News Items from The Kansas City Journal ~ Old News That's New to You from Vintage Kansas City.com

December 31, 2025

PUGILISM OR NAIL EATING?

Pardon Board Doubtful Which Tends

More to Good Citizenship.

Terence O'Grady, the human ostrich, is free from the workhouse by action of the pardon and parole board yesterday afternoon. He was arrested several weeks ago at the insistence of his wife, who said that his dual role of prize fighter and crockery eater unfitted him for the more domestic one of providing for her and their children. He was fined $500.

Investigation by the board disclosed that O'Grady, if not always a hard working man, possessed a heart as good as his punch and as elastic as his stomach. He said and proved by receipts that he is supporting his widowed mother in Ireland whom he has not seen for more than twenty years. The last money sent to her by Terence was mailed from Kansas City November 4 in the shape of a check for $100. It was one of many such remittances.

"I'll either go back to the prize ring or the kerosene circuit as the human ostrich," said O'Grady to a member of the board who asked him what he would do if paroled. He then added, "It's immaterial to me which I follow. I leave the matter with the board entirely."

Mrs. Kate Pearson stated during the session yesterday that she was afraid O'Grady might swallow a shovel if he were put on the street force. William Volker and Jacob Billikopf could not even guess which of the two occupations named were the best from the standpoint of good citizenship, so the original proposition was remanded back to O'Grady for a decision.

Labels: daredevils, immigrants, Jacob Billikopf, marriage, parole board, sports, workhouse

December 25, 2025

8,000 KIDS YELL

SANTA GREETINGS.

POLICE IN BATTLE ROYAL WHEN
GIFTS ARE ANNOUNCED AS

READY FOR CHILDREN.

Officials of Mayor's Christ-

mas Tree Well Pleased

With Its Success.

Santa Claus, the magnanimous patron saint of good will, was the hero of the hour in Convention hall yesterday afternoon when 8,000 needy, little children were happy objects of his unbounded generosity.

For the second time the mayor's annual Christmas tree was brought forth loaded with playthings and goodies for the poor youngsters, who otherwise would not know of the joys of the giving spirit of the Yuletide. Every child, irrespective of color or race, was made the recipient of a sack filled with things that gladden the juvenile heart.

By 2 o'clock the bill hall was crowded with boys and girls from every portion of the city, and for fully an hour the expectant thousands were entertained by a band organ, furnished by the Hippodrome, and a clown band which marched about the hall playing the most tuneless tunes imaginable, but doing antics that amused all.

Mayor T. T. Crittenden was slated for a speech, but in the attempt failed, owing to the impossibility of inducing the anxious auditors to desist in their yelling. However, the mayor was able to yell "A Merry Christmas" occasionally during the distribution of presents, and this laconic well-wishing accomplished all that could be asked, for every child left the hall with smiling faces which revealed the joyousness they were experiencing.

MAYOR SATISFIED.

"Isn't this going some?" smiled the mayor as he took a view of the remarkable scene. "Just so every one of these poor children get something, I will be satisfied. It is a grand sigh and a gloriouis manifestation of the great Kansas City spirit, which we all love to see.

"It's a greater success than ever," declared Steve Sedweek, a member of the executive committee. "It is one of the biggest charitable undertakings in the country to care for so many needy children, and I am sure the whole committee feels gratified in noting the remarkable demonstrations in evidence here this afternoon."

At times during the big event it was not an easy task to keep the guests properly marooned for their own safety and comfort. Every child present wanted to get his or her present first and the police, under the direction of Sergeant Charles Edwards, had their troubles, but handled the crowds well. Most of the officers present were attired in Santa Claus make-up. In fact, Saint Nick was there six times strong in the persons of Jack Darnell, S. F. Cox, James F. Campbell, A. D. Royer, Joe McCormick and Elvin Gray.

The idea of having a mayor's tree for the poor children every Christmas was conceived by Steve Sedweek, who outlined his plan at an Eagle banquet over a year ago. Mayor Crittenden forthwith promulgated the scheme, and now the affair is to be annual and of increasing success, no doubt.

Yesterday afternoon there were representatives from twelve different cities of the Middle West present to witness the distribution of gifts to the poor. These men came with the view of seeing how Kansas City made its needy ones happy on Christmas and to take the idea back home in the hopes of starting the same kind of wide-spread charity. The mayor's tree is strictly a Kansas City institution and bids fair to be in vogue in many other cities ere many years.

POLICE WERE BUSY.

