The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1906-04-01

was allowed were not sufficient 10 keep
out the cold II was in the kitchen that
Dement, locked her when ne went out
TO work Then ne locked thu door
that opens from the bedroom to the hall.
leaving his prisoner confined behind two
sets OF locks and bolts.
II met Frank Dement, soon after ]
came to Washington, when 1 was liv
ing with Mrs Dobson. on Twenty fourth
street" said the poor girl. THAT was
nine months ago. | had brought my
little girl with me from Frederick Md.
TO the city. i'm the hope that | would
find work. My first husband had been
dead some time. Frank seemed to like
me. He said he loved me, and took me
around TO places and showed me a good
time. He seemed to like Adele. too.
and that made me happy and | liked
him the more for it, When he asked
me TO live with him and told me he
would marry me. l thought il would be
all right.
You see. / loved him.
Il have no education and knew moth
ing OF Washington 7 had lived all nv
life in Frederick and | believed what
was told me. When he brought a
license and said We were married
believed that. although now i can see
how foolish IL was But. of course.
j was foolish. for / loved him much.
For three weeks ne was good to me-
Why, he hardly beat me at all. and
when he did l did not mind. He was
jealous. though, OF every man he saw
when | was around. When we would
walk out together i'm the evening he
would make me keep my eyes on the
ground; when l happened to look up he
would say 1 was trying to 'fiirt with the
men in the street
Then we moved. In the night. l don't
know where this second house was-on
what street. or in what section OF the
city. / have never had a chance to
learn anything of Washington. In this
house my Imprisonment began. When
ever Frank left the house he locked me
in. Almost always when he came back
he would beat me.
Compelled to Move.
The people in this house were mad
because of the way he treated me and
we had to leave. We went TO Mrs.
wheeler's at 1912 III street northwest.
1t was the same thing here. I was
locked in the room during the day and
beaten at night. never went out. on
Sundays Frank always stayed at home.
and it seemed TO me he stayed for the
pleasure of beating me.
Sometimes he accused me- OF trying
10 hirt with other men-and beat me for
that. Sometimes he said i had tried to
get out of the door. and beat me for
that. Sometimes he beat me for nothing
at aIl-when he had not even charged
me with anything. But always IL was
not for anything j had really done
had done nothing.
we went TO another house also at
night This was kept by Mrs. Fret
we'll. but 1 don't know where the house
is Then we came here. All the time
the beatings went on Frank would
wake UP in the height and beat me. He
would say he had seen me trying to get
out Of, the door.
Seven weeks ago we came TO this
house. The doors were locked and the
curtains drawn over the windows
was in fear OF my life. for many times
he has told me hs would kill me if
tried to get away or do anything that
would hurt him. | was afraid TO call
QUITO ask for help. The ladies here
would have helped me. / know. as they
did help me when I finally got courage
enough to break from the room. But
was afraid. i knew Frank would XIII
me if i tried and failed.
He had photograph and he used
10 play that for hours at a time While
il played he would beat me. He has
beaten me and then made me sing TO
the music of the monograph. so that
people would not think he was being
mean to me. He has beaten me for
hours at a time. He would strike me
in the breast. so that L could not
breathe. He would wrap a towel around
my mouth. so that i could not scream
Il did not love him any longer. and
i wanted 10 get away. When the chance
came. took it,
Mrs. Wallace and her daughters have
done what they could TO make the girl
comfortable. She 10 but twenty years
old. and. as she says knows nothing OF
Washington. Most of what she knows
Of the world she has learned from Frank
Dement,. -