Evening Star Newspaper, March 7, 1926, Page 4

QUELEYRUM O " JORY IS DNDED B s ! Six-Week Trial of Mayor and! 13 Others Results in No Verdict. By the Asso BOSTON today cone ated Pross. March ¢.—Disagreement uded a six-week trial by District Court of May- | F. Quigley of Chel: | E 13 others on charges of conspirecy to violate the national pro hibition law. The jury, which was hours. was discharged. The d 11 to 1 that a conspiracy The question of individual was understood, was not existed. Zuily, it renched. The ¢ ax ses will be tried agaln as soon United States Attorney ms indicated Charges that manufacture, sale and sportation of liquor proceed less openly from 1922 to 19 ade in the indict- d that members of e police force and persons represent. in coliected money from those ed in the illiclt traflic for “pro tection™ and that “protection” was af- furded. Government witnesses includ- ed men, a convict and a f coniessed or convicted ers. orfinal defendants plead- Thirteen others were found luring the trind by divected he number originally called | the largest ever brousght | Court here in a sing mient. It v newspaper riner bootl < of th ed guilty not guiliy vinl i | | | | PRISONERS IN JAIL HERE CROWDED LIKE ANIMALS IN CELLS winued from First Page.) one small room. On the d& al and conviction there 3 men, white and colored, crowded together like cattle. On some It there are less. On other da a y as 200 and men jammed with the ether for hours it haul to struggle to ve from one spot to another, anl task in itself. There was sneezing spitting. The space con tining the men was small for half the Lumboer What | < about such a situation? Official fizures t=1l the story The number of prisoners sent t vear will =k all records, ling to statistics to date, and has | Iy topped last year's figures by | per cent OF he total number of prisoners 4 since prohibition approxi- per cent have been sen itoxication. The number ners sent to jafl during the v ending June 30, 1925, increase of 2,030 over the ear. The increase for 1928 was approximately increase of < me 11,500 This Year. the first elght months of this iinz to official figures, the has been 20 per cent over ¢ ool w writer so closely Jail trict over , and the ut the May Reach For s total jail population, and | and statlon. was chosen. within with the same ratio holding gcod this year's total of prisoners will be about sentenced for intoxication {2 sed about 1,000 during the last tw and 400 for the two preced: L. Peak’s an- nual repor » vear ending June 30, 19 p ber of tion, the t than for was for Intoxica ore vious 12 months. the fi 1 year ed “a compara- 1se in the num- |V ses, the prison- o ing 4 over the y ers an i cedin to the jail prisoner: serious offende Lting trial, await atenced and awal rlation to the penitentiary). vererowding in these fact, there are vacant tterm prisoners the wing where nor is it found with hardened ing ty T nsy wone adv or long-term prisoners er Cent Dry Violators. ) those sentenced to jail, 1o of this writer's resi’ per cent of the pris- were there for hibition laws. This disgraceful cond ng this reporter's re 70 more men sleeping accommoda- majority of nd at the dence in oners in iolation of the wing exist. D there 1w than there were tions The fivst two yvea ught such an influx o bat it wus necessa b Wwhe r prohibition prisoners to ihout two n extra bunk to t increasing the ca- 333 per cent. Each single i for two o and having two bunks, now three, while each double cell, inally designed for four occupants ud equipped with four hunks, has ve bunks. Thix addition, according Maj. Peak 1ght temporary re- hut the additional equipment has tlled up by the increased number | 1pants. e of hax the steadily increasing | of prisoners, Maj. Peak is| od to have asked for a appropriation of $7.000, ibsolute needs at the jafl. What happen if the increase in men to Juil continues, however, is un own. New Wing Held Needed. Maj. Peak is commended highly as cfficlent superintendent and is snown to have brought about changes w the jail which have benefited the s. Conditions there, now, can be remedied, it is held, by drastic action which may eventually result in the erection of nother wing. While the records show an approxi- mate increase of prisoners of 2,000 for each of the past two years, most of this increase is concentrated dur- ing the Winter months, thus tending to add to the congestion even more during that time when it is most dif- ficult to keep the building aired and eanitary. During the past week this reporter talked to many men—carpenters, bricklayers and others—whose work was outdoers, who had money to pay their fines, but who at this time of ar found it more economically ad- antageous 1o take their jail sen- tence, since they could be earning nothing during the Inclement weath- er. In good weather they would have paid their fine and earned it back in a day or two. Also there are itin- erant tramps who make a practice of coming to Washington from North- ern climates just to spend the Win. ter in jall here. One man has come from Seattle every year to Winter at the expense of the District govern- ment. wumber to t In 1886 Robert 1. Lee was made lieutenant colonel of a newly organ- ized Cavalry regiment. i Too Many for Exercise, ging the sheltered places, but nary a avenue. we find. around Fifteenth and H streets north- east, but nary a copper was in sight. The was getting late, in additlon, and the | thousht suggested itself that perhups and tive