Adair County Democrat. (Westville, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 39, Ed. 1 Friday, September 24, 1909 Page: 2 of 8
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I
Republican ciud of wister
The Republlarns of Wister are
the first to organize In Oklahoma for
the 1910 campaign J C Woods
is chulrman of the club Jutst organ-
ized with James Mills vice presP
dent and It C Welch -secretary
Child Killed Accidentally
Reba Murray aged 5 daughter oi
(leorge Murray living near Tonka-
wa was luMtuntly killed Saturday
night while playing by falling against
an Iron bed dlalocntlng her neck and
causing instant death
0TK3IIE assassination of
At Lieut Joseph Petrosl-
a
no In the streets of
Palermo tame very
near to establishing
the so-called "Black
Hand" society In the minds of
Americans as a definite organiza-
tion such as the Sicilian Mafia and
the Neapolitan Camorra It was
easy and alluring to argue that
Petroslno cleverest trailer of Ital-
ian crime and criminals had fall-
en a victim to the international
order of La Mano Ncra Writers
vrere not lacking to invent details
Ills death had been decreed they
said by one of the New York
chapters of the Black Hand and
the sentence executed by the home
branch at Palermo
We almost believe that there
Is a Black Hand organization in
Italy and America” said the edi-
tor of one of the big Italian dailies
the day after the detective was
hot down "Until the death of
Petroslno I never believed that
there was head or tail to the
bomb-throwing blackmailers but
the shot that struck Petroslno
would seem to prove that there is
a system behind them”
To one who remembered how
violently that same
editor had for years
protested in Italian
and in English that
there was no such
thing as a Black
Hand society the
admission was sur-
prising Detectives
of the Manhattan
and Brooklyn Ital-
ian police squads
who had always
scoffed at an or-
ganized Black Hand
wondered if they
had been mistaken
They searched the
various quarters
again for some
trace of a central
body for some sign
that there were di-
recting officers This
Petroslno tragedy
certainly savored of
the dread Mafia and
Camorra and there
"ft '
j Ay
j r's X’H
v- yjtf
iK - j
)vj: :f f & it
TYPCAL BLACK HAiD
letter-
was not one of the lieutenant’s squad who
would not have gladly risked his life to lay
hands on a real Black Hand chief
Sober second thought and continued in-
vestigation however return the Ijilack Hand
to its proper category It is not and never
has been a society It knows no chieftain no
scale of spoil division no sacred oath It has
no meeting places consequently holds no
meetings It is in short but a name for a
brand of crime peculiar to Italian crooks and
It is so surprisingly successful because of the
temperament of its south Italian victims and
their inborn dread of the extortionist
' It is almost ludicrous to realize how the
name that is now a world-terror was Invented
Some years ago the story of an - Italian
murder was running in the New York news-
papers The police made little headway and
developments lagged A space-writer on a
certain morning paper needed more money
than the story was bringing him He could
get more space only by giving a new twist to
the crime by working up an exclusive angle
The victim of this murder had received a
letter warning him that death would follow
his failure to contribute a specified sum by
a certain date At the top of the sheet was a
crude drawing of a fist holding a long wicked-
Idoking dagger It was drawn with black ink
a somber sinister emblem For the reporter
It held an idea The name "Black Hand”
leaped from bis imagination and there you
are With great circumstantial detail and
flaring heads be Introduced his find to the
public The murdered Italian was the victim
of a rapacious organization of cut-throats It
was the American edition of the much-feared
Mafia a reincarnation of the deadly Camorra
and in It the reporter combined the worst
features of each
i This characterization was an instantaneous
hit The murder story was again
good for columns of space The
inventive reporter’s rivals went
him several better in succeeding
editions They found meeting
places of the Black Hand They traced other un-
solved crimes of the Italian district to the same myth-
ical source The police said nothing They had been
unable to solve the crime but if It was the work of
a powerful secret organization there was some excuse
for them
To the Italian blackmailers who then as now lived
off the tribute they could wring from their brothers
who worked or who had prospered in business the
appellation was a new’ and unexpected weapon a
stock in trade beyond value It was not copyrighted
and each and every one of them was free to use it
All "Little Italy” was talking of the Black Hand Its
translation into Italian— La Mano Nera— had an even
more sinister sound The next lot of blackmailing
letters sent out bore the usual dagger the skull and
cross-bones the bloody finger print perhaps the long
black coffin and every one was signed “La Mano
Nera” The Black Hand was launched and thcuxslmes
since committed in its name number tens of thou-
sands the spoils collected have sent many a
criminal back to Italy with a fortune accord-
ing to the Sicilian rating and not even the pp-
iice will venture to estimate its cost in human
life
BAA BZR -3H0P
BY BLACK HAND
The Black Hand crimes all follow the same
general lines but that is no argument that
there is an organized society ‘The yeggmen
who terrorize country postmasters all work
