The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-03-16
John Early, Tacoma Leper, Now
a Prisoner I'm Potomac Mansion
BY E.. A. Peters

States.
He is the same John Early
who was discovered, one mild
spring day three years ago,
building a little home for
himself and his family on a
tiny ranch at Summit, near
Tacoma.
But now John Early is fightint
alone.
His wife, after he had beer
taken into custody and locked III
by Uncle Sam, divorced him ant
remained in Tacoma, where sh,
later married again.
Early escaped from the littl,
isolation camp at Diamond Point
near the Straits of Juan de Fuca
travelled by railroad to New York
and was re-arrested.
Prisoner i'm Mansion.
The leper is once more a pris
oner in the mansion on the Poto
mac, facing the beautiful skyline
of Washington, d. c., where HI
was first imprisoned when his dis
ease was discovered, after his re-
turn from the Philippines.
His home Is enclosed in a high
fence of barbed wire. His com
forts consist of a Morris chair
and a photograph.
Early has three small rooms
The house is divided by brick
wall running squarely through it.
The caretaker lives in the other
side. Early summons him by an
electric bell. The electrician who
installed the bell refused to enter
Early's rooms, SO the bell was put
through a hole bored in the cell
ing.
Fighting for LeprOsarium.
Early is the most famous leper
in American the world, for that
And ever since his disease first
became the subject of public COM
ment and scientific investigation,
the former u. S. soldier has been
conducting a campaign for ma
tional leprosarium. In his ISOLATED
home opposite Washington he is
still fighting.
Last week he sent letters to con-
gress, telling them a few blunt
facts.
He showed congress that al
though there are 900 lepers in
no attempt has been
made by the government to help
them.
Was Tacoma Sensation.
Although Early's letter was
thoroughly sterilized, the learned
men of congress handled it GIN
gerly, and with an evident desire
to get the matter off their minds
as quickly as possible.
A representative of The Times
called on Early this week, and
through his efforts national ap-
peal for a leprosarium has been
sent broadcast.
All Tacomans recall the sensa-
lion that was caused in 1913 when
it was discovered that Early,
with his wife and three babies,
had secretly bought a home at
Summit, on the old Puyallup line.
Scientists Disagree.
Early explained that the scien-
lists had disagreed on his case.
One of the greatest leper experts
in the world had declared that
his malady was peculiar roien-
tai skin disease, not leprosy at
all. Federal experts said that he
was a leper.
He had escaped from scrutiny,
long enough to come to
Tacoma and try to make home
for his family. He was in the
act of dividing his house into
two sections, one for his own use
and the other for his family's,
and was planning a life of seq
regation, yet proximity to his
family, when discovered.
In those days Early was a hor-
rible looking person. His face
was mottled, livid and puffed al
most out of all resemblance to a
eountenance. He wore
gloves. He was extremely care
full not to touch anyone, or not
to come in contact with anything
that other persons might touch.
Wife Divorces Him.
After considerable red tape,
the government took Early to
Diamond Head, where he was
confined in an enclosure with
another leper.
Mrs. Lottie L. Early, his wife,
divorced him shortly after he
had been taken from Tacoma.
afterwards she married
George N. Tauson, assistant
county treasurer at Tacoma, and
the man who had been designated
by the Spanish-American war vet
Grams of Tacoma to look after the
leper's interests.
The leper's wife still lives in
Tacoma. She and Tauson, with
the three Early children, have a
home at South Tacoma.
Disease Slowly Gaining.
The disease is slowly growing
on Early. His feet, although in
sensible to external pain, are ach-
ing and burning inwardly, the
leper says. While in Tacoma he
suffered no pain.
The swelling of his face has
subsidized, and has left a dry
wrinkled skin, hanging flabbily
on his cheekbones.
Early is carefully watched, ant
is destined to live and die in the