place. its window street. stores, wind-gwept passed the stores and slowed down | to look for cops. He w street enst, right In front of a little stove. We passed him by hurriedly, dartéd Jeft the automobile and started in a hox. enter a followed in a shuffling that walker holic content of various fluids there. The policeman, meanwhile, in- terrupted the storekeeper to tell him he stranger to proceed in the opposite | direction. my back carefully against a tree, lighted sald, repeated, or words to that effect. de- | quick,” overcoat and gave it a friendly tug. was vitingly toward the cop not have a drink?” I demanded. man. the street. fragments. still night al police The time had come. get beaned, staggered. tics. THE SU NDAY STAR, WASHINGTO! D. C. MARCH 7, 1926—PART 1. District Jail Is Ne Paradise, Reporter Finds Treatment of Prisoners Strict But Devoid of Any Cruelty. So Days Are Spent Idling in Cells. _(Continued from First Page.) arises fmmediately that now Is the time for the murder of which one has always dreamed, and that the hoss would be an excellent person to hegin on. Then there is the ever present temptation of escorting that ndv—who always comes in to talk when we are husv—to the elevator and onening the door. push her down the shaft. Nor is the proposition of throwing a brick through a plate glass window without its advantages, as T have alwavs longed, secretly. to see what would fellow. Iniz out the pone=man who sald I was =oing 36 miles an hour that day when T swore 1 wns only golng 22—walk- ing up to him and without more ado handing him one to the jaw— the mere thought is entrancing.” But all these offer their difficulties. The thing must be done so that the ends of justice will be met—but one must not have to go too far to meet them. We Start on the Adventure. A plan was at last chosen and at | o'clock on the fateful night I was seated In the rear seat of an au tomobile and with three carefully nicked comrades, we set out to do the deed, The choice of a precinct and the location of a quiet. secluded spot for the crime, occupled some {hought, but we decided upon George- town as a section of Washington which boasted a precinct where police- men are policemen, where men are men and where the street lamps do not shine too brightly in the middle of a block. Up one street and down another the Aautomobile with its dastardly lond wended its way—but nary an officer in sight. Streets where one always found a cop when one did not nt to see a cop were traced and retraced, but nary a police- man It was a rather cold, crisp night and the policemen were evidently hug- sheltered place could be found. We Aid see one officer, but a look at his kindly. rosy face as it shone at us from beneath a sputtering light made us abandon him immedlately. fie looked too wood-natured. Leaving Georzetown with some re- ce, we sought other flelds. We ed through the precincts which | - o reputation for dealing rather | ptly with bums, and toured the | wide open spaces of Rhode Island | We followed Rhode Island | ivenue from Scott Circle to the Dis- line, Not a policeman could | e scoured the countryside ng was getting ridiculous.” It ali the policemen were having a ball | it hadn’t broken up yet. . 12 Looks Inviting. precinct seemed an attrac We passed it and saw | lighted with hospitable | tnviting warmth. 1t s a_new | Its cells are clean. No. 12 We would find a cop its environs or dle in the No. attempt. We finally gave up the idea of try- ing to find the policemen on th: Instead. we looked for little cozy retreats agalnst the| and chilly streets. We | Finally we saw one. | turning in his box at Twelfth and Michigan avenue north- ip a side street and parked the car. My assistant said not a word. but walk toward the I swallowed a large section of heart which had risen in my nd followed him. T saw him store near the box where we first seen the policeman and 1 listless walk indicates that the testing the alco- short, nervous my roat, had sometime: has been That Address Business Exposed. assistant, on entering the store, the storekeeper how to reach address which we had carefully chosen beforehand as being mnon- existent. He was told how to get| was wrong, and directed the I had by this time taken seat on the cold curb, placed my | a ctgarstte and waited. My assistant came out of the store, looked around him, saw me at my post and returned to the store. He re-entered the store and informed the policeman that a man was sitting on the curb, evidently sick. The policeman grasped his club firmly and came running out of the store. He looked to be about 10 feet tall. T gritted my teeth. Now Comes Some Action. He bent over me. “What's the matter, asked. buddy?” he take & jump in the lake I or words to that effect. The policeman leaned closer. = ‘GGet up from there, my boy.” he “Go take a jump In the lake’ I “Here, buddy, get up—and get up sald the officer, and he eized me by the neckband of my 1 then produced my ace card. It an empty bottle. I held it in- “Have a drink, mister,” said I me on, everybody have a drink. Jo,” said the policeman. “Will ye have a drink, or will ye “y will not,” announced the police- 1 thereupon banged the bottle on It broke into a thousand Its crash shattered the ir of Brooklund. The s for pick- | | orderly community and fa | himself, and my friend left, and I r | viled him as he @eparted. Thus we walted for the arrival of the patrol. { I resting my head gently on the blue- coated shoulder much to the upparent dis