Evening star. [volume], February 07, 1932, Page 6, Image 76

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Early Justices in Washington Courts
fly JOHN CL4GETT PROCTOR.
THE Police Court Building of today
does not have attached to it so
much historic interest for the oldest
inhabitant as did the Unitarian
Church which once occupied this site
and which did court service for
many years after the church people had moved
uptown.
The old Police Court Building was dedicated
as the First Unitarian Church on June 12,
1822, its first pastor having been Rev. Robert
Little, and here Gen. Lafayette attended divine
service shortly after he arrived in Washington
late in 1824.
It was designed by Charles Bullir.ch, one of
the architects of the Capitol, and was con
structed of brick with smooth plaster finish
exterior, and was noted for its distinguished
communicants, included among whom were
John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, William
Winston Seaton, Joseph Gales, sr., and the
son, Joseph Gales: William Eliot. Charles Bul
finch, John F. Webb. C. S. Fowler. Judge
William Cranch. Horace Greeley, when he
served In Congress from 1843 to 1849, and
Millard Fillmore when serving in Congress and
as Vice President.
Thomas Law, who married Mrs. Washington's
daughter, was at least a contributor toward Its
erection, and Richard Wallach, Mayor of Wash
ington, attended there, while Edward Everett
Hale began here his notable career as a
preacher. The church building was also used
for a while during the Civil War as a hospital
and was known as the Unitarian Church Hos
pital and also as the Cranch Hospital. After
it was vacated by the Army, December 26,
1862, it -was again used for religious purposes
by the Unitarians until they moved to their
new location at Fourteenth and L streets early
in 1878, where it became known as All Souls’
Church. The denomination is now at Six
teenth and Harvard streets, and is the edifice
attended by the late ex-President and Chief
Juptic" Taft
THE Police Court dates its origin from the
administration of Gen. Grant, when that
President, in accordance with the act of Con
gress approved June 17, 1871). signed the com
mission appointing William B. Snell judge of
the newly created court oil June 30 of that
year. President Grant appointed many good
men to office, but none more thorough and
efficient than was Judge Sneli. Indeed, he
took office just at a time when a man of his
caliber was needed and required, and until the
day of his retirement from the bench, 18 years
later, he faithfully performed every duty to the
entire satisfaction of the citizens of the District
and the Federal officials.
Before the Police Court came into existence,
justices of the peace appointed by the Presi
dent performed not only civil duties, but
handled to a certain extent criminal matters
as well. One of these, who had his office above
Florida avenue on Seventh street, was O. S. B.
Wall, a light colored man, whose first name
was Orindatus. Of course, there were many
distinguished men who served as justices of the
peace in the District of Columbia, and it is not
unusual to run across such names as Robert
Brent, the first mayor of the city; Thomas
Carbery, another mayor: Daniel Carroll, prob
ably the original proprietor: Thcmas Corcoran,
father of the philanthropist, W W Corcoran;
Captain William Easby, grandfather of Col.
James S. Easby-Smith; Richard Bland Lee,
who served in the First. Second and Third Con
gresses from Virginia, and who was appointed
in 1819 by President Monroe judge of the
Orphans’ Court of the District of Columbia.
Thomas Sim Lee, appointed a justice of the
peace here in 1801. by President Thomas Jef
ferson, had the distinction of being a member
of the Provincial Council of 1777. Governor of
Maryland, 1779-1783 and 1792-J794, declining
this office, though elected in 1798, and was a
member of the Continental Congress, 1783-1784.
John Mason, who owned and resided on
Analostan Island, son of George Mason of
Gunston Hall, also received his commission
from Mr. Jefferson. Tench Ringgold was
appointed to serve from Alexandria County,
then a part of the District of Columbia.
Andrew Rothwell, great-grandfather of George
Rothwell Brow'n and of Mrs. Jennie Stickney
Sheriff Scharf, was first appointed in 1851.
William Thornton, architect of the Capitol;
Benjamin Stoddert, first Secretary of the Navy;
Roger C. Weightman, later Mayor of Washing
ton, and Lund Washington, sr„ also served as
justices of the peace in the early days of the
city.
RECENTLY the writer came across an inter
esting case tried before one of the old
police justices in the d^ys before the Police
Court was established. It was tried before
Thomas Courtney Donn, one of the better
known police justices of the District, who
usually held his court sessions at the Central
Guard House, which was built about 1840 and
adjoined the Center Market on the north and
on a line with Eighth street. It was here that
Capt, John H. Goddard and his auxiliary guard
of 15 men had their headquarters until the
new guard house on Louisiana avenue was
completed in 1859. It was of brick, two stories
high, had a bell tower, and was used as a
temporary prison for Jawbreakers and for the
trial of pffenders.
It was in the days when the temperance
movement was at its height, and wrhen those
apposed to it did everything they could to break
up its meetings. The weapons used upon this
occasion, in October, 1853, were unsanitary
eggs, and the attorney for the defendant, A,
Hunter, was A. T. Herrington, a master painter.
