in
Brooklyn.—It was a quiet day in |
the police station. Brownsville was j
behaving itself and the matron of the '
station had a whole hour to talk, with
only one interruption to wipe the!
tears from the eyes of a small, dirty
boy, induce him to tell the address
of his home and send him on his way I
under the guidance of a big, strong ;
bluecoat. And the matron, when she j
talks, has a few things to tell. In j
fact, Mrs. Cox says, with her good ;
Irish chuckle, that she thinks she w'ill |
write a book of her experiences to
make her rich after she retires from :
the job of matron. The "boys" have j
suggested it to her. The "boys” are i
the bluecoats, every one of whom in ■
Brooklyn, knows Mrs. Cox and has a
joke for her or a word of guying ’
when be meets her.
Duties of a Police Matron.
Intoxication is the usual charge
upon which the woman prisoner is
committed, with occasional charges j
of theft, of assault, an attempted sui- j
cide and now ana then a woman whose
hands have committed some bigger :
crime, homicide or infanitcide.
Whatever the charge, they all pass
through the station house on their
way to the jail or the penitentiary, i
and the matron has them in her care, j
She gets them fresh from their mis
demeanors and writh the stain of their
crimes new upon them. She is the
first and often the only ministering
angel they know, for it is to the task
of ministering that most of the ma
trons, womenlike, give themselves,
with more heartiness than to the
technical tasks of their office.
Young Girls Saved.
One night two young girls were
brought into the station house for in
toxication, fresh, dainty girls,
dressed in the finest of evening gowns,
covered with long coats. It was New
Year’s eve and a bitter cold night.
The matron was used to the unusual,
but the presence of girls such as
these in her lodging house made her
stop and wonder. It was only a lit
tle while before tlie sleep of intoxica
tion were off and the girls woke to
the realization of their surroundings
and the horror of it. Finally, they
were calr.1 enough to tell the matron
how it all happened. They had been
over to Manhattan to a dance with
two boy friends. It was so icy cold
that the escorts suggested before they
crossed the bridge to take something
to warm them, and they stopped in a
cafe and drank what the men or
dered for them. lYiused to taking
stimulants, as soon as they struck
the cold air out of doors the drinks
went to their heads and they knew
very little else of what happened un
til they waked to find themselves in
the police station. What had hap
pened was that the two escorts, find
ing themselves burdened with girls
too much intoxicated to know what
was happening to them, had opened
the door of a tenement house, shoved
them in and left them there. The
girls had fallen immediately to sleep
and one of the occupants of the house
stumbling over them, had reported to
the police and had them taken to the
station. It was a hideous night for
those girls, used only to the niceties
and refinements of life.
When the next morning came, with
its inevitable appearance at court,
they pleaded not to be taken in the
patrol wagon with the other prisoners
and the matron secured the permis
sion of the sergeant to take them to
court herself in the car. and arranged
for a private hearipg before the
judge. The circumstances related,
the judge let them off with some
strong words of admonition.
Maggie a Regular Lodger.
With some of the prisoners the ma
trons become old friends, for they
almost make the station house their
regular dwelling place. One of Mrs.
Cox's old-timers is an Irish woman,
named Maggie, whom everybody in
the station house knows. She has
been a habitue of station houses for IS
years, and the matrons and sergeants
get so they look for her and almost
miss her when she doesn't come. She
is one of the cheerful drinkers and al
ways comes in with a swagger and a
laugh. The matron will greet her
with a sort of despairing smile:
“Well, Maggie, are you back again?"
"Sure, and ain't you glad to see
me? I keep you alive, give you
something to live for.”
Enlivens Station with Song.
Remonstrance with her is useless,
the matrons have learned her long
ago. Sometimes they ask her if she
isn't ashamed to come so often to the
station house, and she always makes
the same answer. "No: the city's
willing for me to stay here and I'll
come as often as I like. It's much
more comfortable than home. It's
cleaner and I like the electric lights."