law. When his message to the station house was answered It looked like { he had sent in a rigt call. Half the | precinct seemed to from all | directions, in motor nd motor cles. Bverybody hand in helping me Into a small roadster though T was by this time tractable eno 1. And so. with a very digni- fied officer as my private chauffeur, against whose rotund figure T in- siuted on leaning, we dashed through the streets of Brookland, surrounded on all sides by motor cycles which formed a rather impressive cavaleade, giving me the feeling that I was quite a dangerous character Into No. 12 we marched en masse and the fat, pink-faced desk sergeant greeted us with u jovial though this was a rare treat he sel- dom had @ chance to enjoy. Brookland must be an extremely r from the beaten track of hoboes. During my entire time at No. 12 1 was treated ik freak from a side show, and all the policemen, including the cap- tain, acted as though they had never before come in contact with a tough character. The H Surrounded by the entire pe sonnel of the station, very interested, we went through the formalities. ame?" asked the desk sergeant. Pete Martin.” “hger Thirty-four.” Where from?” York. the cap! suppose Louie th us Bluecoats. in broke in, “Well, voure a great pal nd Gyp the Blood. was the signal for a grea burst of raucus laughter from th chorus of subordinates. Then tk florid desk sergeant continued questioning. Married " No Who'd marry him?' Jnterrupted, and his hooted approval. “Nationality 2" “Hundred per cent American” (The sergeant wrote “U. 8.") “Occupation, if any?” with a broad grim and emphasis on the “if any."” “Stevedore The Funny Captain, 1 This chorus again “A long ways from your ship. aren’t you Pete?” the captain asked jocularly. The chorus of cops laughed again. Then came a thorough search. Out of my pockets they pulled some cot- ton gloves, a plug of tobacco, clgar- ettes, some small change and three small nails. The nails they Kept, fearing my escape or suicide. ok 'p for dope,” the captain sald, looks like a hop-head to me.” And amid the general laughter that followed the same dignified and im portant officer that acted as my chauffeur began patting me vigor- ously all over. When he stooped (o pat down the outside of my legs, 1 began patting down his arms. His face turned from pink to red. His checks swelled. I feared something would pop. With this proceeding completed, the entire body, with much mock so- licitousness, escorted me to my cell, where they saw me comfortably ensconced. 1 was, naturally, too excited to gleep, and so flopped in a corner like a drunken bum, but with my head close to the bars so I could listen. For the next hour the hoys amused themselves making wise cracks about me, the poor prisoner, and played a clever game of always calling each other “Pete,” which never failed to arouse uproarious mirth At midnight the detail was changed. As soon as the roll call and orders were finished the captain brought around the new detail to exhibit me, very much as though I were some strange animal he had captured. My cue was to be asleep and I played it strong. They kicked me and poked me through the bars with a con- man was aghast. .Ye've broken ye botthle! he told he world. He tugged at me. I talked freely. I told him all about who his ances- tors were. go and what he could do. I told him where he could His billy poised above my head. 1 didn’t want to 80 1 rose to me feet and Then 1 chose other tac- plead with him. I began to As he said But he was adamant. himself, and kept repeating it. “But ve've broken ye botthle He gave me his arm, took mine, and escorted me to the box. A Strange Delusion. For some reason he assumed that I was intoxicated. Once or twice he seemed to weaken and I was afraid he might let me go. So I swore roundly and fervently at him. my assistant and everything else in gen- eral and he proceeded to swear back at me and wave his club menac- ingly, but not dangerously. Afte: more arguing he handed the keys of the patrol Lox to my assistant and ordered him to call the station house. Then he yelled into the transmitter tinual crossfire of playful torment. “Have a drink, Pete.” Small Talk Among Cops. “Come on, Pete, here's a little shot.” ‘Oh, Pete, do take a drink.” “What's 'a matter, Pete, haven't had enough, have, yuh, Pete? This all caused laughter, but the captain’s sally brought down the house as usual when he jovially re- marked: “Well, Pete, 1 guess you'll have Al Smith come down tomorrow to get you out, eh? As they were leaving one of the boys said, “What is he anyway, looks like a wop to me.” “Yes, he's some kind of a wop, all right,” another one answered. “Looks like a Mex. to me. Policemen are smart that way, but it was an awful blow to me after |hl"lnx mastered a Bowery accent of which I was rather proud. Finally, this chaff hegan to pall (and the station house quieted for the night. The joshing had all been in good fun and harmless, nothing ma- licious. The men at No. 12 are a clean-cut, up-standing lot. = Thelr | bargamea for. | cell to me aud the captain | | from THESE POSES HELPED TO SEND PETE TO JAIL THREE INTEREST- ING STUDIES OF HOW “PETE MARTIN" LOOKED WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED, SEN- TENCED AND CON- FINED IN JAIL DUR- ING HIS ADVEN- TURES, THE RESULTS OF WHICH HE DE- SCRIBES TODAY. toughness dlan’t ring true, but w for my benefit alone and their swear ing not from the heart. hut purely u | gesture with which to impress me, The Quest