Lights and Shadows of New York Life

J >> James D. McCabe >> Lights and Shadows of New York Life

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The principal, and indeed the only object of these wretches is to extort
money from their victims. They have no interest in their "patients,"
either scientific or humane, as is shown by the readiness with which they
consent to risk the lives of the poor creatures in their hands, and the
rapacity with which they drain their money from them.

Perhaps the reader may ask, "Why, then, do women seek these wretches,
instead of applying to educated physicians?" The answer is plain.
Educated physicians are, as a rule, men of honor and humanity as well as
skill. They know that to produce an abortion at any stage of pregnancy
is to commit murder by destroying the child, and they also know that such
an act, if it does not endanger the mother's life at the time, will doom
her to great future suffering and disease, and probably to a painful
death at the "turn of life." Therefore, as men of honor and good
citizens, as well as lovers of science, they refuse to prostitute their
profession and stain their souls with crime.

The medicines used by the Professors of Infanticide are in most cases
such as they know will not produce the relief the patient desires. The
object of this is to drain the poor woman's purse, first by causing her
to purchase these medicines, and then to force her to submit to an
operation; for the "doctor" well knows that the "pills" will "do her no
good," and that when she finds there is no escape from an operation, she
will come to him, as he is already in possession of her secret. Yet
occasionally we find powerful and active medicines administered by these
wretches; and it may be said here that all the medicines possessing
sufficient power to expel the foetus prematurely, are also sufficiently
powerful to, and invariably do, shatter a woman's system to an extent
from which she rarely recovers. The majority of abortionists, however,
prefer to use instruments for this purpose, although this is with them
the most dangerous of all means of procuring abortion, many of their
victims dying from such use of instruments. The most skilful surgeon
would be very cautious in using an instrument, well knowing that the most
practised hand may in a few minutes fatally injure a woman; yet these
ignorant wretches employ this means without hesitation. They plead that
it is the quickest and surest means of accomplishing their object.

It is not flattering to our pride to be told that this crime is one
peculiar to our own country; yet so it is. European communities provide
asylums in which pregnant women may seek refuge, and, secure from the
curiosity or censure of their acquaintances, may be safely delivered of
their offspring at the completion of their natural period. Should they
desire to retain the child, they may do so; but should they be unwilling
to claim the proof of their shame, the little innocent may be placed
where it will be cared for and protected by the good Sisters of the
foundling hospitals, and the mother's hands are thus kept free from the
blood of her child. One does not see in the Old World the journals
crowded with such advertisements as we have referred to, or find such
wretches, either openly or secretly, practising their infamous trade
there. No European Government would tolerate such a state of affairs,
for if it cannot prevent adultery, it can protect the lives of its
people. Furthermore, there is in that part of the world a public
sentiment sufficiently pure in this respect, however it may be in others,
to prevent such practices. It is only in this land of boasted
intelligence and freedom that such wretches can thrive, that such
practices can be carried on with the full knowledge of the community, and
no effectual step be taken to put a stop to them.

That we have presented no over-drawn picture every candid reader will
confess. If proof is needed the reader has only to turn to the
advertising columns of the newspapers referred to, and he will find one
or more of the advertisements we have spoken of. In this city there are
over twenty of these wretches plying their trade, and advertising it in
the public prints. How well they succeed we have already shown, and in
order to make it evident how great are their profits, we quote the
following description of one of the most notorious female abortionists:

"By common consent, as well as by reason of her peculiar calling, Madam
---, of Fifth avenue, is styled 'The wickedest woman in New York.'
According to her advertisement in the papers and the City Directory, she
calls herself a 'female physician and professor of midwifery.'

