The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-04-10
GYPSY KING WOULD
HAVE TRIBES tanned
Emperor of Romany Holds Forth in Pawn Shop in Harlem
BLACK Belt
Black Belt

NEW YORK, April 10.-Though
the metropolis Of Republican Amer
lea, New York is the sea- of a royal
monarch.
His palace is "a dingy gray brick,
on n of the busiest in Har-
lem in New York's "black belt" The
three balls of a defunct pawnshop
adorn its entrance, and around its
walls, ~"jewelry, suitcases, watches,
diamonds, unredeemed pledges is
written in large letters.
A humble abode, but it houses
King Frank, monarch Of thousands
Of restless gypsy nomads, whose
throne is more secure than many a
more pompous prince.
There with his consort and his
children, the newly elected king Of
"Romany," holds sway. There he
supreme head and court of last re-
sort-issues his imperial DEGREES, and
gives forth his judgments.
Frank Mitchell, monarch Of the
= 1 100000 gypsies in the Americas,
is an affable man. His keen black
eyes flash as he outlines the policies
he has for the improvement of his
folk.
Times have changed" he says,
land my people must change with
them, If they are to survive. 1 want
them to settle down, to go into bust
ness for themselves and above all,
to send their children to school.
tfENn- that ~ uyhot HUn 1anlK-
education. 1t is hard when a grown
man must stop the stranger and
ask him to read the direction on a
street car.
THE gypsies are intelligent. But
they must be cured Of the wander
lust that leads them forth each
spring to the roads-the sky their
roof-the wide world their estate.
During the war when there was
such a demand for farm products, I
settled sixty families of my tribe in
Canada. They worked hard, and in
three years they had the most pros
porous farms in the neighborhood.
They were complimented by the Gov
erment Of the province. \
But were they c~ontented? Why,
they sold their lands, herds, all they
had accumulated, for a mere song,
and, happy again, took up the long
trails.
Another thing I want to stop Is
marriage system. You know,
among the gypsies marriage is really
the selling Of the girl. If L want a
certain girl as wife for my son, 1
go to her father, and ask his price.
When I have paid it the girl is mar
ried to my son according to tribal
rite. I want the young people to
have some say as to whom they
marry.
Among our people the mans
word is law. The women must
obey"
And why shouldn't they?" broke
in Queen Alice, the portly, pleasant
c~onsort. 1.-The home is the woman's
kingdom and she has plenty to do to
rule it properly. Obedience is and
always will be, the first law of the
gypsy woman. If I want to go on
a visit I must get my husbands per-
mission, and it is right. He can tell
whether it is best that I CO."
King Frank, who had listened with
smiling assent, continued:
"Polygamy is past. Our laws
frown on divorce, but when a man
and wife cannot live together, I
grant them a hearing. If they can
not be brought together they are
given three trials, and if they still
disagree, separation is made final.
"One of our creeds is race perpet-
uation. If a ann and a woman liv-
ing together three years have no
children, we believe they should be
separated.
"Fortunte-telling is something my