for Sleep. Then I tried to sleep. but it turned out to be more of a trick than I had A cell is about 7 fe by 4. concrete floor, three steel walls u steel celling and bars and a_barred door. From one wall folds down a rack for a bed. It is constructed of interlaced slats of the hardest metal known to human kind and around the edge is a sharp rim which sticks D two inches. For a tall man there « no known position of lying which prevents this rim from cutting in at least three places. Then there is the problem of what to do with an overcoat. It is better not to have one, as it tends to keep one awake deciding what to do with it. It can be used either as a pillow, to put underneath as a protection agalnst the ridges or as a blanket as a protection against the cold. 1 tried each of these in steady rotation throughout the remainder of the night and in each case there seemed to be something lac Added to my of 12, for Brookland is a lawful section of town, had the next talked continuously antagonist seemed to know eve the district attorney’s ry big lawyer ness man in town and pl intervals of two to three minutes for some one to communicate Wwith his friends and get him out. and 1 wished fervently that some one would. About 5 o'clock dozed off and | dreamed of the prin: who couldn’t sleep on 10 mattresses because there was a pea beneath. We Leave Old No. 1 A few minutes later we wero rustled out, for what I didn’'t know. All the policemen on duty asked me kindly and with grins if T didn't feel much better, and I said “yus." But 1 really felt much worse. About half an hour later we took a long cold ride by the light of the moon to No. 9 and I was sorry to leave No. 12, where, at least, il was clean and solitary. No. 9 was crowded, mostly with colored men still recovering from the eftects of the week end corn. It was algo dirty, cockroaches were in evi- dence, nor did it have the same sani- tary aroma that pervaded N 1 was led to a cell already occupied by two others, one my garrulous nelghbor from No. 12, and the other showing every sign of just coming to a long and protracted drunk. He spat incessantly, and in all directions. We sat three in a row along the metal rack, I in the center, and thus we waited more or less patiently for three hours. The talk- atlye one, having begged, pleaded and cajoled for food since 4 o'clock at No. 12, started in immediately again at No. 9, and kept it up con- tinuously for the three hours we were there. The Starving Prisoner. If perserverance counted, he would have had a turkey. Every one who came within sight or sound was ap- pealed to. ¢, captain, how ’'bout a little st. I got the money.” Say, captain, how about a sand- wich and coffee. I got the mones “Say, captain, how 'bout something to eat. I got plenty of money. This on an average of once a min- ute for three hours straight to every one who approached, be he captain, sergeant, policeman or janitor, and when no one was around the appeal was made louder, bemoaning in plaintive voice over and over again that he had had nothing to eat since early Sunday morning. Finally, he was silenced for a time. One large hard-boiled cop stopped for a mo- ment, looked at him and remarked: “Say, what hotel do y' think this is, the Noo Willard? Why didntcha think of your meals before y' came? Why didntcha put your breakfast in a box and bring your coffee in a tholmus bottle?” Then for an hour the prisoner interspersed his plea for food with one for water. This was equally useless. No one ever did have sympathy for him. I least of all On Our Way to Court. At 8:30 o'clock we were herded out, crowded together, white and col- ored, into the patrol wagon and so to Police Court. It Dante could have spent such a morning in such a scene, he would have added another chapter to his Inferno. We were herded into the building and up the stairs and into an office, where each prisoner was handed a meal ticket. office was a large cell This other active Volsteadism member o office and ey 1 unhappy behind iron | bars, and to the rear of the coll two tollets. Both the cell and the tollets other troubles the only other inmate | Adjoining this | were crowded when we arrived, and [wo had to push our way in. Later, | other loads arrived from other pre- cincts and the men they brought shoved in behind us until it seemed as though not another body could be | squeezed in. | The room about and 20 feet wide and ful were fammed in there, ‘a!nfi? together that it w to turn_around and breathing was |a difficulty. It was like cattle crowd- | ed into the stock vards. The black I hole of Calcutta was an airy pula lin comparison. Virtually all of the ners were slowly recovering from | the effects of liauor und in the throes Lof hung-overs. Everybody was cough- | ing, sneezing, spitting, and the air was fetid. feet is 20 long man ainding so an effort A Sardine in a Can. was a delicate there was secarcely any floor space left to hit, and shoes and trousers suffered as a result. | found myself | half w ross the cell, wedged in between three evil smelling brutes, and there 1 stayed for some time, seelng no place better to go. There were benches around the wall, but | these were occupied by 30 of the firat arrivals, with others continuously belng pushed into their laps. Glanc- {ing up, I was suddenly aware that one of the late arrivals was an old friend of mine. He looked strangely out of place in a top coat, derby and white muffler, and obviously wus there on some speeding charge. Fear- ing