She has such a ready good humor
and such a spirit of fun that in spite
of her waywardness Maggie is rather
a favorite in the station and with the
judges. After one of her last visits
to the police station Maggie pleaded
penitence to the judge and promised
to walk the straight and narrow- path
in the future if the judge would let
her go. So the magistrate did give
her the chance, threatening dire con
sequences if she appeared before him
again soon. The very next night Mag
gie was brought into the station
house with her usual hilarity, but
gorgeously arrayed. She made no
apologies for her downfall, but ex
plained that when she went from the
station house the day before she had
found a letter from her sister contain
ing $15. She took $7 of it and bought
a new skirt, a new shirt waist and an
enormous brass chain; with the other
$8 she went to a saloon to come out
minus the money and in the custody
of a policeman. Once during one of
her visits to the station Magige grew
despondent. She thought of her two
daughters who are placed in a Cath
olic home, safe from her influence,
and she began to brood. She got hold
of a string and decided to choke her
self with It. To make the thing more
effective she called to Mrs. Cox to
tell her what she was going to do.
The matron was used to Maggie, how
ever, and to threats of suicide, so she
answered carelessly: “Go ahead.
Maggie, you've no idea how quickly
we would get you out of here; get
you out much quicker dead than alive,
because we don't want any dead* ones
around here.” Whereupon Maggie
burst into one of her peals of laugh
ter and declared it was no use com
mitting suicide in the face of such
discouragement.
There are only a few that take the
world so cheerfully under the influ
ence of drink. Many of the cases
that come under the eye of the police
matron are of women who have been
led to the passion for drink to drown
some sorrow, and many of them
women used to better ways of living.
One day a frail bit of a woman—a
mere girl—was brought to the station.
Her husband had got out a warrant
for her and wanted to have her com
mitted to some institution. Drink had
made terrible ravages in the woman's
appearance, and when the effects of
the whisky began to wear off she sat
in her cell clinging with her thin
hands to the bars and begging piti
fully for drink. Toward dawn the
woman collapsed and a hurry call
was sent to the hospital. The ambu
lance surgeon on his arrival had only
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time to kneel at her side and begin
his work before death closed upon
her.
Woman’s Pitiful Story.
While the woman lay trembling in
the cell during the night she had told
her story to the woman outside the
bars, o£ how the craving had grown
upon her little by little until she lost
all power over herself. At 23 she was
a hopeless wreck. The closing act
of the little tragedy was when the
mother came from her home in the
country, near New York, and insisted
on seeing the place where her girl had
died. The matron begged and pleaded
with her not to look at the cell; that it
would be something she could never
forget, but the mother demanded to
see it, and as soon as she looked into
the bare place, fell in a collapse, and
an ambulance had to be called to care
for her.
“The lady” was once a figure well
known in all the police stations, but
“the lady” is one of the flgpres that
has passed, whose life hurried her to
a pitiful end before she reached what
should have been her prime. The ma
trons all called her "the lady,” be
cause even in her worst days she nev
er looked anything but the lady, was
always well dressed and never came
to the police station without her well
fitting gloves carefully buttoned,
though sometimes she was picked out
of the gutter in an almost hopelessly
deadened condition. Her story is one
that might have been the thread of
some of the stories one used to read
in the Sunday school libraries, though
it comes with much more force to
hear the police matron who saw her
in the last days of her degradation tell
it.
She had spent her girlhood in the
country at her father's home upon the
Hudson, where they took city board
ers in the summer time. The girl was
as pretty as a picture, had been care
fully reared and well educated. One
summer there came the inevitable
man from the city that won the heart
of the country girl, and they were
married and came to Brooklyn to live.
All went as happy as a marriage bell
for a while. There was a little girl
baby after whose coming the young
wife was not very strong, and the doc
tor ordered milk punches every day.
The young woman began to like the
punches and wanted two instead of
one a day, then after a while she be
gan to take the brandy without the
milk and soon she found the habit
fixed on her strongly. The husband
bore with her and did everything that
could be done, but things went from
bad to worse until the habit fastened
itself so that there was first a visit to
the police station, and after the first
a second and a third.
The woman, whose life had been
guarded as carefully as any girl’s
could be, who had been used in her
young days to take nothing stronger
than milk or sweet cider, began to be
come used to the walls of a cell and to
bow in abject slavery to the taste of
whisky. Sometimes she would plead
with the matron to go and intercede
with her husband and promise better
things, and many a time has Mrs. Cox
gone with the plea. Always it was
granted and the same result would
follow and “the lady’’ would be back
in the station house crazed with drink.
