The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-09-15
HOW A PRISON IS MANAGED
INSIDE FACTS FROM THE KINGS
COUNTY PENITENTI6RY.


charges .of cruelty made by DR.. whitehead and
other ex-conviots against tho keepers. No
effort had been made to secure the attendance
OF complaining witnesses, and none but those
connected with the institution were ready to
testify. Supervisor Clancy. chairman OF the
committee. conducted the examination.
Warden James Shevnn testified that cowhd-
ing was practsed in the Institution, but the
number Of cases had been exaggerated ana ne
thought that the whole number woulnr nov ~
ceed four or Eve lie remembered mat Iimo,,ny
McCarty was punished for cutting M Instructor
In the shoe shop y the face and ior attempting ngg
TO throw Keeper Mechan on the tler', ie , NuI Ts
Of no better method Of punishment ihah tle
cowhide. The black cell was ~ use IN nlinB
punish, d received une-haf gill 81 water and
two ounces of black bread a daY.scatcey
their choice choose the COW hide rather than
such pInl-hmeni; The keepers never suuSk
more fhen a half-dozen blows with the cowh
The prisoncr- were furnished In tile corridors OF
the prison. SO that all the prison 'rs could know
tb,n thev did The wGiuulnc. tricky burns
notorious convict who. while M Sing Sing PRISON,
Killed one Jeiferd fellow missioner, had been
cowhided two ~ three times He was very des-
perate man, and had spout nearly all OF ms me
In prison; had been IN nearly very large prison
Blackwell.s Island. Burns attompted to ESCAPE S
from the hospital and stole Two blankets from
his bed 10 assist MIN lie was iOund on tne Top
door At O'Clock la the morning ana Mhen sur
prised he said he was going To cummit suicide.
lie was thrown into the dark cell There he
was told that II he wished t. commit suicide he
kill himself with avery sharp knife that would
be furnished him. He was nut IL cutting tongues
for shoes. ORD mary wutkmen had cut,from ~
60 LOO tongues day. lie sat from . 10 81 and
refused to do any more. lie w.s thrown mo
the black cell and kept there i've days. lie still
refused TO work and he was cowhded: Then he
returned to work and cut from 3, to 10 tongues
was put In shackles, ard now spends his days
drawing a stone rolkr TO and fro near the build
Ing. lie had refused time ana again to 90 back
20 work SAYING that he could not work burns
had at one time ferociously attacked German
convict. and had cut his face With shoe knife
verely cowhidcd. Since there seemed to he
hide Burns had not been punished
The warden was asked whether he thought
that he could make burns Work " he h I'd his
own way; lie replied that II he didn't make
him work. he d see him out Of the gate feet
nrst. lie mentioned IS another instance In
which the cowhide had been used, that II
" Rene" Morgan who stabbed his Instructor In
tho shoe shop n the -de with an awl After
his punishment he gave no further trouble. lie
thought that coWhldng was the only cnec.
tive punishment and other wardens agreed
the Rev. JOB & Bass the chaplain Of the
prison. sand that he had free run Of the prison.
any other man He knew Il no cases Of cruelty
Burns deserved all Of the punishment that he
received, aud he was now 50 ohstin 20 that he
would not even admit that he h"d done wrong.
The witness passed around among the men
and women ts missionary, and # they had any
complaints he always re- cived them, ami took
them to the warden. lie was employed 10y a
society of which Or. storrs was President, to
do prison labor. The complaints were Away :
looked into by the warden
Dr. j. l.. Labrlskie, the pententiary physician
for ten Or fifteen years, had never been called to
examine prisoners who had been punished with
were confined in the dark cell Never had a
complaint made by any prisoner on account Of
the cowhiding. Mr.. Cunningham, a former war
den. est b.ishcd the rule that no keeper should
punish the prisoners without first obtaining his
able to work but he would not work. because
he preferred dark cell g. work "a long as be
could stand II. pr. Whitehead, the witness
thought. without speaking professionally was
the greatest fraud ever ia the prison. lie had
more favoIs and less reason TO complain than
Mr.. Frederick HAYES, of the committee Of
the state Prison Association. 1, stined In refer.
