davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
Nationality in Dispute

There are many frequenters of the
Chrystie Street dives he was accus-
toned to visit in the early days who
say "Monk" was Irish and others
that he was Jew, whose father and
mother. respectable and ard-work-
ing folk. still live on the East Side.
Looking him over casually, however,
the chance observer would say that
re was neither and that he looked
more like an Italian than anything
else.
But Irishman, Jew or Italian,
"Monk" was scarcely eighteen when
he had already made himself known
as fighter and gunnan. He was a
professional bounccr in New Irving
Hall, 4 place widely known on the
East Side as a rendezvous for the
lawless, when he began 10 attract t.
tentior.
At the time Of the Diver F oley
fight in the I'd Assembly District
monk took sides with Foley and
was very active in the district. His
enterprise brought him into conflict
with rival gunmen, and in the latter
part of 1901 one Of these nearly did
for "Monk" what his mysterious as
sailant did two weeks ago at the
entrance to the Fourteenth Street
subway station. Coming up quietly
behind the young gang leader, he
shot him twice, but neither bullet
found vital spot. AT Gouverneur
Hospital monk" held rigidly to his
code Of silence and refused TO give
his assaiant's name.
The Rivington Street Battle
monk" grew rapidly in Importance
as a gang leader, fnally endangering
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
Dickens Home To Be Library
I(t ITR. sNAGsBY descends
"a and finds the two prem
n tees intartIv cop+o~o

llt TR. SNAGSBY descends
III and finds the two prem
"A tees intently contem-
plating a police constable, who holds
ragged boy by the arm.
Why, ble~s my heart, says Mr..
snagsoy. v hats the matter?,'
This boy, says the constable,
although he's repeatedly told to,
won't move on
I'm always a-moving or, sir
efies the boy, wiping away his grin1y
tears with his arm. I've always
neen a-moving and a-naoving or, ever
since / was born. Where can | pos
a'oly move 70, sir, more nor | do
noye?'''
And SO it has been for many years
and would be for many more to
come. for the poor children Of Lon
don ard other big cities Of England.
iney would, az poor 10 of Bleak
house, keep a-moving and a-moving.
*itn nowhere in particular to move
90 = II had not been that in 1911,
"a celebrating the centenary Of
Nharies Dickens, the lover of the
poor, T. ,reless street children whom
nave quoted above, the brilliant and
az the same time mcst practical in
spiration occurred 70 gentleman
S' England that no more httirg
memorial could be made to Dickens's
memory than 70 turn the old house
a. - Johnson Street, where his
"wn d;ngy boyhood was passed, as
related in David Copperficld, into
library for children.
This idea was originated by J.
hsett Larzstaf, the reverend head
:" Aagdalcn College House. Oak
~ Square, London, n. W. !, whose
mother Is q resider. Of Brooklyn,
ard he Is most anxious To obtain
~ support and interest Of al
lnziish-spesking people both in
1fsat Britain and in this country,
"nere Dickens has as many friends
~ IN his own land and where the
AK of public librariez for children
"'ald be an astonishing and unbe-
Hsvsble idea.
In England, however. it is a sad
~, true fact, and the little children
Aaye never had Il public library,
'sTsr any sort " refuge which they
saa''n AZ their very own, and 10 which
sAey can slip away after school or
H'pre drudging mental tasks and be
Dzs for blessed hour In their IA
Forite b<,oks.
ar. Langstaf hag already received
fae xapDort of many prominent pso~
Hse Ut England and Anerics toward
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02

the position Of the great Paul Kelly
himself, and this rivalry resulted in
historic battle which was fought
IN Rivington Street under the Allen
Street elevated arch. Fifty men in
all, including several policemen, stood
behind iron pillars and blazed away
at one another, while the storekeep-
ers in the vicinity hastily sought
back rooms and pedestrians fled wild
ly for cover.
1t is not the custom for leaders Of
gunner to take part in such engage
ments, they being considered too
valuable to lose, and the fighting
generally being done by subordi
mates, but on this occasion Monk"
personally held one Of the places be-
hind a post. Several men were
wounded, among them Monk" who
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
n 1ame 1uy Might Be "Monk" Eastmans Epitaph -
crook h0ugh He Was, the Gang Leader Was Brave k)

