The New York herald., 1873-07-13
NEW YORK HERALD SUNDAY JULY 1s, ls7a-rRRLE SHEET

sertion OF o arebrand within a maeaSine. and
hence AL the enects which the association between
ant upon the union oi these alien elements existing
In the same race. are lost, and the doors OF commu
| CHEAP RUM SHOPS.
when we came from this resort night had far ad-
vanced, and the alley Of st. Mary's was very foul
and dark. This lane is one continuous line Of rum
| shops and assignatiOn houses. The liquor stores
sold se While sns We
In one OF these, near the opening OF the alley,
drunken ruman rushed In and asked Tor seven
| soda water bottle more than hall lu / saw
woman served with three cents worth, and she
received as much as he who paid five.
ST. MARY'S LODGsRs
| AS we LETT this place our detective whispered
Have care. The pavement is flied with
And It was. People who reside In New York and
complain because our authorities are not more
vigant concerning the haunts oil the lower classes
have no idea how infinitely superior they are to
those OF the lower classes OF :hs boastlui CITY, 1t
| but every available inch OF St. Mary's was crow led
with human beings. Upon the pavement. and IN
men were lying piled upon eacn other. The intense
heat OF the summer drives them from their low and
squaild cabins, and III semi-stupor and semi semi
nuuehess they lie down in the street nlth 10 steep.
| IL was almost impossible for to step without
aistnrnng some one, and at every disturbance
there was curse. Men with sunken eyes
gared upon US threateningiy, and women stretched
out tleir long. gaunt fingers after us and in one
instance caught our garments. Never shall Tor
get one thing which We saw-a woman lying
closely against the side OF her cabin aud over her
BOSOM TWO dogs were wrangling lor resting
place.
When half way through this alley the detective
open window. sne is black; her name is Big
she keeps an assignation house of the lowest and
hlthest order; her height is six feet, five inches,
IN costume low at the neck and open at the
sleeves she was the most loathsome and disgust
ing creature that have ever behed.
AN EFFORT FOR REFORM
We had no desire to tarry longer In st. Mary's,
and we bade the detective take us elsewhere. He
led us to the stree: which was formerly known as
Old BEDFORD, but which is now caied Alaska.
Here an effort and noble one, has been made TO
wrest from destruction hundreds OF souls, whom
poverty has taught to so degrade themseIves-an
effort which for twenty years the public authorl-
to the bedford Street Mission" IN charge OF Rev.
John ID. Long, gentleman whose society we left
ABOUT an hour ago. This man Is CHRISTIAN hero,
family. aud he has given his lie for these poor,
ruined souls. His noble-hearted wife is with him
and sin OF this filthy and abomlnabe neighDor-
hood All the traces of civilization which now
ana then crop out In unexpected places, the
quaint little school house, and the slender walls OF
brick which occasionally peep up from between
the tottering sides and crnmbling roofs OF the old
aspirations, which, unknown to the many, SILL
come come swelling up from a lew repentant hearts, are
remarkable personal magnetism and his ability to
touch the spirits Cf otners with that enthusiasm
which at all times kindleS and pervades his own.
Aside from individual contributions their mission
desires no support.
We entered the residence OF the clergyman ana
explained our business look OF surprise crossed
his lace as he extended his hand, and Immediately
alter we were seated he made the statement with
"when first came here l did not
see. how ! could remain; men knocked
each other down at midday, and at night there was
= fight at every threshold. was mated and in
suited, and came near losing my life on more than
one occasion. have been In other cities, among
own notorious Five Points, but they cannot be COM
pared with this neghborhood for moment.
A REGIMENT OF ROUGHS LOCKED UP
About six or eight weeks ago disorder became so
rampant that the absolute safety OF the city de-
manded an interference upon the part OF the off,
GERS, and over eight hundred persons were sent
away to jail. You hardly miss them. 1t was only
which found, in the upper story, room iull Of
people entirely destitute OF clothing. People SIM
ply live together here, the black with the white,
the white with the black. and wedding ceremonies
are very rare
figure wandering from the popular streets. was
decoyed by a rascal into a dram shop nearby and
was prevailed upon 10 drink glass OF soda water.
Oh course, the water drugged, and in a half
stupened state she was dragged into an assgna-
tion house. Her beautiful HAIR was cut of close to
her scalp ana sold IN the market for s.. She was
stripped OF every article OF her wearing apparel,
wen the way ,h as r her ha s anS Ma Tnen
tally abused by number OF wretches In the shape
OF men,"
'.New York Is foul enough, will admit; but New
York In her record has no crime so l0ul as this.
Aud take these cellars Men have crawled down
into them to sleep at night and have been carried
out dead the next morning. The detective will
tell you that in the Winter season., people will lie
In the gutter, as you have seen them lying there
tonight, and In the snowstorms have been irozen."
"lo whom do these places belongT' asked; ITO
those who live N themW
"By no means,n returned Mr. Long. "That Is by
far the saddest part OF the story. They are the
property OF men In easy circumstances, who try to
tSey send here to Collect the rents Iregret to tell
you what now shall, but IT Is the truth one OF
the filthiest dens in this whole nelglborhood IS
sir, could you the good people who by some
means or other ind their way to this place. TWO
days ago a man OF means. and one who moves In
good and cultivated society, came to me and said
tnat he seeking his wife; she was In the habit
OF drinking once In every two years and he feared
she may have been decoyed hither but he failed to
find her. But come, sir, let me show you what we
arc doing In
We left the quiet study OF the minister and with
him entered the mission chapel There is In 1t
and newsboys and stu another for teaching the
| lighter industrial arts The cutest thing by all
odds about the place Is the swimming school, oda Ia
with water, and each tank can accommodate
twenty-five youthful bathers. Mr.. Long says that
when the little bootbacks and newsboys get In
the tubs they sing and shout. and clap their hands
and roll abou, and dive, as If no demonstration
were sufficient to lully manifest their thankful
ness, while at every Kick the water nes up 10 the
ceiling and rolls the sides in great splashes.
| When asked TO ould these simple tanks the public
authorities refused 10 do
QUEER REASON.
"What do you suppose was the reason they gave'
They feared they might bc used by vagrant
| Irlsnmen.n
| hat has the Common Council against the HI
| bernian that IL does not want him 10 keep clean
After leaving the mission school, Mr.. Long went
| with us among the rookeries. Twenty feet
| away from this school you would not
suspect its existence, for the same mis-
| cradle sights met our eyes; but now aud
| then there would come up, as II from the Nth
! of the streets dainty form, and sweet face,
| toucned with glow OF gentleness and gratitude,
| would break into smiles as the little one would
bid the minister good evening, and by this simple
! act we knew him to be loved, and felt that our
| sex had indeed been crowned with nobility.
| DENS AND RESORTS or THIEVES.
In little while we came to what Is known as
! ''The Den," and 1t WAS here that hundreds OF
| roguhs were held in until the authorities could
| provide proper quarters for them in the Peniten-