"Madam --- is about fifty-five years of age, is a short, plump,
vulgar-looking woman, with dark, piercing eyes and jet-black hair. Once
she was handsome, but possesses now no traces of her former beauty. She
looks like an upstart or 'shoddy' female, but not particularly wicked or
heartless. She commenced business about twenty years ago. Her
establishment at that time was in C--- street, and for some time she was
but little known. About four years after she had begun business an event
occurred which rendered her one of the most notorious women of the city.
A young woman died who had been under her treatment, and Madam --- was
arrested. She was tried before one of the courts, and her trial became a
sensation for many days. The papers were filled with the testimony in
the case, and the arguments of the leading counsel were given in full.
All sorts of accounts, too, were furnished as to the history of the
accused, the evil of abortion, and the necessity of adopting stricter
laws in regard to it. There was ample testimony offered on which Madam
--- could be convicted, but justice at that time, as at the present, was
open to pecuniary inducements. Madam --- had already made considerable
money from her improper trade, and it was rumored at the time that she
purchased a verdict of 'Not Guilty' for one hundred thousand dollars. It
was a big price to pay, but she regained her liberty, and, what was more,
made money by the large investment. Her trial proved to be an immense
advertisement for her, and shortly afterward she removed from C---
street, purchasing a large mansion on Fifth avenue, not far from the
Central Park. In that house she has lived from that time to the present,
and says she intends to remain there until her death. The building is of
brown stone, and is one of the finest on the avenue. It is a corner
house, five stories high, the windows of which command from below a fine
view of the Fifth avenue, and the Central Park from above. Shades of a
most gaudy, though very vulgar, pattern, are at the windows. No other
house in Fifth avenue or in New York possesses such shades, or, indeed,
would any one else in the city want to.

"Madam --- purchased this house, it is stated, through an agent in real
estate. She could not have procured it otherwise, as the owner would
have refused to sell it to her on account of her business. Property in
the neighborhood in which she lives cannot be sold for any reasonable
figure. The vacant lots on the side of her mansion have been offered for
several years at reduced prices, but no one will take them. Efforts have
been made to buy her out, but without success; she has been offered many
thousand dollars in advance of the price she paid for her mansion, but
she refuses to sell, saying that she bought the house not for
speculation, but for a home, and she intends to remain there as long as
she lives.

"Her residence is the most magnificently furnished of any establishment
on Fifth avenue. It is finished and furnished like a palace. Each
window consists of but two enormous panes of plate glass. There are
fifty-two windows, hung with satin and French lace curtains. Her office
is in the basement, where she receives her callers. On the first floor
are the grand hall of tessellated marble, lined with mirrors; the three
immense dining-rooms, furnished in bronze and gold, with yellow satin
hangings, an enormous French mirror in mosaic gilding at every panel;
ceilings in medallions and cornices; more parlors and reception-rooms;
butler's pantry, lined with solid silver services; dining-room with all
imported furniture. Other parlors on the floor above; a guest-chamber in
blue brocade satin, with gold-and-ebony bedstead elegantly covered;
boudoir for dressing in every room; madam and husband's own room,
granddaughter's room, news-room, study. Fourth floor--servants' rooms in
mahogany and Brussels carpet, and circular picture-gallery; the fifth
floor contains a magnificent billiard-room, dancing-hall, with pictures,
piano, etc., and commands a fine view of Fifth avenue. The whole house
is filled with statuettes, paintings, rare bronzes, ornamental and
valuable clocks, candelabras, silver globes and articles of _vertu_,
chosen with unexceptionable taste.

"Madam --- is a married woman, her husband being Mr. ---, a Frenchman.
He is in the same business as herself, practising it under an assumed
name, having an office in the lower part of the city, and his
advertisements are next to madam's in the daily papers. The interesting
couple have a daughter, aged about fifteen, a blonde and beautiful girl,
who looks too pure and good to live in such a magnificent den of infamy
which is called her home.

"Madam --- keeps seven servants and four fast horses. In winter she
drives in tandem, with large ermine sleigh-robes. On every afternoon in
the summer she may be seen out alone driving in the Central Park. Her
carriage is noted for its extraordinary showiness. There are various
statements given as to how she came to adopt her profession. One is,
that she was once a servant-girl in a large boarding-house. A couple
left one day, and in cleaning up their room the girl, who was afterward
to take the name of Madam ---, found a written receipt for a certain
purpose. That she preserved, afterward recommending its use to a female
friend, and finding it worked well, opened her C--- street office, and
sold the medicine at a high figure. Another story is, that she was once
a pretty bar-maid in a tavern in the suburbs of London, came to this
country when about twenty years of age, made the acquaintance of a
physician, and acquired some medical knowledge; was an astrologer and
clairvoyant for a time, and afterward adopted her present profession.
She is said to have considerable knowledge as to her specialty, which is
probably the fact.

