Evening star., 1938-01-23
By John Clagetf Proctor.
~ HE Police Department of Wash
inrton is being criticized again.

L in city of over half million
people, and when We stop to consider
the enormous crime wave that seems
to be sweeping the country.
OF course. the superintendent of
police says he has not enough men
properly to patrol the city. and enough
laws to convict certain classes of
law breakers. and he certainly should
be in position to know, though there
are some who, judging by their atti-
tude toward the District, think he
does not. But if experience makes
man competent, then We can assume
that. really. Maj Brown knows what
he wants and why he wants it, just
as do other men, in their LIES work,
know how their business set-ups can be
best regulated and improved.
Regardless> however of the amount
Of lawleSsness we have at present in
the District-and We certainly confess
We have considerable, and more than
We Want-yet it is not the first time
that crime wave his struck We old
town, and when this one is cleaned
up it will probably not be the last.
Indeed. many will recall when one
lone weak-minded colored man had
the whole local police force on its toes
for six months, when he plundered and
ruined thousands of dollars worth of
wearing apparel and household fur
nishings, and even visited the home
of one of the judges OF the Police
Court, in order to show his contempt
for those charged with the punishment
Of criminals.
But this particular scare-and it
vas big one-occurred more than
- years ago. when the so-called Jack
the Slasher," or George Taylor by
name, ran amuck in the District of
Columbia and for time had practi-
cally all the people in the city shiver-
ing with fear. No section of the city
was neglected by the "Slasher," but
he seemed particularly fond of Takoma
Park, where he went on the night of
Saturday, October %, 1898, and en-
tered the home Of Judge Miller of the
Washington Police Court
TAYLOR was then IS years old, and
undoubtedly of unsound mind,
and probably, as matter of fact did
not really know whose house he was
entering, and, if he did know. We can
assume he certainly did not care
However, in speaking of this unusual
event, The Star said:
The Judge went home Saturday
after court, and retired as usual about
10 o'clock. Three hours later Mrs
Doyle. his neXt-door neighbor. called
to him. saying she had seen a burglar
The Judge thought Mrs. Doyle only
imagined that her house had been
visited in the manner stated. But,
I'll be over in minute he said to
her from the front window.
THE judge put on his clothes and
was about to start out, when the cold
weather reminded him that he needed
an overcoat. He went to the coat
rack in the hall but his coat was
gone.
They've been here, too the judge
said
An investigation was made. and
the judge discovered that a pane of
glass had been cut from the kitchen
window. In some rooms in the house
every drawer had been ransacked, and
part of Sundays dinner as well as
the overcoat. was missing. A package
of sausage meat was among the miss
ing articles, and this was afterward
found in Mrs. Doyle's house. where
the intruder had stuffed it into the
pockets of Mrs. Doyle's brothers coat.
In Mrs. Doyle's house every bureau
drawer had been ransacked, and MOTH
ing was in order. although the only
thing missing was a pair OF shoes
In both houses there was silverware
and plenty of portable property, but
nothing in this line was touched
Judge Miller's cuff buttons were taken
from his cuffs, and the missing over
coat was found on the lawn, where it
had been cut into carpet rags. The
pair of shoes taken from Mrs. Doyle's
presented the same appearance when
found on the lawn"
IRON this time until March 10 fol-
lowing, every householder before
retiring locked or bolted every door
in the house and put a chair under
the doorknob as well, for the city
was actually terrorized. But no bur-
glar as daring as this one could long
remain unapprehended. and so on
the date mentioned he was caught en-
tering a house at Tenleytown. A big
sigh of relief went up all over town.
and everybody breathed more easily.
Here is what The Star had to say
Of his capture:
George Taylor. alias Jones, ar
rested yesterday at Tenleytown while
engaged in burglarizing the home of
Judge Hunt, at the intersection of
Rockville and River roads. is alleged
to be Jack the Slasher.' Evidence of
various kinds points to him as being
that much-hunted-for person In his
pockets we're found the tools that the
slasher must have used in his singular
work of destruction-razors and sharp
knives-and all were stuffed with
small pieces of cloth and dress goods,
mementoes of his little trips. II he
Is Jack the Slasher,' though, he will
probably never be sent to prison. An
insane asylum will be his future home,
for Taylor is undoubtedly crazy
man. person not of violent man
ner, but one whose brain does not
control his actions in conjunction
with his conscience.
When he was discovered by Milk
man Charles Wise. saving the Stats
on the blinds of the Hunt home, he
did not attempt to get away, but re-
mained there until the arrival of the
officers.
He did not seem to realize that he
was being arrested when Onicers Eas-
ley and Law toek hold of him.
"The first Of the slashing was done
about September, 1893, when the OH
GERS quarters at Fort Myer were vis-
lted."