n
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN. PORTLAND, JANUARY 12, 1913.
Second in the Series of Remarkable Revelations of the 200,000
Professional Criminals of New York and
How They Co-operate With the Police.
TO get rid of Herman Rosenthal,
the gambler, cost $1000 In cash.
This was liberal payment. The
job might have been done for less.
Similar jobs have been done much
cheaper.
A.S a result of the Rosenthal mur
der ttie public was introduced to four
picturesque characters: "Gyp the
Bicod," "Dago Frank," "Lefty" Louie
and "Whitey" Lewis. They have been
referred to as the four gunmen. These
were the men who, according to the
testimony, got $250 apiece for the mur
der of Rosenthal.
These four men were not the only
gunmen in New York;. They were not
even the most picturesque. I have
known gunmen in New York compared
with whom these four were simple
"boobs." I might mention the name of
"Spanish Louie," one of the boldest
gunmen who ever stuck up, slugged
or croaked a man.
"Spanish Louie" boasted of 25 notches
to his gun before he ever saw Broad
way. Twenty-five men he. had croaked
In cold blood! He used to say that In
South America, where he had spent
several years and first tasted blood,
he wasn't recognized as a bad man
until he had croaked his 15th man.
But more of "Spanish Louie" later.
In my association with the underworld,
I have come in close contact with
many of his type and I have learned
of the murders they have done for
cash.
Mv first general acquaintance with
gunmen came some five years ago
when my then gambling partner, Her
man Rosenthal, was planning- to get
control of the afterward notorious
Hesper Club.
Up, till that time the Hesper Club
had been one of the most influential
clubs downtown. It was composed of
bookmakers, politicians, business and
professional men of the district. Af
terward when it came under the con
trol of Rosenthal it was turned into a
full fledged gambling house and the
gunmen who were hired by Rosenthal
to get control of the club for him were
kept on his pay roll for a long time
afterward at $5 a day.
During that time at least 40 gunmen
could have been found at or obtained
through the Hesper Club at any time
of the day who, for a cash considera
tion, would commit any crime asked,
from horse-polBonlng to murder.
Rosenthal Took Funds.
It is necessary to explain briefly
how Rosenthal got possession of the
Hesper Club, because it will explain
how in the fight which followed three
well-known business men were black
jacked by thugs hired by Rosenthal.
The club had accumulated $10,000
through its annual balls and outings.
A building of its own was planned.
Somehow Rosenthal got hold of the
funds and used them for his own pur
pose. The members objected and
threatened him. To silence them ho
resorted to a well-planned scheme.
Gradually, within a period of six
months, he elected about 40 gunmen to
membership. "Spanish Louie" and Big
Jack Zelig: were the most notorious of
them.
With the friends he had in the club
Rosenthal was able to control the elec
tion. I was elected president. The
new building committee I appointed
was composed of Rosenthal's hired
gunmen. This committee reported that
Rosenthal had paid back the 110,000,
and exhibited a check. Some of the mem
bers declared that the check ought to
be certified right away. I resented
the Insinuationagainst Rosenthal and
upon charges preferred against the
men Rosenthal most feared, they were
expelled by the gunmen board of
guardians and trustees. Three of the
expelled members were unwise enough
to threaten court proceedings for re
instatement. One was a man in the
feather business, another was in the
bottling business, the third was a
JewSlry salesman. It was to take care
of men of this stamp that the gunmen
had been Imported into the club.
Two nights after the expulsion of the
three, the feather man was black
jacked by one of the gunmen on Thir
teenth street, and was' told that if he
took the plub matter any further he
would be croaked. The next night the
other two were set upon by "Spanish
Louie" and several members of his
gang and. severely slugged just as they,
were coming from the home of a law
yer they had been consulting with re
gard to the club matter, a fact with
which Rosenthal was familiar.
A few more broken jaws or cracked
skulls and quiet was restored in the
new Hesper Club. Rosenthal got full
control. lie ran it as a full fledged
gambling house.
"Spanish Louie" was perhaps the
worst bad man New York ever knew.
He arrived in New York with the rep
utation of being a crack shot, and he
was. He had absolutely no respect for
human life. To oblige a friend he
would do a Job for nothing. If the
risk were slight, and he needed the
money very badly he would do it for
next to nothing.
"Spanish Louie" on one occasion
killed a man for $20 which, incident
ally, he never got.
