a look back in time: the crimes of st. patrick’s day, 1901

the following is a transcription of an atlantic city newspaper report from march 18, 1901, detailing the st. patrick’s day cases that passed through the city’s police court.

men celebrating a little too enthusiastically and a judge who seems p amused by the whole affair. erin go bragh baby

the spelling and wording have been preserved as closely as possible to the original.

CASES IN THE POLICE COURT

Two Victims Only Wanted to “Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.”

MANY RYE PARTIES

Johnson, of Virginia, Will Start on His Homeward Tour This Morning — Joe Short in Trouble — Sicily Will Visit the Sheriff for Thirty Days.

There was quite a batch of plain drunks, fancy drunks and various other kinds of drunks in the Recorder’s court last evening and the excuses of some of them were amusing.

The first to receive the attention of the court was George Johnson. Johnson had been celebrating a little too heavily and the longer he kept at the celebration, the more boisterous he became and it ended in his being placed behind the bars of the cages in the city jail until his ardor had a chance to cool down a little. When asked by the court how it was that he became drunk, the man looked surprised into the face of his questioner, gave a big gasp and replied, “I guess it was because I drank too much.” His reply brought a smile to the face of the stern judge, and he let the man down easy with a fine of $2.50.

The next victim was William M. Jenkins. Jenkins, too, had been out on a little “rye party” and he was seized with “paralysis” and had to be taken to the city jail for treatment. After he had had time to dry out a little he became better and was able to have a hearing last evening. He gave essentially the same excuse as that given by Johnson, was charged $2.50 for his board and “doctor bill” and allowed to depart in peace.

Daniel Fee and Thomas Clarke were the next to receive the attention of the court.

“Well, how did you come to get drunk on Sunday?” questioned the Recorder. “Were you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?”

“Those what we waz, now yer honor, and shure we didn’t mane no harrum at all. We were just celebratin’ a wee bit and we got jus’ a dhrop too much on board, and thin shure the policeman nabbed us and fetched us over here.”

“Well, if you were just celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, I think I can let you go this time. I am too much of an Irishman myself to punish a man for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. You may go now.”

“Shure, now, we thank yez for yure koindness, and we’ll go home loike dacint byes, so we will. Good night, sor.”

John Johnson was a dark complexioned gentleman from Virginia and he had come all the way from that state to make a visit to this city for the benefit of his health. When he was asked by the Recorder what he was doing for a living, he replied that he had only come to the city on Sunday and as yet he had not secured anything to do. He was afflicted and was not able to tackle every kind of work that was offered to him. He had hurt his knee in a fall some time ago and that useful member was chock full of “rumatism” and it made it stiff. The Judge told him that he might stay over night as a guest of the city and this morning he will start on a pilgrimage to the city of Camden.

Robert Marten went over to the police station to get a hatchet that had been left in the care of the police when his brother-in-law, William Thomas, was arrested for assaulting people on Baltic avenue. Thomas was sentenced to six years in the State Prison and as he would not have any further use for the hatchet in question, Marten thought he would get it. Before going he filled up on bad whiskey, raised a disturbance in front of the station house, interfered with the moving of the wheels of justice, was arrested and fined $2.50. He will know better next time.

Joe Short had to answer to the charge of soliciting baggage and doing an expressman’s business without a license. There were several witnesses against him, but he had no witnesses present and as he asked for time in which to procure them the case was adjourned to seven o’clock this evening.

Edward Sicily was arrested by Officer Barry in an uptown saloon yesterday and charged with vagrancy and begging. He had been before the court before and this time the Recorder gave him a trip to the county bastile for a period of thirty days.