which was naturally far from pleas
ing, bore terrible marks Of the
conflict.
He was undr Led for cxamina-
ton, and the geons were aston
ished to find on his body a perfect
network Of old scars, including four
stab wounds, several marks left BY
bullets. and an old wound on the
night arm caused by a blow with a
heavy club. He persistently refused
to tell who had stabbed him in his
last fight, and when asked about the
other injuries his answer, jaurtily
delivered, was:
ooh, I've been to war"
THE Spanish War;" inquired one
of the strangers.
"No. Some little wars we've been
having down on the East Side,' re-
Piled the gangster. But don't let it
worry you, old pal. I gave 'em re-
ceipt for everything they gave me-"
Not Afraid to Fight
Some of this may have been col
ored bit in the telling, as many
Of the stories about gunmen on the
East Side were, but there was
enough that could be authenticated
that proved, even if his record in
the World War had not, that
Monk was not afraid to do his
own fighting and could, in a pinch,
take co. 4erable punishment with
out complaining.
What enabled Eastman and the
other gunmen to carry on their ca
reers Of violence and robbery was.
of course, the political influences
that backed them, and it was not an
infrequent sight in the old days
to see Eastman at the Fourteenth
Street headquarters itself. This is
not to assert that the band leader
had the official support of Tanimany
Hall, but his frequent presence at
gatherings there, and the fact that
after each arrest he was openly de-
Tended in court by so-called Tan,-
many lawyers, emphasized his
claims to political influence.
have very vivid recol .cction
Of Monk" at one of these gather
ings, and the impression he made
then was the same as he made upon
his superiors in the fighting in
France and upon his keepers at Sing
Sing when, in 1904, he was sent
there for a ten-year stretch--a
stretch, by the way, Of which he
served only little more than half.
In spite Of his heavy features and
his distinctly gorilla type he could
be pleasant in conversation, and did
not look like the killer any more than
thousands Of other men to be met any
day on the East Side.
The gathering was receiving re-
turns from mayoralty election
and Monk" mixed with the notables
with the greatest freedom.
That's Monk Eastman" a
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02

whatever the evidence, never will
believe that he was slain because he
became a stool pigeon and betrayed
the men who formerly trusted him.
They would rather believe he quar-
relied with one Of his confederates,
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
QUARREL 1cth another gqan after d1ipkino bout is
- supposed to hare led Up to EastMan's 1tArdet.

again bore his hurts with striking
fortitude.
After leaving tie hospital he was
arraigned in court for his part in
the fighting, but no one appeared to
prosecute hin, and he vas dis
charged. 1t was a common saying
in those days that, no matter on
what charge Monk was arrested
he was always acquitted, and GER
tainly the record seemed to justify
the saying.
The followers Of Monk" Eastman
md Kelly continued to fight each
other with unabated savagery, and
peace was not established until the
two fought it out themselves. For
some reason on this occasion they
cid not choose reviewers bat fists.
They retired to the back room Of
saloon at Chrystie and Grand streets
and: with chosen number of armed
tdherents looking on, slugged each
o.her until .cth were too weak to
continue the contest any longer.
After that they declared a truce,
and when in 1904 Monk went up
the river" Paul Kelly was one of
'Aose who publicly expressed his
sympathy.
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
Fights Were Frequent

