Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1848-09-14
The Five Points.


published in The Tribune, We take the follow.
ing:
Turning eas,wardly from The ,ombs into a
stree. 'ha. would strike even the prac,ced eyes
and hardened olfac,ories OF veteran New
/ Yorker as particularly foul and loa,hsome, a
few steps bring US 10 the great central ulcer
Of wrelchedness--ihs very ro,ting Skeleton OF
Civilization. whence emanates in inexhaus,ible
pes'iience that spreads its poisonous influence
through every vein and artery Of The whole
social system, and supplies every heart-.hrob
OF metropolitan life with a pulse of despair
No matter how hopeful soul you may bring
with you into these horrible precincts, il will
be many hours after you have left them before
your mind can regain its temper. The mem
ory Of The horrors that here breed and gender
will haunt you like fiend. forbldding hope for
human nature that may become thus degra.
ded.
Mere words may convey bu, faint idea Of
the Five Points but what can be thus accom-
plished has been 80 well done already by Dick
ems and Willis that we hesitate 10 attempt 60
ing over the same ground. But no description
o New York. no matter how discursve or su-
peffcial, could pass over this, one of lis most
prominent and revolving features. As in mos,
other cases, the architectural aspect Of the place
is a striking indication of its character and pur-
poses The Five Points lies in The bottom of
The Della valley formed by the divergence Of
Genre aud Caiham streets, and receives It's
name from The five corners or points where
Anthony street. coming from The west, aid
Orange from the north, in,ersect and are cut
through by Cross.st, running from The Tombs
eas,wardy to Molt street. The buildings in
all that neghborho0d are nearly all of wood.
and are SD old and rotten that they seem ready
TO tumble together into vast rubbish heap
Many of them are furnished with steps from
which half the stairs are missing. and each
provided with decayed cellcr door. brokeii
from, the hinges, and ready TO precipi'ate any
one who ventures TO tread upon II Into The eel
lar below. Nearly every house atid celler is
groggery below and Vroihel above. In ihe
doors aud a, the wIndows may be seen a, any
hour of The afternoon or evening. scores al slut
ushly dressed women, in whose faces drunk.
enness aud debauchery have destroyed every
ves'ige of all we exPect 10 the cOunIenance OF
woman, and even almost every trace ol human
expression. They are of all colorr. white. yell
low. brown. and ebony back and from house
10 house, from cellar 10 cellar. and across the
narrow street, flows continuous stream of
obsceuiiy and blasphemy, which makes the
very soul shudder Here and there. digging
in the foul eullers. or basking in filthy naked.
nes. upon the celler doors, may be seen groups
Of children, from the merest infancy up 10 The
verge of premature puberiy-some seeming
pretty. some deformed and ldiotic, and others
horribly liberated from head TO foot with that
Hereditary leprocy which debaucbery,and licen-
iIonsness entail as their curse upon their inno-
cent offspring. Oh Cod ,lia, helplesss and
unconscious Infancy should lhas come into This
sonowful world with It's innocent veins filled
with corruption instead Of blood, and IFS tender
body gwen over 10 The cancerous vullure OF ln-
curahle disease even from is mothers womb !!
And This is mol once in great ways, but con-
stsrriy recuritlng-scofes, aye, hundreds and
huudreds Of hem crowded into the space Of a
single ghbcrhood-born, living, and dying,
sfhld sores and vermin, never seeing nor hear.
ing from the cradle 10 he grave aught OF pure
or innocem save the sky SO far beyound their
reach. and The wind that gets astray in taess
frghiful realms. aud sighs as il fees away. Is
it any wonder thai we have SO many cases Of
"javenile deprasny" reported in the newspa-
| pefs
Bul lei US enter one Of these dark abodes.
We have taken the precau,on Of getting OUT
selves acconpined by an officer and the blue
eyed inmates of the "crib,r both male and fe-
male, received us with some show Of reluctant
civilny. II is in the afternoon and many of the
inhabitants and ffequenters are absent. Fhe
reception room is furnished with wooden
;. eaches, and one corner is garnished with
bar behind which, barricaded with broken
IIipned be, ,.les and sixpenny ,umblers. stands The
bIaa,ed misn ess of the house, ready to admin.
i.,er drugged br,rdy at any price. from 'hree
GEMS 10 dollar g. lass, according to The stage
of in,oxicaion a, Which, the customer has ar
rived. Half dozen disgusting ~re'ches who
ought 10 be women. are Iounging upon the
benches in immodest attitudes. while others
gather around you and insis. upon your "iIea'
ing" as they "hsven'. had drop all day. =
The officer seems TO be an old acquaintance
and they a, frs, played shy. until be assured
them that this visn was not hostile one. Pas
sing through the house, we stumbled down {" o.
or three ricke,y steps and enter still meaner
and more. sauaiid building in The rear. with Only
six feel space between the Two. Here all ls
silent. and We see no one A. heap ofrags,