Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1906 — “FUN” THAT WAS NOT SO FUNNY. [ARTICLE]

“FUN” THAT WAS NOT SO FUNNY.

One of a Gang of Young Hoodlums Is Stabbed in the Arm While On One of Their Raids. For several years it has been the custom for a gang of boys, just branching out into manhood—in years .if not in intellect—to go about to parties, socials and entertainments and either steal the refreshments that bad been prepared for the occasion or make themselves generally obnoxious and mar the place and good fellowship of the occasion by their unwelcome presence. Such general cussedness and vandalism is the way these young rowdies show the public of Rensselaer just how smart they are, and, what a grand thing education is when carried out a la some of our college towns of more pretentions than Rensselaer. As soon as one crowd of these rowdies outgrows this buttermilk

stage or scatters and leaves the town, another one springs up, and our city is never without these interesting young scamps who mistake acts of vandalism and rowdyism for intelligence, and who never fail after one of their “sorties” to go around to the papers and ask them to say nothing about it. If they are arrested—as was onoe the case —the fear of. some personal damage usually prevents their prosecution by the injured parties and they escape with a mild reprimand by the court. Monday night the present gang of these young hoodlums —who are composed of Rensselaer’s upper-tendom boys'—were out in force, and a social given by the Junior members of the Epworth League on the lawn at Geo. F. Meyers’ was their objective point of attack. Their ages run from 16 to 19 years, probably, and their sole object in visiting this lawn social was to "have fun”—their idea of fun. After spending some * time about the tables and booths, smoking filthy pipes, spending perhaps a nickle or two —no more than this —and trying to “swipe” some of the stock the little folks had for sale, they proceeded to have more “fun” by catching hold of some of the young boys who had gone to the social with good intentions, a half dozen of the rowdies pouncing onto a lad younger than themselves who happened to be on the outskirts of the crowd and dragging him back in the shadows or some distance away,- proceeded to disrobe the struggling victim and heap other indignities upon him. This was done with several boys from 14 to 16 years of age, ~ and finally was tried on young Walter English, who struggled frantically to get away and finally managed to get hold of his pocketknife and struck at one of his assailants. The blade found a lodgment in the arm of Livingston Ross, one of the crowd of rowdies who was attempting to take the boy’s clothes off, and made quite a flesh wound in the muscle of young Ross’ right arm. While the boy’s .parents, of course, are sorry that the thing occurred, yet he did it in attempting to defend himself from the ruffianly attacks of his tormentors no more than most any other boy of spirit would have done under like circumstances if he could get a hand free to resist, and we have heard no one blame the lad for what he did. We are told that boys will be boys, and large allowance may be made for_ their boyishness, but when boys under that plea pass the limits of decency and the law of the land —as they have frequently done in Rensselaer—they should receive the same punishment which is meted out to boors, rowdies and criminals everywhere, and The Democrat will not aid in covering up and encouraging such acts by keeping the matter out of the paper. Hereafter the names of all participants in such affairs will be published in this paper, and it will be time wasted to come around and attempt to keep the matter quiet.