, drove his customers to the street
and escaped with $50 from the register.
A block away they held up another
saloon at the pistols point, but were
forced to flee by the gathering crowd
before they obtained any money, Four
were captured.
Robberies Nightly Affairs.
Such things are nightly occurrences
in New York and they are by no means
confined to outlying and isolated dis
tricts Three desperadoes invaded q
West Side saloon the other night, in
the district which is colloquially known
as "hell s half acre" though it is only
stones throw from Longacre Square
and the Great White Way, and shot
down the porter of the place because
the bartender refused to serve them
drinks. A fusllade Of shots kept back
the gathering crowd until the gangsters
escaped in taxicab.
1t was the spectacular killing Of Her
men Rosenthal and the subsequent hap.
penings that brought the New York
gunner into the limelight and made
them everready characters for drama
and fiction, but the Rosenthal murder
was nothing new. The iimelight for
publicity merely served to call the pub.
lie 3 attention to a state of affairs that
has existed in the greater city for many |
years. Recently the new city admins
tration has made an effort to drive out |
the gangsters and the police have been
to use their clubs freely on
the gunmen wherever found Arrest
and conviction Of the East Side "bad
men" so far has accomplished nothing,
but the starting of cam.
paigns Of revenge and fresh feuds.
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