The Washington herald., 1918-12-01

ity 10 bootleg avenue.
"Buzzards' Roost" was a ive-story'
structure OF ancient design and stood
on the northeast corner of Ninth and
ID streets northwest. The site Is now
occupied by five one-stoTy business
buildings. The original structure was
erected | am informed, about 1910.
At the beginning Of the civil war II
was converted into hotel and was
largely patronized by army officers
and their families. Gen. Phil Shert-
dan. on one Of his hurried trips TO
Washington to consult with the Sec
retary Of War and President Lincoln
was a guest of the old hostelry. After
the war the building degenerated and
was used as an apartment house or
tenement and people Of all sorts oc-
cupied the upper rooms.
Ny attention was first attracted tc
the place in 1882, when a woman who
occupied rooms on the second floor
came down to the sidewalk very
lightly clad and proceeded to enter
tain the loiterers about the "Roost"
with a sort of skirt dance. AS she
pirouetted over the bricks in an alcO-
hOlic revelry, the woman sang DIS
cordantly a song which began some
thing like this:
-Tm Jennie Warren of Buzzards'
ROOst,
I'd have you all to know;
Now watch my dance and hear my
song.
Then hear the buzzards crow
Later. after I became a member of
the reportOriaI staff OF the Evening
I Critic, then published on Ninth street.
. few doors north of "Buzzards'
RoOst," I had opportunities to get
more intimate knowledge Of the old
building and its varieEated occu-
pants. The police OF the First pre-
cinCt made many arrests in the struc-
ture, and Il also was the scene of
several big police raids.
One Of the most important descents
knade upon the ''ROOst" by officers
{ the law was about thirty years ago.
II that time bucket shops" and es-
hblishments OF bogus stockholders
Ourished here. and the police entered
pon a crusade to clean them up.
-he Offices of one of the concerns
rere located on f street just west
4 the National Theater. The rooms
Fere de luxe in appointments and
urnituTe. and a large sign board an
ounced that the concern had direct
tTity stock exchange. There were
many patrons of this bogus company.
fand they invested much money. The
fuckers" said to be in immediate
touch with big operators in New
York. licked merrily day and night
The place eventually came under the
suspiCions OF the police and an in
vestigation was inaUgurated by head
quarters After some shrewd work
the detectives and uniformed men dis
covered that the wires attached to
the 'tickers'' and telegraph instru-
ulents did not connect with New York.
but with a Cleverly camoUfiaEed ter
minaI Office in "Buzzard's Roost."
The police reporters were tipped
on that a big raid was in prospect
and were on the Oui yive for the
event. a rainy night, thick with fog.
was selected for the descent One
party of blue coats covered the up
town Offices on f street, while an
other surrounded "Buzzard's ROost."
was a member of the repOrtoriaI
rear guard of the latter raiding party.
At given signal the building was
entered by the doors on Ninth street
and E street. and by means of ladders
TO the second story. where the New
York terminal was located. The raid
was carried out like ClockwOrk and
all the operators and their parapher-
MALTA were captured intact. The effect
was salutary, and bogus stock con-
Germs quickly disappeared from several
parts of the city, as one of the opera
tors explained:
We don't know where the lightning
will strike next"
The raid also caused many of the
dissolute characters, occupying rooms
in the ''Roost," to vacate the prem
ises. and in its later years the struc-
tyre was occupied largely by poor
but respectable tenants.
The upper rooms Of the structure
known, years ago. as the Federal
Building" at the southeast corner of
Seventh and F streets northwest. was
another centrally located edifice with
a variegated assortment Of occupants,
following the civil war and until about
twenty-five years ago. There were
many mysterious ramifiCations in this
building where doubtful characters
could play hide and seek" with the
police.
washington's "Bowery." as Penn
sylvania avenue, between Third and
Four-snd-a-half streets, has long been
known, is now but a memory so far
as its wickedness is concerned. Some
OF the BoweTy buildings were. for
long time. the roOsting places of
dOwn-and-out humanity, including
women of the scarlet letter variety.
A Southern Senator. who had been
repeatedly held up and ''pan-handled'
by buns along the BOwery. complain
ed to the police and referred to the
locality as "Bumland.' In fact many
Senators and Representatives. while
walking through the tramp-infested
thorouEhfare on their way to or from
the Capitol were ''pan-handled" by
frowsy habitues of that section. and
the police made numerous arrests of
the Offenders. who were almost in
varfably sent to the workhouse. Po-