He was hired for the Job by a the
atrical agent who frequented the Hes
per Club. This theatrical man was be
ing blackmailed by a man and wanted
to get his oppressor out of the way.
Some one suggested that "Spanish
Louie" would do the Job for him.
Spanish was rounded up, drinks were
bought, and that very night Spanish
and his employer hunted for their vic
tim. Assassin Dues Ilia Work.
They found him on Twenty-seventh
street Just west of Seventh avenue.
Without a word Spanish, went up to
him, struck him a terrliic blow on the
head with his blackjack, and the man
tell to the sidewalk, striking his head
with, great force on the curb.
The employer of "Spanish Louie,"
who was standing by to see Louie carry
out his contract, was so frightened that
lie ran away when he saw the man fall.
The following day the papers said that
drunken man reeled and fell while
crossing the street and fractured his
skull. He died the following day with-
out recovering consciousness.
When the man who hired the job done
read of his oppressor's death and real
ized he was really the murderer, be im
mediately left town, and "Spanish
Louie" was cheated out of his pay
"Spanish Louie's'-, appearance at best
was enough to terrify the average man.
His dark skin, shifty black eyes and
general villainous appearance combined
to make him a man to inspire fear, but
when I saw the look in his face when
he told me what he would do to the guy
who bilked him out of that $20 if he
ever laid eyes on him again, the chills
went down my back.
"That was the toughest deal T ever
got in my .life," he complained to me at
the Hesper Club a few days later, when
he realized that the chances of the the
atrical man coming back to town were
mighty slim. "There I was broke and
hungry, with barely enough strength
in me to knock the guy out with my
jack, and then this sucker goes and
welches on me after I not only knocked
the gink out, but croaked him for good
measure. No matter what you do for
some people, they don't appreciate it!"
Later on "Spanish Louie" got better
prices. Every one knew him as a des
perate character, who thought nothing
of taking human life. In the under
world, where one had to go who wanted
Jobs of this sort done,- "Spanish Louie"
was the most sought-after of all the
gunmen. .Other gunmen were anxious
to work with him. They knew he would
make a good Job of what there was to
be done. If there was pay in it they
were sure to get a fair share of it. ' If
trouble followed in the way of an occa
sional arrest, "Spanish Louie" they
knew could be relied on through his in
fluential friends to fix things up.
Some days he would come into the
gambling-house' I was interested in to
get the loan of a five-spot. The next
day he would return the loan. At the
same time "Spanish Louie" would dis
play a big roll of bills the pay for
some murderous Job. Then he would
start gambling, betting as much as the
dealer would permit him to bet on the
turn of a card. And if he lost his roll,
as he frequently did, he would get up,
stretch himself" and laughingly say,
"Well, I'm broke. Easy come, easy go!"
One night, while "Spanish Louie" was
playing at my house he got a message
from a saloonkeeper to hurry to the sa
loon. Arriving at the place he was
taken Into the back room and intro
duced to what he afterward described
to me as a "swell bloke."
Briefly, the bloke explained to him
that he was in love with a girl who
lately had formed a mad infatuation for
her father's chauffeur. The chauffeur
was a big husky Englishman, It turned
out. The swell was a narrow, anaemic-
looking youth.
"Now, Spanish," concluded the swell.
'I want the beast done up and warned
to leave the employ of this lady's home.
What will you charge to do this Job?"
Wouldn't you rather have him
croaked then you are sure he won't
bother your rag any more?" queried
Spanish Louie."
"What do you mean by 'croaked?" "
With a look of surprise at this man's
Ignorance, Louie answered in one word.
"murdered."
The suddenness with which the word
was uttered by "Spanish Louie" took
the breath away from the other. He
reached with a trembling hand for the
drink that was on the table and swal
lowed it in one gulp.
Murdered! Gracious heavens, no!
Anything but that. ,1 want him to get
a sound thrashing, that is all."
Well, what do you mean by that?"
asked Louie.
The swell didn't know Just how to
explain, and hesitated.
"Well, do you want him to go to the
hospital?" suggested Louie.
The swell thought that would be
about it, and after a little more par
leying, $1500 was the amount agreed on
for the job, three men to do the Job
"right" at $500 apiece. One hundred
dollars was paid to Louie as a retainer.
