davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

the question of what is to become Of that
which is immortal in them, they are Gre
ating a problem for those they leave be-
hind-how to hide from the sight of men
the wretched bodies that have been bat
tered and trampled upon by the ruth
less God in the Car
And so they go to potter's field, where
their burial is paid for by the District
of Columbia. which annually provides
thousands of dollars for the purpose. But
II is such a burial that it makes death
seem doubly terrible. The District sup
plies the coffin and hearse, digs the
graves, fills them i'm and finally keeps
careful record of every interment. 1t
overlooks no detail. In short. the Dis
trict does its best-as much. if not more
than Is done by any other city.
But despite all that. a potter's field
burial is pitiably desolate. For the poor
body that goes to the paupers grave
there is no black-draped hearse, nor
grieving friends. nor ceremonies which.
make death less wretched. For these
losers in the battle of life there is no
burial service-not even a clergyman to
read over their remains a brief prayer
before committing them back to the dust
from which they were created. There
are none there to lay even one flower on
the naked earth flung upon the coffin.
Instead they are ratified across the city
over the long route in the grim dead
wagon. to be hurriedly lowered, in the
end. into a nameless grave that has been
dug and is filled by convict labor. And,
probably, beside this fresh grave there
yawns from three to six more, waiting
for the next to die.
+
Potter's field presents a striking con-
trast to the old Congressional cemetery
that borders 1t. In the latter there are
handsome tombstones and monuments.
Stately old trees fling their shadows over
the resting places of an honored dead.
The graves are carefully tended: close
cropped. velvety grass grows above them.
and flowers and shrubs border the path
ways between. Throughout the entire
cemetery there is sugs estion of peace
and restfulneSS.
But the pauper cemetery is far different.
1t lies amid scenes of suffering and sick
ness and the punishment of crime. At the
foot of the hill on which ii is located are
the muddy waters of the Eastern branch,
and still nearer are the tracks of the
man line of railroad. In the list of the
unknown dead who sleep on this hill no
man may say how many may have fami-
lies somewhere, waiting for their return;
families, who, ignorant of their fate.
would have given them resting place in
some cemetery where there are trees ana
grass and flowers. But instead, there
they lie on the bleak hillside. Day and
night the fast passenger trains from the
north dash past with whiStiing, roaring
and ringing of bells. But what does 1t
matter? The noise of the railroad will
not disturb the sleepers in this bare
field. AS Hood sang: Rattle his bones
over the stones; he's just an old pauper,
whom nobody owns"
:.
But it must not be gathered from this
that the District government does not do
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

so the doctor notified the health Office
and the dead wagon" was called.
The grief of the parents impressed the
driver. hardened as he had become. The
greatest sorrow of the mother and ia
Their seemed to be that their firstborn
was not only going to the unmarked
grave Of pauper, but in a foreign
country, where they would lose him for
ever and never be able to remove his
body to the home in England, even if
they should finally achieve the fortune
they had come to America to seek The
driver explained to them that complete
record of the grave was kept, and that
at any time they could secure a permit
to have the body exhumed. He then told
them that they might be present at the
interment and arranged an hour for them
to come to potter's field.
The boy was laid at rest just at sunset.
and the father with barred head. stood
at the foot Of the grave, while the
afflicted mother, with an infant in her
time in years, probably. the convicts
paused when the little coffin was lowered
into the grave and removed their hats
In respectful silence A few heartfelt
prayers were uttered over the dead. The
dirt was flung upon the rough board
coffin without coarse or brutal comment.
and for once the convict gravedigge-s
lost sight Of their relief at the compile
ton of their unpaid task in a rough
sympathy for the delicate woman who
flung herself upon the cold earth in an
agony of grief.
But the suffering Of the family was not
yet ended. Within month the driver
of the dead wagon was back at the
miserable little basement home. The
second child, a four-year-old girl with
blue eyes and brown hair that was like
fine silk. had died. and the driver had
come to carry her to grave beside that
of her brother. Again, too, the driver
arranged for the now almost distracted
parents to be present at the burial.
Since that time the parents have not
won the wealth for which they crossed the
ocean. but the father has found work
which enabled him to move to a better
homeland thus saved the life of the
third and last child. And every Sunday
husband and wife walk the long distance
across the Eastern branch, taking with
them a few foWers-wild ones, picked
from the roadside, or cheap ones bought
for few pennies from some itinerant
florist of the market place. These they
lay on the only graves in potter's field
that have been regularly visited for many
years.
During the cold weather and in the
hotter months of the summer the deaths
among the city poor reach their highest
totals. Most of the victims are children
the crowded courts and alleys where
negroes live. 1t is estimated at the
Washington Asylum that more than 80
per cent of the burials are from the
homes of negroes. A Washington winter
is usually productive of a great deal of
pneumonia among these children. During
one of the cold spells last year there
were fourteen burials in potter's field one
day. and thirteen the next.
Down In Union court while ago there
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

