Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-02

| suggests itself to any thoughtful person.
| The accompanying illustration shows this
| as it appears to the mind of criminal
| himself. man charged with murder, now
| in Jail, drew The original of this picture
and gave ii to a member of the congrega-
| ton Of st. Vincent de Paul last Sunday.
| saying, in response to the latter'S words of
consolation:
1T is no use; everything is lost to me
This is a picture | have drawn OF the way
| feel"
thought of the mans words in my heart.
l emerged from the criminals cage and
walked across the court in the footsteps Of
many a doomed man who has dragged
himself to the gallows. The sunlight
cleaned brightly on the embracing white
walls of the small court where the seat
fold is raised, and as horror fixed me
for moment to the spot it seemed il
nothing bright has any right to be while
one soul gropes blindly and is tortured in
the black mystery of iniquity."
Among Women Prisoners.
In the woman's division of the Jail 1
found between thirty and forty prisoners,
all colored sitting in a body In a broad
corridor, while a lady of charity read TO
them the gospel Of the day. These female
| lawbreakers startled me by their eminently
respectable appearance. More than ever
l distrusted the everlasting assurances of
my own apparent responsibility that as yet
has kept me out of jail, and another more
imminent Tear dSSalled me, behOldlng these
criminals. With but three or four eXcep-
lions. l would have been likely on the
warrant of their appearance to take any of
them into my house and family. A young
girl in cell who is charged with murder
had such a pleasing face and was so well
and neatly dressed L thought with shud-
der Il might have taken her on as a nurse
for my children.
There are at present two women in Jail
to answer the charge of murder, and three
accessories. The balance of the fifty fe-
one, however, by the working of accumu-
lative sentence for such crime, is sentenced
to $40 days.
At Religious Services.
Another revelation IN the character of
those criminals appeared to me in their
behavior during the religious exercise then
being conducted. Indeed, their very pres
ence at such exercise is food for thought.
1t is optional with them. Yet very great
majority Of all were present, and they
were not only respectful in their bearing;
their faces, with few exceptions, indicated.
eagerneSs to know and do well. The pic
ture they presented was infinitely sad. and
almost beautiful. If / got a terribly poor
opinion of myself visiting the Jail last Sun
day, and If l lost heart realizing what
odds life gives against humanity. humanity
itself was ennobed by what | saw of Grim
inals seeking after holiness, by what l saw
of the brotherhood OF man eXemplified in
the labor of the charitable souls striving
Tor the retirement OF CRIMINALS. and also
by what l saw of the spirit of those in au-
thority in the jail, almshouse, hospital,
workhouse.
In every instance these officials appear
keenly in sympathy with the humane fea-
lures of their work. Looking into their
faces. | thought. We'll, if l ever do get
into jail or the poorhouse, or If l ever am
sent up for a term in the workhouse, l
hope I'll find these people in charge
1 discerned another matter OF profound
interest to Washington's city of woe-that
is, to what extent there prevails here the
greatest remedy against all evils of institu-
tfonahsm-publicity. l was in company
with Mr.. w. F. Downey, who is a member
of the Prisoners Aid Society, one of the
members of St Vincent de Pauls congre-
cation, that every Sunday visits these
places, and chairman OF the board of trade
committee on institutions of charity and
that upon no occasion when his varied in
terests take him to the Jail and neghbor-
ing Institutions does he find any condition
or influence operating to exclude the public
from full knowledge of all existing facts.
In the Workhouse.
In the workhouse a grimmer clutch of
the law seemed to have me than in the
jail. The staring black and yellow stripes
of the clothing of the male prisoners fascf-
mated me with the bold humor of the situa-
ton thus defined. The presence of several
boys among the men in the lower corridor
of the workhouse caused me to exclairn In
distress, and Superintendent Stoutenburgh
told me there are twenty boys sixteen years
of age and under in the workhouse They
are under sentence ranging from five to 100
days. convicted on such charges as va