In speaking of the trial before Justice Donn,
the Intelligencer said:
“Great Egg-citement.—It is well known to
both citizens and strangers that Mr. George
Savage and a party of his friends are in the
habit of holding temperance meetings on
Pennsylvania avenue and at other places out
doors on the Sabbath day during the prevalence
Of fine weather. Last Sunday while Mr. Savage
Judge Snell and the Police Tribunal of
the District—Sessions First Held in
Circus Building—Present Bench and
Urgent Need of New Buildings.
The old Police Court Building, site of the present building, originally a
Unitarian Church.
was speaking before the door of Mr. Upperman
there were occurrences of an unpleasant char
acter, which gate rise yesterday afternoon to
proceedings before Justice Donn—George
Savage vs. A. Hunter.
‘ A large crowd of persons assembled in the
office, and much interest was manifested dur
ing the progress of the examination.
Mr. Savage was represented by Mr. A. T
Herrington, a master painter, who assumed
the position of a lawyer for this especial
occasion. Mr. Hunter's counsel was Col. M.
Thompson.
ii "THE first witness called was Mr. Savage,
I who stated that while he was addressing
an audience on Pennsylvania avenue last Sun
day afternoon Mr. Hunter assaulted him by
throwing eggs at him. He was struck both in
the face and on the side of the head by twro
of those missiles. He was not, however, much
injured.
"Col. Thompson—You state that two eggs
were thrown at you.
"Mr. Savage—Yes. sir.
‘ Col. Thompson—State what you were doing
at the time.
"Mr Savage—I was advocating the temper
ance cause. I don’t know what my precise
language was. It was in front of Upperman’s
store. Just previous to receiving the blows
from the eggs, I observed a crowd near the
house said to be occupied by Mme. Hunter. I
inquired into the cause, and was told that
a man named wuuams naa arawn me crowa
around him. I then said I thought it was a
party of Mme. Hunter’s boys, and should there
after call them by that name. Between Mr.
Upperman’s and Mme. Hunter's a lot inter
venes. There were about a hundred persons
present, and they occupied the pavement. I
saw ladies passing, but they were not obliged
to go into the street to get past. That is all
I said on that occasion previous to the blows.
The first egg was a rotten one, and smelt of
fensively all the evening. (Laughter.) I saw
Mr. Hunter throw four eggs, two of which
struck me.
“Col. Thompson—You think then that the
first was a bad egg?
Mr. Savage (smiling)—I do. The first egg
hit my face.
“Col. Thompson—What effect had the sec
ond egg?
“Mr. Savage—It dirtied me; soiled my coat.
That is ail the violence I received. I was or
dered to clear out by that individual (pointing
to Hunter) and some others. It is the first
time I was ever struck in any way, except,
perhaps, with the stump of a cigar or a quid
of tobacco thrown by some blackguard.
(Laughter.)”
The ease was continued, and the writer does
not know the result of the trial. Judge Donn
was a member of the city councils and for
more than 25 years a justice of the peace,
holding court, during war time, at the new
central guard house when the provost guard,
with the local police, often made enough work
to require almost continuous sessions of his
court
Referring to the city directory, the writer
found William H. Upperman & Co. in the
grocery business on Pennsylvania avenue, be
tween Four-and-a-half and Sixth streets, north
side, and it was no doubt that here the egg
throwing Incident took place.
JUDGE SNELL took his seat and organized
the Police Court on July 11, 1870, In a
room at No. 466 C street northwest, then
known as the Kimmel House, and which oc
cupied a part of the site on which the Haven
ner Baking Co.'s building was later erected.
Judge Snell had but few appointments to hand
out, for the court did not need very much
help in those days, when one judge was suffi
cient for the work. One of the first ap
pointees was James Hughes, who was made
janitor of the building, and for his faithful
services was in after years made superintend
ent of the present building. His son, Richard
Hughes, following in his father's footsteps, is
one of the court bailiffs, and has been em
ployed here for many years. To him the writer
is indebted for several of the judges’ pictures,
including that of Judge Snell.
Other early appointments made by Judge
Snell included Alexander T. Gray as clerk, Wil
liam O. Thomas and Henry Lacy, bailiffs;
Edward C. EcklofT, F. C. Ravells, Luther G.
Dawson, Benjamin F, Leighton and Howard
Price.
