Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1860-11-22

seemed to care for no human sympathy or
assistance. aa ~ lsf,a
The lieutenant at this station kindly
threw open the doors of the lodging rooms,
and Of the cells for prisoners taken up
during the night. In one of these rooms
we counted thirteen women-homeless and
friendlsss creatures. who had there sought
shelter. Some were asleep. and those who
walked drew their shawls over their bare
heads to avoid the gaze of the visitors
One held in her arms a child about two
years old. whose littls pale face and at
tenuated limbs indicated that the sands of
its life were fast running ont, and that
Providence intedel to rescue it from tho
fate of the poor wretches around it.
Outside of the small and close cell, on
benches. were stretched other women.-
Not few of their countcnances showed
past beauty of no ordinary character
The black, glossy hair of one. her white
teeth, and her finely chisseled features were
evidence that. young as she was, she had
fiannted her brief days as queen among her
class. But she. too, was not long for
this lif,.
At the end of the corridor was room
somewhat larger. occupied by the men
dodgers. Here the degradation was more
apparent. The bruised and bloated faces,
the shoeless feet, the filth, and nosome
smell that cxhaled from their bodies, Gre
ated a sensation of indescribablc nausea.
They were packed in like herring, all,
without exception. the victims Of drink
ant its attendant crimes.
Down stairs were the cells in which the
prisoners Of the night were coniined-sen-
tenccd on various charges; some for drunk
enners anil others for theft and burglary.
On one of the hard pallets a woman was
reposing. She reused mp at our approach
and began to weep and moan in the most
heart rending manner. Next door to her
was mother with child in her arms
One cell contained three men. My atten-
ton was called to one Of these, an agel
man, who came forward and protested that
his companion was killing him. '.Hs has
beaten me-" said the man, '.for the last
two hours, am here for nothing; | have
committed no crime; | have seen better
days. For the sake OF humanity take me
ont Of this place" His appeal was sus-
tainedb by the appearance of his tormentcr
"a younS and stalwart Irishman, with a
hidcous face. who poured ont torrent of
profane vitupcration upon the old man.
The officer kindly released tho latter, amid
the most earnest expressions of gratitude.
The station houses seemed superior to
those of Philadelphia. The accommoda-
tions for the officers arc neat and convent
ent; the hall itself large and well ordered,
and the whole economy of the place adj
mirablc. Most of the lieutenants are men
of education and character, and the discip-
lire Of the rank and file OF the police seems
to be exact and severe. A record is kept
of all those who are lodged and confined;
their ages. sex. occupation and residence.
The majority of the guilty and the poor
seemed to be males. but the proportion vf
females was frightfully large.
( The adventures Of these unfortunates
would furnish startling commentary up
on the scarcity OF female employment. and
the inadequacy of female wages. Attract
ed to New York. they run a brief career,
after as brief resistance to the alluremcnts
of vice, and die an early death. er7
The history of young girl from an ad-
jacent village was told us. She was ex-
tremely lovely; but. fond Of dress and ad-
miration. was induced on one occasion to
pay visit to New York. by man who
represented himself as a merchant, and
proved to be gambler. She never return
cd to her happy home. but became an in
mate of one of the Mercer street houses.
where she remained for some two years.
At the end of this time she had contrived
to save some fifteen hundred dollars, and
then resolved to change her course of life,
and to live upon her little fortune. AT
that moment the tempter again appeared,
IN the person of her seduccr. She loved
him ardently, and with woman's conf
dence, surrendered to his keeping her mon
ey. on the promise it should be repaid five
fold. She never saw him more, "and
now." said the officer. ''she is almost a
nightly occupant of one Of cur cells" Z
Those who have read the works of Dick
ems will remember how he delinsates the
mystery of thicving in all its varieties;
the skill and dexterity ofthc London burg
lars; the utter degradation; even of chill
dren of both sexes. reared amid evil associ-
ations, and the difficulty of detecting the
really guilty. New York cannot, OF
course. equal London in this respect, but
it has many representatives worthy the pen
the illustrious Boz. Anecdotes are re-
lated of boys Of ten years. who make the
circuit of the city, day and night. with
violin and tamborine, and return with con-
siderable harvest, taken from the pockets
Of their audiences, all OF which. in turn. is
counted over to their leader. who exercises
a brutal tyranny over his youthful follow
ers.
The nationalitics of the habitues OF the
part of New York that we visited are A.
merican, German. and Irish. OF course,
American rowdyism is there represented in
its worst phases. but the fondness of liquor
seemed to show itself less among the Ger
mans. Those who resort to the German
dens prefer lager beer. while in other quar-
ters we noticed that gin, whisky, and other
poisonous decoctions were the favorite
beverages.
| Our next and last visit was to the negro
headquarters. Down stairs q stable, ths
second floor coffin warehouse, the third
ball room and bari The contrast was
entirely in favor of the colored ladies and
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