after an identical fashion but no one has
ever intimated that they were organized Safe-
crackers the country over use the same tools
and methods but who has suspected them of
holding conventions? The East side gangs —
the “Humpty” Jacksons the Paul Kellys aud
the like — plunder similarly with more or less
success but the only connection between
gang and gang is an occasional feud the re-
sulting “shooting up” of which gives the po-
lice opportunity to send a gangster or two
to Sing Sing
No Italian is too lonely or too poor to em-
bark as a Black Hander A sheet of paper
pen and ink and enough knowledge of Italian
to scrawl a few lines of demand and the ac-
companying threat are all that is necessary
Possible victims are on every hand The bar-
ber in the dingy basement half-way down the
block the fat and timid grocery keeper on the
corner Antonio of the tenement just below
who goes out early each morning all dressed '
in white to boss his gang of street sweepers —
-all these are possible victims of the single-
handed Black Hander and all sooner or later
pay their tribute Of course he signs himself
"La Mano Nera” and then sits back to wait
the working of the spell of temperamental
dread
About a table in a dingy low-ceilinged
basement wine shop off Mulberry Bend or
over on Bleecker street four or fire greasy
low-browed men gather of an afternoon over a
WRECKED
BOMB
1
(SVjaWi L
OyMKa L' Ui&r'
$
BLACK HAND WARNING
weeks perhaps but it is not possible oppor-
tunities for labor that they discuss Their
need of money is mentioned quite frankly In
the next' breath one of the gang recalls that
Gluscppi the tailor looked sleek and prosper-
ous standing in front of his shop an hour be-
fore Another cries for pen and paper which
the master of the wine shop brings with never
a smile though he knows only too well the
nature of the note that is about to be written
One is silently nominated to scrawl the com-
mand another puts on the decorations and a
third signs "La Mano Nera” The tailor is
ordered to come three nights later at 7:30
o’clock to the stone arch In Washington square
and hand $200 to a little man with a hump on
his back who will be waiting there He is
told further that if he fails or mentions the
letter to the' police death and destruction will
be upon him
The next morning Giuseppi has hardly
opened his shop before the postman comes
with the letter One glance at the clumsily
drawn black hand and the daggers scattered
about is enough to tell him that the curse bas
fallen For a time he is too frightened to
read the sum of the extortion The patrolman
on beat passes his door a broad-shouldered
strong-armed sign or law and order A great
temptation comes to Giuseppi He will be
brave as the American papers advise He will
call the police He rushes out after the po-
liceman only to be overcome with a blue funfe
before be can blurt out bis troubles and -ends
by asking some foolish question that has no
bearing on the terrifying letter So on the
appointed night he goes to Washington square
The hunchback is there waiting with a par-
ticular eye for possible treachery from plain-
clothes policemen Giuseppi slips the de-
formed one an envelope and both hurry from
the spot in opposite directions Around the
next corner the hunchback becomes a changed
man The hump on his back disappears and
the breaking off of a bit of putty straightens
a seemingly twisted nose At the wine-shop
the two hundred perhaps the bulk of the tail-
or’s savings is speedily divided and the
blackmailers are ready for other weeks of
idleness Again the Black Hand I
There is a possibility of big rewards In the
game of plunder that has attracted criminals
of skill daring and brains Many of them are
ex-convicts from Italy who plun-
dered there in the name of the Ma-
fia or the Camorra Others are
equally desperate criminals who got
away from Italy before being caught
and given the convict brand which
makes entry into America difficult
and remaining here uncertain with
Petroslno's band continually “fan-
ning” the Italian quarters
One of these skilled laborers of
crime— or perhaps a pair of them —
will gather about him four or five
dull unimaginative lazy fellows—
preferably "black sheep” of the
town or section in Sicily from which
the leader came — and there you
have as near an organization &b the
Black Hand has yet perfected This
leader is known to his followers as
a bad man He has a record for
speedy carving with a dagger per-
haps or a much-to-be-envied knack
of using bis revolver quickly He
ruleB the gang by fear of bloody
violence and does not even bother
to extract oaths from them
Italian bankers contractors whole-
sale dealers in spaghetti or olive oil
or wine owners of equities in mort-
gaged tenement houses — these are
the victims of the big Black Hand-
ers One thousand dollars is the
least they strike for Failure to pay
means that a bomb of crude but
deadly construction will be dropped
in front of the marked man’s bank
store or tenement house Generally
the bomb la so thoroughly over-
loaded with dynamite that It
wrecks much surrounding property
but for that these land pirates care
not Often the innocent are slaugh-
tered but that brings not even a
shrug from these hyenas of the ten-
ements Every so-called Black Hand out-
rage helps on the game of plunder
and adds to the fear of the myth-
ical society A lull In Black Hand
outrages by no means indicates the
Inactivity of the plunderers Gen
ex-ally it spells their continued success
Married Sixty-Eight Year
Rev D Ober and wife of Indian-
