The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-01-24
CUB CHICAGO LETTERS.
Result Of the Reform Movement
Joliet PenitentIaFy = NO%seOIOgy-
Personalities.
CHICAGO. Jan. 20. 1869.

The beauties of the reform "
movement in our local politics is be-
ing made apparent every day. Es-
pecially is this SO in the matter of the
Police Court, where one of the re,
form" justices preside half Of each
day. The judicial experience of this
wonder of erudition is embraced in a
long and brilliant career as a jury
man. he has kept the chairs warm
in the three courts that sit in our ma
jestic Court House, for the last few
years, and was then deemed compe-
tent to be elected a Justice, and pre-
side at one of our police courts.
Among his first acts as such, was the
discharge from custody of a notorious
thief, arrested on a charge of Vagran-
cy, the ground his discharge being ev-
idence of good character, the evidence
being that when he was arrested, the
son of the learned Justice was in his
company! A few days since the same
notorious character was again arrest
| ed, on a charge of larceny, and brought
before the Police Justice who presides
in the afternoon, and taking a change
of venue, went before the reformer,
and was of course discharged. On
Sunday last. a gentleman was assault
ed with a deadly weapon, and a severe
wound inflicted IN him by a rufian,
and when this same Justice was ap-
piled to for a warrant to arrest the
assailant, he refused to give It, saying
that no warrant. even for murder,
could issue on Sunday Forum
| ately, the criminal did not escape, and
was promptly punished by a heavy
fine. The assailed party had, how
ever. scarcely got TO the door of the
court, when he was arrested on a most
Infamous charge, on the complaint of
the assailants, and on a warrant issued
by the Justice who refused the war
rant for the assault. OF course, a
change Of venue vas taken, and the
defendant discharged, there being not
a particle of evidence to warrant the
arrest.
The other reform officers have at
last subsidized, there being no means
whereby they can be compelled to
keep their pledges to the people, they
take the enormous emoluments they
so loudly detained against, and are
even now said to be in league with
the barnacles holding over to infu-
ence the Constitutional Convention
not to reduce or limit their emolu-
ments for the future.
Did you ever dine in a peniten-
tiary? | have. | had the honor last
week. to dine at our we'll %patronized
p~enitentiary at Joliet, and have the
butter and buckwheat's passed by a
gentlemanly waiter in zebra patterned
pants, but provided with the cohven-
tional white apron and jacket. A
dignified head waiter in similar livery,
carved at a side table, while the legit-
innate position of Sambo, was recog-
nized by a member Of the tribe of
Ham, sand@iched between two
whites who were mustered into his
service in the kitchen. Our party
consisted of about a dozen leading
merchants, and four or five bohemi-
ans, who made an unofficial tour Of
inspection of the whole institution,
while | pursued my favorite study
Noseology-and Igive you the results
of my observations, below
The prevailing style of nose in the
peDltentlary Is, contrary to my expect
alton, good. Most of the noses are
shapely and we'll formed fact that
ought to be brought to the attention
of Professor Fowler aud at once cor
rected. In spite of this prevalence of
good noses aud, in general, good
faces, there are a large number of
very bad faces, and a much larger
number that are neither good nor
bad, but a simple blank that may be
made either good or bad as circum-
stances might reflect themselves upon
them. There were a great many pugs
and a few Roman noses; half a dozen
real old hnger-post noses; but the
nose that was most frequently
observed was the limpy nose, that
which seems to hang against the face
much as an old coat hangs against a
wall, without sufficient stamina to hold
itself outright or upright. Among
all the noses there was not one jew
nose, nor, as far as / could learn,
was there q jew among the whole two
thousand five hundred men In the
institution. Neither was there a
Now l don't believe but
what there are both Jews and lawyers
who deserve to go there, but it is evil
dence of their ability that they keep
out. The most pitiable sight and the
painful reflection was that
among the vast number of ~convicts
here, a very small per centage are
habitual criminals, most of them
serving a short term for some petty
mostly larceny; the next most
frequent offense being assaults, the
result of passion. The prison is
1uite extensive, covering seventeen
icres, and the buildings are all of
stone, and are made so strong that it
t would seem as if it must be impos-
,ible to escape therefrom yet escapes
10 occur, and in the most ingenious
ways imaginable.
The notorious Joe Brown, CARROT
II, safe robber and general malefac-
or, escaped from this prison by get /
ing into a cart, and being covered
With coal dust, was dumped into the
Iirt heap. So often has this method e
# escape been tried that not a load
f dirt is suffered to go out Of the
ate without being probed through 3
or fugitives. Often when The prob F
lg rod is run through q load Of dirt,