It was no easy matter even for a dozen military policemen under the careful personal direction of their drill master, Sergeant Charles Edwards, to keep the 8,000 children in their places in the hall yesterday when the line was formed for the distribution of presents. Between boxes, in which the visitors sat, and the gallery seats, where those really interested in the affair were penned in, was a four-foot fence of iron. It did not look very high to the boys, but it looked even smaller to the cops. To the latter it looked infinitely long, however, for at the first call for gifts a scrambling mass of children swept over it, inundating the boxes below and surging out into the hall. For a space of a minute the line seemed actually in danger. The policemen rushed forward, brandishing their clubs and shouting. A dozen members of the reception committee joined hands and formed a wall near the threatened quarter. The mayor raised his deep bass voice in mild disapproval.

Just then, at the crucial moment, the reserves threw their ponderous weight into the fray and the regiments of insurgents broke for cover like the old guard in the rout of Waterloo. The victorious newcomers were the six big officers doing duty as Santa Claus close to the Christmas trees and their tinsel had a better moral effect than the regulation uniforms or the white committee badges. There were no youngsters in that host who wanted to endanger their good standing with St. Nicholas and his assistants. Not much!

There was just one way in which gifts were classified according to the age of the child receiving them yesterday. The presents were in flour sacks, each bearing the label, "Mayor's Christmas Tree, 1909." On the sacks containing gifts calculated for older children the letters were printed in blue, while on the others they were in red. There were eighteen persons at each "gift bench" handing out the sacks.

MOURNER'S BENCHES FOR THE LOST.

A great number of visitors at the mayor's Christmas party wondered why two long benches ere arranged alongside the trees. They were told by ushers that these were the mourners' benches. This was proved to be true later in the day when children who had somehow got lost from their parents or elders lined up from one end to the other. Two little girls, Edith Shoemaker, 2311 Euclid avenue, and Menie Marcus, who said she lived near Eighteenth and McGee streets, were prominent among the mourners.

Edith's tear-stained face and Menie's extraordinary composure seemed to attract the attention of everyone. They had never seen each other before, but they were two lost little girls whose ages were on the tender side of 10 years, and in that circumstance there was union. With arms locked about each other's neck, they sat for an hour until Mayor Crittenden personally took charge of Edith, and Jacob Billikopf of Menie, and sent them home, loaded with presents.

Two wagon loads of toys arrived at the hall after the crowd had been treated and were only partially disposed of. The sum of the donations for the tree amounted to $4,880. It was announced last night by Albert Hutchins, chairman of the finance committee, that $200 of the money has not been used. The presents remaining after yesterday will be distributed at the Grand theater Monday night.

Several instances of highway robbery, in which large boys despoiled smaller ones of their trinkets or tickets were reported to the committee of distribution during the afternoon.

Labels: charity, children, Convention Hall, holidays, Jacob Billikopf, Mayor Crittenden, police, toys

December 6, 2025

CHRISTMAS TREAT FOR

POOR CHILDREN PLANNED.

Large Tree Will Be Prepared in

Convention Hall -- Names Should

Be Addressed to the Mayor.

The Mayor's Christmas Tree association, which was suggested and carried out last year for the first time in the history of Kansas City, is preparing to give the deserving poor children of this city a great treat this Christmas. Elaborate plans are being worked out by the committee. Headquarters have been opened in the Reliance building at Tenth and McGee streets, where contributions will be received, and also the names of the poor. The city will be canvassed during the next three weeks for the names of the children to be placed on the list. Several large Christmas trees will be prepared in Convention hall where the big event is to take place on the night of December 24, and under the direction of the distribution committee the presents will be given to all children who are deemed entitled to receive them.

Names, or suggestions as to distribution of presents, should be addressed to the mayor, and all checks and remittances for the mayor's Christmas tree should be plainly marked and mailed to the city comptroller, Gus Pearson, treasurer of the association for this year.

The members of the executive committee are Thomas Watts, Louis W. Shouse, Jacob Billikopf, M. G. Harman, A. E. Hutchings, Dave McDonnell, Henry Manke, Rev. Charles W. Moore, Steve Sedweek, T. T. Crittenden, John F. Pelletier, Franklin D. Hudson, A. Judah, George F. Damon, Justin A. Runyan, Gus Pearson, H. E. Barker and George C. Hale.

Labels: A Judah, charity, Convention Hall, holidays, Jacob Billikopf, Mayor Crittenden, McGee street, ministers, Tenth street

November 27, 2025

MANY CITIES ASK FOR

KANSAS CITY PRISONER.

