Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-09-09
Mew York
Letter

NEW YORK.-New York echoes
at the moment to cries OF stop
that crime wave!"
The metropolis appears to shud-
der at the possibility that 1t viii
be considered as gang ridden as
was Chicago. With due respect TO
the various phases Of graft ana
racketeering in Manhattan, the
crime situation at present Is not
likely to be linked to organszeo
n or mObs. The lurid meiUdra-
mates OF stickup gents who mot
IL out for miles with police and m
nocent bystanders as victims De-
long to the same school Tat
spawned young Crowley, the lad
for whom the electric chair now
waits.
These are the nickel dar.ce.
curbstone loafers and petty GRIM
inals. And because such types are
scattered through every district,
the police cannot catalog them a.
belonging to such-and-such q mop.
The Chicago cummings were usually
easv to label. for the victims In
most cases were usually identifieo
with definite rackets. They tougnt
things out among themselves. as
a rule.
Such sporadic neighborhooo
criminal proupS are an old story
in Manhattan. Years agone, @nen
the Bowery was the Bowery, ana
when Hells Kitchen earned It's
name, when the East Side was
scattered with tough groups, mere
was a sort of pride IN gong ell
lowship.
The Bowery gents were out-and-
out toughs, ready for a good GIG
fashioned brawl and zesful 10
swing clubs, fists or bricks in n
direction of cops or lads OF osner
gangs. There were criminal MODS
and mobs that we're merely roug-.
Observation-Disclosures. The criminal
prolIns were assigned territories III
which they had first rights on ire
privilege OF picking pockets, stick-
ing up and otherwise robbing the
cstizenry. Instead OF collecting
bootleg tribute. they shook down
the stuss games or produced re
heaters at election time. Many
were partners Of street women, who
were prevalent in the Bowery belt
Monk Eastman and Humpty jack
son were two names well at the
head Of the list. They had lieu
tenants with such colorful cogno-
mems as Crazy Butch, or Ike the
Dope. or Kid Twist, or Louie the
Lump.
The Five Points. now a combi-
nation Of cheap clothing stores
Chinese restaurants. coffee STANDS.
hook shops and BARRIERS. was their
CAPITAL. Niger Mixes on the
fringe OF Chinatown. was an &C
cepted border line for rival gangs
Anyone sufficiently daring to chicel
into enemy territory across this
line was not likely to return alive.
1t was all reminiscent of present.
day racket tactics.
Monk Eastmans' ability to FUR
nish "repeaters" on election day
was one cornerstone upon which
hin reputation was built. His was
an odd career. The police got him
for banditry, in spite Of his boasts
Of protection, and sent him up for
20 years. He was out In five. ana
kept in trouble with the police
until the war broke. Suddenly the
tough gang guy Of the Bowery
blossomed into a hero. He came
back with a record for brave and
honorable service.
The moment ne stepped out OF
uniform. he was back at his old
line. Bootlegging wos b~ecc-,ing
fashionable. 1t gave him a new
racket. He peddled druga One
morning. in Fourteenth street. his
body was found in a street gutter.
Five bullets had ended his career
This was but one little group In
one particular era-there were the
Forty Thieves. the "Hldson
Busters, the Dead Rabbits" and
A score Of others-all products or
the sidewalks and the slumsi