The baby girl grew up into a beautiful
young woman, who would come after
dark to visit her mother in the cell
and plead with her. It was like try
ing to check the north wind. The pas
sion swept down everything in its
pathway. One day Mrs. Cox was sent
for to come to a consumptive home,
and there she found “the lady” in the
| last stages of the disease. She wanted
j to say goodby and to offer thanks for
! the little kindnesses of the old days.
Made Nursery of Station.
One day nd> long ago a 14-year old
girl brought in a dirty little baby and
said the child was lost. The baby
spent the afternoon peaceably sleep
ing on the big quilt the matrons keep
for the purpose, and about five o'clock
a man came in and asked the matron:
“Have you got for me a baby?”
The matron assured him that she
hoped it was for him. as she was anxi
ous to turn the infant over to some
body. The baby was properly identi
fied and the man started off with it,
complacently, when the matron asked
where his wife was that she had left
the child uncalled for all afternoon.
She had gone out, the man answered,
and she had telephoned to him at his
place of work over in Manhattan to
1 call at the police station on his way
! home to get the babe. The man was
I told very plainly that the next time
I his wife wanted to go shopping she
i was not to send her baby to the police
I stations as a nursery.
“Shoplifter” a Puzzle.
The shoplifter is often the puzzle
to the matron of the Adams street
station. They come in great Aiumbers
from the poor, shabby woman, wrho
has stolen a few pairs of socks, or a
little frock for her baby, whom she
longs to have dressed like the babies
of her well-to-do neighbors, to the
woman of apparent wealth, who has
secreted some seemingly useless trifle.
One woman, faultlessly gowned and
of undoubted culture and good breed
ing, who offered $500 not to be made
to sleep in a cell had been arrested
for taking three pairs of 69-cent
gloves. She was indignant at her ar
rest. but she didn't deny the theft,
merely offered to pay for the gloves.
I That was a case out of many such
that Mrs. Roylan recalls from her ex
periences at the Adams street sta
tion, one of the things no one can ex
plain. They call it kleptomania with
the rich and thievery with the poor,
who, at least, have the prick of neces
sity to lend palliation to their guilt.
These are the ordinary happenings
in the life of the police matron. Their
days and nights are a ceaseless round
of watching the intoxicated, of stand
ing by to keep the suicide from her
intention, of dressing the woman with
delirium tremens, who tears her
| clothes to shreds in the night, of hear
| ing over and over the stories ol
| wretchedness and misery and deprav
I ity.
==l^^=^=S==a The bitterest dis
^ appointment of a-young
wUtliltn afi, actress who comes to
Ajj’ ^ Mm New York with her
£( jp mtalPttl mind enthused over the
V thought of studying
I By EVELYN VAUGHN. f“ ,*f
I Leading Lady in "The College Widow.” her ideals shattered b\
lhe persistent “guying”
which goes on in the
best theaters.
I have often wondered what thoughts pass through the minds of
the audience who pay good money in the hope of receiving a genuine
dramatic treat, when they see the artist and her support effectually
ruin a play by this guying system.
In musical comedy such a thing is a part of the fun, and we can
overlook it, but when dramatic art is belittled by the frivolous conduct
or indifference of actors more harm is being done than the mere dis
gusting of a one night’s audience.
Of course the actors and actresses do not think for a moment that
the audience is aware of their smiles and guying—at least I cannot be
lieve they would voluntarily ruin a play—yet I am quite sure that the
average audience which cares to witness a high-class production has
enough intelligence to detect a false ring to the interpretation of roles.
It is sometimes offered in explanation that an actress has placed
a part so often that she has become mechanical, but I cannot believe
that the great actress who feels the character can ever forget.
We talk a great deal about the future of dramatic art in America.
We read a great deal about the mushroom growth of stars who leap
into popularity in a month. We listen to burning criticisms from
French writers on the comparison of the highly educated and well
trained actresses of the French stage with those of America. Dramatic
clubs and managers themselves talk on the need of sincerity in the
young actress, who must take her art seriously, yet what more fatal
blow can there be to the art of the future than having the budding
actresses and actors come face to face with the distorting and slighting
of art by the very idols of the stage themselves?
It is a duty not only to dramatic art itself and to the devotees of
the drama who seek inspiration from the fountain heads of acting but
to culture and the general intelligence as well to eliminate this euving
system.
