New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-13

| $50 day.
+ In full. "Dopcy Benny's" comple te
story would M several columns. Yes
terdsy District Attorney Perkins gave
out the excerpt from u that follows.
Il was written by felr:
BY DOPEy BENNY.
B My name is BENJAMIN Fcin; have
sometimes gone under tho name Of 10
seph Harris, my nickname is popeJ
Benny. name which was given 70 m
many years ago. CONT know why, "a
] have never used Dope. first began
/ 20 do gang work for pay IN 1911 At
/ that time a man came TO me and asked
/ me II could do some work for him.
and he explained what y was. and !
/ said that could He promised me that
/ II got arrested he would hire r law
/ yer and sec that got out. told hlr
would do any work that he wanted
done y he paid me for doing II.
First Job Paid $500
The first job was 20 go to a shop and
beat up some wOrkmcn there. The men
that employed me gave me SO fo'
every man that / had TO use and SlC0
for myself picked out about hftcoc
men, and later met the man that en-
ployed me and told him that | couldn''
do the Job for the money that he want
ed TO pay that Il took more men than
calculated on, and that ! wouldn't
touch u unless | was paid more none
Finally he agreed 20 pay me $500 fo-
the job. ! got my men together, dl-
Vidcd them up into squads and saw
that they were armed with pieces o.
gas pipe and with clubs, but this tim
not with pistols, and when the work
men came from work the men had
got set on them and beat them up. -
wasn't right there when this was going
on. J told the men what 20 do. and |
was near by, where ! could make sur,
that Il was done. but didn't do any Of
il myself. After the job was over |
saw the man had made the agreement
with and asked him how he liked the
way the job was done He said Il was
fine and paid me the 5000 in cash
From this time on one fellow would
hear from another that | did these
jobs and would come 20 get me 10 do
job and so ! was kept busy all tie
time. Some Of the Jobs were just in
dividua jobs would be told there
was a certain fellow whom they wanted
beaten up, and they would take m
where | could get a look az him ana
point him out, and then when got
chance l would follow him up and bea:
him up, and afterward would get nv
pay.
On Regular Payroll.
one time we were doing a job in
place where there were some girls. who
blew police whistles, and policemen
came before we could get away. was
caught. and got thirty days. and three
Of the other fellows got fifteen days
apiece All the time was serving my
thirty days my wages OF SIS a day,
which ! was getting then for doing
these jobs. kept on Just the same.
though some Of i wasn't paid until
later.
After this l did number Of Jobs
for which ! didn't get any special pay
Just my regular payroll. which was
then S25 n week A. this time ! was
getting that regularly and wasn't
charging any more for the Jobs ! did
A. this time. although this was all the
money | was making. ! was offered
big sum Of money by the president Of
a manufacturing company where there
was strike on if would break the
strike. and refused 70 take the money
and DO the job. because ! wouldn't
double-cros a friend when he is a
friend
AfterwarG got 10 doing Jobs again
a. so much a Job. ! got $500 Tor DONG
one job. That was in addition 90 the
regular S25 d week | was getting. !
had thirty men on this job. and lot
Of the employees were injured.
In January. 1914. was tried and
convicted of assault and sentenced TO
state prison for five years, but after
ward the conviction was reversed. and
so | got out. All the time was in the
state prison ! continued on the payroll
al the rate Of $25 a week. After ! got
out | still was on the payroll and dld
several more Jobs. Some of them were
quiet work. without any weapons at all
just soaring people and threatening
them and some of them were violent
work.
Threw Woman into Cellar.
There was one Job about a forelady
in an underwear establishment My
emplover said 10 me: "The forelady in
that place goes out with the boss. she
is Ike the boss's wife; everything he
tells her she does. and she rs running
the place. She has got to get good
licking and the best thing for you TO
do is 20 get somebody and throw her
down the cellar. am going 10 give
YOU a girl 20 point her out TO YOU.
He spoke to me about a half dozen
times about this job, and didn't
want TO do Il because | didn't like 10
throw a woman down into cellar. as
I pictured my own sister in that posi-
tion. but he said: "You will never get
any more work If you don't do it, and
kept Fostering me, and finally agreed
20 do il and he had Cir meet me ana
this girl took me 10 the shop ana
pointed out the forelady.
I and another fellow followed them
around and we got another man and
friend of his and they waited until
there was a good chance. She started TO
90 bv a saloon and there was a cellar
right under it. and they pushed her
down IN the area way and she started
to scream and lot OF people ran over
and took her into store. ! told my
employer about il afterward and he
said that was the very best Job had
ever done, and he gave me $50 Tor II.
never told anybody anything about
nv employers and who they were and
never meant to tell anything about
them until they had double-crossed me
al the time ! was arrested, and then
made up my mind that after everything
] had done for them, riskinG my life all
the time and being liable TO 60 to
prison at any time they would double
cross me, would tell the District At
torney the truth about what had been
doing and who the people were that
had got me to do il and had paid me
20 do il.
They wanted to put me away because
knew TOO much, and now ! Will show
them that do know too much. That is
IN