The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-01
STORIES FROM C0NVICTS.
An IRVBsTTOATTRGC OHMTTgEE ~
TuB PENITEXTKARY.
what some Prisoners say About the RE-
eorder AVID the City judge Testimony
| Printed FOR What h may Possibly be Worth.

Printed FOR What it mny Possibly be Worth
The Assembly Committee on Crime held
their session yesterday In the peniteutiary
| Warden John NJ. Fox Yves nrst examined. There
| were, he said, oil prisoners Ia the poDhertiAry,
| l6s being women. The number 81 prisoners had
Increased since last year. Most Of them were be
tween seventeen and twenty-five years Of agc.
| lie thought that none Of them were under six
| teen yeare Of age az under the law prisoners
| younger than that age must be sent to the
House Of Refuge. Mr.. Townsend then showed
BY the Peniteutiary register that among the
prisoners we're boys aud girls who gave their
age at fourteen and nfteen years rcspec-
lively. To this Warden Fox replied tl,ut
tho age Of q prisoner was not mentioned
In the commitment, aud that the ago
recorded In the register was that given by
| the prisoner on his arrival at the penitentiary.
| Prisoners were put 20 WORK by him or his depu-
". There were in the pcnitentiary n shoe shop,
| n carriage shop, and a paint shop. New con-
| vlcts who had learned those trades were as
signed 20 those shops. Those who had no trade
were made To break and cut stone. Tho long
term men were usually worked together. The
young men, sent there for n FIRST offence, were
not separated from tho old offenders. Tho
Warden admitted that those two classes OF con-
vcts should be kept apart. but that could not
enlarged and new branches of industry were In
troduced. Inder law Of the state the Cou-
missionors Of Charities and Correction were for
hidden To let the prisoners labor to contractors
In relation To the means for the safe Keeping OF
the prisoners, the Warden said that there were
| connected with the penItentiary nfty-two paid
EMPLOYEES. These were keepers, guards, and
coXswains.
AT NIGHT
| the prison was under charge OF three watch
men. That fore was deemed suni lent to guard
the convcts after they had been locked In their
cells. During the day, the men were constantly
under the eye Of the Keepers. and six guard
boats patrollcd around the island to prevent
their escape. Those boats were manned ny
prisoners, but commanded by keeper who was
always armed and whose Instructions were
never to let convict handle the tier. Short
! term men were generally selected tor the guard
boats crews. Since he had been Warden, nine
prisoners mad escaped Two Of them were Of
| the crew Of one Of the guard boats and
escaped by overpowering and disarmnR the cox
swain. On Investigation, ne was satisfied that
the blame rested with the coxswain, IA he was
found bN keeper intoxicated IN saloon In
Long Island city. The cOxswain had never
turned to the Island. The Warden thought that
Two or three more guard boats were needed to
Insure the safe Keeping Of the conNsts. The
| punishment Imposed for disobediencc was the
ball and cham, and confinement In the dark cell
on bread and water diet. That confinement
sometimes continued twenty four hours, but
when prisoners were di-ch rged. ho made
turn to the Commissioners Of Charities aud Cor
rection. lie thought that II would be well to
make "A return to the Police Commissioners, That
they might know that criminals were agatu at
large He always gave letters To the superin-
| tpudcut Of the Prison Association To The dis
charged prisoners VINO wished them. He bad
himself obtained employment for twenty or
| thirty discharged coutIcts. 4 law providing for
the Temporary care Of prisoners immediately
after their discharge would be a benefit to both
the convict and the community. Nr. FIX
thought that intefnl ernncc was a chief cause ~
crime. He could say FROM experience that near
y all OF the ~ men IN tho peoitentiary COM
nitted fOi assaults were intcmpcrOnts.
WHAT To DO Win DnuAKARDs.
nr Daniel IA ktfrlptt t.sfin,4d thar tho IN. f,.r
itv OF The prisoners III the Icnltentiary and the
workhouse were made crimlnuls Dy the 81
liquor. " II takes great deal Of good whi-keY,''
tremens; but little e the liquor tina. most 81
The PRISONERS on the Island have drunk pOisuns
tue blood and produces dctriun. Men had
been brought from the wOrkhousc 70 the Charity
Hospital suffering with the delirium tremens
IlNe or SIX times IN one year. lie thought that
The sentences for drunkenness were too light.
Drunk rds were sent To the work house for ten
rtwenty DAYS. Iney could barely get sober by
that time. Then they went out, gds drunk, ana
again entered the woTkhouse for ten days. fen
das was not enough for oven the nrst offence,
and tie punishment should I've increased for
each successive offence. The doctor added tn Il
the sale Of poisonous liquor might be stopped
and that bucket SHOPS aud low gfoggeries might
be closed bN Increasing the license to $50 wear.
Jenny Lewis, "A prisoner " bos,. age accnrtl,n,
to the penitentiary register is nfteen years, tee
Tiled That she was tried before Recorder Hack
cit for obtaining money on false pretcnces She
told the Recorder that she was only nfteen YER.
old, aud he replied that In consider ition OF her
youth ne would send her to The penitentiary for
Robert Nolan, whose ace is recorded in the
register ~ fifteen years, was tried In July last
fast degree. HIS counsel, Mr.. william T.. Knit
ring, advised hun 10 plead guilty Of burglary in
tue third degree, and sid that his sentence
would be TO the House of Refuge. He pleaded
guilty, and then told the Judge that he was only
fourteen years old. As the j udge was about to
sentence him nis counsel said: House Of
Refuge, your Honor" The Judge replied No,
SIR; three years in the penitentiry." Nolan
ADDED that he wished To be sent to the House of
EefuEe, AS there he could learn trade and
school.
YOUNG PIcRPoCKET's STORY.
The next witnes was Robert Suffrage, whose
age appears on the register Is years. He was
indicted for larceny from the person. On his
srraignment he pleaded not gully, and asked
District Attorneys assistants and by the oficsr
who took him 20 the Court that he might ex-
pect TO DE sentenced for nye years when he
pleaded guilty. he pleaded guilty OF an attempt
to commit larceny. lie told Recorder Hackett
that he only Is years old, but the Recorder
sentenced him to the ,penitentiary Tor
two and a half wars; L. reply to Mr.
he was 10 years old he helped man
named Ross 10 commit burglary, and served for
six months IN the pententlary for that offence.
he ". ten years old. and followed that nefariOus
business until he was sent To the penitentiary
last summer. HIS Held of operations was around
Washington Market. After he became pick
pocket his associates were bur glars. They used
him TO watch in front Of houses while they were
rObbing them.
Annie Walker. coiored girl. was sentenced
to the penitentiary for fifteen years by Recorder
Hackett. she. Isaac HatCn, and another col
ored man were indicted for robbery IN the II st
degree. she was in the lager beer saloon when
tue robbery was committed, but she did not
assist the robbers When she urrdigned
she pleaded not guilty She was not asked ON
the trial whether she wished counsel, although
the lawyer who appeared distinctly said that he
was counsel for Hatch only. man named
John Bemis testified that she helped 10 hold the
complainant while lie was being robbed. She
said aloud. That's not true" and was told by
the District Attorney to keep quiet. she was
not called ~ a witness, nor was she questioned
by the District Atto ney, the counsel Tor Hatch,
the Recorder.