The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-24
GYPSY BRIDE CASTS
SPELL ON EAST SIDE
Cop in Pondering Over II
Hour Wedding Fears for
Future.
TRADE LOSS PREDICTED
Sharp Rivalry in Business
Which Will Gust Keen
Competitors Seen.

"You were raised on the East Side"
said Policeman Columbkille o'Re!lly to
Policeman Irving Rablnowitz, land you
were In the second semester Of your
sophomore year at c. C. n. Y, when
you Joined the cops. And yet YOU seem
not to have as good Q working knowl-
edge of the psychology and characteris-
tics OF the various races which go to
make UP the population OF this great
city as ] have"
) They were standing on the steps Of
Pacific Hall al 200 East Broadway last
night. watching the last of the guests
departing from the marriage feast of
Plzsia Janczi and Melina Rafaela who
are both gypsies and who from the
portals of Pacific Hall were escorted to
tho bijou fat which the brides father
Chief Malina Nikilas. had set up for
them at 306 Cherry street.
And Cherry street." continued Offi-
Ger O'Reilly. "or at least that section OF
1t Indicated by the number. is the heart
Of the new gypsy colony in New York.
Did you know that?
II only just came down town to-day"
Officer Rabinowitz replied, from
years duty at the East Fifty-frst street
station. which takes in the Park avenue
sCNuoll kuOulu KNOW tndI there were
E,psies in Cherry street
"A good police officer" insisted Off
cer OReilly, knows everything that
good police officer should know. Now
then do YOU know. for instance, why the
gypsy wedding which. with its wealth OF
exotic color and customs, has just come
to close in the heart of New York's
East Side, began at 10 o'clock this
morning and continued for exactly twelve
hours?'
NO" admitted ohicer Habinowitz.
Up at C. c. n. Y. I specialized in
civics and mathematics and let ethnol-
ogy slide. should care if they took
twelve hours or twenty-four."
what May Happen Soon.
(which proves" said officer o'Reily.
the Darwinian theory OF the survival
Of the flttest as applied TO the East Side.
These gyps, mark my word, have de-
scended here for the single purpose OF
skinning and despoiing the very men
and women who for years have stood for
all that is implied In the word business
and the word merchant ard the word
mazuma. They'll have the eye teeth of
the best of you II you don't watch out.
"A gyp.' Officer O'Reilly ran on. "ls
the slickest thing alive and even the
Scotch and the Armenians do not try
" SoihpSto Nhh tHcit tHclT IdNOtlle
lines of business, which are telling for
tunes and trading horses or, in these
modern days. Ford cars. To tell a for
- tune, Rabinowitz. gypsy dame does not
have to pay rent for \ store. All she
does is put on a couple OF bright colored
handkerchefs and few bangles and
then she goes to one Of the beaches or
10 one OF the parks where the young
married women are out with their baby
carriages and collects the dough in ex-
change for hot air. The same way with
ire gpy himself. He used to buy or
steal few old skinners and take them
out In the country and feed them on the
free grass along the roadside until they
were round and healthy looking Then
ne would bring them back to the East
side and sell them TO the pedlers for
real money. Now he gyps in Fords in
stead and cops more coin than ever.
But. as you say, should worry about
who takes the East Side away from
those who have II now. Certainly there
is nothing in it for the Irish any more
Did they tell you at c. c. Wy. Rabino-
WITT that the Irish put all tho rep and
pep into Cherry street that II ever had :?
But about this gypsy wedding to-
day, Rabinowitz. you should have been
at It, There was twenty gallons of red
eye. twenty of wine and eleven half bar
rels of lager for only 200 people. The
bride and bridegroom, sitting between a
basket Of bread. to symbolic wealth
and bag of salt. to symbolic poverty.
were married by the brides father. thus
saving the fee OF a rabbi and putting
one more over on the East Side. Also
all the women had twenty dollar gold
pieces for ornaments instead of dia-
monds. You don't have to hook a $50
piece and pay interest on it. These
gypsies are slick people"
Question OF Gypsies.
although 7 did not go in for eth
nology very strong at c. C. n. Y" put
in Officer Rabinowitz. IL understand
that there are gypsies all over the world
Such as Russian gypsies. Bulgarian
gypsies and Mexican gypsies. Do you
suppose the gypsies are running busine ss
in Mexico the same as on the East
Side?"
MY oldest boy" responded oficer
O'Reilly. sis at ST. Francis Xavier's. not
C. c. n. Y. There are moments Rabino-
WITT when you fill me with pity How
can there be Mexican gypsies? The
gypsy strain - OF great antiquity and is
essentially Asiatic. These who held their
marriage feast here to-day. for instance,
are Asiatic also. though. as you observe.
they probably count themselves Hun
garan."
anu now Inquired bHCer Rablno-
WITT. "can you tell that they call them
selves Hungarians?"
Because OF the way" said Oficer
OReilly. that the bridegroom spells
his name wrong end to. His right name
Is Janczi Pizsia or Jimmie Pizsia but
ne, following a custom long established
IN Hungary. calls himself Pizsfa Janczi
or Pizsa Jimmie. All the Hunga rians
do It. AS, for instance, Hunyadi Janos or
John Hunyadi. the man, as they must
have taught you at C. C. n. Y. who
long ago purged Hungary OF the Turk.