The rest was to be put up the follow
ing day in the hands of the saloon
keeper. When the -swell was satisfied
that the job was done as contracted
for, he was to communicate with the
saloonkeeper and direct hiin to turn
over the $1400.
That night, at the garage, the chauf-
TWO SLIM, PALE-FACED JOXXY
feur was pointed out to "Spanish Louie'
and the other gunmen.
Gunmen in Operation.
The following night, when the chauf
feur brought his car into the garage
after taking the family home from the
theater, "Spanish Louie" and his gun
men set upon him and blackjacked him
into unconsciousness.
It was one of "Spanish Louie's" men
who, at -the instigation of Rosenthal,
had "Bridgie" Webber's jaw broken.
Louie stood across the way on Four
teenth street while one of the gang,
with a pair of brass knuckles broke
Webber's jaw. The man who did the
Job I know very well. Webber knew
him. He was arrested but Webber was
wise enough' to refuse to identify him.
declaring positively that the man ar
rested was not his assailant, fearing
the vengeance of "Spanish Louie." The
man was discharged and is now em
ployed as a chauffeur for a well-known
politician.
There were a number of eye-witnesses
of the assault who were equally
positive of the assailant's identity, but
the fact that the man who did it was a
member of "Spanish Louie's" gang was
sufficient to awe them into silence.
Before dismissing "Spanish Louie" I
may mention the time when I hired
him myself.
In the days when I dabbled somewhat
in theatrical matters, I became ac
quainted with a man I will call Mor
ton, who was then In the employ of a
theatrical firm, the Junior member of
which was my dearest friend. One day
Morton awoke to find himself famous
as a playwright. He had one success
arter another and got rich. He still
remained a good friend of mine ..a in
one of my many periods of financial
distress I borrowed $800 from him. At
the- maturity of the note I was unable
to pay. Suit was brought, judgment
was obtained against me. for I had no
defense, and I was harassed with sup
plementary proceedings All that the
examination revealed was the possess-
on ot me average gambler a load of
debts,, bunch of pawn tickets arid a
positive confidence that tomorrow will
bring the winning streak and with it
the ability to nay all outstanding
claims. The attorney gave it un. but
Morton still bothered me. I paid one
or two installments of $50 and then I
got word from him that he had nl&ceri
his claim against me In the hands of
roungle for collection.
I knew what that meant. "Youngie'
was a notorious gangster in the Ten
derloin district. That night while In a
gambling house at 52 West Forty-fifth
street I was called aside by a man who
said that a gangster had asked him to
una out whether I was in the place.
iroungie" had threatened my infor
mant with bodily harm if be tried tn
aoubiecross him. Youngle."
I knew that, next to "Spanish Louie,
Youngle was supposed to be the hest
snot in New York. I finally hit upon
the plan of trying to reach "Spanish
ouie. Alter a lot of telephoning
got in communication with him, and he
promisea to come right up.
Record of Some Gangsters.
About an hour later the doorman of
mis gambling house notified me that
some one was downstairs to see me. It
was "Spanish Louie." He said that he
naa Had a talk with "Tounrie'a" men
whom he had met on the corner, and
that they were ready to double-cross
Morton because I was a friend of
Spanish Louie." The bargain "Youncria1
had made with Morton was that if his
men could collect the money I owed
tney were to slug me anywav and could
keep the money for their own. If they
could not collect the debt they were to
croax me or beat me up and Morton
wouia pay mem 4U0 for the Job.
I had made a big winning that night,
and "Spanish Louie" advised me to
divvy up the $400 I still owed Morton
between "Youngle" and his gunmen.
wnicn i oio.
"Bloody Mike" was another notori
ous gangster. He was ready to slug or
croan a man ior a very little money. He
was one of the gangsters who did his
work for the love of it. He gloried
in the sight of blood. That was how
he got his nickname. He was never
satisfied with beating up a- "sucker"
unless he left his victim drenched in
blood.
In one of the clothing workers'
strikes "Bloody Mike" was hired by a
manuiaciurer to sing one of the union
ueiegaies. xnis delegate, the manu
facturer was convinced, was bent on
ruining him financially. He had been
grafting for a long time, and the
manufacturer was getting desperate.
He promised "Bloody Mike" $150 to
"do" the man up.
