Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-07

former a recess for the court was called
and Mr.. Ingersoll made his way to the
street to find q lunchroOm. horse
stood near the curb and just as he step
ped into the street the animal snapped at
him.
Oh it. SIR" roared Mr.. Ingersoll,
lover what court do you preside?''
During his sojOurn in the building as
President Roosevelt found his way to the
little five-and-ten-cent lunchroom in the
building and there, nearly every dat,
over oyster pie and other delicacies, dis
cussed the affairs of the day with other
more or less prominent men. 1t is laugh
ingly said by the men who knew him
then that he journeyed through the cor
ridors with his thumbs in the armholes of
his vest and whistled like schoolboy.
\
Some idea of the appearance of the
courthouse in it's earliest days may be
gathered from a paragraph of an address
made by Justice Walter s. Cox before the
Lawyers Club of Washington.
ct may be well to give some idea Of
the accommodations and accessories and
practice of the courts of that day, and
to show the contrast between the past
and present condition of things. AS
have already said, the old portion of the
shabby in the extreme; the whole exte-
rior was of rough brick, evidently intended
to be succeed. but left for many years
unfinished, like the walls Of the present
areas between the old building and the
new. On the south front there were
neither terrace nor columns, nor steps of
stone, nor stucco on the brick. The only
access to the center vestfbule was by
rough wooden steps running up imme-
diately from the ground and the only ac-
cess to the wings was through the pres
ent inside basement doors"
Much Of the building stands as always,
but one rather interesting change has
been made in the cell now occupied by
the women imprisoned at the courthouse.
The only window lighting this cell was
formerly fastened by iron bars, but on
one occasion several prisoners managed
to file their way through the bars and es-
capped by the window, only to be recap
tured in a few hours. A rather peculiar
feature Of this escape was the fact that
two or three prisoners, one of whom was
being tried for murder. remained in the
cell. and though they gave no notice of
the escape Of the other prisoners. made
no attempt themselves to go out through
the window. Since that time, however.
the window has been guarded by iron
bars fixed far enough out into the room
to prevent any one reaching the window.
and somewhat resembling cage in ap-
pearance.
The feet of many famous criminals have
pressed the stones of the passageway
leading from a basement door to the
cells, for it is through this entrance that
they are brought from the patrol wagon
to be placed behind the bars. Though the
escapes have not been very numerous.
prisoners have attempted in this passage
to break away from their guards. In one
instance a colored man concealed pen
In the palm Of his hand and attempted to
stab a guard. Confusion Of course fol-
lowed, and the prisoner was placed in
cell, where, In his rage he kicked over the
stove that heated 1t.
AS may be imagined. there have been
many funny incidents connected with the
visitors to the marriage license bureau
In former days persons contemplating
matrimony were sometimes directed to
the ofice where licenses to sell liquor
e. 70 keep dog were granted. and even