The New York herald., 1922-11-26

ana shanties In which the ragpickers
lived. Some Of these dwellings were
little better than dog kennels. soma. in
fact. were 20 small that an ordinary
sized man was obliged to stoop 10 enter
the door. Tho space between the front
and rear houses was filled with heaps
Of refuse rags. stacks Of botties
piles Of Junk.
Ragpickers row could be reached
from Baxter street by going through
tho alley opposite franklin street, then
through q side alley and through q
alley. then through q hallway. The
only trouble about mailing such short
cuts was due to meeting petty thieves.
stumbling over drunken men or women
IN the hallway or being attached BY
ourA There were scores OF dogs IN the
alleys and courts. half famished beasts
that hung around some Of tho hall doors
by which access could be had to the
bone heaps In the rear Of Ragplcksrs
row. They say tho raxpickers quarter
near the Pantheon in Paris In the viiest.
most degraded spot In Europe. / Wis
tied 1t few years ago. In sQualcr.
sordidness and debasement OF It's dwell
ers It did not approach tho Ragpickers
row and tho alley In tho rear as
knew them in the middle '7os.
While working in tho drug store once
was sent with a llniment to q patient
living In Donovan's lane. an alley be-
hind some houses on Baxter street.
Making a short cut through another
alley was met by a fellow about 90
years old. who took the bottle from me
and sent mo back with q kick ana q
punch. was discharged. but before
left tho store policeman came In
and inquired II we had sold q bottle OF
liniment to a tough who was found
dead block away. The fellow had
drunk the liniment. which was . power
full poison, then feeling that he had
been poisoned no ran and finally
crawled to house at Mulberry and
Park streets and begged the people
there TO get priest from the nearby
Church OF the TRANSPORTATION. Before
the priest and policeman arrived the
fellow was dead.
The Five Points was looked upon as
and squalor, but tho crimes fifty
years ago were. mostly petty offenses.
such as small tAefta robbing drunken
men. gambling. drunken brawis and ths
like. The great crime the one that
brought most glory. was beating up a
cop. There were serious riots in the
Five Points section years before: the
election riots Of 1884. tho Five Points
riot, the O'Connell Guard riot ana the
Chatham street riot about tho same
time, and the Dead Rabbit riot, the most
serious OF ALL in July. 1857. when the
militia was called out and six mon were
killed and over hundred wounded.
Major crimes were rare or rarely re-
ported. Men were killed in drunken
brawls or died from neglected injuries
received in the course OF such brawls.
But deliberate murders were rare. II
Is not possible to-day to say how much
truth there was m the old reports or
finding barrels Of human bones or dig-
cling up such bones In cellars.
The first change for the better came
in the early SOS. when tho Five Points
Mission began its benencent work. In
the early '70s Inspector A. 8. williams,
whose faith in the efficacy OF the club
Fourth precinct. which took In the east
side OF Chatham Square and Chatham
street now Park row. So effective were
his methods that many OF the gangs
they called themselves guards, Lib
erty Guards, Gotham Guards, Chatham
Guards. Kelly Guards and the like
gave up their parades on washington's
Birthday, Decoration Day. the Fourth
of July Thanksgiving Day and Evacua-
ton Day, the regular parade days In
the district Tho few that did parade
arranged their route so as to avoid
Chatham street and Chatham Square ana
they kept out Of williamSs precinct.
While tho Five Points Mission had
been slowly. steadily and successfully
introducing the leaven Of religion, the
spirit of kindness, sympathy and char
ity and a sense OF law and order among
the young since the early Sos, other
philanthropics were In the field In the
early '70s. Tho Five Points House Of
Industry began It's benencent work In
1857 in a house in Cow Bay. The News
boys Lodging House was q short dis
tance from the Five Points, and Il shell
tered many of the newsboys, bootblacks
and other youngsters who were born
and brought up In tho district. The
Children's Aid Society had girls lodg-
ing house IN Canal street near Mulberry
street and an Industrial school In Bax,
ter street. The City Mission and Tract
Society maintained a couple OF mission
aries in the district and there wsrs q
few missionaries who were not afYiliated
with any organization.
All these labored to elevate the
wretched denixens of the Five Points.