Vagrant a Menace at Workhouse,

Board Member Says, Teaching the

Boys How to Work "Safe" Games.

The police of several cities are anxious to get possession of E. Burgess, now serving a year's sentence here on a technical charge of vagrancy, according to L. A. Halbert, secretary of the board of pardons and paroles.

Burgess was accused originally of inducing the matron of the Nettleton home to marry him, it being alleged that he had a wife in another city. He is said to have posed as a wealthy man. While awaiting "a large remittance," his new wife was supporting him, having paid for the marriage license and ceremony.

Mrs. Burgess heard that her husband proposed to other women after the marriage, and previously had proposed to a dozen or more. She caused his arrest. The first wife did not appear so he was arraigned in the municipal court as a vagrant and fined $500.

A letter from the chief of police at Hudson, Wis., told of a man supposed to be Burgess, who had a wife there. She supported him for a long time after marriage while he gambled and was engaged in a general confidence business.

The chief of police of Ottumwa, Ia., said Burgess is wanted there on a charge of passing worthless checks and "beating" hotels. He said the Cedar Rapids, Ia., police want Burgess on the same charge.

The police of Oklahoma City, Ok., and El Paso, Tex., tell of similar accusations there. The Hudson, Wis., chief says Burgess "is an all round crook and confidence man."

"He has been a menace to the younger prisoners here in the workhouse," said Jacob Billikopf, a member of the board, at the weekly meeting yesterday. "He frequently relates his experiences and tells how easy it is to separate people from their spare change and how to work the game so as to keep out of prison."

"I would be willing to turn Burgess over the the authorities of any city where it plainly could be shown that they had a case against him which would send him over the road," said President William Volker. "If any of these places has a direct charge against Burgess, I will be glad to turn him over, but I don't want to take any chances of turning loose a dangerous man on the public again. Let him remain here for the balance of his sentence, nine months, and notify the places where he is wanted when he is to be released."

An effort is to be made, through the Hudson, Wis., police, to induce the alleged original Mrs. Burgess to come here and prosecute the man for bigamy.

Labels: bigamy, con artist, crime, Jacob Billikopf, oklahoma, parole board, Texas, vagrancy

November 27, 2025

PAROLE SYSTEM IN HANNIBAL?

Jacob Billikopf's Address at Muni-

cipal League Meeting Responsible.

At the convention of the Missouri Municipal League here a few days ago Jacob Billikopf delivered an address on the work of the board of pardons and paroles and explained the system under which it operates. The mayor, city attorney and some members of the city council of Hannibal, Mo., who were delegates, became interested and sought Mr. Billikopf after the meeting.

"I explained the whole system to them in detail," said Mr. Billikopf yesterday, "and showed them our records. The took home blanks and cards which we use in our work here. Benjamin Henwood, the city attorney, said that a special ordinance would be drawn on his arrival home and a pardons and paroles system put into operation there. All of them approved of our system, and no doubt will adopt a similar one in Hannibal."

Labels: conventions, Jacob Billikopf, parole board, visitors

November 14, 2025

LIKES KANSAS CITY PLAN.

Cincinnati Will Soon Have Juvenile

Improvement Association.

CINCINNATI, O., Nov. 13. -- As a result of the visit of Kansas City men interested in juvenile reform, Cincinnati soon wi ll have a juvenile improvement association patterned after that of Kansas City. Delegates from other cities to the convention of juvenile court attaches also were interested in the pardons and paroles board of Kansas City.

E. E. Porterfield, judge of the Kansas City juvenile court and president of its juvenile association, created a favorable impression by his description of the plan by which boys are kept in school through charitable persons paying them a salary equal to what they could make if employed.

The speech of Jacob Billikopf of the Kansas City pardon and parole board, in which he gave concrete examples of the work being done for families of persons conditionally paroled from the city workhouse, caused much discussion among the delegates. Dr. E. L. Mathias, juvenile officer in Judge Porterfield's court, took part in the discussion and told of the work done by him. The three Kansas City delegates have left Cincinnati for their homes.

Labels: charity, Dr Mathias, Jacob Billikopf, Judge Porterfield, juvenile court, parole board

October 19, 2025

WORKING MEN ATTEND SCHOOL.

Night School for Foreigners Is

Opened With 101 Enrolled.

The Jewish Educational Institute opened its night school for foreigners at 7 o'clock last night in its new building, Admiral boulevard and Harrison street, with 101 enrollments.

