The Washington herald., 1917-12-25

New York. Dec. 2I.-The Bowery boy
Of Alger fiction did his bathing in the
East River. slept in packing cases.
sold papers. picked pockets. never
SWITCHED on a pal. lodged the truant
officers and eventually married the
railroad presidents daughter.
There is a real Bowery boy who has
done all OF these things except the
marrying part He is Bull tombstone.
formerly a singing waiter In Eat EN-
Up Jacks back room. McGurk's Sui
eide Hall, and Mike CaIIahan's place
or other roaring establishments OF
that era
He is now converting Bowery down
and-outs with his slang. He was
converted at the McAuley Water
Street Mission eight years ago. He
has not touched a drop Of liquor since
and devotss his time to aiding the
Bowery rum hounds" as he calls
them.
During the time he used to sing in
the back rooms when the foam was
dashing against the rocks in those
'bouncer" and when rough customers
eddled into the place he propelled
them out by his muscular arms
tombstone started life on the Bowery
as a street gamin ana robbed his
cronies with phony dice. Then he
drifted into picking pockets and gam
bling at stuss. His powerful physique
made him a leader. He averaged
! three harroom battles a week in those
| days and always came out victor.
He Is now in his way q fisher of
men and he knows the special pool
wherein he fishes ard he knows the
sort Of bait to use. In his forty-four
Years he has been to school just four
days. His English is bad. but his elo-
| Quence is not without its appeal and
he is invited into the best pulpits in
New York to astonish and inspirit CIV
| ilized congregations with his transla-
| tons OF the Word into the engaging
Nernacular Of the old Bowery.
Do you remember Nellie the Beauti-
| full Cloak Model-Nellie the loveliest
model that ever wore hair Of gold?
Nellie who looked so tragic as she
lay on the railroad track is back on
blOduNdN Ndillpll lub nO"- Sne Is
| Clara Joel and she has skipped from
| the ten, twenty and thirty into star
dom.
There were more amateur shoplifters
| operating this season than in any
other Christmas season in years, ac-
Cording to the detectives in the big
| department stores. Many things have
been blamed on the war and the war is
| indirectly responsible for the increase
in shoplifting.
The amateur shoplifter is now using
a knitting bag 20 hide her loot. 1t is
easy to drift up the aisles and sweep
articles into the wide mouthed Hitting
bag. 1t was done every day before
Christmas.
The shoplifting novice. store man.
ayers say. is generally from a good
| family. 1t has been the rule to deal
| with them lightly, but this year they
were prosecuted. Instead OF taking
them to the managers office for a
fearful scene they are Immediately
taken to a police station.
In one Fifth Avenue store six shop
lifters were caught in a single after
noon and were carted off to police
stations in hysterical conditions. In
every instance the young women could
purchase anything they wanted and
five of them had charge accounts.
Skating and sliding with a sail as
added motive power gives a touch OF
the picturesque to the sport Of young
sters in town. Up Washington Heights
way. wherever streets are slippery
mainsails are seen on many blocks.
Old-fashioned bob shedding parnes
are also proving very popular TINS
year and moving picture show pro-
prietors complain that the craze Is cut
ting into their receipts.