The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-26
A NEW KIND OF A JACK.
He Goes About Washington Running
Furniture and Clothes.


From the Baltimore American,
Washington, Nov. Washington just
at present has a mystery almost as terri
flying to the people of this city as was
Jack the Ripper to the denizcns of White
chapel This mysterious and alarming
individual is now generally known as
Jack the Slasher, and his deeds are more
inexplicable than those OF the London
jack. 1t is now nearly three weeks since
he first made his appearance, and since
that time he has appeared i'll every
section of the District Of Columbia.
The first case reported was the
burglarious entry into Judge Miller's
residence during the first week i'll No
Vember Here the slasher stole few
articles of value and carried them away,
but he made his visit one long to be re
membered by his work of destruction. He
cut to pieces every article Of clothing he
could find, hacked to pieces part of the
parlor furniture and destroyed all the
contents of the kitchen. seeming to take a
fendish delight in spelling such food as
he could find, so that it could not be used,
a fayorite plan being to pile mess OF pro
visions on the floor and drench the mass
with kerosene.
The destruction of property at Judge
MillerS did not puzzle the police very
much. as Judge Miller is on the bench of
the police court, and has made his name
a terror to evil-doers in Washington by
the severity of his treatment Of the incor-
rigible criminal classes. 1t was, of course
thought that the work was that OF some
criminal who had served a long sentence,
and who had it in for the Judge; but since
his initial appearance, Jack the Slasher'
has visited every section OF the District
of Columbia, and has left his mark in the
homes Of the poorest, as well as the bet
ter-tO-do, citizens of the District.
Everywhere the slasher has gone he
has stolen few articles, and has then
DESTROYED everything in sight, cutting
curtains and portierres into shreds, tear
ing garments into pieces, Sitting the
canvas of pictures in dozens Of places and
carving and hacking the furniture and
carpets so as to utterly ruin and destroy
everything touched by him. In the
homes of those only moderately well off
he has in his visits destroyed the results
of years of labor ana toll, and has in
many cases, left the victims Of his malice
worse off than when they began married
life. His audacity is wonderful. for in
one instance he actually stole the clothes
from a chair at the side Of the bed on
which the owner was sleeping. In nearly
every case his visits have been made be
tween ) o'clock in the morning and day
light but last night he varied his sched-
ule and entered house in Southwest
Washington before 1880 O'Clock in the
evening.
The police have no clues and no
theories Last night ne entered the house
Of Samuel Johnson, a marine band must
clan, while both Mr. and Mrs. johnson
were away from home. and when Mrs.
Johnson returned at 7:30 o'clock her
household belongings had been slashed
and cut to pieces and her provisions had
been dumped on the floor and soaked with
kerosene When Mrs .Johnson's neigh
bors came in response to her cries they
found her living in Mysteries. At another
place he left several obscene notes.