Actors and actresses who have attained greatness owe something
to the future of the profession they adorn. If instead of writing ar
ticles or decrying in print the anaemic condition of the dramatic art of
to-day they would endeavor to stimulate it, American dramatic art
would receive its best incentive.
PLAN OF PRIVATE PRISON FOR WHICH
LOUIS A. GOURDAIN HAS BROKEN GROUND.
Louis A. Gourdain was the central figure the other morning in a peculiar
little ceremony just outside the walls of the Joliet penitentiary. It was the
ground-breaking for Gourdain’s own private four-story prison, in which he in
tends, as he says, to serve out the term of four years and a half to which
he was sentenced by the United States court for running a lottery game. The
exterior of the “prison,” which is to cost $70,000, will present an aspect as
severe and uninviting as that of the state penitentiary, but the interior, ac
cording to the plans, will be a combination of modern home comfort and in
stitutional plainness. The exterior will rival an ancient bastile for loopholes
and parapets, and the interior, or at least a part of it, will be luxuriantly ap
pointed. There is to be a living-room and dining-room for Gourdain and a
similar provision for the private warden whom Gourdain will install An
elaborately furnished workshop, where Gourdain says he will toil from day
to day, and a cell of up-to-date structure are also provided for in the plans.
There will also be a reception-room for women and a library, snd in the base
ment will be an office room for the “warden,” a boiler-room, a dining-room and
a laundry.
QUEER MARRIAGE PACT
Des Moines.—Isaiah F. Harding and
Mrs. Isabella Engelbrecht of Dallas
county, Iowa, had not found smooth
sailing upon the sea of matrimony, al
though both are, comparatively speak
ing, rich. Twice each had been mar
ried and twice divorced.
When, therefore, seeking a consola
tion prize, Harding asked Mrs. Engel
brecht to be his, extreme caution at
tended her affirmative response. "We'd
better lay down some rules to go by,”
she said, and Harding agreed.
The result was the most remarkable
nuptial contract ever drawn in Iowa
and, perhaps in the world. Veteran
lawyers say they have never seen
anything quite like it.
It arranges for almost every possi
ble contingency that may arise in the
wedded life of two people.
The contract plainly sets forth who
shall build the fires, when the husband
may bring home guests to meals, when
the relatives of each shall visit, them,
how the money is to be divided, how
often the wife may attend social func
tions without being scowled at—and
ever fixes a limit to the number of
possible future Hardings.
By observing in minutest detail the
terms of this remarkable document
Harding and his third wrife have al
ready enjoyed two months of life to- '
gether without a cloud appearing in
their matrimonial sky. The contract
provides:
“That we, by the terms of this
agreement, made this third day of
May, A. D. 1906. between Isaiah Hard
even fixes a limit to the number of
ing, of the county of Dallas and state
of Iowa, party of the first part, and
Isabella Engelbrecht, of the county of
Polk and state of Iowa, of the second
part, do hereby bind ourselves by
this covenant to carry out entire and
in detail the terms of this solemn ob
ligation so that we, as man and wife,
may dwell together in peace and har
mony so long as this said covenant
shall be in force, to wit: From the
said third day of May, A. D. 1906, un
til the third day of May, 1821, a period
of 15 years.
"It is hereby agreed and stipulated
between said Isaiah F. Harding, party
of the first part, and said Isabella En
gelbrecht, party of the second part,
that if at the end of the fifteen years
aforesaid described we or either of us
shall have cause to believe that such
union is not for the best interests of
either of us the said same union shall
be terminated by either party without
further formality; providing that, if
at any time during the period above
set forth, either should wish to relin
quish the bonds of matrimony such ac
tion shall not be taken except with
due process of law.
"We hereby agree that we shall
jointly and severally settle upon the
children of each by former marriage
one-half of the estate of each, the said
one-half of the estate of the party of
the first part to be settled upon, his
children and the said one-half of the
estate of the party of the second part
upon her children. Deeds and papers
to this effect shall be duly signed.
transferred and recorded upon the
completion of this covenant. And this
shall be regarded as applying to per
sonal property as well as real.