recognition and embarassing planations, I beat a hasty retreat. Or rather, with much squirming and pusking and elbowing, | was able to | wiggle my way slowly to the far cor- ner of the room. I kept my face to to wall, but surreptitiously peered around for other famillar faces. Here it wus that I was startled to hear a certain large gentleman ex- plaining to the whole world in gen- leral how well he knew a certain per- son on The Star (which same person happened to be me) and how this great pal of his would fix up anything he wanted and how he was going to| vrite many editorials for The & exarcising the entire police svstem Washington for the terrible injustic done him. I had never seen the gentleman before, but fearing recognition, again moved on still further. And Now for Breakfast. The first hour was taken up with questioning the members of the as sembled mob concerning previous rests, the great majority admitting more or less recent visits to the same courthouse for not appreciating the seriousness of the eighteenth amend- ment. Then breakfast was served. Two colored boys with cans of coffee and boxes of sandwiches tried to supply the hungry mob through a window, but so dense was the congestion that only a few could reach the window and move awayv until a whirlpool method was started wherein the whole crowd of struggling humanity rotated in one solid mass, until finally averybody had passed the window and exchanged his ticket for one sand- wich and tincup of coffee, continu- ing on with the current, usually having most of the coffee jostled out of the cup down some one else's back. The coffee was a gift of the gods, but the sandwich I slipped irto my pocket. The Hour of Judgment. After what seemed an eternity 10 o'clock arrived, court was opened and, a few at a time, the men were let out, disappeared up an aisle and into the courtroom, soon to return to announce that Judge McDonald was on the bench. Most of the old- timers heaved sig of relfef and re- counted former fortunate experiences before him. As each in turn came back, he was bombarded with the same question asked many times, “Whaju get?” The answers varied; 10 days, 15 days, 20 days, but some few had heen let off because it was their first cifense. There was where I made my worst mistake. I had been sent to jail to study conditions and 1 must get to jail. The judge must give me at least 5 daya it not 10, so that I could get to jail and sce the inside, 1f he didn't, all Spitting rt, as = Says Police Court Lockup Would Give “Inferno” Another Chapter. Three-Bunk Cell Occupied By Seven Men—Four Sleep on Pallets. dered. I did, in a surly manner and scowled all the harder. “How do you wnlead charge, Intoxication?” clerk. “Guil-ty,” 1 said loud and belliger. ently he second, disorderly conduct?” “Guil-ty,” even louder and tougher. “Breaking glass?" “Guil-ty,” trying very hard to make it sound like “What are you going to do_ahout it?" Then the policeman took the stand and sald T threw the hottle at his head. [ started to demur at this. but hesitated, thinking that this might be the deciding factor in getting me to jail. The pollceman stepped down and the judge was looking at me. - 3 New York. eh? I guess you left fast. They don't keep bums like you around New York long. Ten days across the board.” What Price Crime? Ten days across the bhoard! Ten for each offense! Thirty days! was more than I had bargained T had overdone the thing badly, ibly made a mess of it completely for 30 days might mean Jail at all but Occoguan, the District workhouse down_the river. So I had something to worry about when I was hustled back to the court- house cell among the crush. If I had had to spend 30 days locked up, Occo- quan would be preferable—better food, better bed and better air—but I had no desire to spend 30 daye behind the bars. Luckily ror me the sen- tence was made so that I would serve the three terms concurrently, and when, after an hour's wait that seemed to me to be weeks, a clerk began to read off names and among the first was “Pete Martin—$30 or 10 days.” I heaved a sigh of relief. The first group, in which 1 was numbered, was corralled outside and fnto a waiting van. In this van there is room for elght, four on each side facing each other with their knes tight together. There were already eight inside when I arrived and five more of us were crammed in. I found myself Iying across the laps of three colored prisoners and two others were lying on top of me. And 50 we rode away to jail. and over what seemed like the roughest roads in Washington on the way to Nine- teenth and B streets southeast In the Jug at Last. The van swung around, backed up. A door flew open, we were counted as we clambored out, great iron gates swung open to close behind us again and we were {n the “can.” We were taken to a lon room. The ceiling is full five floors or more up. Gallerfes run about it and all the cells in that wing of the building have barred windows. All the cells in the whole jail are inside these long rooms. Should & prisoner eseape from his cell, he would still he within the jaill. The long rooms are used for dining halls and other pur- poses. In this room each one of us faced a jafl official and gave him an alleged history of our lives. Next we were turned over to a uniformed guard who made a thorough search of our persons, going all over our clothes, examining the lining thereof and even looking into our shoes for contra- band. My only possession that caused him any