apolis Custer County enjoy the dis-
tinction of being married longer than
any other man and wife in Oklaho-
“You must always keep In mind" I ma if not in the United States
said Petroslno the Palermo sac- Mr Ober says that in his long life
rlfice to this sort of Italian crime of elghty-eiglii -years ho has only
-that the commission of crimes of met one couple In Indiana five years
tVl main iaRue Wjth ago who were married as long as
violence is no the man issue witn s h)g HIg wlfe is 0ie
this scum of the earth ir a man
meets their demands pays over
their price they are well satisfied to let him Met After pjftyFour Year
alone I On August 22 at the home of
“Have you ever noticed” he continued "that T m Myers near Tyrola Okla
there is more bomb throwing more kidnaping ocurred a remarkable reunion
more mysterious murders in the winter Grandma Myers mother of T M
months than in the spring summer or early
fall? The winter is the hard time of the year
with all Italians and naturally the collections
come harder Men who have given up a few
dollars now and then for months suddenly de-
cide that come what may they will pay no
more According to the laws of the ‘trade
this means punishment and there you have
your outrages”
The intense love which a respectable Ital-
ian bears for his children has made kidnaping
highly lucrative
The Italian kidnapers about New York
have been almost uniformly successful since
they began signing their letters “La Mano
Nera” In every case the child has been even-
tually returned to his home or left where the
police would be sure to find him Equally in
ever case there have been indications that
the father in spite of the most strict instruc-
tions to the contrary from the police quietly
paid over the amount demanded by the Black
Handers or at least a satisfying portion of It
Knowledge of kidnaping cases nearly al-
ways gets to the police and without delay
An Italian mother whose son fails to return
from an errand to the bake shop around the
corner or whose daughter disappears between
the public school and her home does not fear
even the Black Hand Her husband may
cringe and tremble when she suggests the po-
lice but if he delays the mother with many
wails of anguish rushes to the nearest police
station and blurts out the whole story As a
rule the police have little or nothing on which
to work They have the Black Hand letter
demanding the ransom but of wbat good la
that when the leader of the gang may be that
dapper swarthy brother-in-law who is even
then in the parlor mingling his temperamental
tears with those of th family?
First Car of Cotton Seed
The first car of cotton seed t
reach Guthrie this seaon came ii
over the Port Smith and Weslen
Saturday The seed was shipped tt
the Farmers' Cooperative Cot tor
Mill Manager J II Bullis said the
seed was light In oil qualities Tlu
big mill will start Monday
Fire Destroys Newspaper Plant
Due to an explosion of gasolim
In an adjoining room at noon Sun
day the office of the Sapulpa Light
the oldest pnper In Sapulpa wai
gutted Damage $5000 partly cov-
ered by Insurance For the present
the pnper will be lsseued from an
other office In the city
Masons to Lay Cornerstone
W S Bradshaw of Mangum de-
partment commander of Masons has
Issued a call for members of the
order to meet Sept 20 for the pur-
pose of taking part In the exercises
in connection with the laying of
the cornerstone of the new Centra)
School Building
Signed Petition
District Court will convene thi
week A petition signed by over 200
residents of Kingfisher county has-
been presented to Judge HuBton
asking him to call a special Grand
Jury at this term of court to in-
vestigate the bootleggers and gam-
blers The order of the Grand and
Petit Juries will be sent to District
Clerk losing later
Oklahoma State Charters
State charters issued as follows r
Oklahoma School Supply Company
of Oklahoma City $10000 capital
Incorporators are H A Markham
F C Harris and A B Markham
Charter Construction Company of
Enid $5000 capitaL Incorporators
are J H Mahoney A White C E
White E L Sivigist and 1L G
McKenney
Stole Sixteen Cattle
Some person or persons entered
Nye Johnson's pasture north of
Apache and drove off fourteen head
of 2-year-old steers and two yearlings
during the past week Johnson has
been searching diligently but yet
has received no clew of either the
stolen cattle or of the person who
took them
Cotton Seed on Rampage
Cotton' seed prices are soaring
reaching tfie highest poifit ever
known in’ the community of Gutn-
rie Iu" this locality ginners are
offered rrom $22 to $2C per ton
and in Southern Oklahoma even $28
per ton is offered This is an in-
crease from $11 last season The
crop shortage making an Insuffi-
cient supply for numerous mills in
Oklahoma causes the increase
Off for Convention
With banners and flags flying and
the Tishomingo baud playing the
Marseillaise the student bodies ' of
the State School of A and M and
Tishomingo High School accompan-
ied by a large crowd of citizens de-
parted on the special 6 o’clock train
this morning for Sulphur to attend
the reunion of the Constitutional con-
vention Bill Murray’s Squirrel Riflle
Brigade also went
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Tweedie, Guy A. Adair County Democrat. (Westville, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 39, Ed. 1 Friday, September 24, 1909, newspaper, September 24, 1909; Westville, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1849968/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.