was a case that was most pathetic. An
old, one-armed colored man. his wife and
family lived in a shack that was without
beds or stoves. The rooms were heated
by means of wood fires, built in an Old
tin boiler. The wagon was called in first
to take away one of the children. The
mother was dying on the floor at the
time and within week followed her
child to the grave. Then the two other
children were stricken. Within five weeks
the entire family, save only the old man,
were buried by the District.
There are many instances where the
unknown dead have been escued at the
last minute by relatives who arrive bare
ly in time to save their loved ones from
consignment to the pauper burial ground.
Such case occurred not very long ago,
when a man died in a local hospital I'M
able to tell his name give any clue to
his identity. The body was removed to
the morgue and the fact was given the
customary publicity in the newspapers.
days. the morguemaster being morally
certain that eventually it would be
claimed; but nothing was heard either
from relatives or friends. No one could
be found who had ever seen the dead man
before. And so, finally, the wagon was
sent for.
A few hours after the wagon had
driven away brother OF the dead man,
who had traced him to the hospital, ar
rived at the morgue and demanded the
body. OF course he was too late. but a
telephone message was rushed to the aSy-
lum, relayed to the nearest point to pot
terS field, and thence carried by mesSen-
ger to the very brink of the new-made
grave The convict laborers were lower
ing the casket into the grave when the
messenger came running up with the Or
der to hold up" the burial.
The order, of course, was obeyed with
out question. The rough casket was
raised and laid on the ground beside the
yawning ditch that had been dug for it.
There it was found little later by one
of the leading undertakers of the city.
who, sent by the brother of the dead
man, took it to his establishment. where
the plain, unvarnished boards were re-
placed by handsome casket.
The dramatic circumstances surround
ing the recovery of the body just as 1t
was being lowered into an unnamed
grave caused the morguemaster to inves-
tigate. He found that the dead man had
been man of considerable wealth and
social standing in his home city, and was
travelling for pleasure at the time he was
taken i'll and removed to a hospital here,
unconscious, from his train. He died
without recovering consciousness, and it
was never understood how it happened
that no money or means of identification
were found about his clothing. But for an
unforeseen delay at the asylum he would
have been placed in a paupers grave.
Another incident of potters field had an
ending less fortunate. The body of a
drowned man was recovered from the
Eastern branch-not far in fact, from
the place where for some time it rested.
Every effort to identify it proved futile.
and eventually the convicts lowered it
into Q grave on the bleak little hill. Sow
eral days after white-haired man Of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01
LEEPY, RICH OLD DIJON.

RAVES Identified by
~ Numbers Only-But Lit
tie Ceremony to Burial of
Unfortunates Whose Course
of Life Has Run-Convict
Gravediggers-The Dead
Wagon and Its Mournful
Observation-Disclosures Stories of
People Buried There-At the
Permit Office.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