interest was an unopened packet of cigarettes. From this he be- gan tearing off bits of paper and kept it up until finally there was nothing leftbut the loose cigarettes,which, after close inspection, he gave back to me. He was not only looking for “coke.” 1 found out afterward, but was de- stroying the tin-foll around the pack- age. Tin-foll is absolutely forbidden inslde the jall. Once upon a time some prisoner saved it up, bit by bit, until he had enough to press into a large solld ball. With this ball, It is related, he knocked a guard senseless and escaped. Since then they take no chances. The guard also looked through my match box for “snov dope, but while he was searching these tricky places I could have sneaked into jall several ounces in the cuffs of my trousers. I had plenty of money wadded up and hid- den there for an emergency, and the guard never discovered it. After this came a compulsory bath. We were compelled to disrobe, every- body together, and climb under show ers. Some of us needed it badly Afterward we dried as best we could without the ald of towels and dressed in wet clothes in front of an open window:. Assigned to Our Quarters. Immediately afterward we were ail given cell numbers and sent to wait outside until a guard came to escort us to the cells, The jail is in three wings with o big rotunda in the mid- dle. One is for transients, another for women and the third for serious offenders, grand jury cases and those awalting shipment to penitentiari the first the to asked narrow The cells are on four floors in long | double tiers divided off by brick walls. One thing I learned immediately. The more serious the crime a man com- iits, the better off he is treated in jail. Wan, the Chinese, who is await- ing his third trial for murder, virtual- ly has the run of the jail. Others who are in on more serious offenses have comfortable cells, many conven- fences and a certain amount of liberty. Several men who are sentenced to long terms have clerical jobs and live quite comfortably. Colored prisoners who are in for several months are given the jobs of trusties and other minor assisting duties and seem to take & great deal of enjoyment in bossing their white friends around. The men who have committed minor crimes and who are serving from 5 to 20 days are treated with the least can- sideration and get by far the worst of it. I heard some comment among the old-timers about how the times have changed since the old days, when murderers and other real criminals Wi kept in solitary confinement, while the drunks were locked up for these preliminaries would o for naught and the bottle-breaking pro- cedure must be gone through again, which would mean another night in a precinct cell and another day in that packed courthouse cell. It was my first offense and probably the kindly judge would Jet me off. I determined to be hard-boiled and make him send me up. And I was and he did. My turn came presently and I slunk Into the courtroom and took my place on a bench with a dozen others to await my turn. The court- room was crowded. Several people looked at me and laughed. I thought I had been recognized. Two or three lawyers I knew walked past and T tried to look worse so they wouldn't plerce my disguise. The judge was in a rare good humor. He seemed Jolly to every one. “Just drinking cider, eh? Stagger- ing on two glasses of cider? You better stick to milk after this” he | was saving to the man before me. | 1 decided to be tough. 1 was before him. Ie scowled at me. I scowled back. “Button up your clothes!” he or- one night and sent home when they sobered up. My cell was No. 407, in the morth or *Volstead” wing. It was very simi- lar to all other cells—about 7 feet long and 6 feet wide, barred door and barred window, with two bunks—can- vas stretched over piping that folded down from the wall. Connected to it was a lavatory of about the same size, but darker, and with only one bunk in it. There was a single elec- tric light in the maln cell, but none in the lavatory. Just as I moved in, two of the occupants moved out so that by priority I rated one of the bunks. The next man in, however, was over 60 and seemed to be about one jump ahead of pneumonia, so I surrendered my bunk to him and took to the floor. Before the day was over three others had joined us, making a total of seven, so that four of us slept on the floor, two in the main cell and two on the floor of the lavatory. A Bunch of Rummies. My cell-mates were an agreeable lot, all “rum-heads,” as they called them- selves. They shared their cigarettes and tobacco and what little money they had. There were few formalities and every one entered immediately into general ‘and friendly conversation, which continued throughout all wak- ing hours. Conversational topics were limited to such subjects as how each member had become drunk, how awfully drunk he was and the circum- stances of his arrest; different places in Washington to get liquor, its cost and quality; the general condition of the District jail; comparison of the | District jail with Occoquan und jails | in other cities. \When these topics | had been exhausted completely, the | same topics were discussed all over again with additional comment along | the same lines. Of course all conver- sation was interlarded generously with profuse and colorful profanity and vulgarity. They Begin to (rave Food. As the first afternoon wore on a decided impatlence for food was ev denced among my cell-mates, in which | 1 