By some mistake "Bloody Mike" got
the wrong man. His victim was nearly
Kiried,. The manufacturer paid the
$150, having read of the finding of the
body of the assaulted man whose iden
uty was tnen unknown at the very
place and- at the hour "Bloody Mike'
had reported he had beaten up the
delegate. ,
That same day the delegate walked
into the manufacturer's workshop, and
the manufacturer nearly died of fright.
thinking his eneniy must ' have died
if dsr?
HEX ARB PRESENTED TO HIM.
nisi
vmys
and this was his ghost. Subsequently
editions of the papers showed that
'Bloody Mike's" victim was a plumber.
"Bloody Mike" was looked up and
told of his mistake. He agreed to
make good for another S50. Two nights
later the delegate got his. He nearly
died from loss of blood. "Bloody Mike"
got the $50.
"Bloody Mike" was frequently called
on by strikers to attack scabs. Work
of this kind, which involved little risk,
he would undertake at $5 a head. It
was a pleasant pastime for him. He
used brass knuckles rather than a
blackjack or piece of lead pipe, be
cause in that way he could feast his
eyes on more blood. Several times he
was arrested because of this strange
fascination, which kept him at the
scene of his crimes too long. The in
fluence of politicians was usually suf
ficient to get him off.
But "Bloody Mike" performed one
great public service. He murdered
"Spanish Louie." Of course, "Bloody
Mike" didn't do the Job for the benefit
of the community. He did it for the
$200 which Rosenthal paid him for it.
After the many Jobs "Spanish Louie"
had done for Rosenthal, he double-
crossed him in one which was very
close to Rosenthal's heart, and Rosen
thal hired "Bloody Mike" to kill
"Spanish Louie."
Before describing how this crime
was done, it may be well to tell of the
Job which "Spanish Louie" had been
employed to do for Rosenthal, and
which he failed to do. This was the
murder of Sam Paul and Louie Kauff
man. for which "Spanish Louie" took
Rosenthal's money and then fell down
on the Job. Here Is. the story:
The Hesper Club, under Rosenthal's
management, came to be known as the
one big gambling-house downtown
which the police wouldn't raid. Its in
fluence was believed to be so great
that the police might bo openly defied.
These boasts got to be very galling to
the department of which Cropsey was
then Commissioner. Deputy Commis
sioner Clement Driscoll assigned Offi
cers Cody and Murphy, of his Btarr, to
secure the- necessary evidence upon
which to make a raid on the Hesper
Club. The raid was made. Rosenthal,
his pride hurt, was furious. He swore
he would have vengeance upon every
body who had a hand in the raid. He
heard that Sam Paul anLpule Kauff
man, who ran a poolroom on Thir
teenth street, could furnish him evi
dence that Cody and 'Murphy were
grafters. Rosenthal went to raui ana
Kaufman and asked them to accom
pany him on a rip to the City Hall to
squeal to Mayor uaynor ana tnus
get even with the detectives who had
raided his place.
Paul and Kauffman said tnere was
nothing in the rumor and refused to,
heln Rosenthal. This brought aDout a
quarrel between them, and Rosenthal
decided to put both of them out ot tue
way. Paul was to go first. . He hired
"Spanish Louie" to do the job.
Two nights later "Spanish Louie" ac
cidentally encountered Sam Paul. For
the sake of conversation the gunman
mentioned to Sam Paul that he was
'up' against it," broke.
Paul dove down ' in his pocket and
produced a $50 bill.
"Axiy time you re up against it.
Louie," he said, "Just come to me. You
know I am always ready to help a
friend." '
"So yon think I'm your friend, eh?"
asked "Spanish Louie" surprisedly.
"Well, ain't you?"
Murderer Baclu Down.
Reaching down his trouser leg,
'Spanish Louie" drew forth the big
gest, ugliest-looking gun Paul ever
laid eyes on. .
To prove it, Sam," said "Spanish
Louie," putting up his gun, "I am go
ing to tell you something. For three
days I've been trailing you to get a
good chance - to croak you. Finally,
when I run into you I get staked to
fifty bucks by you, and you tell me to
come and get more any time I want it.
Well, that queers me on this Job," and
then he told Paul the whole plan Ros
enthal had outlined. "Spanish Louie"
went back and told Rosenthal to get
somebody else to do the job, as Paul
was too good a fellow to croak. Ros
enthal did get some one else, but not
for Paul.- He got "Bloody Mike" to
croak "Spanish Louie."
