Evening star., 1938-03-20

1t more attractive, In the way Of stage
performance. The stage was . folding
affair, which could be pushed out Of
the way when the time came for the
ring show. I remember seeing Joseph
Jefferson and his father and mother
playing in Walkers Circus, As well as
many others who, in after years.
reached great prominence In the thea
trical world. Mr.. Jefferson's mother,
besides playing . part In the circus,
was kept busy during the day In look
ing after mending and restoring the
circus players costumes. while the
elder Jefferson was also very much In
evidence in q business way about the
place. There were generally three acts
in each Of the plays produced there,
two being on the stage and the closing
act in the circus ring.
1T wintered In Washington for sew
eral years. The building used was
originally livery stable and it was
kept warm enough except during very
cold weather, when the performance
was suspended for couple of weeks
at q time. In those davis the down.
town hotels and boarding houses were
the headquarters for Congressman and
their families, and it was handy for
them to 60 around to Walkers Circus.
There were no congressional boarding
houses in any other part Of the city
then and Southerners took q particu.
lar pride in Walkers Circus, which was
q strictly Southern show and rarely
ever went farther North than Phila-
delphia. 1t travelled by wagon exclu-
sively and in its day was . very ex-
tensive Affair.""
ON AUGUST S, 1905, the Police
Court held its last meeting in the
old church building. when it moved
to the Ulke residence, on Fifteenth
street south Of the Avenue, where is
now the Department of Commerce.
The Ulke Building was a picturesque
structure, with porches covering the
entire front, and had previously been
occupied by the Bureau of Statistics Of
the Treasury Department, and prior to
this was the home Of the Young fam
lily.
The present building, costing around
$4,000, was completed and first occu-
pied on June IA. 1907. the cost of the
equipment at that time being about
$1,000.
When, about six years ago, the
writer made a tour OF the Police Court
Building, three things attracted his
attention-the inadequacy of the
building. from top to bottom: the mar
velous record system and the forced,
inhuman way in which the prisoners
are crowded into the cells awaiting
trial and, maybe, to be later trans
ferred to some penal institution. And
after his inspection was completed the
writer even more than ever agreed with
The Star, which once editorially re-
ferred to the cells in this building Is
"Washington's black hole"
Naturally. at the time the writer
came In contact with the four judges
then on the bench. who included
Justices Gus A. Schuldt, Ralph Given,
John p. Mcmahon and Isaac r. Hit.
He found all to be fine and capable
men, but Judge Schuldt was perhaps
the most active in his efforts toward
securing the new building. into which
the court will soon move, and it is
quite unfortunate. after having ac-
complished 50 much in this laudable
connection, that he was not permitted
to remain on the bench. at least long
enough to have served in the new
building. However. only one of the
judges on the bench at that time still
remains, the three others being COM