±sy ibid cne Dusiness naa increased u> sum
an extent that it became necessary to look
for new quarters and the Unitarian Church
building, then on the site of the present
Police Court, was purchased for $20,000. At
that time there were many private residences
in the vicinity of Sixth and D streets, and some
of the older and more prominent families
nearby did not appreciate having the court
so close to their homes, and to prevent this
sought an injunction. But Janitor Hughes, act
ing under instructions from Judge Snell, was
too quick for the objectors, and before the
lawyers could serve the papers, he had moved
into the building on July H, 1878, a table,
some chairs, and of course the prisoners, and
the judge was trying cases. This ended the
injunction; and the rest of the equipment
soon followed.
t
THE building on C street, occupied by the
first Police Court, was a very old building,
having been erected prior to 1819, and used
for various purposes, including a meeting place
for the Odd Fellows, New Jerusalem Lodge of
Masons, the Washington Light Infantry, late
in the 40's, and at an earlier date it was a
popular place for the circus. At the time the
building was being removed, in the Summer of
1898, the writer found a reference to It in
The Star of July 9 of that year, which said:
“ ‘The removal of the old livery stable on
C street to the rear and east of the National
Hotel, between Four-and-a-half and Sixth
streets northwest, which is now going on,' said
an old citizen to a Star reporter, recalls to
my memory when Walker's great Southern cir
cus had its Winter headquarters there, 50
years ago. The performance was carried on
for three months in the Fall and Winter after
it came in from the road at the closing of the
tenting season, and it was regarded as a very
fashionable place to go in those days. In an
amusement way, then, it bore about the same
relation to the Summer circus that an opera
troupe bears now to the ordinary theatrical
troupe. While to all intents and purposes the
performance was a circus show, there were
other things added to make it more attrac
tive, in the way of a stage performance. The
stage was a 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 Walker’s circus, as well as many others
who, in after years, reached great prominence
in the theatrical world. Mr. Jefferson's mother,
besides playing a part in the circus, was kept
busy during the day in looking after mending
and restoring the circus players' costumes, while
the elder Jefferson was also very much in
evidence in a 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.
It wintered in Washington for several years.
The building used was originally a livery stable,
and it was kept warm enough except during
very cold weather, when the performance was
suspended for a couple of weeks at a time.
In those days the downtown hotels and
boarding houses were the headquarters for Con
gressmen and their families, and it was handy
for them to go around to Walker's circus.
There were no congressional boarding houses
in any other part of ti e cry then and South
erners took a particular pride in Walker s cir
cus, which was a strictly Southern show and
rarely ever went farther No:th than Philadel
phia. It traveled by wagon exclusively, and
in its day was a very extensive affair."
N August 5. 1905. the P' lice Court held its
last meeting in the old church building,
when it moved to the Ulke u->id nec. cn Fif
teenth 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 pre
viously been occupied by the Bureau of Sta
tics of the Treasury Department, and prior
to this was the home of the Young family.
The present building, costing around $75 000.
was completed and first occupied on June 14,
1907, the cost of the equipment at that time
being about $8,000, which is almost as good
an investment as the Federal Government
made when it purchased Alaska back in 1867,
for the fines and forfeitures turned over by
the court to the United States Treasury aver
age in recent years $500,000 annually.
When his honor Judge Gus A. Schuidt was
first inducted into office. June 21. 1923, the
writer was one of those well wishers who
attended the ceremony. Some days later he
received a letter from his esteemed friend,
saying: "Come to see me socially but not offi
cially,” and. obeying this judicial injunction,
the writer did not call until a few days ago.
when he was preparing this story, for he did
want to see just how things were done since
he practiced briefly in the old church building
more than 37 years ago.
And it makes quite a difference, too. whether
you call "officially" or "socially," for upon
this occasion a seat was tendered him in the
"East”—or perhaps more strictly speaking, "on
the bench”—which, of course, was gladly occu
pied, after which, due to the courtesy of the
presiding judge, the writer was shown over the
entire building, introduced to the several judges
and given an insight into the way the court
business is transacted.
In his rounds of the building three things
particularly attracted his attention: The inade
quacy of the building—from top to bottom—
the marvelous record system and the forced
inhuman way in which the prisoners are
crowded into the cells awaiting trial and maybe
transportation to some penal institution.
THIS building could certainly have been de
signed and constructed to give better re
sults than are obtained today, even admitting
that the work of the court has increased over
whelmingly since the building was first erected.
The stairways are noticeably deficient and
apparently only suitable for a six-room dwell
ing. Of course, the judges are not to blame
for this, since upon many occasions they have
pleaded for better quarters.
To the man who likes to keep ttis house in
order the record and file system here is equal
to the best, If not better than anywhere else.
*It would take too much space to describe the
system here, but if any one thinks he can put
one over on the judge by saying he was never
there before he is all wrong for in almost less
time than it takes to write it the defendant's
full record can be obtained.
The condition in the cell rooms is appalling,
and reminds one of the old pound where
they kept ever so many dogs huddled together,
except that the poor brutes were soon put to
death, while these human beings have to sutler
indefinite tortures of tire damned—whites,
blacks, old and young, all jammed together In
two big cells, the District prisoners in one, the
United States prisoners in another. A narrow
cell for the women, not large enough for a
small horse to turn around in. adjoins those
set apart for the men. No wonder The Star
of July 17 last editorially spoke of these cells
as "Washington's Black Hole" in referring to