ence 10 vi-its to the PRISONERS. DR.. Whitehead
met him IN the street one day. and said that II
Shevn would discharge three of the keepers
he would withdraw MS charge. Burns had never
made any COMPLAINT Or Whitehead h d been
convicted Of sending obscene literature through
the mails, and was heavily fined besides being
imprisoned Mr. Anthony CoWstock. who help
ed to convict Whitehead. says that he Is utterly
ENTHUSIASTICALLY. Whitehead wished keepe. :
Meehan, Newsom and Loughln discharged. lie
never had any personal grievances 10 complain
Mr.. Charles u. Blseow, the President Of the
tracted Tor the employment Of the con vets In
the Pentcntlarv, testified that in his exDer l.
found the lash tho most eirectaal punishment.
He Thought the discipline IN the kn-s County
Penitentiary better than ia any other save Con-
nectcut. sing Sing Prison was utterly run
down few days ago he was offered 20 con-
victs free of charge # he would put his ma
chinery ia tie building an work them. lie de-
clined the ofer he WOULD not take labor as a
gift In the prison He knew OF no cruelty in
the Pententiary. The punishment he consid-
cred very discteetly administered.
Deputy Warden Grumpy then detailed to the
committee the particulars Of conspiracy
which had recently been discovered In the
prison, and which hid been kept silent because
they wished tho advice Of the committee upon
the punishment OF the men Will m j. Titus,
ayoting burglar who nd served Ave years for
receiving stolen goods. was returned last winter
on charge Of burglary and sentenced to fouI
years and eleven months. lie conspired with
another b a
the cell and killing the Waterman, or knocking
responding. and in nearly every note he quoted
Liberty Is sweet One note was;
FRlESpi There z about 500 cash IN Mr.. Donelly,.
fornia That SAYS Il there IL oloodsned. In bonds
BLACKSMITH.
Titus stole ale from the workshop and cut
through two bars Of his cell plugging NJ the
places with shoemaker's WAX when he was not
leather ponch in the shoe shop. and llllng IL
with broken pieces Of the machinery lie cut
In the yentator in his cell and expected to use
II to kill the watchman. Everything was planned
night when Keeper Donnelly was to be away
The prisoners did not wish 10 have him held re.
sponsibie for their escape. He wrote to his fel.
low convict of his preparations saying, Liberty
Is sweet, and God damn the man who inter
feres." He expected to have 10 Kill the watch
man and get his revolver The fellow consplra-
tor, on Aug. II, day before the plotted escape
confessed the whole plan, and Titus was thrown
into the black cell. II was discovered afterward
that TITUS expected To spring the bar which held
hIoN VI ubofH anu To release n number OF urlS-
oners who were to escape with him. Among
them were Myers and Bird, two well-known
thieves.
The committee listened TO the confession OF
the prisoner whose name Ia withheld for his
safety, as Deputy Crummey read itand took the
matter into Consideration.
AS no counter testimony was to be obtained
one OF the reporters, VINO had obtained a mum
Der OF letters from ex-oonyicts, furnished the
facts that they contained to the committee, aud
the Warden and Deputy Warden were ques
toned upon them. The names Of the prisoners
who complained OF having been beaten could
not be found In the black book where the pun
ishments are recorded, aud the officials knew
nothing Of the facts that were spoken Of
~ The committee adjourned TO meet on next
Iuesday afternoon, TO gain II possible zorro.
boratlon OF the charges made by some Of the
ex.conNlcts, and 10 urge them TO attend
The Keeper Meenan, VINO Is very much CON-
plHlned Of has been told to seek some other
work. Other keepers are to be dismissed II they
are shown To have violated the rules The
warden SAYS that he has been obliged to keen
newspapers out OF the prison, the complaints
OF ex-convcts tend ~ a decentralization inside
the penitentidTy.
telantto- ttmnes.