Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-07-04

that thief"
The Waterman grasped the burly fell
low just as he rose to run away; and
then the old man said: 'Take his re-
volver. He dropped it there where 1
was standing. / am clerk in Blanks
store. l bought this new Ratchet, and
was walking along home with my hands
behind my back when this fellow
stopped me with demand for my mon
ey | swung my Ratchet aloft, and re
dropped his pistol. There it is.
1t was true. The highwayman of the
park had assaulted an apparently help
less old man, and was surprised with
the suddenness of his capture. He will
probably spend a term of years in the
penitentiary. But that will produce no
reformation. He will come forth as he
entered the Jail, natural-born Ish-
maelite, to resume life of lawlessness.
Before he undertakes to assault anoth-
er old man, however, he will warily
watch him and ascertain whether or
not he has a tomahawk concealed about
his person.
Nobody would expect to find Pata-
gonia or Abyssinia in the vicinity of the
center of learning, craftsmanship, sci
ence and progress of the western hem
isphere The most vivid imagination
would not be likely to conjure up vi
sions of FIJI islanders in all their crud-
ity and nudity within sight of her
majesty, the Goddess of Liberty, on the
dome; but here, beneath the blue can
opy of heaven, with the light of the
stars for tapers, and the moon for a
lantern, in by-path leading from the
park to Maine avenue, which is near by
toward the south, haw-haws and guf-
flaws of loud and discordant laughter
attracted attention, and there, like I'M
kempt denizens of the Pacific wilds, a
group of men and women were found
dancing and bowling in aboriginal
glee.
The women were from a con tiguous
quarter known as Louise alley, and the
men were from everywhere. They
were blacker than the night, shamefully
Indifferent to their conditions. They
were black women of sin and black
men of wickedness. Iniquity is their
portion and crime their pastime. They
were apparently not disturbing the
peace of the neighborhood, and police
interference was not thought of by any
of them; nor by me. For our Washing
ton police force is composed of humani-
tartan philanthropists who never inter-
rupt orgies of any sort, unless some
tragedy results, and then they make
arrests as matter of necessity. These
people were hilariously full of five-cent
whisky. or three-cent gin; but there
seemed to be no law violated, and no
reason on the statute books for the pre-
vention of their degradation, nor of the
contamination of their influence. You
will not wonder that l said above that
women and children cannot enjoy these
parks of the Mall after the shadows of
of crime stalk forth and permeate even
the atmosphere.
The only man in the crowd of half
civilized savages who was decently clad,
wore the blue uniform of sailor in the
navy of the United States. He was
dancing with the others, out in the
night within mile of the navy yard,
as wildly and frantically as any of the
foul and wretched beings about him.
No man can doubt the stories of dem
oniacal possession which the Scrip
lures narrate after having witnessed
such a scene. All of these creatures
were bereft of true reason, and were
entirely under the influence of the
demon of the still. Through the trees
l could see the cleaning spire of the
Metropolitan Methodist church, where
Bishop Newman preached SO long, and
beneath whose eloquent ministrations
tens of thousands of dollars had been
contributed to send abroad for the sup
port of the missionaries in foreign
lands.
Within five minutes walk, in the
direction of any point of the compass, a
man might come to the door of some
Christian sanctuary where other tens
of thousands of dollars have been raised
for similar purpose, and yet, we have
heather so near home. Why is it that
the eyes of sanctity so often look over
the heads of these creatures of God and
stretch aud strain their visual power to
see necessity for PROSECUTING in coun-
tries far away, while in our midst is a
lower order of civilization, a thriving
commune of crime which never heard
the story of Calvary, nor ever dreamed
that they have a Father who is the
same Father. to whom the white men
and women clad in purple and fine linen
pray, and for whose worship they build
houses of worship too fine for our home
heather to enter?
Still the stars were shining, and the
moon was beaming, and the southern
breezes were rustling the leaves over
head as l continued ramble which de-
veloped other scenes which deepened
and emphasized the reflections which
have been written above. All along
! the Mall there were groups of men with
bottles of liquid damnation which they
passed from lip to lip until stupidity OF
quarrelsome dispositions resulted. Pro
family polluted the pure air of the syl
van place and ribald songs which can
not be quoted were sung by the de
PRAYED human beings who know no
truth and right, but dwell in sin with
out the light of life. And all these
things were seen and heard between
| the capitol and the monument, on thu
L I