Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, March 28, 1907, Image 3

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    . '
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Ill-Gotten Gains Are
of Small Avail in
I Days of Misfortune
Retributive Flfe ibf
n s overt .ten Members
. of'the tl : rk Street O T\ ,
: ofG mblers . nd Bunc
Men ofvhJcl , .Mike'McDono1d
\V S Chiefi \ t' . M
- - - . . - - .
,
Chicago. - The papers announce
'tbat " I1ke" McDonald , millionaire 1'0'
tired gambler , Is on the verge or collapse -
lapse from the effects of the trouble
that has como to him In his old age.
His third wife Is In jail for the mur.I I
- < leI' of 'Vebster Gum'ln , the lover I
whose coldness drove her to Insane
jenlousy and desperation. Ills sec. I
I
onc1 wire ; according to the news dls- !
patches , Is dying In New Jersey. I
Traveling on the shady side or 60 , McDonald - I
Donald faces physical breakdown and
-old age In which his llI.gotten dollars
must be his only comforter.
Not long ago "AI" Adams , million-
alro policy "ldng" of Now York , committed -
mitted suicide after serving a term In
prison for robbing the poor through
bls poUcy games. He still bad a fortune -
tune , and his family , who suffered the
1 0cial taint o [ the father , continued to
' 11ve In a brownstone palace. But bls
dollars gave "AI" Adams cold comfort -
fort In his old age. , I ,
Twent.five years ago there fiour-
Ished In Chicago the "Clark street
gambling gang , " with McDonald at Its
i bead. This crowd made a chapter or
, , bistory , but it Is not the kind of his.
' tory that is written into books recording -
.
j' , ing the city's growth. Instead , it Is
, ' 'to be found in the records of the po-
, . . . 11ce , and In the memorIes of men
whose buslnoss , leglUmato or other-
r Y wIse , brought them into c'ontact with
I , the members of the gang.
c
" Mlse y In .Polluted Cash.
Not only was McDonald the member -
ber of this lot who retired from gamb.
ling with the most money , but he was
the one whose career after ho had
I Q.ult gambling seemed to refute the argument -
gument that money which Is not only
. tainted but thoroughly polluted can.
not bring happiness. Now that the
tragic chapter of the murder of her
lover by his wife has been added , even
the seeming refutation of McDonald's
career bas been destrored. : The fate
of the rest of the crowd gives abund.
.
' ant evldenco that the mills of the gods
grind just as fine In these days as of
.old.
. .101m Deming. 0110 o [ the well.lmown
Clarl { street figures In the dars when
that street was known from coast to
coatt on account of its vice , became a
vaupel' and dIed.
"Bob" McCune , alias Keister Bob , Is
" pow a tramp In New York , a plain va.
J.a
pered financially except McDonald
hhnsoU , was Patrlcl { Casey , who had
charge of the bar. Casey saved hl
money and died It few years ago fair.
} : , ' well off.
Others Pursued by Fate.
James Papes , who was a thler as
well as a gambl r , brol\O into the treas.
ury or SIJrlngfield , 111. , and died after
fieelng to Canada to escaIJC the penalty -
alty o [ his crime. .
"Jimmy" Carroll , another or the
crowd that alternated gambling with
stealing and who made the pollco a
'yorlll of trouble , continued his outlaw
career until he died , seven years ago ,
In abject povertr.
Joseph Lewis , alias "Hungry Joe , "
is said to have renounced his former
ways , Is making an honest living and
Is doing better from the material
standpoint than most or the men bo
formerlr associated with.
"Jimmy" Hoey , one or the most notorious -
torious denizens of Clllrk street In the
"wide-open" days and a gambler who
stole , got Into a fight With Al Walters ,
a barl < eolJer In the saloon or "Count"
RUe ) ' in Clark street , and shot and
l.med him. He was tried and acquit.
ted.
ted.Most of the g"ambllng men who com.
mltted murder In Clark street In those
da : s were acquitted , In fact , owing to
the strength of the pull or the entire
gang with the police and the courts ,
Hooy afterward married Molllo Holbrook -
brook , the widow or "Buck" Holbrook ,
a burglar , who was Idlled at Hennepin ,
111. Hoey and his wife went to Eu.
rope and 1m vo not been heard or In
Chicago since.