Fights Of the bitterest kind were
constantly breaking out between
rival political leaders for the con-
troll of these districts, and it was in
these feuds that such men as East
man, Paul Kelly and other lesser
lights saw their beginnings. The
police would descend on one of the po-
litical clubs and cart off a wagonload
of revolvers and aillies, but when
Election Day came around the gang
would be on hand as usual and all
would have their "gats" with them.
Eastman's origin and carly activi-
ties were always more or less en-
veloped in mist, partly because there
was nothing in his calling to make
his people eager for publicity and
partly because the peculiar char
acter of his operations necessitated
certain amount Of secrecy. Now
that the question has again been
raised as TO his real name, it need
only be recalled that when he was
arrested in 1902, perhaps for the
first time, he gave his name at the
station house as Eastman, and that
when he got into trouble afterward
he generally gave his name as Will
liam DelarAy, occasionally passing
himself off as John Martin and VIII
liam Courtenay. He enlisted in the
way as William Delaney, and this
oct was accepted ly many as indi-
eating that this was his real name.
Others who had known him for many
years argued with equal emphasis
that hi. real name was Eastman,
and that he passed himself off as
delaney to spare his parents the
humiliation and unhappiness which
a public disclosure that he was a
relative would have brought upon
them: If this was true it was more
in keeping with the William Delaney
" no fought bravely in the war and
was decorated for heroism than with
the William Delaney who was
burglar, eunman, drug addict and
common thief.
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02

as reported, and was killed as a
result. And certainly Monk" had
none Of the surface markings Of
the man who becomes souealer.
The last time l saw him was after
he had been pardoned after serving
SIX years Of MS ten-year sentence
at Sing Sing, when, it was charged,
he was employed in an effort to
break the urion Of streetcar men
IN Manhattan. This was during the
first strike brought by the Amalga-
mated Association Of Street and
Electric Railway Employees against
the traction lines of the city few
years ago. Eastman and three other
men were met by policemen at the
bridge crossing the Harlem River
The gunman and his friends were
in an automobile, and he grinned
pleasantly when warned by one of
the policemen that his presence in
the strike zone would not be pe--
mitted
"All right, pal, I'm off," he said
with wave Of the hand as the
automobile swung around and went
back over the road along which it
had come.
Eastman received his ten-year
term at Sing Sing for trying to hold
up a man named Wetmore in Forty
second Street near Sixth avenue.
Wetmore, a man of means, was
known to be carrying considerable
money, and as he approached Monk
stepped out of hallway and at
tempted to halt him. Without the
gunman's knowledge, Wetmore was
being guarded by two Pinkertons.
who were following him, and these
ran UP to protect him.
As First Offender
Eastman broke into run, firing at
the Pinkertons as he went. None OF
his shots took effect, and, finally
when his revolver was empty, he
ran into the arms Of a policeman
who placed him under arrest. Jus
tice Gotf imposed the ten-year sen
tence after trial in which vigorous
efforts were made by the prisoner
friends to save him, but in June
1909, the New York State Board Of
Parole gave him his freedom undel
the law which makes men sentenced
TOY the rs time eligible to parole
att hav.1s served ono-half THEN
.mc
The action Of the New York boarc
caused much astonishment, as NJ
reagpn had been shown for thi,
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02

TINE turbulent life which flows
Just outside the gates Of re-
- spectability has added an
other celebrated name to its list of
v:ctinis-"Monk" Eastman.
Monk" Eastman was leader in a
phase Of New York's development
which newcomers may find hard to
understand. His beginning dated
back to the days of the Tong wars
those delightful tribal atfrays in old
Chinatown, when each tortuous alley
held its quota of hatchet men or
garrotters waiting in the dark to
visit punishment, OF perhaps it was
Justice. on the emmy.
At 81 a Vote
To understand Monk" it was neces-
sary TO have known New York when
each flop house" along the Bowery
Or in the Five PORTS district was
flled-ar election times, at least
with from fifty to two hundred resi-
dents of dubious identity and much
more dubious calling, ready to do
their duty to their country by cast
ing their ballots at 81 a throw for
The candidates supported by their
leaders. The beginning of the
rsriod-although no charge is i'm
piled that any person to be named
vas responsible for "Monk"-was
marked by the activities coming
lust after Boss Croker had relin-
cuished the control of Tammany
Hall TO Charles Francis Murphy.
The Wigwam on Fourteenth
Street. much more than now, was
the tepee where sat the sachems
issuing orders to the unterrifed
Democracy of the city. Big Tim"
Sullivan-that Big Tim who, after
4 remarkable life, died under the
wheels OF Westchester passenger
train and lay in a morgue for days
awaiting identification, Ike any va
grant-was alive then. The retreats
of the loyal heard disquieting stories
Of the Divver-F Foley row. In the
Jack rooms of the saloons, in the
clubs that were organized Tor
patriotism and existed on gambling.
y the shador-y places under ele-
vated pillars where the faithful
rathered, thousand feuds, some
political and some private, kept the
adherents Of the factions constantly
ferment. New York was in
Process Of becoming c really big city
and these were some Of the forces
helping It toward it's goal.
This may seem like a deliberate
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
A Different Bowery

