The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-19

Ten years ago Bodie, Cal with it's daily murder and periodical lynching was called the wicSedest town in America. the development of cowboys on the plains gave the palm for general cussedness to Dodge City and Abilene, in Kansas, Dem ison Tex, and Julesberg, Col, were ia nous for a while for their depravity. writes a Jerome, Ariz, correspondent to the New York Sun. Next there was Tombstone, Ariz., with its 1S6 saloons and dozens of gambling halls, in population of 5000. Wild Deadwood, in the Black Hills, and bad Leadvle, Col, were known far and near as the wickedest towns during the eighties. Ten years ago the title passed on to Cripple Creek and Creede, Col.
 Nowadays there is no dispute in the southwest at least, that this copper camp Of Jerome is the wickedest town in Amer ica. It has been purged with fire three times, and some people think it needs fourth purging.
 This is where United States Senator Wm. A. Clark of Montana obtains most of his enormous revenue as the greatest individual copper producer in the world The sole industry of this wild camp is that of copper smelling.
 There is scarcely more strangely sit uated town in the country than Jerome Long before the traveller on the crooked est railroad on the continent reaches it's eastern terminus, the town of Jerome may be seen plastered, as 1t were, against the eastern slope of a bleak and desolate mountain As the railroad train twists among the sun-baked foothills one has an almost constant view of Jerome from the car window.
 A gray cloud of suphurous fumes from the enormous shelter always hangs over the town. Away above the clouds, some 1000 feet, one may see the peaks of the mountains. Some 5000 feet below at the foot of the mountain range is the Rio Verde, which foams and fusses on it's way among the rocks and crags to the Salt River, 15O miles to the south.
 From any vantage point in Jerome one may look to the horizon in any direction and an immense landscape of desolate mountains, rising one above another. chains of brown hills, sterile valley. stu pendous crags and a nneasureless area of dun and yellow desert wastes greet the eye. As far as the eye may range not a | green thing in nature may be seen. l Yet there is scarcely anywhere a com munfty where the per capita income is l larger than that of Jerome. Some 500 men are employed in the United Verde
 mines and its enormous copper smelters. 1 The weekly pay roll ranges from $17000 to 1 $20,000 and 80 per cent of it is quickly l spent in the little town
 The streets in Jerome run up and down | the steep mountain. The mines are fur | ther up in the interior of the mountain. l While there are a few neat, homelike cot l tages at the upper end of Main street, the town is largely made up of primitive,
 rough board structures, houses with can l vas sides and single roofs and cloth par 1 titions. There are a few wel-built stores
 and frame lodging houses
 Along the east side of Main street there
 was until the recent fire a row of big
 hemlock and pine buildings interspersed | with tents and board floors, and here | were pioneer stores saloons, dance halls, l Chinese restaurants, lottery houses and l wash houses.
 l up here" said a man, waving his | hand toward the cottages scattered over | the bleak upper mountain side, lis where | decent folks live; but down there on Main l street IS where other folks live at night and where the moneys made. "Oh, this Is ] the hottest camp in the Territory l The blowing of the steam whistles al l the United Verde mines marks the begin ming of each chapter in the life of Jer-