Reign of the Bunko Men.
Clark street became as Infamous for
the bunko game In the days of the McDonald -
Donald crowd as for gambling. The
bunlw steerers were gamblers , and the
gamblers , or many of them , were hun-
1m steerors. Harry Lawrence was ono
of the best ] mown of the bunlm men.
Deforo McDonald became known as
the gambler Idng or the city ho was
strongly interested In the bunlw game.
In brief , the bunko game was opel'-
atod In this way : The steerers , well.
dressed and SUllve , sought their prey
In the hotels principally. Steerer No.
1 accosted the stranger , called him by
any name that hllppened to occur to
him. 'fhe prospective victim eyed the
stranger with suspicion and told him
fJ
'tj
, j
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.
I
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l M 1 < . .6IIALD
ft DO
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' t.lJ ; " , " : .f.i3 " -w V" . & ) , ; ; ;
\ r r' . l r'l r . ' "
-
i. , \ . -
I'
grant , glad to be able to beg the prlco
or a bed In tllO cheapest lodging
houso.
r cllrr Dehorlty , another or the old.
time faro dealers , Is living In New
York , but Is said to have managed tu
keep his head above water'slnco ho
t. , ( left Chicago. About the only man who
' " I was Intimately associated with the
McDonald gambling bouse who lJros.
E ; -E 'r'-
IN GOERINS : c5r/Dl
he had made a mlst1l1e . He wus not
John Smith or Conrad , JJ1. , but William
Janos or Poltln , 111. 'l' steerer apol ,
oglzed an l the prey conrratulated him.
self on the cold reception he had given
one "or them there lJUulw men. "
Steerer No. 1 then Imparted the
right. name and address of the farmer
to steeror No.2. Tbe latter did his
worle well. Ho formerly lived In the
,
,
, .
.
stranger's town , nnd told him n string
at boyhood happonlngs that novel' hap-
paned , but which the lJrOSIJl.'ctivo victim -
tim could not dlsputo.
"By the wa ) ' , " steerer No. 2 would
say , "I bought a tlcltet In a 10Uery the
other day. Let's drol ) Into the lottery
ofllco and see If I won I\lIythln ! ; . "
' 1'hero were a number or these "of-
fices. " A pros porous looltlng man sat
at the deslt , ami the walls were covered -
ered with falto lists and reIlOrts or lol-
ter ) ' drawings. In front or the man at
the desl. wus 1bl l , glitlel'lng plio at
gold colli. The tlclcot. was presonted.
Baiting the Sharp Trap.
"You are lucley , " said the man I\t
the desk to steeror No.2. "You Imvo
WOIl $2,600. "
'rho cash was paid over to steorer
No.2 , whllo tllo eycs or the countryman -
man bulged at the sight of so much
"easy" mOlloy. ' 1'hat wus the bogln.
nlng. The victim was told there were
drawings ever ) ' dare Usually ho
bought a tlckot , but no matter whether
ho did or not , the steoror stuck close
to him alld SPOilt money on him , prln.
clpally for liquor. They would 1'0'
tllrn to the "lottery offico" and after
some tulk betweell the manager alld
the steerer the latter would agree to
bet against 1\ card game. Always he
Was lucly and sometimes ho won
large amoullts. It became a campara.
tively easy matter to draw the farmer
or country merchant Into the betting.
As soon as ho had lost all the bunlm
lJlall thought ho had with him ho was
steered out or the place amI the "lot.
tery" beadquarters were swltcbed to
another room.
Tragic Finish of the Hankins.
