Evening star., 1901-12-28

never tire of telling ante~bellum stories or
of singing snatches o1 old southern songs.
The white men are quartered in the main
building. One Of the latter, with an intel
lisent and benign countenance sat doing
away the hours IN the warm and cosy sit
ting room no doubt dreaming of his former
life, when prosperity seemed to smile upon
him. Many trades and some professions are
represented among the men
Inc Whte women present a variety of
phases of life. One, a venerable gray-hair-
ed woman OF about sixty years, is ever in
a mood of deep thought fulness She is the
mother of children who were raised with
every comfort. and in turn her children be-
came parents. Her face bore kindly and
intelligent expression. and the wonder is
that she ever found it necessary to trudge
over the hills to the poorhouse." But she
Is as fmmutable as a stone, and closely
guards the secret of her life and the rea-
sons which made her a public charge. Some
or the faces would be excellent studies for
students of human nature. There is much
or interest in them to be read. Others
would not. They are human blanks.
Inc kitchen of the Washington Asylum is
an up-to-date Institutional affair. The cook
ing is accomplished in hygienic fashion, by
steam 1t Is presided over by paid cook,
who is allowed assistants from among the
inmates.
Many of the vegetables used in the insti-
tuition are raised on the adjoining farm"
which is cultivated mainly by workhouse
prisoners. Religious services are held in
tiS dSy luHl TWICE Sdch sunday. BY CaIlO-,
nc workers in the morning, and those of
Protestant denominations in the afternoon.
Ihese Christian workers furnish consider
able literature for the inmates, but the
greater part OF the reading matter, mainly
magazines, pamphlets and newspapers, is
furnished by the Post Office Department
from the great accumulation of unavailable
matter received in the larger post offices.
Inc recent chronology of the Washington
Asylum, as shown on the record books of
Clerk Tindall, is that during the summer
and fall OF 1878, the frame buildings in
rear OF the main structure, which were
USED as hospital and overflow buildings,
were removed and work on the present hos
pital commenced
Ihe Old Jail in Judiciary square, near the
U street side. was vacated. May 4, 1915, and
permission given the Washington Asylum
authorities to use the building for the con-
1nement of workhouse prisoners. The
bricks from the Jail were used for the con-
struction of one wing Of the present work.
house.
The north wing of the workhouse was
finished May 26, 1870, and occupied by the
white male prisoners, the colored males be-
ing sent there from the Jail structure on the
following day.
The army and navy magazines were trans
ferred to the Washington Asylum June %
1850 One of the magazines was enlarged
by. the addition of two stories and convert
eu INTO the present female workhouse The
other two were converted into the old col
ored mems home and occupied as such De-
cember 10. 1881, the workhouse for females
being occupied February l. 1885,
First gas lamp lighted on 10Th street
southeast, In front of Washington Asylum,
August 4, 1887, and a new laboratory for
Workhouse for males completed May u
1891.
A nurses home for the instruction of wo-
men as trained nurses commenced October
II, 1898, and completed and first occupied
June 2, 1899
The almshouse annex for old colored wo-
men was completed and occupied Septem-
Der 10, 1S99