"She is said to be worth fully a million of dollars. She has practised
her peculiar branch of medicine for many years, and with uniform success.
Every one knows it, yet none can bring her to justice. She is too
careful and too rich for that. Her immunity from punishment has been
entirely owing to the fact that she only takes safe cases, never
practising on a woman who has been pregnant more than four months. Her
charge is $500 a case. Need there be any better confirmation of the
assertion that the rich are greater votaries of the crime of abortion
than the poor? Yet every crime has its punishment. Madame ---'s is her
loneliness. She has made frantic efforts to get into some part of
society better than the lowest. But the rich women who resort to her for
'relief' (this is the word used), turn their backs upon her in public.
Madame --- has a daughter, and she offered a quarter of a million to any
man laying claim to respectability who would marry her. But her daughter
is yet unmarried. Her eldest daughter ran away and married a policeman,
and is now happy in being disowned by her own mother. Madame --- has her
mansion, and carriages and horses, and every luxury riches can bring.
All but position."

Yet this woman and her associates continue to ply their fearful trade,
and day after day in this great city this terrible slaughter of innocent
beings goes on, and it will go on until the law makes the publication of
the advertisements of these wretches, and the practice of their arts and
the sale of their drugs, criminal offences.

It must not be supposed, however, that the best customers of the vendors
of medicines for producing miscarriage and abortion are those who seek to
hide their shame. It is a terrible fact that here, as in many other
parts of the country, the crime of destroying their unborn offspring is
repeatedly practised by married women in the secrecy of domestic life.
These buy largely of the drugs and pills sold by the professional
abortionists. New York is bad enough in this respect, but the crime is
not confined to it. It is an appalling truth that so many American wives
are practicers of the horrible sin of "prevention" that in certain
sections of our country, the native population is either stationary or is
dying out. So common is the practice, that the Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Baltimore and the Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, felt
themselves called upon, a year or two ago, to publicly warn their people
of the awful nature of it.

It is fashionable here, as elsewhere, not to have more than one, two, or
three children. Men and women tell their friends every day that they do
not mean to increase their families. They do mean, however, to enjoy the
blessings of the married state, and to avoid its responsibilities. There
is scarcely a physician in the city who is not applied to almost daily by
persons of good position for advice as to the best means of preventing
conception. The physicians of New York are men of honor, and they not
only refuse to comply with the request, but warn the applicants for
advice as to the true moral and physical nature of the course they are
seeking to adopt. Yet this warning does not turn them from their
purpose. Failing to secure the assistance of scientific men, they seek
the advice, and purchase the drugs, of the wretches whose trade is child
murder. The evil grows greater every year. These wretches send their
drugs all over the country, and "the American race is dying out." In
1865, there were 780,931 families in the State of New York. Of these,
196,802 families had no children, 148,208 families had but one child
each, 140,572 families had but two children each, and 107,342 families
had but three children each. In nearly one-fourth of all the families
there was not a child, and in 592,924 families, or more than
three-fourths of all in the State, there was only a small fraction over
one child to each family. Only about one child to each mother in the
State reaches maturity. The New England States show even a worse state
of affairs.

Is it a wonder, then, that Madame --- and her associates grow rich?

