Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-03-15

The Prisoners Tried by Judge Smell.

| BURGLARS AND NICE YOUNG MEN; sADDEST OF
ALL, YOUNG GIRLS on THE ROAD TO RUIN.
The dngy old building at the corner Of 9th
andD streets. formerly Unitarian church. but
now occupied by the Police Court. presided
over by Judge Smell. daily presents busy
scene Scores of people. men, women and
Children, white and black who are TO appear as
| witnesses, as defendants, or as spectators, are
seen vending their way in and out and loter-
ing around nearly all day long.
| RICH DEFENDANTS AND POOR PRISONERS"
The prison van or ''Black Maria," after visit
ing each of the eight station houses. brings
a number of prisoners to the court every morn
ing for trial Those so conveyed are generally
poor people, who cannot give bail or fee counsel.
/ But the wrong doors are not all of this class.
Among those brought before the court are per-
sons from every station in life. Even high
! toned officials and wealthy citizens occasionally
find themselves in the iron grasp of the
| law. This class of law breakers being able
| to furnish ball. saunter into the court room,
with counsel, and take chairs and are saved the
| lndignity of being locked up i'm CELL The ma
Jor1ty OF the prisoners. however, are confined in
the cells in the basement and the frequent at
| tempts on their part to escape. makes it neces-
sary for the authorities to cOnfine them very
much as they would cage wild animals They
are hauled to and from the court and Jail i'm a
cage-like vehicle, which, excepting the gaudy
| decorations. greatly resembles menagerie van,
and they are driven In a crowd. to and from the
van. between two lines of policemen and court
| officers. While waiting to be called up to the
court room, one by one, for trial. they are
crowded into cells and those convicted in court,
and who are not able to pay their fines, are sent
down to the cells again and taken thence to Jail
or the wOrkhOuse, according to the nature of
their offence.
THE COURT ROOM
is large square apartment in the main part of
the building, in which church services were for
merly held. Judge Smell sits at desk on a
raised platform in the acove in the north end of
the room, where the altar formerly was He
does not concern himself with the question of
punishment i'm the ''Other' world but in few
emphatic remarks meteS out to transgreSsOrs
| the penalties that the law provides shall be i'm
posed upon them in this world. The room is
divided in the center by railing. Only the
officers OF the court, lawyers, policemen. re-
porters and prisoners who have given bail for
their appearance are allowed inside the bar, as
| 1t Is called witnesses ald spectators are con-
signed to the long settees in the other portion
of the room.
| THERE ARE TWO PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS
in this cOurt-Mr. James E. Padgett, who pros
ecutes the cases in which the ordinances of the
District have been violated. and Mr.. Charles E.
Moore, who prosecutes offenders against the
| United States laws. Each OF these prosecuting
attorneys has an office i'm the building. and every
case is examined by one of them before it is
| taken into court to be tried. Every criminal
charge in the District. except charges of muir
der, have hearing in this court, and the num-
Der OF cases disposed of daily is necessarily very
large. Cases in which the punishment is i'm
prisOnment in Jail. and all District cases. can be
disposed of in this court. but felony and such
cases as are punishable by imprisonment in the
| pententiary-assauits with intent to KILL libel
grand larceny, embeZZlement, &c.-CannOt be
| disposed of; but if, after hearing, a prma ia
Gle case is made out. they are sent to the grand
jury. The most of the prisoners brought before
this court are cOlored people, but the majority
over the whites is not large.
| VERY OLD AND VERY YOUNG OFFENDERS.
The gray haired prisoners. both men and
women. are generally brought in on charges of
being Migrants and habitual drunkards, al
though sometimes they are defendants in more
| serious cases. 1t is safe to say, however that
rum is the cause of the misfortune and disgrace
of most of these. This class it is sad to saw. is
not small. and it is daily occurrence for aged
| men and women to plead ''guilty" to charges of
| drunkenness and vagrancy, being glad to go to
| the w0rkhOuse where they have often gone be-
| fore, and where they are comfortably fed and
| housed.
The very youthful class of law breakers con-
sists principally of boys and girls, arrested for
| trivial offences. Sometimes the parents of
youths before the court complain that they have
become SO hayward that they (the parents) can
| no longer control them and express a desire TO
| have them sent to the Reform school during
minority, and parent and child take an affecting
leave OF each other in the prisoners dock.
FEMALE PRISONERS.
| The number, of girls, some of them mere child
rem, that are brought in by policemen has in
creased alarmingly in the last few years. They
are generally arrested at night, after leaving
the private drinking saloons over restaurants.
! which are getting numerous in the city
| Some Of these places are of the vilest character
and hundreds of young girls are corrupted. A
| large number OF miserable middle-aged women
| are brought before the court from time to time
| They are generally arrested In disreputable
| neiShborhoOds, on charges of being Migrants Or
prostitutes, or both. Bonds for future
| good behavior being required of them Gin
| stead OF fnel. and having no friends
to give bonds for them, they are almost
| invariably i'm the dock when called for trial
| Miserably clad girls and women, some Of whose
| faces still show traces of beauty, and whose
language indicates that they were well raised
| daily plead guilty to such charges, and receive
| the usual sentence of 80 days in the workhOuse
| Some of them implOre the court to let them Off,
sOlemnly promising to reform and lead better
life. They are often released by Judge Snel
who says he is always willing to give them a
chance to do better Sometimes they will stay
| away for a year before making their appearance
again, but they nearly always return, sooner or
later. and thinking they have done well to stay
away so long. call the judges attention to the
| fact, adding that they come back through meet
ing an old friend and drinking too much.
CONTRAST-sAyAGE BURGLARS AND '.TOo-TOO"
| YOUNG MEN.
| The most dangerous and vicious looking pris-
oners are the men charged with burglary, and
assaults with intents to KILL
| In marked contrast with these are the cutter
ly toO-tOO" young men with tight pants and
short coats; their watch chains hooked under
| the chin who are sometimes seen in the dock
having been arrested late at night, and not
having the requisite amount Of cash with them
| for collateral deposit.
| After the cases have all been tried athrong of
friends Of the prisoners, passers-by and loafers
| form sem-circe around the van to see the
| prisoners taken away to the Jail or workhOuse
! and the excitement is over until the following
morning, when similar scene is presented.
| The DrUnsmers and the License Tax.
| To the Editor of The EVENING STAR.
My attention has been called to the statement in
A