Jeff and Al Hanldns opened a gamb.
ling house at 125 plarl. streot. AI
afterward bought \tock ; farm In Indiana -
diana , expecting to settle down and
get away from the life ho had led. Not
long afterward ho was found suffocated -
cated to death in a folding bed. An
Investigation _ was made , but it was
stopped when It was found that to
pursue it would destroy at least ono
relJUtation. Jeff Hanltlns dropped
dead of heart dlseaS ( ) about ten years
ago. No namO was better known in
Cl'lrk ' street In the "wide-open" days
than that of Hanl.lns. George was the
prey of all the boodling politicians In
the county-and there were more of
them then than now-and was Intimately -
matoly associated with the boodle
ring In the county board , Ho Is said
to have furnished the largest part or
the fund of $1JOOOO ! which was futilely
spent In trying to have passed a state
law legalizing pool seIUng on race
tracks.
Garrltys Were Fighting Men.
Then there were the Garrity broth.
ers , John , Hugh and : 'Ilike. They were
an especlall ) ' tough trl and Imown as
fighting men. 'fhey were guilty of numerous -
merous assaults , some of thorn of the
most serious character. It was .John
Garrity who bit 'an ear off or Alderman
James Peavey , who was also 1gamb. .
leI' . ' 1'he men had engaged In a l1ght
and III the ahsonco o [ maI'o deadly
weapons Gllrl"lty used his teeth on the
part or the alderman's anatomy that
was most convenient. Hugh and 1\111\0
Garrity are dead , having fallen Into
Il0vorty , and the same 111 fortune that
pursued most of their fellows. On ono
occasion , also , the Garrity brothers ,
In the course o [ a gamblers' feud \vlth
John Dowling , who ran n. rival osta- )
lIshmell t proceeded to beat Do\vllng
up In frightful fashion. Dowling was
0110 of the characters of the old Clarlt
street that was at OIlCO one of UJO
best and ono of the worst. He was
brutal anll often heat mon with thl'
hutt of the big revolTer ho carried. for
no stronger apparent reason than a de.
sire to see them fall. At the same
tlmo ho was generons to the unfor.
tunate , and as a result had many or
the most hitter enemies and a ! ; reat
man ) ' staunch friends , Dowling lost
his mone ) ' after Clarle utrcet waK
closed to the big glll11hlers and died of
I IIQresls fi vo ) 'ears ago.
One of the picturesque charactom of
the street was James Watson , alias
Sir James , alias the llIg gngllshman.
. . . .
I "
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I
Ills finish came qulo'tcr tI1nn that of
mnny or his associates , for he was
stabbOd by George Ruslle11 , nllas
White Pine , 11. bunlO man. Russell nc.
qulred his alias from the tact tll t ho
came to Chicago from Whlto Plno.
Nev. lIe was 11. flghUng mnn of the
w&l1tern t'PO , but was acqulttod In his
trial for tbo stabbing of Bit : James.
Jere Dunn In the Street ,
Dut best Imown at 11.11 , not oxceptlng
McDonalll blmsolf , was Joro Dunn ,
slayer or " .T1mmy" Elliott , the heavYweight -
weight IJI'Izo fighter. Clarl ( etreet dur-
III ! ; the reign of McDonald wns the
Mecca or man ) ' crooks , gamblers , can.
fillenco mon , "bad" mon and other
clnssee or dlsrolJUtables , but no figure
ever alllJOared In the street who , by
( orce or hIs a11.arouI1l1 wlckellness ,
commanded the attention that Joro
Dunn got. E\'en DUlin's frlol1l1s did
not claim for him any degree or mOK- :
als. Some of thom sn.y that he was
"squaro" with his lJUrtners In crime ,
but his history disproves o\'on that
conlontlon. One of the men who lenew
him best says that Dunn novoI' Imow
what IJh'slcal fear was. If this was
true It Is about a11 the good that can
bo saId of him , evcn after his death' .
