Sheriff Tyler warns Tonawanda officials to purge Goose Island at once or county will take hand, article and photos, transcribed (Buffalo Courier, 1925-06-11).pdf
Dublin Core
Title
Sheriff Tyler warns Tonawanda officials to purge Goose Island at once or county will take hand, article and photos, transcribed (Buffalo Courier, 1925-06-11).pdf
Description
Features photos of "disroderly" houses, and an aged Philip Perew.
AI Transcription:
**General view of Goose Island, Tonawanda.**
Sheriff Tyler yesterday conferred with Mayor Warren and Chief of Police Ellicott of Tonawanda and informed them that reported vice conditions on Goose Island must be cleaned up immediately or he would go over their heads and take a hand himself. Chief Ellicott told the sheriff he would co-operate in the clean up, while Mayor Warren asserted he had no authority over the Tonawanda police department and therefore could do nothing.
Tyler declared he found the chief of police non-committal regarding conditions on Goose Island. He said the chief feigned ignorance of widespread operations, which the sheriff characterized as "downright immoral."
**Must Close Houses.**
"I told Chief Ellicott I would wait a reasonable time for him to shut down the twenty or more houses of ill repute said to be open on Goose Island, but I would continue personal investigation of conditions. If there is no improvement within a few days, I will proceed to raid the district until it is absolutely clean.
"Never has there been such flagrant activity as is apparent to everybody who visits the island. Women openly solicit on the streets, deputy sheriffs report.
"There is no doubt Tonawanda officials have been lax in permitting such conditions to exist. The sheriff's office has been receiving numerous complaints about the island, and generally persons do not appeal to the sheriff for relief unless they have been turned down by local officials. I intend to investigate thoroughly every angle of the Goose Island district affair."
Chief of Police Ellicott said he was not aware conditions on Goose Island were as bad as reported, but he would close down every place he found running in violation of the law.
**Women Laugh at Cleanup.**
A survey of Goose Island yesterday by a reporter revealed there are two streets in which nearly every house contains two or three women wearing gaudy dresses and having highly painted faces. The women make no secret of their business, and laugh at reports of the impending cleanup.
Philip Perew, No. 46 Sweeney Street, North Tonawanda, who said he owned ten houses on the island, declared he rented them to reputable men or women for use as rooming places. He asserted the lodgers were men or women employed at the plants in the locality.
Numerous drinkeries on the island are the chief spots of celebration during the week and on Saturday and Sunday nights. The largest crowds of men and women are said to come to the district on Saturday nights. During the past month there have been evenings when more than 500 persons visited the resorts.
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AI Transcription:
**General view of Goose Island, Tonawanda.**
Sheriff Tyler yesterday conferred with Mayor Warren and Chief of Police Ellicott of Tonawanda and informed them that reported vice conditions on Goose Island must be cleaned up immediately or he would go over their heads and take a hand himself. Chief Ellicott told the sheriff he would co-operate in the clean up, while Mayor Warren asserted he had no authority over the Tonawanda police department and therefore could do nothing.
Tyler declared he found the chief of police non-committal regarding conditions on Goose Island. He said the chief feigned ignorance of widespread operations, which the sheriff characterized as "downright immoral."
**Must Close Houses.**
"I told Chief Ellicott I would wait a reasonable time for him to shut down the twenty or more houses of ill repute said to be open on Goose Island, but I would continue personal investigation of conditions. If there is no improvement within a few days, I will proceed to raid the district until it is absolutely clean.
"Never has there been such flagrant activity as is apparent to everybody who visits the island. Women openly solicit on the streets, deputy sheriffs report.
"There is no doubt Tonawanda officials have been lax in permitting such conditions to exist. The sheriff's office has been receiving numerous complaints about the island, and generally persons do not appeal to the sheriff for relief unless they have been turned down by local officials. I intend to investigate thoroughly every angle of the Goose Island district affair."
Chief of Police Ellicott said he was not aware conditions on Goose Island were as bad as reported, but he would close down every place he found running in violation of the law.
**Women Laugh at Cleanup.**
A survey of Goose Island yesterday by a reporter revealed there are two streets in which nearly every house contains two or three women wearing gaudy dresses and having highly painted faces. The women make no secret of their business, and laugh at reports of the impending cleanup.
Philip Perew, No. 46 Sweeney Street, North Tonawanda, who said he owned ten houses on the island, declared he rented them to reputable men or women for use as rooming places. He asserted the lodgers were men or women employed at the plants in the locality.
Numerous drinkeries on the island are the chief spots of celebration during the week and on Saturday and Sunday nights. The largest crowds of men and women are said to come to the district on Saturday nights. During the past month there have been evenings when more than 500 persons visited the resorts.
---
Let me know if you need any further assistance!
Date
1925-06-11
Collection
Citation
“Sheriff Tyler warns Tonawanda officials to purge Goose Island at once or county will take hand, article and photos, transcribed (Buffalo Courier, 1925-06-11).pdf,” North Tonawanda History, accessed December 12, 2024, https://nthistory.com/items/show/4023.