joined, having eaten nothing since | the day previous. At the ringing of | a bell, about 4:30, every one surged | toward the door. But it was a false | alarm. That was just the first table. We were on the top floor and would be the last called. I thought it would be another hour or so, but in a short time it was our turn. Each mess and the washing up therefrom takes but a few minutes. We were let out, formed in a long line and marched | down stairs to the dining room. There | were long tables in the middle of the room and others against the wall, with wooden benches to sit on. Across the wall was a large sign o Talking." This was simplified by the fact that dinner was already spread and there was nothing to ask for except the salt. | A large bowl of this was on each table and any one who wanted it pointed and then dipped In his soup- spoon, used or unused, as the case might be. Dinner consisted of a small amount of cabbage soup, a large cup of tea and a half loaf of bread cut into about three chunks. and tea were bad, but the bread was sod. 1 few of those who finished first, which brought competition to a high pitch. Silverware consisted of enamiel soup- plates and cups, from which the enamel had worn off, leaving rusty tin. As each finished he would turn on his bench and face out, still clutch- ing his spoon. Anything not eaten was taken care of by the next door nelghbor: in fact, sometimes both neighbors would reach the desired morsel simultaneously, with the resuit that the soup, or whatever it might be, was precipitated over the back of the original owner. At a given signal, every one rose, marched around the tables and deposited the spoons in a box at one end. While we were leav- ing, colored prisoners, acting as | waiters, had collected the plates and cups, rinsed them slightly under a faucet and they were ready for the next meal. The Highly Esteemed Bean. Other meals were very similar, e cept that sometimes there were bean a rare treat among the prisoner sometimes a small piece of meat in lot of floury vy. At breakfast there was coffee and at lunch wate At breakfast usually there is some sort of porridge or oatmeal, but some times just a cup of molasses to dip bread in. On the way to each meal, colored boys stand along the line of | march like so many street vendors | selling sugar. Their goes up in-| cessantly and persistently | 'Get your sugar! Get your sugar! Only 5 cents a bag! You can't eat the oatmeal without sugar! You don't know how bitter it is. It'sawful. Get your suga Or, “the green apples. your sugar. Of course there never is any oat- meal at that meal or any apple sauce, and very seldom do they have any ept among the new arrivals, in the cell the same general conversation was continued, mostly unfit for publication. “Well here 1 am in the can again. Blank, blank, blank, blank. That lousey blank, blank, bull got me just as I was goin’ home. Every time I go near that blank, blank Blackle, he lifts me. I'm never goin' near that blank end o' town again. I told Yellow, ete., ete.” pple sauce made out o' Too sour to eat. Get The World's a Small Place. My great difficulty was in avoiding too many embarrasing questions. 1 had a hard time keeping my identity Jost in some obscure locality. Every- : seemed to have lived a long time city. e from Noo York eh? wolk?"" Along the Brooklyn docks.” Yeh? 1 woiked there 10 years. Me folks all live on Ocean avenoo. How all ‘e boys?" This floored me so T beat a hasty retreat, saying I hadn’t been the for some time, but had drifted over to Hoboken. “Hoboken," says another, “Do know Charlie’s place up the alley off Water street? Do ye know Daisy Moran, the bull on the waterfront, and Judge Hoolahan?* Oh, ves, I knew them all right, but this was getting to be dangerous ground, o I sidestepped to Trenton. Where was yuh wolkin' In Tren- asks a_third. Woiks,” says I. ferican Potter as yuh? I just come from there last Summer. Know Sam's place and the goll Nellie what wolks there?" No I didn't. Hadn't stayed there very long but had moved on to Balti- Where { more. “How's wolk in Baltimore" “Rotten,” says I, “Can't buy a job. That's why I come on down here. On me way to Florida.” Here I became entirely engrossed in the evening papers and only grunted when asked further questions. The Floor a Filthy Place. In the evening every one sleeping on the floor was given a straw pallet. These were very dirty and the straw had all worked to one end or both, but it was better than lying on the cold cement floor. It was cleaner, also, than the floor for the reason that by 7 o'clock, with seven men chewing tobacco and spitting all day long and throwing cigarette butts and all other refuse on it, the floor was a filthy place. The aroma could have beei improved upon. However, about 9 o'clock, every one took off his shoes, got as comfortable as possible and soon the snoring was general. At 4 o'clock in the morning lights | glancing listless] | door and the next gu Just | The soup | here were second helpings for | .