LI. THE EAST RIVER ISLANDS AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS.

I. BLACKWELL'S ISLAND.

The three islands lying in the East River are among the most noticeable
features of New York, and offer many attractions to the visitor to the
city. They are Blackwell's, Ward's, and Randall's islands. Of these,
Blackwell's Island is the most southern. It is about a mile and
three-quarters in length, extending from Fifty-first to Eighty-eighth
street, and comprises an area of about 120 acres. It takes its name from
the Blackwell family, who once owned it, and whose ancestral residence, a
tasteful wooden cottage, over a hundred years old, stands near the centre
of the island, and is occupied by the Keeper of the Almshouse. The
island was purchased by the city, in 1828, for the sum of $30,000. A
further outlay of $20,000 was made in 1843 to perfect the title. The
land alone is now worth over $600,000. The island is surrounded by a
granite sea-wall, and has been made to slope gradually towards the water
on each side by a thorough system of grading. This labor was performed
by the convicts of the Penitentiary, and the inmates of the Workhouse.
There is an excellent dock near the Penitentiary for boats, but no
vessels are allowed to land here but the boats of the Department of
Charities and Corrections. Visitors must obtain a permit from this
department or they will not be allowed to set foot upon the island. The
institutions on this and the other islands are supplied with the Croton
water, a large main being carried across under the river.

[Picture: RESIDENCE OF THE KEEPER OF THE ALMSHOUSE.]

On the extreme southern end of the island is a stone building of moderate
size and handsome design. This is the Small-pox Hospital. It was
erected in 1854, at a cost of $38,000, and will accommodate one hundred
patients. It is the only hospital in New York devoted to small-pox
cases, and receives them from all the public and private institutions,
and from private families. The accommodations are excellent, the
attention the best. Those who are able to pay are required to do so. At
the water's edge, on the eastern side of this hospital, are several
wooden buildings designed for the treatment of patients suffering from
typhus and ship fever. These will accommodate one hundred patients,
though the number is often greater.

Immediately in the rear of the Small-pox Hospital, though far enough from
it to be removed from danger, is the Charity Hospital, a magnificent
structure of gray granite, said to be the largest hospital in America.
It consists of a central building with two wings, each three and a half
stories in height, with a Mansard roof. The entire building is 354 feet
long, and 122 feet wide. The eastern wing is occupied by males, and the
western by females. The hospital is divided into 29 wards, the smallest
of which contains 13 beds, and the largest 39. Twelve hundred patients
can be accommodated with comfort. There are separate wards for the
treatment of different diseases, and the medical attendance is the best
that New York can afford. The whole establishment is a model of
neatness, and is conducted in the most systematic and skilful manner.
About seven thousand patients are annually treated here, the majority
being charity patients. The average number of deaths is about four
hundred and fifty.

[Picture: SMALL-POX HOSPITAL.]

Back of the Charity Hospital, and extending north and south, or parallel
with the course of the island and river, is the New York Penitentiary,
the first public institution erected on the island. It is a gloomy and
massive edifice, constructed of hewn stone and rubble masonry. It is
four stories in height, and consists of a central building and wings.
The central building is 65 by 75 feet, and the wings each 200 by 50 feet
in size. The entire building is exceedingly strong. The floors are of
stone, and the stairways and doors of iron. It contains 500 cells for
men, and 256 for women, but the number of convicts is generally in excess
of the number of cells, and still greater accommodations are needed. It
is probable that a new and larger Penitentiary will be erected on Hart's
Island, in Long Island Sound, about twelve miles from Blackwell's Island.
The prisoners at this institution are sent here by the city courts, for
terms of from one to six months. Some, however, are sentenced to
imprisonment for several years. The convicts are all required to labor.
Formerly the men were required to engage in excavating stone from the
rich quarries with which the island abounded, but which have now been
exhausted. The erection of the new buildings on Randall's, Ward's, and
Hart's islands, furnishes constant employment to the convicts, who are
daily conveyed between the prison and these institutions. Those who are
able to work at the ordinary trades are allowed to do so in the workshops
of the Penitentiary. The women are required to do sewing, housework, and
the like.

[Picture: CHARITY HOSPITAL.]

[Picture: NEW YORK PENITENTIARY.]

No visitors are allowed on the Penitentiary grounds without a permit from
the Commissioners. Sentinels are stationed along the water fronts, and
guard-boats patrol the river to prevent the escape of the convicts. In
spite of these precautions, however, men have succeeded in making their
escape to the opposite shore.

[Picture: GUARD-BOATS.]