“And we hereby bind ourselves to
the faithful performance of the fol
lowing stipulations, as far as w'ithin us
lies:
“Isaiah F. Harding, party of the first
part, agrees that Isabella Engelbrecht,
party of the second part, shall, upon
her wedding to him, the party of
the first part, receive each week
the sum of $15 with which to
defray the household expenses, but it
is understood that he, the party of the
first part, shall furnish fuel and wa
ter.
“It is expressly understood that
from this union shall come not more
than three children. Upon the birth
of each or any child the above amount
of $15 per week shall be increased
three Jollars per week.
“The party of the second part shall
furnish domestic help and to assist
her in this she shall be allowed the
financial output of poultry and one
cow from the farm herd. But if
for any reason it shall be found neces
sary to dispense with domestic help,
then it shall be the duty of the hus
band to build the fires and prepare
the morning meals for six months
throughout the winter and for the wife
to build the fires and prepare the
morning meals for the remaining six
months of the year.
“Neither party shall invite guests
to the house, except with the express
permission of the other, and then not
oftener than tw'ice per week; relatives
shall not be allowed to visit the fam
ily, except that relatives of the party
of the first part shall be permitted to
visit the home at any time within
the first two weeks of the month of
May; relatiyes of the party of the
second part within the last two weeks
of the month of October. This shall
not relate in any way to the children
of either of the parties of this cov
enant.
“If the parties to this covenant shall
remove to the city to live it is agreed
that in addition to the costs men
toined above party of the first part
shall pay ice and gas expenses. Fur
thermore, it shall be the privilege of
the party of the second part to attend
two social functions each week, one
of which, if the parties reside in the
city, shall be the theater, and this ex
pense shall be borne by the party of
the first part.
"Each Sunday the party of the first
part shall escort and accompany the
party of the second part to church in
the morning and again in the even
ing should she desire it.
“Party of the first part shall keep
up the house Insurance, keep the
premises in good condition, furnish at
all times respectable conveyance to
and from town, see that both himself
and wife are properly clothed, take
an active part in any civic or rural im
provement, and assist in any political
movement for the general good. It is
expressly declared that he shall vote
according to the dictates of his con
science.”
REMOVES SNAKE’S APPENDIX.
Big Rattler Undergoes Operation, but
Dies Later.
New York.—First of his kind to go
under the knife for such an operation,
Pete, a big rattlesnake in the snake
house in the zoological garden in
bronx park, had his appendix removed,
but died later. The operation was
performed by Dr. C. William Bebeand
Raymond L. Ditmar, one of the cura
tors at the “zoo.”
Pete, in all the glory of his eight
foot body, had been a favorite of vis
itors at the snake house since be was
Ida. He was also a pet of the keep
ers.
Noticing a curve in the snake's
back, extending from the head about
three-quarters of the length of the
body, an attendant touched the reptile
with a stick.
Pete wrigfled away, showing that
it was a very tender place, and for
the rest of the day refused to allow
anyone to come near him.
After a consultation it was decided
--W . ..
anaesthetic was applied, and Dr. Bebe
opened the reptile s back. He then
saw that the appendix was swollen
and inflamed. The cause of Pete’s suf
fering was not evident. He had appen
dicitis, and, moreover, it was the first
case of the kind on record.
When the appendix was opened a
large piece of rabbit's fur was found.
Pete came out of his stupor after his
back had been sewed up, and it was
said that the operation had been suc
cessful, but Pete died.
- > _________________
Justifiable Assault.
Her partner stopped short in the
middle of the dance in the pavilion
and gave the girl a slap on the shoul
der that came near felling her.
“I was sorry to have to do it,” he
explained, as they waltzed on, “but I
had to—a mosquito had alighted on
you. You’d have been disabled by
morning if he had got in his work.”
Judge for Yourself.
“DO you think • Snagsby is a man
who appreciates a favor?"
“Well, 1 just lent him five dollars
and he kicked because it was in small
PARROT IS TOO TALENTED.
Brings Loss to Roadhouse Man and He
Gives It Away.
New York.—Joseph Murphy, pro
prietor of a roadhouse in the Bronx,
is said by veracious citizens of the
vicinity to have suffered financial los:i
through the misplaced intellectual ef«
forts of his green parrot Jemimah.
The bird had to be disposed of because
it ordered too many drinks at Mr.
Murphy’s bar.