The job was done In the publlo
street "Spanish Louie" was sitting in
cafe on Second avenue, near Thir
teenth street, when he received word
that one of his girls needed him on
Thirteenth street. Without a suspicion
in the world, he started out of the
place. As he turned the corner "Bloody
Mike" sent a bullet through his brain.
Thus ended the career of the man I
believe was the worst bad man In New
York.
His murderer soon followed him. In
gang fight on a return trip from
Coney Island one night that Summer
Bloody Mike" was -shot In the groin.
His pals rushed him away before the
arrival of the police and he died in the
furnished room to which they took
him.
"Big Jack" Zelig's reputation as a
gunman was fairly earned. The gang
of which he was the head was perhaps
one of the most daring New York has
ever known. The "Monk Eastman"
gang, the "Kid Twist" gang, the "Go
pher" gang, and one or two others ac
quired more publicity perhaps because
they were constantly engaged in gang
feuds, but if it came to an actual count
of crimes committed, "Big Jack's"
would probably head the list.
When things are dull in the slugging
and croaking line because men in the
higher walks of life seem to have for
gotten that for a reasonable sum their
enemies can easily be put out of the
way without risk, the gangster has
still got to live.
It is then that he has to resort to
"Btick-ups." Stlcklng-up a pedestrian
is usually the last resort- There is
another kind of "stick-up" not so risky.
It is to "stick-up" one of the many
stuss games that the East Side abounds
in. ' .
Selecting the place, the gangsters
with pointed guns back the men in the
place against the wall and relieve them
of their money. The gangsters then
order them to turn about and face the
wall and remain in that position for 10
minutes until the gangsters make their
getaway.
This form of graft grew so popular
among the gunmen that the stuss game
men combined . for mutual protection
and it ended by their selecting "Big
Jack" Zelig to protect them at so much
a week. He was to avenge every
"stick-up."
Jack Zelig earned his first week's
salary very promptly. At 3 o'clock one
afternoon he was notified by his em
ployers that Frank Niece had Just
"stuck-up" a stuss game. At 4 o'clock
Niece was dead. "Big Jack" shot him
at the corner of Second avenue and
Ninth, street in the presence of hun
dreds of- passers-by.
Zelig's activity in this case and one
or two similar ones soon ended his use
fulness to the game men, for rival
gangsters were afraid of "Big Jack"
and let the stuss men alone.
. How little the gunmen think of tak
ing human life can hardly be better
illustrated than by telling the story of
how "Big Jack" killed Julius Morrell.
bouncer at the Eldorado Cafe.
Jack Zelig was floor manager at a
dance in the Stuyvesant Casino, on Sec
ond avenue, given by "The Boys of the
Avenue," an organization consisting al
most entirely of pickpockets and other
habitues - of the underworld. While
dancing a waltz with his wife, who al
ways attended these functions with her
husband in the belief that her presence
afforded some measure of protection to
him in the event of the affair ending
up with a fight as they usually do,
"Big Jack" was called aside and told
"Julie" Morell was downstairs gunning
for him.
Telling his wife he would be back in
a minute. "Big Jack" started down
stairs. He met "Julie Morell at the
entrance of the hall. Without a word
he shot "Julie" through the back and
killed him.
.Hurrying upstairs, he entered the
hallroom and heard the orchestra still
t
r - J
STICKIXG
tv' : t-
playing the walta he had started with
his wife, and he finished it with her.
Jack Zelig danced while the body of his
victim was still warm. -Man
of Many Crimea.
"Big Jack" himself was at last shot
by a gangster named Tortl. While
lying in Bellevue Hospital on what he
believed to be his deathbed "Big Jack
sent for me and there he told me some
of the events of his life. He had com
mitted many crimes. He was arrested
time and time again as a pickpocket
and served his sentences. For his
greater crimes, he usually succeeded in
escaping punishment. ' His victime, if
they 'lived, and any eye-witnesses of
his crimes, feared the vengeance of his
friends if they testified against him,
and when they were put on- the stand
developed a sudden loss of memory or
positively declared that "Big Jack" was
not tlie man they had seen commit
the crime.
While "Big Jack" had no regard for
human life, he seldom committed mur
der himself for private persons, al
though he could always furnish men
for the purpose.
