Wop

Detective J.J. McVea of the Charles street station, who arrested the boys, says that the robbery of the safe was a remarkable one and showed no trace of amateurism. It was committed by four boys. Besides Lyons and Murphy, he says, there were in it Albert Moquin, 14 years old, of 68 West Third street, and one whom Lyons calls “Oscar the Wop,” or “Oscar the Dago.”

There was a time, not very long ago, when you couldn't find a Wop -- that means an Italian in the latest downtown dialect -- in Danny's resort even by using a microscope. But to-day it's different. The members of the Five Points gang, all dark skinned sons of Sicily, grew tired of flitting from place to place, with no set rendezvous for their nightly gatherings. A number of the Pointers used to frequent the place, and it wasn't long before the entire gang became regulars.

The northern Jews have historical proof of their valor and finesse in the ring, but in recent years the Jews from southeastern Europe, who are popularly supposed to settle their personal differences by pulling each other's hair and weeping, have produced many clever boxers. But who would expect Italy to take a hand in this great Northern game? I have been there twenty times and I never once saw a blow struck with the fist. Yet, there are some very competent Italian fighters. It is hardly possible to go to an entertainment at the 'club' without seeing a wop as he is called by the votaries of the game, matched against a bruiser from the native land of John L. Sullivan.

Where do you work-a, Wop? In da big-a da barber shop. What do you do-a, Wop?

A Wop has to overcome more handicaps than a pure Anglo-Saxon, therefore he has to run twice as fast, or else he will be treated forever as a Wop. An alien, if he wants to have a chance, has to mix in some church or lodge or trade-union ...

To exemplify the significance of government policy we refer to the German government-sponsored WOP-programme on "shopfloor-oriented programming of CNC-machine tools" (Nuber, et al., 1989 and WOP Conference Materials, 1987).

The success of the Traub WOP system has encouraged other manufacturers to produce their own WOP systems. However, there are reports from Germany that some WOP systems are not as flexible as Traub's.