The purpose of the night school, which is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings of each week from 7 to 9, is to teach the foreign class of people in Kansas City the English language and to Americanize them as far as possible. Five different divisions are taught, mainly elementary English, arithmetic, civil government and architectural drawing, the latter being taught by Walter Root and Thomas Green.

The classes are composed mostly of working men and women between the ages of 20 to 45 years, most of them having a good foreign education, a few being unable to read or write a word of English.

This work has been carried on for the past six years under the same management at 1702 Locust street. Jacob Billikopf, superintendent of the institute, expresses himself pleased with the enrollment for the opening night, that he expects to increase it considerably in the next few weeks. A fee of $1 per month entitles the scholar to all the privileges of the institute, prominent among which is the gymnasium and shower baths.

Labels: Admiral boulevard, Harrison street, immigrants, Jacob Billikopf, Jews, schools

August 14, 2025

MANUAL TRAINING FOR

WORKHOUSE PRISONERS?

Superintendent Murphy Will Go to

Chicago to Get Ideas for

Changes Here.

Changes in the conditions which now prevail at the workhouse are to be instituted as soon as possible, if the ideas of the members of the pardon and parole board are carried out. At the meeting of the board yesterday afternoon it was decided to send Cornelius Murphy, new superintendent of the workhouse, and L. A. Halbert, secretary of the board, to Chicago, where they are to make an exhaustive study of the conditions which are in force at that institution.

It was deplored by the board that there is no means of teaching a prisoner at the workhouse any trade by which he might make his living if he were released or pardoned. Such institutions as laundires, shoe shops and tailoring shops were mintioned as among the available ones which might readity be had in the Kansas City workhouse.

Mr. Murray and Br. Halbert probably will leave for Chicago some time during the last part of next week. William Volker and Jacob Billikopf, members of the board, both have examined the Chicago workhouse and express much appreciation of its methods.

Labels: Chicago, Jacob Billikopf, Jews, parole board, workhouse

May 20, 2025

LORETTA STUDENTS

CAPTURED A COUNT.

"Russian Nobleman" Was the Real

Attraction at the Annual Acad-

emy Frolice -- An Orig-

inal Idea.

When Count Alexis Rojostzensky entered the room at the Loretta academy yesterday afternoon, all eyes were fixed upon him. Then there was a rush of 250 women to get in line to meet the "count." Frank Walsh, lawyer, diplomat and charity worker, stopped the stampede with uplifted hand and, in a brief speech, gave the company a general introduction.

The "count" talked affably in Russianized English. His hostesses were charmed with every detail of his person, especially when he explained that he was in this country looking for a wife.

A remarkable thing about the "count" which struck several visitors was that if it were not fir a monocle which he wore he would be the exact double of Jacob Billikopf, chairman of the United Jewish Charities, who is of Russian parentage and is always willing to help a religious denomination in the cause of charity.

Labels: attorney, charity, immigrants, Jacob Billikopf, Jews

May 19, 2025

RUSSIAN COUNT TO SERVE TEA.

Unique Feature of Loretta Acade-

my's May Day Festival.

There will be a real live Russian count in charge of the serving of Russian tea in the Japanese booth this afternoon at the May Day festival at the Loretta academy, which is to be given by the alumnae of the school. The festivities will begin at 3 and will be opened with a May pole dance given by the youngest scholars in the academy.

From the minute the dance is in progress until 8 o'clock this evening there will be something doing for the entertainment of the alumnae and also for the undergraduates. Four May pole dances will be given, two by the little ones and two by the girls in the upper classes. An orchestra will furnish the music and the various booths, in charge of a chaperon and attended by numerous pretty girls, will be some of the other attractions.

The women in charge of the entertainment are very proud of the fact that a Russian count, who is in the city, has kindly volunteered to present and assist in the serving of Russian tea. The tea is to be brewed in a samovar and the presence of Count Rolanskyvitch of St. Petersburg will add a tinge of realism to the booth. He will be introduced by Jacob Billikopf.

The various booths will be the Dutch, Colonial, Candy, Magic Well, Wayside Inn, Japanese, Handkerchief, the Married booth and the one presided over by three of the prettiest girls recently graduated and who will tell fortunes of all comers. The candy booth will be conducted by the girls of 1909 and the girls of the class of 1911 will rule over the Magic Well.

Labels: amusement, children, dancing, food, Jacob Billikopf, Jews, music, schools, visitors

May 7, 2025

GOOD WORK AT CITY FARM.

