New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-11-17
PHILADELPHIA IN SLICES.
slice Iy....DASDr HALL

I
sborng people and the gay laugh and broad repsrtee
are exchanged at every step These arc the imnents
army Of proleares which exis, In every city who live
hardly in poor cabins and shsntes and whose labor
supplies the profits upon which the merchsntpriuces
and their aristocrstc families subsst in luxury But
L not With these have 70 do at present our wsy
lies 70 still darker and drearer shades Of social misery
and degradation.
Dandy Hall is the core Of the rotenest and most vi.
famous neighborhood ever peopled By human beings
It s the Five Points Of PHILADELPHIA moral Gogoina
Of civilization. Passing down Fourih.stree; below
shippen we turn esstwardly down little alley labeled
Plum street and the north side about half way %
Thirdstreet come 70 threestory brick building stand
ing back and fronted by dreary looking yard which
reminds one Of the sluggsrds garden Of childhood
where
saw the Wild bner.
The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher
This s Dandy Hall "a regular house Of resort for
the cyprsns Of the part Of the city and their
fancy men as well as in fact for the bhoys and mem
bers OF the rowdy clubs generally In this house are
held nightly dances and other internal orgies attended
exclusively by loose and ruians Of every ies
pion. The house is Of course GROCERY well ~
hotel and above the dancing room the second
floor are lodging rooms rented out by the hour for the
most Infamous purposes or permanently occupied By
women whose steps take hold on hell The build.
inss on all sides have squald hlthy and sinister sp.
pcarancc which their character by means bellies
Frequent attempts have been made 10 have Dandy
Hall suppressed a nuisance but without sue
cess To constitute a house nuisance under the
laws Of Pennsylvania il is requisite that the neighbors
should testify to being regularly disturbed by what
takes place in H. Now, the neighbors, without ex
ceptioD, arc exactly bad the inmates Of Dandy
Hall and as most OF them in the constant practice
OF mingling the dsgraceul proceedings carried on
IN IT, who ia 10 complain 1t is true that the public
officers might do it, and have done H. but when the
trial came on they could bring witnesses up 10 the
scratch and SO the quashod. At the moment,
am writing indictments which can in all probability
never be tried for want Of witnesses are hanging
over the keepers of five notorious broihes All IN row
in Elizabeth strcet-whe they having given respect
able bail 1--WE wonder # they would like 20 see their
names in PRINT turn up their in dersion at the
laws and carry on their hcllish business a. before
Saturday night il great time at Dandy Hall and
although it Is but in the beginning Of the evening
tho house is already swsrmins with its customers Of
both sexes IN the dancing room, up stairs, the old
negro hddler has taken his seat broken chair IN
one corner and a temporary counter made by laying
board scios two barrels ia the other offers the neces
saIes Of brandy and whisky the company at three
cents glass The ladies' are seated each by the side Of
her beau, who digs up gigantic tobacco quid from his
throst with his tongue aud carefully depositng II ia
his lrowsers' pocket filings his arms about his buNom
nuainorata and ssutes her whisky breathing lips with
chaste kiss which extracts scream of delight from
the delicate creature something between tho whoop OF
a wild Indian and the neghing Of horse And now
the old fiddle strikes up Cooney IN dc hoer ana the
company Immediately cavoris TO places" The dance
which follows we have no power OF describing Having
taken their places and salu,ed another with the
most ludicrous exaggcrauon OF ceremony the dance
proceeds for few minutes in tolersole order but
soon the excitement grows the dancers begin comforting
their bodies and acceerstng their movements, accom-
panied with shouts Of laughter, yeNs oil encourage
nent and applause until all observance OF the figure Is
forgotten and every one leaps stamps screams ana
b,rras on his or her own hook Affairs are now AZ
their hight The black fiddler increases the momen-
um Of hi. elbow and calls the figure in convusve
efforts to be heard until shining streams OF perspira
ton roll in cascades over his ebony face the dancers
now wild with excitement leap iraniicsily about IKE
derv.be. clasp their partners in their and at
length concludes the dance in the widest o'oroei anu
confusion A. soon As the parties recover, the adder
each gentleman ftp his proportion Of the ceremony
OF facing the music and the hoof IS oea'eu o' nc"
set and so goes the night
In addition TO the members Of the rival rowty
climbs Dandy Hall is the general resort Of sailors on
shore who almost invariably, with that improvidence
which marks their character come with all the money
they possess in the world in their pockets and OF course
are usually robbed BY the women who frequent here
orr,hr robhary and theft With
something stn more infamous. Among the sailors and
tho clubber fights and riots things OF constant
currence and whenever members OF the two great
rival club. the Killers and Bouncers," meet, a
regular knock down and drag out IS the invarsoe con
sequence. These men always 20 armed with pistols
knives or slung shot and in presence Of their ghals
the contest becomes savage and deadly. The police
and criminal records show how serious and even fatal
these fights sometimes prove Usually, however, the
victims are sailors or outsiders, some stranger who
ipcauously comes to see the elephant, without the pro
,ective escort Of police officer.
As Dandy Hall IS the center OF the most extensive
region of white prostitution in Philadelphia, we vii
t,xe advantage Of our visit there 10 state fact
respecting this dreadful trade which may not be gene
rally known The great source whence the ranks OF
PROSTITUTION are rcplenished young women from the
country. who seduced and In the way Of becoming
mothers y from home 70 the city 10 escape disgrace
AMI iaismy and come to the city with anguish and
desperation in their hearts Either numbering their
isan,s or abandoning them upon doorstep they are
lhenceiorih ready for any course Of crime that VII
procure them lving-or i they still have struggling
scfupcs stern necessity soon overcomcs them As an
Illustration OF this recently were informed Of aa IN
stance where thirteen unmarried mothers came from
Canada lev weeks before their confinement They
first stopped in Nswlork but ascertaning that aims
house and hospital there already running over
they came on to Philadelphia and were all sent 70 the
Asvum. OF these thirteen deserted, hesItbroken
creatures. eleven are inmates Of Dandy Hal or
houses in is incdste neishborhocd How has society
punished the respectable sedueers and destFoyer' Of
these womeni
Another fac, is that those who once enter into ms
dsboicsl tra.c are seldom saved The poison Is &C
tive as lightning and produces species Of moral IN
sanity during which the victim Is pleased with ruin
and elects the hand ouis,fetched 10 save her. We
have avoided DO pains labor In sseeriainins the
truth Of what about 10 utter and We WISH al
vrtuous and benevolent men and women 10 marx wei
our words After woman once enters house Of