A Different Bowery
Which, apparently he was. In
those days the Bowery and the
whole East Side, for that matter,
presented a different picture from
what they do to-day, and the peculiar
characteristics of the district were
OF great Importance to the persons
who sought to control it politically.
Strung along the streets neighboring
on Chatham Square and in the Five
Points section were hundreds of
hotels for men, flop" houses, and
dlmly lit annexes TO saloons, where
the down-and-outers could find a
nights lodging and in prosperous
seasons something to eat and drink.
The reformers raised loud cries
against the character of these
havens, which they denounced as
refugees for repeaters and illegal
voters. and certainly even a casual
investigation would show that the
tenants Of most of them were of a
highly migratory nature.
Climbing the dark stairs Of one
Of these i'll smelling hostelries or de-
7cending into the dank depths of one
CT the Easements set aside for "fops,"
you gradually made out q horde of
frowzy, unkempt and unwashed men
who readily responded to the names
entered at the registration booths.
Investigation might reveal the fact
that persons strangely resembling
these were also registered under diff
ferent names from other hotels, but
generally, unless you were specially
guarded, that was as far as you got
without ending up at one of the hos
pitals.
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02

friend remarked, pointing him out,
"and, believe me, when it comes to
keeping EN- in line at the polls that
guys there."
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
A Good Cu,''

=" Monk is good guy Kelly said
on that occasion. He had a gang
Of towards behind him, second-story
men, yeggs, mol buzzers and dips,
but he himself wa an alright guy.
He fought every ones battles. I'd
give $4,000 to see him out OF
prison"
This, it should be remembered,
was in 1904, years befow Monk
returned from the World War a
hero, and before he was paid public
honors and restored to citizenship
by Governor Smith.
There were two distinct sides TO
Monk Eastman. a sort Of DR..
Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde quality if there
ever was such, and this would seem
to be strikingly proved by the facts
that after having won the admira-
tion and esteem of his superiors in
the army, and after having promised
faithfully to ego straight" he be-
came bootlegger, drug vendor
and squealer, because oc which.
according to the story, he was
killed.
There are thousands of persons
who knew "Monk" in the army and
in his days az a master gunman who.
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
A Good " al Record

Monk - war record won so much
publicity recently that it need not
New-York tribune., 1921-01-02
BY Arnold Prince

TINE turbulent life which flow.
Just outside the gates Of re-
- suectabilitY has added an.
Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1921-12-16
Early--
Help Clerks

choppers Of Bear Lake cOun-
ty! Don't forget that the clerks
IN Tie stores OF Montpelier and
employees Ia The postoff.ce are
human. Make it u point to help
relieve tho store clerks Of the
last hour worries OF trying TO
help you select your Christmas
goods, and remember that Il Is
a poor policy to expect the post
office elerks to handle all the
outgoing as well as the incOm-
ing packages tho last two OF
thrce days before hristinas.
1t Is to the advantage Of eve
eryOne to shop early and to mail
parcels in the postoffice carly.
Early shopping gives you more
varied assortment from which to
pick; tho clerks have more time
20 attend to your wants and help
you select wisely. And then It
will greatly relieve that last NM
ute rush which oftentimes takes
tho joy and spirit of Christmas
out of the many clerks and post
office employees.
Early mailing of Christmas
packages viii insure safe deliv-
cry before Christmas, which this
year comes on Sunday, and
packages should reach their des-
tination n day or two before In
order to be delivered on time, as
no deliveries are made on SUM
day.
Early Christmas shopping viii
bring cheer to hundreds OF
clerks.
Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1921-12-16
FRElGnT AND PRICES