Dunn tiled In New Jot'soy last year
or malignant cancer. Wherever he
went. ho made criminal history and
some of It Is worth re.tolllng In any
narrative or the Clarle street crowd.
This notorious character made hie
appcarance In Clarl , street In tbe early
' 80s. The vicious atmosphere of the I
'J
'
JOWLINCS
RU
lLL '
MJ/1.R/l"EA ' '
PLUNCEO { / Th't'D
. " /1rfIlTlNj'
(
II KNIf'E INTO .5/tfdIlNEtJ"
street was Incense III the nostrils ot
Dunn. In 1883 ho got Into a fight with
"Jimmy" Hoey , n thief and gambler ,
and shot him in the groin. Hooy 1'0-
fused to appear against Dunn wben the
case came up for trial.
The Killing of Elliott.
Elliott , with the proresslonal oarsman -
man 'Plaisted ' , was In "ApJletite Bm"
Landon's place on the evonlng or
March 1 , 1883 , when Dunn entored.
From this point In the story there 18
a wldo dlvorgenco In the alleged facts.
Dunn , aiways vain and always boastful -
ful , gave a version to the effect that
ho was attacl < cd by Elliott and fought
him slngle.handed for haIr an hour
after everyone else had fled In torror.
Elliott. was more than six feet ta11 and
a giant In strength , Dun clalmod he
shot his enemy only after the latter
had forced him to the fioor and was
holding a coclted revolver against his
breast. The other side or the story is
that Dunn entered the place , found Elliott -
liott sitting at a table and , without
warning and without giving Elliott
any chance for his life , shot him In
cold blood.
Acquitted of the Crime.
Luther Laflin Mills was state's at-
tome ) ' , and the trial was of unusual
Interest. But the jury acquitted Dunn
on the ground or self.defenso. After :
ward Dunn went cast , became interested -
estod In race horses through the gift
of an Interest In a horse by a friend ,
and soon became of some promlnenco
on the eastern turf. 110 vlrtua11y was
drlvon out or Chicago because the au-
thorltlcs , who In those days tolerated
almost ovorythlng that was bad , decided -
cided tbat Jero Dunn was too disreputable -
utable and dangerous for even Clark
street to harbor. In hIs advancing
years he fell back on his power over
women and married ono much younger -
er than himself who had money
enough to support him.
'I'hus has ( ] eath or poverty overtaken -
en most of the old Clarle street
nowd. In many cases It was both.
hoth. In some Instances , as In the
case of McDonald , health and fortune
have b on 10ft , hut fate has played
him trlclts oven lesa acceptable than
death or destitution.
In this later day misfortune seoma
to fo11ow the meu who ha\'o accumulated -
ed vast fortunes of "tainted" money ,
' 1'he old Clarle street money was polluted -
luted , and the mlsfortunos or the 011\
crowd seell1 greater than these or the
owners of tainted monoy.
Does money bring mlsfortuno In pro-
I portion to the depth of the taint. It car-
rlos ?
,
HOME VS. THE CITY
THAT IS WHAT THE HOME-TRADE
PROBLEM AMOUNTS TO.
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON 1
I
If You Are Sending Your Dollars to' '
the Mall.Order Houses You Are
Battling Against the
Home Town ,
( Copyrlghletl , by AICred C. Clark. )
A far Beelne , provident buslnoss
man will not pursue 1Jollcy ) which
, Is subverslvo of his best Intorests. I .
lie will nol destroy Ills own houBe ,
nolther w1l1 ho jeopardJze bls busl. .
ness. Ho will obeervo the golden
rule , not only In theory , but IIi prac.
tlce , and Its practical observation was
novel' mar. . needed than nt the IJrcs.
ent time. Men dream about the
"Golden Ago" and yet , ofttimes pur.
sue a } Jollcy which renders the dawn
of that ago an Impossibility.