all in it's power to make the last resting
place Of its pauper dead as little wretched
as possible. 1t does. Potter's field Is
under the direct management of the
Washington Asylum, which owns the
barren Gods acre on which it is located.
There are no funds to tend the graves
carefully nor to keep them green with
flowers. Besides-such tasks are essen
TALLY those of relatives and friends-and
those who go to potter's field frequently
have neither. But an effort is made to
keep the graves distinct and apart. A
careful record Is kept of every interment-
the date and the circumstanceS-and, in
many instances. for several months the
asylum authorities will keep some of the
clothing or personal effects of the dead,
as guide to possible later Identification
Sometimes the Identification comes in
time to allow the body to ne disinterred,
for reburial under happier circumstances
If such term may be used in connec-
ton with such a thing. Frequently, how
ever. the Identification comes after the
body has lain in its unmarked grave for
SO long that public health demands that
1t remain there forever. In such a case
there Is nothing that can be done. 1t
probably would be easy enough to secure
permission for the District authorities to
erect a monument at the head of the lit
tie grave-Or to plant its mound with
grass or flowers. But monuments or
grass or flowers would be homogeneous
and out of place in potter's field. so it
remains bare and bleak, save for the tiny
bits of whitewashed board inscribed with
black numerals marking off the different
plots.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

ACH d a y there
Journeys from the
grim entrances of
the free wards"
of the city hos
pitfalls, fro m the
city's morgue- and
from retc h G d
novels of squalOr
and poverty, d big
S o m b erl y black
wagon. The sto-
ical face of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

WAS eating gin
gerbread in DIXON.
Prim e Minister
Poincare-the sud-
den new French
Hercules YVES in
arts, sustaining
the peace of Eu-
/ Ope on n / s
shoulders, while he
shook a financial
finger at the ma
Tauding 3 a | k u n
states, who are so
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

from the thousands of persons who visit
the morgue, eagerly scanning the faces
missing loved one, must be great indeed.
Il
So the bodies lie at the morgue until
there seems no possible chance of their
being claimed before finally being start
ed on their last journey in the somber,
black dead wagon. The law provides a
specified length of time for which all
bodies must be kept. After that they
may be sent to potters field or kept
still longer. according to the discretion
of the morguemaster-or he has the
right to turn the body over to the medi-
cal colleges as subject for the dis
secting table. But any one who can
establish relationship. even if he be un-
able or unwilling to give the body burial
himself, may insist on burial and have
his wishes respected. More than that. a
dying person may request that his body
be buried, and not delivered to the medi-
cal colleges. and. while there is no law
requiring observance of that request. in
variably it Is held sacred And, indeed,
comparatively few of the bodies Of Wash
tngtOn's pauper and unknown dead ever
jority of them go straight from the
mOrgue to potter's field, always in the
same old wagon, over the same old route,
to the same hopeless end.
The life of the man who drives the
dead wagon is about as unpleasant as
any in the District service. In his daily
work he sees only the sad side of life
and much that Is revolving. 1t Is not for
him to think Of the pathos. and he must
steel his heart against the suffering and
misery constantly before his eyes. FIRE.
quently there are unfolded to him the
worst traits Of human nature. with but
an occasional redeeming incident Of a
better side.
When asked the saddest sight of his ex-
periences the driver hesitated some time
and finally replied that, though he had
seen mucn that was sad, he had SchOoled
himself to forget as soon as possible the
details of his daily life. He had become
so far successful in this. he said. that
frequently he would go through with
one case and on to the next without re-
membering any of the details Of either.
There was one incident, however, that
had impressed him deeply.
Several years ago an English family
moved into Washington. The head of
the household. big honest mechanic,
sought diligently for work, but could
find none, and soon the family found
themselves in a strange country without
money or friends. The home they had
secured was the basement of house
which was in bad repair The rooms they
lived and slept in We're not heated and
when there were heavy rains parts of
the floor We're covered with water which
backed in from an imperfect sewer. Win
ter came and with it sickness. The chill
dren, three in number, were all stricken.
The eldest, q boy of seven years, died
first. There was no money to bury him.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

When a man who has lost in the battle
with life dies-one who has lost SO utterly
that there is no place save potter's field to
receive his world-battered body-there are
two general courses Of procedure by
which the assistance Of the city authori-
ties may be secured. The city provides
physicians for the poor, and when the
patient of one of them dies the doctor
who has been in attendance issues a GER
tificate of death, at the bottom of which
he writes, on line especially provided
for the purpose, Family unable to bury
If there has been no physician the GER
tificate, with it's confession Of the most
abject and terrible Of all proverty, Is is
sued by the city coroner. The certificate
is sent to the city health Office, which, In
turn. notifies the Washington Asylum to
remove the body and give 1t burial
All the dead described in the official re-
ports of the Washington morgue as ''un-
known" eventually lie in potter's field.
but some go there far more Quicniy than
others. The body of a suicide whose face
and dress give evidence of refinement and
breeding, for instance, will naturally be
held longer before burial in the hope OF
identification than the body of an I'M
known tramp whose life has been crushed
out by the wheels of the freight train on
which he attempted to steal a ride. And
this waiting for identification serves a
double purpose.
Through it the District frequently not
only saves money, but enables friends
or relatives Of the dead to have at least
the comfort of claiming the body and
giving 1t BURIAL comfort which, judged
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

