Messenger Boys Clash with Saloon Patron

The Western Union messenger boys were greatly excited last night over the arrest of two of their number for engaging in a fight with a saloon man named Louis Madru at the entrance of Cordray's theater about 8 o'clock. The boys engaged in the scrap were John O. Smith, known among the boys as 'English,' and H. P. Meyers. The story they tell is that they accidentally crowded into Madru in the entrance, and he turned around to them and asked, 'What in h— are you up to?' 'English' answered him rather sharply, whereupon Madru hit him on the hand with a cane. Smith ran behind Meyers, but Madru's fighting blood was up, and he is said to have rapped Meyers on the neck. At this juncture, Officer John Corbett arrived and arrested all concerned. When the boys reached the police station, they were closely questioned by Capt. Hoke and told their story in substance as above. They cried bitterly and asked the captain what he was going to do with them. He asked Smith how old he was and was told 14. The captain then told Smith he would have to be sent to the reform school. This brought out an extra volume of tears and promises to do better in the future. To the same question, Meyers said he was 15 years old and was told that he would have to go to the penitentiary. He also dropped a bucketful of tears. Madru said that when the boys crowded him in the entrance, he was under the impression that they were trying to get into his pocket. The charge of fighting was placed on the books against the trio, and they were released on their own recognizance to appear today at 2 o'clock to answer to the charge.