Within the horizon or every coun'
try rosldont there oxlsts an ovll which
Is yearly assuming gronter propor-
tions. We refer to the mall order
buslnoss which last year amounted
In money sent to Chicago alone to
$200,000,000. Two hundrcd million
dollars diverted [ rom Ils legltlm\to
channel. Two hundred million dol.
lars sent out to onrlch these who
wore not needy , whllo these nt homo
sorely In need or support. were pRssed
by coldly ; the local trade was 1m.
povorlshed just to tllat oxtent. 'fhls
golden trallo reviving stream should
have remained within Its own eha.i'
nol , thus onl'lchlng its o\yn soli , and
causing desert places to bloom and
blossom.
Many unemployed would have been
engaged at lIvlni wages , households
-
In 11. certain rural community , this I
: officlnl order and warning was Issued : .
"Unless bad roads are fixed there
will be no rural dcUvory alan. " It Js
Imponslblo to put roaas In ropalr withe'
out money. This lack or means cannot -
not bo traced to poor crops , for the'
hal'\'est just gaUlered In has been \
superabundant. Men cnnnot Bupport
and build up business concerns In dls. '
tant cities without sacrificing the
local good. Is It fall' to estl blloh the
city by doprlvlng the country of its
just support ?
Many hold forth the Idea that the
country Is the feeder or the city.
TJlls Is only partially true. That doctrine -
trine hns been preached till the text
Is threadbaro. It would bo much
wiser for moo to get 1\ now text and
talk nnd worl ( the country up , then
allow the city , Including Its mail or-
tlor Octopus , to work Its own problems -
loms a'whllo. 'l'hls , Instead of being
lIelfinhness , would bo the finesl order
of common 80nso. A moro mat'kClt
feeling or brotherhood Inlerest la
saldl ) ' needed In the counlr ) ' on "this
particular point.
' 1'he rural population complain of
lack or facilities anti convcnlonces : In
01'1101' to obvlato this , lot $200,000,000
this coming year bo disbursed nmong
countr ) ' merchants , among the bum.
bIoI' atorelcoepers , then observe what
w1l1 follow. 'fho ImlJI'OVOmonts would.
bo marked. Social cOl1lIt1ons ! would'
be greatly ameliorated. A now order
would maintain In the bomo and over
the broad acres or the farm and best
or all , the social spirit or broUiorhood
would bo felt as novel' betoro.
I.laton lo these thoughtful 'Word : ;
from Gov. Folk , or Missouri : "Wo
are proud or our splendId clUes , and
wo want to Incl'easo In wealtb and
IJOpulaUon , and wo also want our
country towns to grow. We wish the
city 1I10l'chants to build up , but also
desll'o the country merchants to pros-
per. I do NO'l' BEJLmVm In the mall
j' . - , t .
The batteries of the catalogue houses are carrying detructlon to the
smaller cities and towns. Are you helping In this work of hurling destruction -
tion at the local schools , churches and Industries ? Are you assisting In the I
distribution of mallordtr literature and sending ammunition In the way of
home dollars with which they will continue the campalgn '
would have been cheered and hearts
warmed ; but no , It wont to swell the
dividends of surfolted. boastful city
concerns.
The IIvo and let live doctrines was
overlool < cd ; Its old.rashlono wholo.
someness was utterly disregarded.
The country merchant would have
been engage ( ] in his dally struggle ,
Instead of battling at long odds
against ostracism , advorslty , big bills
and meager receipts.
Think or $200,000,000 , yo who causc
the catalogue houses to fiourlsh as the
cedars or Lebanon , and the green bay
tree : remember that their prosperity
Is at the eXIJOnSO or your brother , the
local merchant , and local progress.
Then ask thIs pertinent question : Can
wo atrord to play the game \ longoI' :
can wo longer stultify local Intorcsts ?