Freight ratea on farm products In
carload lots will DO reduced 10 per
cent az once.
II would be- interesting 60 know
where this 10 per cent goea-to the
farmers. tho uholesalers, tha mana
fRcturers and packoEa. the retailers.
" tho consumers.
Our Rueaa is that IL viii all be
used up before IL Eeta 10 the con
sumers. hut tho exact faetn will
bO impossible To discover.
A no per cant freight reduction
ON carloads. OF wheat. for instance
will have y direct relation 60 the
wages tho railroads can afford 10
pay. Hut its relation 20 the price
of q single loaf 90 bread will be in
Intestinal There are too many
other factors that have 20 be taken
into consideration.
II is n similar truth which che
National Lumber Manufacturers AS
ISOLATION In ignoring IN In present
campaign OF propaganda. They ad-
vertise that the high price of lumber
In duo to freight charges.
A Few cents thousand feet ara
chargeabls 60 freight rates. But
lumber IL not few cents higher per
thousand than trade conditions war
Irant. Il In in many cases several
dollars higher per thousand.
And this difference iH plain every
day profiteering that IL moro Dc.
maKinE to the building trades than
all the Union demands put together.
Tho citizens committee that haa
been organized 10 clean up tho build
Ing trades situation cannot officially
tako cOguikanee Of this situation.
Il Ia concerned only with tho terms
, OF the Lands award. and Judge
I4andis. though he referred % the
conditions In thu supply Of material
! Aa vicious" also said fatty that he
! was helpless to DO anything about Il.
H0 was right. But tbs federal
government could do something; and
apparently TIL Il does we shalt be in
; the grip Of costs that make freight
! rates look picayuna."
Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1921-12-16

week to accept a position in a drug
store in that city.
The Bennington brass band gave
concert at that place last Saturday
evening to a good sized audience. A
farce followed the entertainment
which was greatly enjoyed. The
boys Melted neat sum for their
labors.
Another week with no snow and
still there are people who predict a
hard winter yet Perhaps but one
thing certain it will have to start in
pretty soon if there is to be good
crops next season.
While returning from the band
concert at Bennington the other
night young man was held up by a
large bear. BY nimbleness of legs
he escaped from BruIn. and the next
day a party of hunters started out
to bring in the mountain intruder.
Whether they succeeded or not we
have not heard.
Tho Georgetown dramatic com
pany will put on the play, "A Soldier
Of Fortune" in the meeting house
next Monday night. The players
have been rehearsing some time ant
promise q goot9 evenings entertain
ment.
Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1921-12-16

which were becoming more and more
important In tho Far East. deter
mined to have port and naval base
OF her own on the shores OF northeast
Crina It took definite shape when
In 1897 two German missionaries
wera killed In teeming Shantungi
most densely populated and econo.
mieally and sentimentally one Of tho
most important Of China's provinces
By way of indemnifying herself for
the loss of her nationals. Germany
forced China to grant her a 80 year
lease on an area roughly ten or
twelve miles in diameter on the
coast OF shantung at tho entrance
TO Kiaoehow Bay, and to neutrallze
zone 80 miles wide skirting the
entire bay and including the leased
region. On the leased plot the Ger
mans built a typical German town,
Tsingtao.
FIRST ONLY 4
KIAO-COHW PROBLEM
"The leased and neutral zones to-
gether comprise a relatively small
part of the $4,000 square miles Of
Shantung. SO far as area II concern
ed, 1t is very roughly IS though Vir.
ginla, Maryland and Delaware were
substituted for shantung. the District
OF Columbia for Tsingtao, and for ths
neutral Kiaochow territory. fan
shaped area OF Maryland counties
with radius equallng the distance
between Washington and Baltimore
when this most stubborn OF Fai
Eastern questions first emerged will
Germany and China Is the chief par
ties concerned. 1t seemed 10 be onl!
g .Kiaoehow Question But tn
KIaochow inch rapidly DEVELOPS
into the indefinite but looming Shan