The convicts are clothed in a uniform of striped woollen garments, and
are supplied with a sufficient amount of bedding and with an abundance of
excellent but plain food. The allowance is about one pound of beef, and
a quart of vegetable soup at dinner, ten ounces of bread at each meal,
and one quart of coffee at breakfast and supper, to each man. In 1869,
the total number of prisoners confined here during the year was 2005. A
very large number of those sentenced to the Penitentiary are under the
age of twenty-five. The proportion of females is about one-fifth. The
foreigners are a little more than one-half of the whole number. A system
of evening schools, at which the attendance is voluntary, has been
instituted. The commutation system is also practised, by which the
prisoner by good conduct may receive a proportionate abridgment of his
term of confinement. Such conduct is reported every month by the Warden
to the Commissioners, who report it to the Governor of the State, who
alone has the power to shorten the terms in the manner mentioned.
Religious services are conducted every Sabbath by Protestant and Roman
Catholic clergymen.

[Picture: ALMSHOUSE.]

To the north of the Penitentiary are two handsome and similar structures
of stone, separated by a distance of 650 feet. These are the Almshouses.
Each consists of a central story, fifty feet square and fifty-seven feet
high, with a cupola thirty feet in height, and two wings, each ninety
feet long, sixty feet wide, and forty feet high. Each is three stories
in height. Each floor is provided with an outside iron verandah, with
stairways of iron, and each building will furnish comfortable quarters
for 600 people, adults only being admitted. One of these buildings is
devoted exclusively to men, the other to women. Both are kept
scrupulously clean, and it is said that they are kept by a daily brushing
of the beds, which are taken to pieces every morning, entirely free from
vermin. The grounds are well laid off, and are in admirable order. In
short, the whole place is a model of neatness and careful administration.
None but the aged and infirm, who are destitute, are admitted. Each
newcomer is bathed immediately upon his or her arrival, and clad in the
plain but comfortable garments provided by the establishment. He is then
taken to the Warden's office, where his name, age, and bodily condition
are registered. At the same time, he is given a card inscribed with the
number of the ward and the class to which he is assigned, this allotment
being based upon an examination by the House Physician. The inmates are
divided into four classes, as follows: I. Able-bodied men. II. Those
who are able to do light labor and to act as inspectors or orderlies of
the different wards. III. Those who are able to sweep the walks or
break stones. IV. Those who are too old or infirm for any labor. Those
assigned to the first three classes are compelled to perform the duties
required of them on pain of dismissal. In the female house, the infirm
are more numerous than among the males. Those able to work are employed
in sewing and knitting, in keeping the wards in order, and in nursing the
feeble and cripples. In 1870, there were 1114 persons in the Almshouses,
from fifteen years of age upwards. A special provision is made in each
house for blind inmates.

Attached to the Almshouse are the Hospitals for Incurables, which consist
of two one-story buildings, 175 feet long, and 25 feet wide. One is
devoted to men and the other to women. In these buildings are quartered
those who are afflicted with incurable diseases, but who require no
medical attention.

The Bureau for the Relief of the Outdoor Poor is connected with the
Almshouse, though it conducts its operations in the city. The city is
divided into eleven districts, each of which is in charge of a visitor,
subject to the orders of the Superintendent of the Bureau. It is the
duty of these visitors to examine into the causes of sickness, crime, and
pauperism in their respective districts, and to report their observations
to the Superintendent, who communicates them to the Department of
Charities and Corrections. Temporary shelter is given to needy persons
in the winter, and money, fuel, food, clothing, etc., distributed to
deserving persons. In 1869, 5275 families were given money, and 7555
fuel by this Bureau; $128,000 being expended for these charities.

[Picture: THE WORKHOUSE.]

In the rear of the Almshouse is the Workhouse, one of the handsomest
buildings on the island. It is constructed of hewn stone, and consists
of a central building four stories in height, with a northern and a
southern wing, with a traverse section across the extreme end of each
wing. In these traverse sections are located the workshops. The entire
length of the building is 680 feet. Not counting the convict labor, the
cost of its construction was over $100,000. The stone of which it was
built was obtained on the island.