Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-02-11

three to eight each, told them that the
places to be raided were Nos. 50, 81, 80
Al, 56, SO and IS Mulberry street. The
word of command was given at II
o'clock, and the men tramped out of the
station.
The policemen were evidently accus-
toned to the work they had in hand, for
by the time the captain and the reporter
reached Mulberry and Bayard streets not a
policeman was in sight. A few dirty.
ragged men and women stood on the
sidewalk, attracted by the police, and
waiting for the fun.
" You had better light your cigar, y
remarked Captain McCullagh, as he
stopped in front Of No. IS Mulberry
street. "This is the first place, and un-
less you have remarkably strong stom-
ach you'll need something to kill the
stencil. 'As he stepped down three or
four steps and walked into narrow pas
sageway policeman saluted.
Many here2n asked the captain.
About fifty, sir, was the reply.
The captain pushed open the first door.
Asickening stencil that would have given
points to the Tombs prison pen on 4, busy
When the eyes became accustomed to the
dim hazy light, and by a couple Of super
anuated kerosene lamps, the sight was
worthy the pencil Of Hogarth. The
room was not over eight feet square In
one corner was a little closet Just about
big enough to hold man. Common
board benches ran around the sides to the
room, and d small sheet-iron stove in the
centre gave ont the heat of an oven.
There were no less than twenty three
men and women there, in various stages
of intoxication. The women were as a
rule, frowsy, blackeyed hags, who could
barely be distinguished as human beings
There were, however, in the lot two
young girls barely seventeen. Yet these
were even more hardened than their older
companions. The men were several de-
grees lower than the tomato-can tramp,
that may be seen draining lager beer kegs
In the summer time When the door was
opened, the inmates Of the room glared at
the captain and his companion IN a stupid
sort Of way, but not word was spoken,
and no objection was made as the captain
kicked in the door Of the closet and found
man and a woman lying on the floor.
A few feet up the hallway another door
was opened and another batch Of
drunken, stupid, degraded wretches were
found. Two other rooms were used as
stale beer dives in the same building. In
the last room the inmates had not had
time to thoroughly stupefy themselves,
and when the captain entered he was
greeted by storm Of profanity.
Take them all to the house as fast
you can, !" was the order given and the
captain started for the next number A
dark, narrow alleyway slippery with
dirt and mud, led into small court
yard, ornamented with piles Of all kinds
of filth.
'sThere was light in the place when
I came in, " reported the officer, pointing
to door leading into half cellar. But
it's out now.n
A sharp rap with the club beought no
response, and the officer gave the door a
kick, which sent it off its hinges. Only
two Italians and woman were found.
They were added to the procession on its
way to the station. The next three
places visited showed evidences Of the
repeated raids, and comparatively few
prisoners were secured. The big catch
of the night was made at No. SO. All the
hooks and crannies on the lower two
] floors Of this building are used as dives
Officer John WINNER, the stale beer ex-
pert Of the Sixth precinct, knows all o.
them, and under his guidance the cap
tain went up rickety steps, down int
foul, ill-smelling cellars, and into darl
rooms Hardly word was heard from
any Of the inmates. They knew theil
man. In one of the cellar rooms was an
old man, who looked as though hemighr
have been anywhere from 100 to 2Ot
years old.
sThat, =" said the captain, 'is one o
the most curious characters in the pre-
cinct. He is over eighty years old, ane
was in his youth brigand in Italy
Forty years Of his life has been spent il
italian prisons. He is said to be tn
greatest expert with the stiletto in thi
country, and there is not an italian il
Mulberry street who isn't afraid Of him
despite his eighty years
By this time there was steady stream
OF prisoners on their way to the station