The Washington herald., 1920-11-17
TOMBS PRISON
CHASTITY SPOT
.Mausoleum Of Hopes and
Home Of Living Dead,
Says Mcintyre.
~ o. o. M1NTfRn.


NEW YORK. Nov. ts-AA few blocks
north Of Brooklyn Bridge on LAfsy-
stte street IL huge. sinister pile
OF stone hemmed In BY q wall Of
rock twenty feet high. Pedestrians
catching the faint glimpse Of its
outline at night can scarcely sup
press q shudder. There 10 some.
thing abott its broodins presence
that grips the emotions---depresses.
1t Ii the Tombs prison. The
Tombs! A name bestowed by q
Park Row reporter with an un-
canny sense Of word values. No
building / have ever seen is 20
gloomy looking or gives the impress
sion of being the grave of living
dead men.
Faint lozenges OF light come from
the little barred windows that mark
each tier. The entrance is an arch
way and inspection reveals two
massive black iron doors that slide
open to admit the morning and eve-
ming arrival of the Black ,Marias
filled with tisht-lfpped men. abjsct
in their hopelesspess and genraliy
cufsing with each breath.
Two men have scaled the outside
walls and dropped to the street only
to find their limbs broken from the
drop. No armed sentinels pace
back and forth on the top Of the
wall. 1t Is not necessary. From
across the street where stood
watching the forbidding mausoleum
Of hopes the earle silence was
broken.
1t sounded more like the sruff
roar OF some wounded beast. A
soft scurrying OF foot steps. the
clank Of an iron door and silence
again. Lending from the Tombs Is
the Criminal Courts building across
the street Is the Bridge of Sighs
Handcuffed prisoners walk across 1t
to hear their fate.
Some of the worlds most notori-
Gus prisoners have trod its concrete
flooring. Nan PattersCsa. Harry
Thaw. Roland Molineaux and a host
Of others whose crimes loom large
In the pages of criminal history.
All during the day the Tombs Is
rocked by the roar of a thousand
street noises-giant trucks, hooves
agairst cobble-stones. honking mo-
tors, shrieking tugs. But at night
Lafayette street SINNERS down to
the quiet of country church yard
and In the Tombs men either sleep
or fght valiant battles with their
souls.
My night wanderings took me
from the gloom of Lafayette street
to beautiful Riverside Drive. At
night II is at its best. Bathed in
soft moonlight the asphalt drive
way unwinds like ribbon. On either
side are magnificent elms-as state
ly as Druids. below the shimmering
Hudson fickering from rays of
electric light and across the ever
majestic Palisades half hidden in a
light fog. Then up over the hill by
Grants Tomb flashed two piercing
lights. They came on with a rush.
There was a faint snatch Of song
and high pitched laughter. Out of
a side street came a mighty poppity-
pop-pop. The chase was on for sew
eral blocks. Then all drew up at n
curb. The motorcycle cop handed
them their summons and each drove
on-and one party very slowly.
Frank Tinney is leaving off the
burnt cork and playing in white
face. Is the black face comedian to
disappear? Eddie Cantor is appear
Ing In whhe face at the Winter
Garden. There are rumors that
when Al Jolson next comes to
Broadway he will be in white face.
And too the men who make songs a
success are choosing different types
or song. Cantor's song hit Is
Feather Your Nest"-not a comedy
number-and Al Jolson's song hit
this season Is "Gfieving For YOU"
a sentimental number. 1t is report- :
ed that Bert Williams, who Is q
very light mulatto. is shortly to ap-
pear in a straight comedy withou.
makeup.