It was two of Jack Zelig's gang' who
for $50 agreed to beat up Sam Libow-.
itz, business agent of the Mineral Water
Workers' Union. They got him on
Delancey street and slugged him, but
they were paid only $25 because the
Job they did was a poor cne. Libow
Itz didn't have to go to the hospital.
A barber who frequently gambled at
one of my houses had a very narrow
escape. I was able to save his life. A
gangster had overheard two other
gangsters at an opium layout talking
over their plan to cut this barber's
throat. They had been promised
$2000 for the Job by a man who had
reason to believe that the barber was
responsible for certain rumors that
had been spread around about the
man's wife.
One night while the barber was
playing at my house I got word from
a central office detective that two
gunmen were laying for the barber.
I looked out of the window and saw
two me"n skulking in the doorway op
posite. I sent a messenger out for
the gangster who had Informed me of
the plot, and when he appeared 1
pointed out the men opposite and asked
him whether he knew them. He said
they were the men he had overheard
at the opium layout.
Through some of Zelig's men I was
able to make a deal with these gang
sters; the barber bought them out. It
cost him $50 and even then he knew
it was only a matter of time before
others would be hired to do the Job
these men had turned down.
The idea worried him bo that he sold
out his business and left town for
good.
There was a printer I knew who c
casionally played at my house. He
came in there one night evidently
laboring under great excitement At
midnight he was cleaned out. As he
went out I asked him what the trouble
was. He told me that his home had
been wrecked, and that he was having
all he could do to keep himself from
murdering the man who did it, with
his own hands. Suddenly he . turned
to me and said: "Jack, don't you know
some one who would get one of these
gorillas to do the Job for me?"
Run of Luck at Faro,
I tried to dissuade him. He went
away. The next night he was back
again with the same request. More to
get rid of him than anything else, I In
troduced him to "Big Jack" Zelig, and
"Big Jack" turned him over to "Kid
Kufty," one of his gunmen.
That night the printer came into my
place to play faro bank. He had twen
ty-five dollars. There was a light in
his eyes wVich told me plainer than
words that more than his twenty-five
dollars was at stake in the game.
He won. He kept on playing. His
luck never turned. When he was four
hundred dollars ahead, he quit He
called me aside and asked me where he
could get "Kid Mufty." I told him I
didn't know, and suggested that he get
hold of "Big Jack."
The next night the printer didn't
show up, but- "Kid Mufty'" did, and he
had a roll with him. He dropped $350
at roulet'te before he quit.
Of course I didn't question "Kid
Mufty" as to the source of his wealth,
but I surmised it then, and afterward
I learned that he had done the job for
the printer.
It was some years ago since the
"Monk Eastman" went to Long Beach
and beat up David Lamar's coachman.
Since then similar cases have occurred
by the hundreds, although it is only
rarely that the real facts become
known.
Men are frequently found uncon-
sclous in the streets of New York,
slugged by some unknown thug. Ex
amination of their pockets reveals no
possible motive for the crime. When
the victim recovers consciousness and
finds that his bank roll is intact he
realizes that robbery was not the mo
tive for the assault, and concludes that
malice must have prompted it.
But the man who struck him was a
stranger. Clearly he could have had
no malice. Then the conclusion is
forced home that the thug must have
been" hired by some one who had a
grudge against the victim, and it
doesn't take him long to decide who it
was who had reason to do him harm.
Obviously, however, it wouldn't do
in most cases for the victim to squeal
to the police. To give the name of the
man he believed responsible for the
assault and to have him arrested would
Invite publicity and scandal which the
victim would much rather avert. The
victim thinks It all over ana suffers in
silence.
That if why the gorilla has little to
fear if his man once makes a safe get
away. There is very little chance that
JJT" A "STUSS" GAME ON SECOND
he will be caught through any clew tn
victim is in a position to furnish, ana
it Is a squeal on the man he knows is
responsible for the assault
How do peaceable, law-abiding citi
zens, absolutely unfamiliar with the
ways of the underworld, unknown to a
single one of its denizens, men who per
haps, have never even seen a real crim
inal, how do such men when the occa
sion arises, manage to procure an agent
to commit murder for them for cash?
The task is not so difficult as it might
seem. Anyone who knows anything at
ail about the underworld knows that
every crook from the petty sneakthlef
to tlie murder-for-hire. spends most of
his time and money in gambling-houses,
the cafes of the Fast Side and opium
layouts.