Board of Pardons and Paroles Has

Helped Clean It Up.

"The board of pardons and paroles is doing great work out at the city farm, near Leeds, with prisoners from the workhouse," said Mayor Crittenden last night. During the afternoon, in company with Jacob Billikopf and Frank Walsh of the board of pardons and paroles, C. A. Sumner, of the City Club and W. C. Root of the tenement commission, the mayor made and inspection of the farm.

"A year ago portions of the farm were veritable jungles," said the mayor, "but things are different now. With the board of pardons and paroles acting in a supervising capacity, prisoners from the workhouse have cleaned out all the underbrush, erected buildings for their sh elter and laid out gardens which have been planted with all kinds of produce.

"The site for the proposed tuberculosis hospital has been put in fine shape and just as soon as bonds are voted the erection of the building will be under way."

Labels: Jacob Billikopf, Mayor Crittenden, parole board, tenement commission, workhouse

February 24, 2026

POLICE HOLDOVER IS A

DISGRACE TO THE CITY.

Pardon and Parole Board Takes Offi-

cial Cognizance of Conditions

at City Hall.

Unsanitary, filled with vermin and a disgrace to the city, are a few of the things said about the holdover at police headquarters in the report of the secretary of the board of pardons and paroles, which report was made on motion of Jacob Billikopf. Frank E. McCrary, the secretary, investigated the condition of the holdover.

The jail for men is situated in the cellar and is a breeding place for disease, the report says. The room in which prisoners are held while waiting for their cases to be called in the municipal court, the report continues, is too small and not well ventilated, the foul air making it very offensive in the court room.

Captain Whitsett is quoted as saying that all prisoners arrested by the uniformed police are only held until the following morning, while those arrested by the detectives, or secret branch, are held longer. One case brought to the attention of the board was that of witnesses against Dr. Harrison Webber, accused of selling cocaine and having $8,000 in fines against him. Dr. Webber is detained in the matron's room, while two witnesses who bought the drug from him are being held in the holdover. They have been there now over twenty days. The three are being held as witnesses against members of a medical company.

While the board admitted its inability to remedy the unsanitary condition of the holdover, they suggested that even public buildings came within the jurisdiction of the tenement commission. The Humane Society will be asked to investigate the sanitary conditions, and, if possible, have them improved.

Labels: Captain Whitsett, doctors, Humane Society, Jacob Billikopf, jail, narcotics, parole board, police headquarters, police matron, tenement commission

February 23, 2026

FIGHT MADE BY JEWS

AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS.

RABBI MAYER TELLS WHAT

RACE HAS ACCOMPLISHED.

Two Separate Institutions at Denver

for Sufferers of All Races and

Creeds -- First Patient

a Catholic.

Interest in the exhibit of the National Society for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, now going on in the Scarritt building, Ninth street and Grand avenue, under the auspices of the Jackson county society, increases. Yesterday and last night over 3,000 persons attended.

On account of the large attendance at the stereopticon lecture and the discussions by prominent local physicians in the evening, it has become necessary to double the capacity of the lecture hall.

Last night the meeting was under the auspices of the United Jewish Charities, with Rabbi H. H. Mayer in the chair. Rabbi Mayer told his audience what the Jewish people are doing in the fight against the great white plague. He spoke of its ravages among his people, especially in the sweat shops and the poor tenements of New York, where those from foreign lands live and work.

"The National hospital at Denver," he said, "is now managed and maintained wholly by the Jews, yet it is open to the unfortunate of all religions. Only two questions are asked of the applicant -- 'Is the disease in its first stages?' and 'Are you unable to pay for treatment?' It might be interesting to know that the first patient admitted was a Catholic. We have another institution in that city, a hospital for those in the advanced stages of the disease."

Rabbi Mayer then told his hearers that if they knew any person who needed treatment in these institutions to send them to Jacob Billikopf, local superintendent of the Jewish Charities, where they would be examined, classified and placed upon the waiting list for admission.

SYMPTOM OF CIVILIZATION.

"Consumption," he said in closing, "is only a symptom of modern civilization. It is a result of modern crowded and herded conditions in the great cities. That was its beginning, and it has spread like a pestilence."

Dr. Jacob Block, who followed Rabbi Mayer and spoke on "The Economic Value of Prevention," agreed that tuberculosis, or consumption,, is a disease of civilization. He then told of the advancement of bacteriology and what it had accomplished in the battle against this and other germ diseases.

