The Washington times., 1894-08-05

In every city worthy OF the rame there Is
some locality surrendered almost entirely to
the thieves and cut throats. New York has
Mulberry Bend and Pell street. London the
whitechapel, and Washington. which is no
exception to the rule, has Freeman's alley,
smaller in extent, but fully equal to the others
in the quality OF its depravity, vice and
crime.
Located between Sixth and seventh and N
and o streets northwest, in one Of the most
respectable neighborhoods in the city, this
training school for criminals yearly sends to
the different penal institutions criminals equal
in number to the graduating class of the Gen.
tral High School, whose buildings lie
directly opposite its entrance What tho
population OF the alley is no one
can tell, as il is continually being changed by
deserved punishment and by the departure
of others who leave to escape. All the in
habitants, however. are negroes Of the lowest
type, who, either through ignorance or fear,
are obedient subjects to their ruler.
For ruler this queer place has. but who 1t is
and where he lives only his PEOPLE know, and
they never even refer to his existence. But
hand is shown by every action Of his slaves.
One OF the best demonstrations OF this prince
of crimes wonderful power is the manner in
which his retainers act when summoned to
court to testify against ono of their
fellow bond servants. A man may be
arrested for having assaulted another
and beaten him in a most inhuman
manner; the whole affair may have been seen
by the wounded mans family and friends
and yet IL they are all put on the witness
stand to testify the man who was assaulted
will swear that he does not recognize his as
sailant, the others will know nothing what
ever OF the affair and If there il any chance of
getting the prisoner released several more
will be on hand to swear that at the time the
assault was committed the accused was in
South Washington or some other place equally
remote from the scene of crime at the time the
assault was committed.
BANDED AGAINST THE LAW.
Thus perjury on the part OF the negroes,
while it shows the remarkable power of some
person or organization, is the main obstacle
the police will have to overcome in their
crusade against the alley, as IT is almost i'm
possible for them TO secure sufficient evidence
from outsiders to obtain a conviction. An
other example OF this strange person. persons.
or organizations power was the manner in
which crap-shooting, an essential part OF
every negro tough's existence, WAS eliminated
from the alley.
Up to about two years ago Crap was one
of the most prevalent vices in the place, and
many and long were the fights which oc-
Cured when some member of "de game" for
got himself so far as to ring in a pair of
loaded dice on his comrades or refused to
"roll de bones out" So frequent did these
rows grow that a police raid on the alley be-
came almost a daily occurrence, and scores Of
men and women. for women of the alley, fol-
lowing in the footsteps of England's peer
esses, also INDUCED in gambling. were being
sent down by judges Miller and Kimball, de-
spite the lying of their friends.
So common did these raids grow that had
it not been for the arrival of parties from the
outside world. the alley would have been de-
populated, but worse still in the eyes of the
negro criminals. the attention of the public
was being attracted 10 their hiding place by
the frequent mention Of its name in the col
umns Of the local newspapers, and their un-
Known ruler saw that unless something was
soon done wave of popular Indignation
would be created which would sweep his
prncipality from existence.
So he issued an order, it is supposed. pro-
hibiting crap shooting. aud since that time
there has never been single person arrested
in the alley for that otfense, although just
previous to the sudden cessation about SIX
games were running in full blast night and
day.
THE ALLEYS HONEST MAN.