It is through the keeper of such a re
sort, then, through whom the Inquiry
must be pursued. No very embarras
sing questions wouldusually be asked
if even the most respected citizen
should ask through a friendly police
man, politician or newspaper man, the
entree to such a place as this. It mignt
be obtained under the pretense of "gain
ing experience."
That is the ilrst step and the most
important one. From that point every
thing else is comparatively easy. By
the use of a little tact and the spend
ing of a few dollars the respected citi
zen in a few days will have gained the
confidence of the keeper of tile resort
to such an extent at any rate that he
may now broach the subject nearest his
heart a little more openly.
A meeting with a gang leader is the
next step arranged by the resort keeper.
The citizen, vouched for by his newly
made acquaintance, can begin to spealc
plain.
The final details and the meeting with
the gorillas for detailed instructions
usually comes off In the back room of
some saloon to which the citizen repairs
witli more or less misgivings because
of its apparent shady appearance. He
is afraid some one may see him enter it.
Quieting his fears with the thoughts
that no one who knows him is apt to
be around in this low neighborhood, he
enters and there, in the back room.
where he is introduced to the men who
are to do his work, he meets the biggest
surprise of his life.
Instead of two rough-necked. heavy
Jawed, bulging-shouldered toughs, built
on the lines of heavyweight prizefight
ers, two slim, pale-faced young men
are presented to him. Neither one ap
pears to be big enough or strong
enough to give a good account of him
self with any man of his size, and
neither of them Is.
Gunmen Cowardly Creatures.
The truth Is that the average gun
man is a coward. He wouldn't stand
for a fair fight with any one his size
because he knows he would get the
worst of It. The life he leads, late
hours, dissipation and the smoking of
opium put him in no physical condition
to put up any kind of fight, even If
he knows the rudiments of pugilism.
But that is not necessary. The gang
ster doesn't flghb with his hands any
way. A gun, brass knuckles, a black
jack or a simple piece of lead pipe are
the tools he favors, and armed witli
one of these he is ready to do battle
with any one from behind.
The arrangement concluded, the
money for the Job is posted with the
saloon-keeper, to be paid when the
work is done. That ends it as far as
the citizen is concerned. He can go
about his business without even look
ing at the papers to see whether they
contain any account of a barbarous
murder. Perhaps that Is the better
way, for it is not unlikely that down
In the heart of the citizen lurks a fear
that somehow his own complicity in
the murder may come to light
But he hears no more about it, and
it is only when he realizes that the
man who troubled him before seems to
have dropped out of existence that he
knows that the job he paid for has
been done and done well.
When I was In the gambling busi
ness I knew hundreds of gangsters
who, at a word from - me, would have
done my bidding with or without pay,
save for a reasonable amount to make
sure of their getaway or to pay ex
penses while they were trailing tha
victim.
If one of the frequenters of my place
wanted something of this sort done ha
didn't have to go into particulars wUh
me. He knew as well as I did which
of the men he met in my place could
best help him out, and he went direct
to them. If he had any doubt a ques
tion here and there. Judiciously put,
would set him on the right track.
"What's that feller they call 'Red'
do, Jack?" he might ask.
"Oh, he's a dip and a gunman. Works
with Youngie,' I might answer. That
would be enough.
"Spanish Louie" Is dead. "Bloody
Mike" Is dead. "Kid Twist" Is dead.
Frankie Nisco is dead. "Julie" Morell
is dead. "Big Jack" Zelig is dead.
Lefty Louie." "Dago Frank." "Qyo tha
Blood" and ' "Whitey" Lewis, the four
gunmen, are in the death house at
Sing Sing?
Has the fate of these notorious gun- .
men, to whom murder was a source of
livelihood and pastime combined, made
the purchase of murder In New York;
impossible?
Perhaps for a time. Certainly the
market price has gone up since the
Rosenthal case. The element of rlslt
has gone up. Risk, expenses of trailing
and means for a getaway are the three
items wheih determine the price of
work.
Nevertheless, the gorillas who
thought nothing of taking life before
the Rosenthal case are still In exist
ence, and they have still got to live.
Today they are lying low. Tomor
row, when the uproar raised by tha
Rosenthal case has died down, they
will be as bold as before.
Then, because it is the only trade
they know, they will return to their
old vocation murder for hire!
(Copyright, 1912. All rights reserved.)
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