The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-28
WASHINGlON'S WAR ON DOCS
MANY HOMELESS 4 NIMA Us CA UGHT
 AND KILLED.
Negroes the Most Successful tn Captur-
 ing Them.

Long before one reaches a row O. whitewashed buildings near the foot O
 Twenty-second street can be heard Z
 most mournful bowling and yelpinG
 from inside. Upon drawing nearer the
 sounds increase in intensity, and as on'
 pushes open the big gate at the end O.
 courtyard he sees five big cages
 ranged side by side. In these pens arc
 dogs of every shape, color and size
 All are caged together, without regarc
 for birth or breeding The white
 washed prison is the District pound
 and since the recent hydrophobia scare
 the moster of this little prison has been
 doing a land office business.
 For many years one single wagon and
 its attendants have traversed the streets
 of Washington for the purpose of pick
 ing up the dogs that wandered about
 without the required license. The dog
 catchers worked leisurely and evenly,
 and each night returned to the pound
 with few dogs that were kept the re-
 quired length of time and then execu-
 ted.
 A few days ago the District commits
 sloners summoned Samuel Enstein, the
 pound-master, to the Municipal build ing. They told him that it was their intention to authorize the procuring of
 three additional wagons for the work | and additional men. He was a sked
 how long it would take to complete the 1 necessary arrangements. MT. Fins
 ten said one week would be the short
 est time possible The commissioners declared that the work must be ready to | to vt n,, hn MnnIa,r
 By working night and day for seventy | two hours the wagons were procured and rebuilt so as to accommodate the | canine prisiners. The extra men were engaged, and nine extra nets were woven.
 | Monday morning. bright and early, the war against unlicensed dogs in the city and District was begun in earnest.
 On the first day eighty dogs were
 brought in. The second day was rainy, and only one wagon went out. MT. Einstein explained that on wet days it is almost impossible for the catchers to do effective work. The nets are woven by MT. Einstein and are of heavy cot ton rope. When the rope becomes wet 1t shrinks and becomes almost as stiff as iron and useless for its purpose until 1t is dried out In spite of the rain the one wagon brought back twenty mine sorry looking pups. The next day ninety-two dogs were captured, and on Thursday ninety-siX was the days haul. Friday the number was eighty-six and Saturday eightyfour dogs were penned up at night time. The total number of dogs captured since seven o'clock Mon day morning was four hundred and six ty-seven Of this number twenty eight have been removed by their owners, who came to the pound and paid two dollars fine. Thirty-nine more dogs have been released upon their owners showing a properly signed tax receipt for the missing tag. The remaining dogs have been killed.
 The execution of the unfortunate an imals is conducted under a low shed beneath which is long gray box with windows in the sides This death cham Der is about ten feet in length half as wide, and five feet in depth In the top of this chamber is trap door which can be closed tightly. A dozen feet away is a little iron stove the pipe of which leads to the interior of the cham ber The stove Is filled with charcoal, and until the smoke of the kindled fire seases, it is allowed to pass from a reg ular chimney. Soon the dense smoke stops and then a damper Is closed, and a colorless. hot gas, carbon monoxide, | fills the box.
 Before the damper is turned, the | glass -slided box has been filled with the | doomed dogs, and the trap door in the | o1o ho he i,,- side looking from the little windows | one after another falls over | After a few weak yelps and a kick or two they lie still When all have appa- rently succumbed to the effects of the gas, they are taken out and hauled | away to the scows that carry the car cases, with other refuse, to the odorous point down the Potomac. More dogs are introduced into the gray box until the days execution is over.
 The dogs are held at the pound after they are brought in for forty-eieht hours in order that chance may be given the owners to redeem them. When the dog is a particularly valua- ole one. it is kept even longer by the pound master, though this is not re- luired.
 MT. Einstein says the new dog catch ITS are wonderfully energetic. One of hem saw q dog in the gutter on a south Washington street last week. He neaked slowly and stealthily along with the net. and got near enough to hrow it over the animal. Come long!" he yelled to the driver of the wagon; I've got him." The driver anne. and when the two attempted to fit the pup they discovered they had aptured q dead dog. Wednesday log belonging to the wife of a western enator was picked up in front of the nator's residence. The dogs mistress an out and demanded of the dog catch r that her pet be released and said hat she could show the receipt for his cense The dog catcher was obstinate, owever, and carried the animal to the ( ound The woman came down later n her carriage and, with show of an I CT, produced the receipt, and the dog ( Ias released. She informed the pound- laster that she intended to speak to ' CT husband and have him use his in ( uence in abandoning the pound" ( MT Einstein says that white men do i ot make good dog catchers, but that f egroes have a natural knack for it. | n pf the new men have been more or