This great ovll al1'ects every farm.
er , teach or and work hand , every
home , every school , every churcb In
every country community. It also
touches the Interests or the physician ,
prellchor uull pedagogue. It really
robs the country merchant before his
eyes , In a heartless way. Ho sees the I
freight yard crowded with consign. 1
ments to Individuals from great catalogue - 1
logue houses , and sadly does ho look
at his country store with Us stock
accumulating , for want or trade , and
tllUS decreasing In value every day.
Sadly too docs he look at the rorugo
of bankruptcy hourly bolng' hastened
because his townsmen prefer the cata.
logue house with Its ublqullous cir-
culars. Those train loads of goods
were bought with money that should
have found Us way Inlo the 110nest
hand or your local merchant , who has
the good of your locality at heart , and
who Is expectell to contrlbuto lIberally
and continuously to very moral and
benevolent Institution In your midst.
Then lIkowlso rem om bel' tills , that or
all the millions thus sent to swell tbe
coffers of houses in great cities , not
ono cent will over return to bless your
community ; to clothe the naked. to
feed tbo hungry or to educate the
Ignorant !
'rills Is certainlY a mlsguhled , Ill.
advised 1I01lcy : It self preservation Is
the first law of nature , the fact just
stated should cause lovcrs or this
country to thlnl { . Continuo this policy
and what follows ? 'fho value or real
estate decreases , local Improvements
cease , malerlal progress stops , the
\vhQle country suffors.
The 1I10ney of a community repre-
8ents In a business sense just so much
possibility , and every honest occupa'
tlon Is Injured In proportion ns that
Is withhold or sent olsewllere.
citizen. It a place Is good
enough for a man to 11vo In and to
I .
malO his money In , It Is good enough
for a man to SP1JND ! HIS MONEY
.
In. Patronlzo ) 'OUr own town papers ,
build thom up , nnd they will build
. your town up In increased trade and
greater opportunltlos. "
These are the wordR or wisdom and
foresight froll1' ' a prudent , patriotic
man. As It Is to'day , these words are
I exprosslvo of the opposlto of what
should bo In n1l\.ny country district.
The mall order citizen may think be
Is gaining : tbo truth Is bo la sawing
off Uae 11mb upon which he sits. Disaster -
aster only can follow. The mall order -
der citizen malell his money locally
and scatters It abroad In a field where
It Is not needed ; this Is unfair to both
the town and to Its merchants. Thla
shortsighted citizen complains of the
size and character or Ius town paper ,
at the same tlmo ho pursues a policy
which tends to dcstroy both. Then ,
publishers ought to be carerul how
they exploit and glvo publicity to the
mall order houses : oven If they are
paid well foJ' the space , Il reacts disastrously -
astrously on the town's best prus.
pects.
Let men stand by the ] ocal mer.
chant , let them protect bls Interests ,
for they thus rurther their own. The
town that made the man should bo
made by the man. This is fall' to all.
Lot men ponder well this truth , that
we are all Interdependent : that tbe
voln or brotherhood underlies the en.
tlro social and commercial fabric.
That together wo stand or fall ; tbat
Ute good of the country demands lay.
alty and practical cooperation.
AR'fnUR 1\1 , FROWDEN.
Fortunate Men of Prominence.
Admirers or great , rich or famous
people often bestow lhelr wealth upon
the objects or their regard. The German -
man emperor heads the list or lucky
ones 80 favored. His receipts In
money nd real estate during the last
ten years would , It Is said , make n
ml11lonalro envious. Following precedent -
dent , a Uamburg merchant prince left
maI'o than $1,000,000 to the empcror's
chancellor , whom Knlser 'WUllam 1m.
mediate } ) ' created "Prince" Buelow.
'Villiam Jennings Bryan recently
came by wealth In the same way. In
England I40rd Allorton has received
$100,000 rrom an admirer or his public
career and Dr. Jameson Inherits a sum
one.tlfth larger under the will or Mr _
Belt. Queen Victoria was very tor-
tunato In her admireI'D , or whom tbo
wealthiest wns Nlold , who bequeathed
to her the Bum of U,250OOO.