| these e ——— went on in the cells, colored prisoners came around to collect the mattresses and sleeping was at an end. We were given the remains of & breom, a nwop and a bucket of kerosene to clesn the cell. I got into the ill graces o all my bunkies for putting too much kerosene on the floor and making it greasy, but I couldn't see that it made much difference after the first laver of dirt had been ead around. Breakfast was at . after which fingerprints were taken of all the new arrivals, and thus started another day that was very similar to the oue hefore and the ones to follow. With the crowded conditions prevalent there is little work to do for the transients and the days are spent entirely in the cells. The coming of the boys with moming and evening news papers, the “store” boys with ciga- rettes and tobacco for sale, the pis boys, for those who could afford such luxuries, were hailed as reai events How Death Affected Him. One rnoon as the conversativ was continuing g ts usual lin my cellanates, who had beei over the headlines of the morning paper, straightened up and a strange expression came over his face “Well, by God.” he said, “Here's a plece in the paper that says me mother died. Damn if she didn’t die just when I was in that courtroom yesterday getting sent up here.” There were blunt expressions solicitude from his comy some one remarked that to be let ut for that e reaved boy stationed himself =t 1 that came b heard his trouble with interest, tool the message to Major W. L. Peak, st perintendent of the jail, and within 15 minutes the boy had been let out on his_honor to return after the funeral. That seems to be typical of the man | ner in which the jall is run—a sane |intermixture of decent human-kind | ness, but no wishey-washey sentimen tality—and stern and strict diseipli The prisoners all toe the mark I not bullied int TL guards are | well che w fin pe and they har dle the men tactf They | things orderly without having to | the men to do it. They are firn | toler 1 tried to be to arbit to see what would and they put me right b place without getting the least ruffled. Hanging over the heads is the “hole, a black ce where they are confined on bread and water when too unruly. This tends to prevent any foolishness. It s dom has to be used. There is also talk among the prisoners of mor: severe punishment for a serfous bre f discipline. Especially am - T heard stories ¢ prisoners had wrapped behind them arou ndeut nd left for stretch. Th s also a tale of a cros where men are chained with the wrists to th tstretched bars hese may have been purely fabric myths manufactured A purpose The gi B! derstandi among t prisoner at such a place does exist, but is only for the mos incorrigible ho beat up guards their ¢ cape. After what see reality was only lease came. Dividing I had left among my cell-mates, [ said good-by without a pang and w led to the door. There in the outer office 1 met my rescuer with a straigl and solem “Well, Skipper,” T said. vou're good pal to help me out like this He countered for the benefit of the Jail officials, * t have you been up to this time last time I e Tdentity Never Suspected. Apparently up until the moment my release, none suspected I was an) thing but the tramp | represented. I had let my hair grow two months, my An old Army overcoal, le old suit and a brown flannel shirt were purchased in second hand row on D street, in the ver adow of the courthou A nev cap was purch ind mutilated. Al clot sther with under { pinnings and gray socks, went through |a degrading metamorphosis. All were | soaked in 1 water, splattered with mud and buttons puiled off. A doctor friend with experience in police work warned me to be careful of de tails or I would be found out. Hence I manufactured some blisters on my hands by rubbing them against th brick_ wall and made rough wollen and cut by tion inst a stone firepla | nails were mutilated. An applica of coal dust and furnace soot applie to neck, ears, feet., wrists and arms gave me the look of a stevedore 1) from a tub. At the Jast minute inal touch was applied when the f artistically applied silve: nitrate and other chemicals to m teeth to give them a black and de cayed appearance. The picture was | completed. No one saw through ft. With the formalities ended, my boss led me from the jail and the next thing on the program two square meals and a Turkish bath. Written and sworn to this day o our Lord, March the sixth, Ninetee hundred and twenty-si PETE MARTI X—His Mark FISH MARKET ATTRACTION 2,000 Mongers Gather Center Every Morning. TOKIO. N ). the attractions apan, { standing the cherry ble | more or less beautiful geisha girl | the Tokio fish market. Tt is the largest in the country and occupies 480,000 square feet. The market &n association of 750 wholesalers ard brokers who operate under the servision of municipal authorities fwo thousand fish mongers and buyers from numercus hotels and restaurants assemble at this ma morhing between & and k and carry away with the from 800 to 1.200 tons of fish lone ot happer into bit of ti hours ut to make 1a lifetime, few days, my re what cigarettes but ir shes o at Tokio ch | Mme. Delingette of Paris holds t record of being the first woman eve to have crossed the African contines from one end to the other The terms of Morris Plan <> For each $50 or fractionborrowed you agree to de- it $1 per week 1'1' an Acommt] the grwem [J which may be used to cancel the note when due. Deposits may on a weekly, semi~ monthly or monthly basis as you prefer. have had an to borrow. $10,000 Easy to Pay Loans are simple and practical and fair—it is not necessary to account at this Bank Loans are pass- ed within a day or two after filing application— th few escep- tions. MORRIS PLAN notes are usually made for 1 year, though they may be given for any of from 3 to 12 months. $200. MORRIS PLAN BANK Under Supervision U. S. Treasury 1408 H Street N. W. “Character and Earning Power Are the Basis of Credit™