According to neighborhood report,
and Mr. Murphy reluctantly confirms
the tale, a parrot pronounced to be
bright and quick to learn was given to
Mr. Murphy. The bird, which was
hung on the veranda where the thirsty
are served, made good his reputation
by learning the names of the drinks
the waiters called through the open
windows to the professor behind the
mahogany. The wise bird could dis
tinguish a horse's neck from a mint
julep within three weeks.
It was when Jemimah began to call
out the order for drinks on her own
hook that trouble began. “Scotch
highball and two up," Jemimah would
exclaim in the midst of a hurry of
orders. The bartender would set out
the drinks, ring up the check, then
find that it was “on the house.” This
grew monotonous and so Murphy gave
the bird to a friend whose wife is a
member of the local Woman's Chris
tian Temperance union.
PLAN FEDERAL FEMALE PRISON.
Government May Rally All in One
Great Institution.
Leaver,worth, Kan.—It is the plan
of the department of justice to build
here within a short time a prison to.
be devoned entirely to the keeping
of government female prisoners, and
Gen. Cecil Clay, special agent of the
department, and Architect T. C.
Young, of St. Louis, who are at the
United States penitentiary making
an inspection, are said to be looking
over the land of this prison for a site.
If one is built it will be directly west
of this immense institution, and, per
haps, under the same head, but this
has not been decided.
The government has in all no less
than 200 female prisoners held for,
violation of the federal laws. These
are confined for the most part in state
penitentiaries, in states where their
crimes have been committed and are
being paid for out of funds set aside
for this purpose. The cost is about
50 cents a day and it is thought they
can be more cheaply and satisfactori
ly confined if in a government institu
tion.
At one time it was planned to con
fine all female lawbreakers in one
cellhouse of the federal penitentiary
here, but this has been changed, as
it was not thought this would be a
suitable arrangement and would bo
detrimental to disciiiline.
NO BAN ON SMALL SOLDIERS.
Government Lowers the Standard to
Admit Porto R’cans.
Washington.—Concession to tho
slight stature of the Porto Ricans is
made in a general order just issued
by the general staff of the army pro
viding that five feet two inches shall
be the minimum height of men admit
ted to the Porto Rican provisional reg
iment. Heretofore the minimum
height for the insular regiment has
been five feet five inches, which is
the height required for admission to
the regular army in the United States.
The new order does not extend to offi
cers of the Porto Rican regiments,
who will still be required to come up
to American standards.
Other minimum measurements are
also reduced by the general order in
proportion to the height.' Recruits
five feet two inches tall are required
to have a chest measurement of 32
inches at expiration and mobility of
the chest amounting to two inches.
One hundred and twenty-four pounds
is fixed as the minimum weight for
this height.
RAILWAY ACCIDENTS GROW.
Interstate Commerce Commission Re
ports Increase in Casualties.
Washington. — Eighteen thousand
persons were killed, crippled and oth
erwise injured in railroad accidents
during the period ending March 31,
1906. These are the figures given out
in the quarterly casualty report of tho
interstate commerce commission.
They show that 17 more were killed
in the first quarter .of 1906 than in the
last period of 1905 ancl that 52 more
were injured. The report severely",
criticises the fareless American dis
regard of hurnan life and urges the,
substitution of electricity for men In
the management and control of trains.
Of the total number of casualties
during the period covered by the re
port 1,126 were killed and 17,170 in
jured.
These were caused by 3,490 acci
dents, deluding 1,921 collisions and
1,569 derailments. The money dam
age amounted to $2,924,785.
MILES PREDICTS WORLD WAR.
Former Army Head Declares Panama
Canal Will Bring Conflict.
Philadelphia.—Gen.. Nelson A. Miles,
former commander in chief of the
United States army, said that the
opening of the Panama canal would,
in his opinion, be a step toward a
war in the future.
“If war does come,” he said, “it
will be a struggle for supremacy be
tween the United States and the
powers of the world.”
Gen. Miles admitted that the strug
gle he foresees will not come for
some time. But it is certain sooner
or later as the clash of commerce
becomes keener. In such a war the
United States would have to struggle
single-handed against the World. An,
increased, army and navy would not
avail much, he says. South American
trade is the bone over which the pow
ers will contend and the canal’s open
ing will force us into the arena.
An Awkward Job.
Squire—I want you to drag mjr,
pond. Pat. i
J, * • . ‘ .