driver is a study for an artist. The horse
moves slowly, almost YEARLY 1t is the
dead wagon" and it is en- route for its
never changing destination-potter's
field.
To probably 90 per cent of Washing
tonians potter's field stands for a maze
Of seeming contradictions. Its mere name
summons thoughts gruesome and wretched
and yet, withal. solemn and majestic,
as death. even in its lowest form, must
always be. Again, there probably is not
a man. woman or child in all Washing
ton but that knows of potter's field
knows in a vague way what it is and why
It is Yet. of them, probably not ) per
cent have ever seen it-and probably not
10 per cent know even where il is To-
Gated They simply know that there is
such a place. and that is all.
The road to potter's field is long. Down
through the southeastern section it leads
across the sullen sluggish waters of the
Eastern branch into Anacostia, and
thence to a low-lying hill in the very
shadow of the huge grim government
buildings which house those who have
soggy ground lies the burial place of the
unidentified and the pauper dead.
For all our civilization, our daily press
and our many ways of keeping in touch
with all people and all places, there are
scores upon scores of unidentified dead
buried by the city annually. And there
are still more pauper dead-men, women
and children. WHO have either died with
out relatives or friends, or whose fami-
lies are unable to give them decent
Christian interrnent. They passed away
with the despairing thought that, besides
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

This gingerbread" / said, will save
US from the European conf1agration. the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

WHERE Mustard and
" Gingerbread Are the
ucts-Sterling Heiig
Describes How They Are
Made by the Natives-The
King and Queen of Wines
A Famous Clock That Has
Chimed the Hours for Many
Centuries.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
DIXON, France burgundy District
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

But you" 1 encouraged her.
81 say the ducal Kitchens. said the
(undulated) glory of Dion. 'Gilded
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

But it must not be gathered from this
that the District government does not do
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

WHERE Mustard
MMSMHNMM7aSM17Nall azEaN7G M II zE71M1l ZOE

NMM5MfIG nlS1MI1s7M1N
The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-04-10
CHARGE OF MURDER
Will Be Arraiened In Grim.
inal Court Today.

Charged with the shooting and kill
Ing Of Louis Schneider. the ten.year.
old son OF Mr.. and Mrs. Louis Schneid.
er. of Fulton, George Felsheim, a four.
teen-year-old boy OF that place. will be
placed on trial in the criminal court
this morning.
The offense Il is alleged was com.
mitted while the Schneider boy was
walking along the creek bank near
his home with his brother and the
boys heard rife bullets whiz past their
heads and then the boy dropped and
was later able to get up and 20 into
the house. He was afterwards renoy.
ed TO hospital where he died a few
days later.
The shooting has attracted unusual
interest on account OF the youth OF
the principals and the court room will
no doubt be crowded today. The de-
Tense viii be In charge OF Attorney
J. J. p. O'Brien and the prosecution
viii be assisted by Attorney Hen l..
Rosenbloom who has been retained
BY the Schneider family.
The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-04-10
SEVERAL MATTERS
Relating to Membership Campaign Of
Board Of Trade viii BE Trans
acted at Directors Meeting.

