THE SEAMY SIDE.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 May 1926, Page 4

THE SEAMY SIDE.

e TOLD TO THE MAGISTRATE. LONDON, April 4. Twopence was the bill of Janies Rumble, a dealer, who, the chtirgo in an Edgware-road cafe, ultimately paid £l4 13s at Maryleboiie Police Court yesterday. Drunk though lie was, he was received politely by the proprietor, courteously by the waitress, and pleasantly by the proprietor’s daughter. But James Rumble wias not pleased with the food of the service, and he showed his disappointment.)by first insulting the waitress and then knocking her across the counter. Next he tried to strike the proprietor, who dodged the blow, so James J Rumble found an easier mark in the proprietor’s daughter, whom he smote on Hie mouth, loosening severed teeth.' Then, warming to his work, he seized a number of dishes from the counter and flung them at the fleeing waitress until his original bill of twopence was increased by £5 13s lOd.

Tbe bill was presented yesterday before Mr Hay Halkett, the magistrate, who, working out a small problem in addition, brought it to £l4 13s. And there was no tip!

Plump and placid, Alice looks v.-kat she is—a cook in love with her ait. For 51 weeks in the year she is tbe pride of the kitchen.and the joy of the family: but when the birds begin to sing and the trees burst into leaf, oh, Alice, where art thou? Three times in the last three years she has lost good situations by leaving the roast to burn and the soup to boil oyer while she hud her week. Once more she packed her boxes, phid her 20s line and became again the perfect cook—for 51 weeks. Two youths who had been in custody for 15 days had stolen enough wireless material to get in communication with the entire inhabited globe. More than £BO worth of apparatus Us taken from a shop where one of the youths was employed, and £SO worth is still missing. Both agreed that they had received a lasting lesson, and declared that they had lost all their interest in wireless. “But detained oil remand is a mild form of imprisonment,” explained the magistrate. “If you lmd a course ol hard labour you would indeed he sorry.” The youth turned tearfully to their mothers, who acted ns sureties, under probation, for the good behaviour ol their hoys, who listened to a lecture from Mr Hay Halkett, the limgis-t-rate.

A bedtime story was told by a young husband who owed his wife £5 10s in maintenance arrears. lie said he was n casual labourer and he had been trying to find work since last summer. An officer who I (id made inquiries, however, reported ttint not only had the erring husband lost a job through laziness hut he was a failure us n casual labourer assisting carmen, because be stayed tin feed every morning until the danger of work lnul passed. lie was ordered to pay or to go to prison for 20 days, and. with a suppressed yawn lie sought the solace of the cell.

Jack Bigo is a 17-years-old errand bay who lias bad and lost 50 jobs dufing the last three weeks, After two days lie is either discharged or he resigns. Many times, according to a detective, In* has been suspected of stealing: hut he v,:is not actually caught until his last situation in a laundry, when lie handed £5 worth of washing to an accomplice, who had disappeared.

Pago, who His been at a home found by the probation officer, has no parents and refuses to bs controlled bv his sister. lie is the typo of youth who lias never known discipline. He was remanded for n week in custody with the choice of a modified form of Borstal or returning tb the home from which he ran away. His type is the only too Itmilar problem of police, magistrates, and court missionaries.

Tl'.e love of a foster-mother for a young man who returned her affection was demonstrated . in the case of a hotel porter who had stolen *; diamond ring valued at £SO from a guest’s lied mom.

It was not the first time ho had been in trouble. Two years ago be stole £!0 from bis employer and took a trip to South America, but a marennigilim secured bis arrest on the return voyage to Liverpool. For this offence, and another matter of £3O, he was sentenced to three months at Bow-street, and then he seems to have gone straight until the sight of the ling, while he \\Ms cleaning windows, was too strong a temptation. .The foster-mother, a devoted little elderly woman, made an eloquent appeal which touched the magistrate, who gave the porter what lie described as 11 short, sharp sentence of two months’ hard labour. The foster-mother left the .ourt weeping bitterly, and the penitent foster-sou held his arms towards 'ter. ‘‘He has always been a good boy at home,” she cried.

Once a member of the .Metropolitan Police Force, a toll, powerful man stood in tlio dock gazing ruefully at a small builder and decorator whose head and face were generously bandaged. Shortly after three o'clock on the previous afternoon the ex-policeman was having a. row with one or two companions, whom he loft at the urgent request of Constable Austin. Then, apparently disappointed at the tame sequel to the argument, the one-time policeman declared lie was going to have a light with someone, and his choice fell on the builder, a perfect stranger, who was discussing the price of cement with one of his men. The builder himself was riot sure what happened. All ho could remember was being hit in the back of the neck with what he supposed to be a twostorev building. He fell violently on his face, which was dressed at the hospital, where lie had to return to have his neck examined. ‘ The prisoner struck him one blow on the back,” explained Constable Austin. ”1 can’t understand if,” confessed llie magistrate as lie fined the ex-policeman 455.

'fitroe youths who had imitated the cat burglar by climbing rain-pipes ai d raiding warehouses were caught by police who had been waiting for their descent. When first brought before the iriagistrate they laughed and traated the affair as a joke, arid were promptly remanded for a week in custody by -Mr Watson, who yesterday described them as young blackguards who needed a good thrashing. The laughter had gone from the youths, who were hound over. It was still another case of idleness leading to crime.