W. L. Cosper, in his stereopticon talk last night, informed his audience that the tubercle bacillus, the germ of tuberculosis, is a vegetable germ. It is not a wiggling thing, but has no vitality, is inert and must be raised by dust or other method to get into the system, where it multiplies by dividing. In an hour one germ will become thousands, each doing its amount of damage to the person with the run down system or the unhealthy mucous membrane. A person in good health, he said, will get rid of all kinds of disease germs by his natural resisting powers.

USED THEM FOR SAUSAGE.

In speaking of tuberculosis in cattle and hogs, Mr. Cosper said that it had been found that about 1 per cent of cattle and 2 per cent of hogs were infected. At the great packing houses, through government inspection, such carcasses are destroyed, but in smaller communities where a butcher kills his own animals there is no inspection. A Nebraska butcher told Mr. Cosper that he had frequently found animals with diseased organs like those he saw at the exhibit. "But I never sold that meat," he said. "I always laid it aside and made sausage from it."

The germ of tuberculosis shown under the microscope is attracting much attention at the exhibit. Germs which cause green and yellow pus, diphtheria, typhoid fever, anthrax and tuberculosis are being cultivated in tubes on what is known as "culture media." Many of them have become so thick that they can be seen with the naked eye -- where there are millions of them. They are safely bottled.

Labels: Denver, doctors, Grand avenue, health, Jacob Billikopf, Jews, ministers, Ninth street, organizations, Scarritt building, stereopticons, typhoid

January 13, 2026

WORKHOUSE PRISONERS

GET COKE AND OPIUM?

PARDON AND PAROLE BOARD

WILL INVESTIGATE RUMORS.

Also Would Know Circumstances Sur-

rounding Escape of F. E. Golden.

Severn Are Freed at Yes-

terday's Session.

The mystery surrounding in disappearance of F. E. Golden from the workhouse January 5 is being investigated by the pardon and parole board. Golden and an old man named George Rogers were recently fined $500 each for attempting to "short change" local merchants.

When he went to the workhouse he had $21.50 and a watch. After he had been there several days the money and watch were returned to him one morning. That night he escaped from the engine room where he was working.

"Patrick O'Hearn told me," said Secretary Frank E. McCrary, "that the engineer left the room and , in violation of strict orders, failed to lock the door. When he returned, Golden had decamped."

Mr. Billikopf said the board might want to know why Golden's money and watch happened to be given him the very day he happened to escape?

According to Mr. McCrary, Superintendent O'Hearn said Golden's watch was given him so he could tell the time down in the engine room, so he would know when to fire up. It appears to be the custom to give prisoners their money when it is asked for.

EASY TO GET "DOPE."

Another matter the board may look into is the passing of different kinds of "dope" in to prisoners. At every meeting so far prisoners have voluntarily stated that they sent out every day for gum opium, morphine and cocaine.

"Some of the guards will get it for you," one man stated, "if there is anything in it, but it is most generally brought in by the men of the chain gang. The money is given them when they go out in the morning."

The board yesterday gave freedom on parole to seven workhouse prisoners and sent one back until some of his statements would be investigated.

RAILROADED TO PRISON.

Paroled yesterday was Daniel Shoemaker, 21 years old, a negro dining car waiter, a dragnet victim. He was arrested December 3 "for investigation" and held three days, forty-eight hours longer than the law allows. Then he was fined $50 as a vagrant. Shoemaker told the board yesterday that he had just come in from his run when arrested, but that the police would not allow him to telephone and prove it. Even in court this was denied him.

Labels: Jacob Billikopf, narcotics, parole board, workhouse

October 20, 2025

JEWISH WORKMEN AT SCHOOL.

Educational Alliance Enrolls Pupils

60 Years of Age -- Learning English.

Enrollment at the night school of the Jewish Educational Alliance started yesterday at headquarters, 1702 Locust street. About eighty-five enrolled. Jacob Billikopf, who is at the head of the alliance, said last night that he expected an enrollment of more than 100.

The pupils will be divided into four classes, according to their advancement in the art of speaking English. Almost all of those who have enrolled are grown men, some nearly 60 years old, and all of them are employed during the day. Few of them can speak English passably and many not at all.

The classes will be taught by Jacob Billikopf, Miss Dora Fisher, Kark Schreiber, Miss Clara Stern and one other teacher not yet appointed. All the grade school branches will be taught and special classes in English conversation will be arranged. Enrollment will be continued today and classes will begin tomorrow at 8 p. m. and continue through the winter.

Labels: immigrants, Jacob Billikopf, Jews, Locust street, schools