A special meeting OF the board OF
directors Of the Wheeling Board OF
Trade will be held Friday evening In
the board headquarters. and will no
doubt prove important. Several mat
tiers relating TO the closing OF the
membership campaign will be trans
acted. in addition to other business.
Several applications for member
ship have been received within the
last few days. bringing the total near
ly up to the seven hundred mark.
These applications will be acted
upon, while the report Of the member
ship committee will be received.
Roy b. Naylor. secretary Of the
board. who has been spending sever
al weeks in Pinehurst, n. C., is ex-
pecied TO return home in time to at
tend the meeting.
The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-04-10
AN ENTHUSIASTIC CONFERENCE
HELD YESTERDAY
". A. Bowen viii Have Charge. and
Will Be Assisted BY Territorial
Secretary

The FIRST systematic steps CO. finance
. new home for the Young Momen's
Association we're taken vertsyday ~
. conference ~ interested parties and
the campaign Tor funds will begin
with a rush ne1t wednesday morning.
". A. Bowen. who conducted the
succcssfui Tifb Hospital campaign will
~ IN general charge. and ho is al.
ready Dob ths rIf. Another prominent
factor viii hs Niss EIIzahsth Hughes
Territorial SfrrsfarH. who has arrived
from Cincinnati
Neyt Tuerdfr evening Iu fhs Uan-
uurt hail Of the Scottish H.f. tafH.f
rel Fourteenth and Byron sfr.sfa.
there will bs n dinner frr frr .lufaIra
end members ~ tho soliciting .lafns
81 this gathering thor. will bod. af.
dresser outlining the work fY be -of-
lowed.
90 g. proposed t1 conduct 70 rIns. dsy
crusade There Will rroh1bI. ha mi.
teen teams ~ young women and o.
lIi.' number ~ young men making o.
f1fat ~ three hundred uurElrs Ir. lad
Larger Quarters Nscsssary
The Young MOmsu.H furI.rrr Al.
o.. alton now Dcrupi.a fH. fHr.. uuu.r
i'.rr over The frhrukH rrfau fralt
rfDfr on MARKET street. and Hfy.r
quarters are imDrrafI.a fY rrr. Oh. fb.
Iur.raEad member THE m.rIsrrFIr
NHf hp"setfd rrv'rHl hundred hy The
Lilly" Sunday Meetings
Tho Heyman property on Tho south
east corner ~ Eleventh and Dhapfra
Ffffffe has been DurrhHaad aa 4 sIf.
Ir which ~ ir prpu0rri fool .f.rf a
new Assoc iaflnn building THr f.ra
i've plans call Tor r. DuuHrs aH.r
gymnasium. auditorium Inr-- -..o-,
The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-04-10
EVERY WOMAN
Repeated at the Court Last Evening
Delights Brilliant Audience OF
Wheelinsites.

"Everywoman," Walter Browns
great morality play. delighted another
brilliant audience at the Court the
atre. last night. The production is I'M
dCubtedly the biggest and most I'M
pressive since Ben Hur." II tells an
absorbing story. and will be repeated
twice to-day. The theme is every
woman's quest for love. and the prin-
cipal character is supposed to be
typical Of the sex; she is a composite
woman. endowed with youth. beauty,
grace and the other attributes OF at
tractive young womanhood. Her
search for love brings her into CON
tact with the pleasures and hardships,
allurements and handicaps OF love
These are represented as human De-
ings, who bear the names OF the quail
ties and influences Of which they are
the symbols.
Impressive Interpretation Of Every.
woman requires a cast OF unusual
calibre. and Mr.. Savage has furnished
such a cast In addition to Miss
Oaker as Everywoman. the leaders Of
the great company are Frederick
Warde as Nobody and Marie Vain.
wright as Truth. both OF whom are
nationally famous. Then there are
Nestor Lennon as Wealth. LOttie Ia.
gle as Youth. Dorothy Phillips as
Modesty. Edna Munsey as Beauty.
Frank Lacy as F1attery. Richard Lee
as Pun and more than two dozen
others almost as well known.
MARIE WAINWRIGHT.
The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-04-10

Company. which controls tho suburb
an Water Company. Co furnish him
with water at his residence IN Haw-
thorne Court. Considerable testimony
was introduced by Mr. Merrimnn ia
support % his contention with ref.r-
rncr 90 agreements made with the
company and likewise n number 81
witnesses testified for the COMPANY.
The hearing was not completed late
yesterday afternoon and the arguments
VIII Dc completed today and IN. mat
Ter submitted 90 the court Attorney
J. ". Ewing represents the plalntin
ana Attorney John }. Conin the de-