The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-11-06
PRISON LIFE.
Stokes Contradlcted by a New York Inspectc

IN10S1N LAX
Stokes COntradlcted by New York Inspector.
The report that Il lward s. Stokes had
been granted an interview with Commo-
dore Vanderbilt sunday afternoon, and
that the railway king mad expressed cor
dial sympathy with the recently released
prisoner, was-although the information
seemed to have come through trust
worthy source - utterly unfounded.
Stokes did not call at Mr.. Vanderbilt's
residence on Sunday, aud, of course,
there was no conversation between them.
lie did call yesterday afternoon, but was
not admitted, nor was any message left
for him. Neither Mr.. Vanderbilt nor
any member OF his family was willing, in
response to inquiries yesterday, to make
any statement IN regard to Stokes be-
yond what is given above, and in what
respect he is indebted to the Commodore
lor "kindness laYishly bestowed" could
not be ascertained. 1t is known, how
ever, that Mr.. Vanderbilt had casual
acquaintance with Stokes previous to
the killing OF Fisk, and that an uusuc-
cessful effort was made by some of his
friends 10 interest the Commodore in his
behalf at the time of his trial. Since
then there has been no communication
mark attributed to the Commodore, it is
understood, was made neither to Stokes
nor to any other person. During his call
Yesterday Stokes mentioned his intention
of writing u letter to the press contra
dieting the reported interview.
A reporter OF the W orld sought an in
teryieW yesterday with one Of the State
Prison Inspectors with regard to the
statements made by Stokes to the re-
nOrter OF this paper after his release
from State Prison on Saturday last.
Calling the gentleman's attention to the
conversation in question, the reporter
asked:
ssWhat truth is there in the assertion
of Stokes that if he had been willing to
nav 81, $50 he need not have been trans
ferred from Sing Sing to Auburn?"
"He draws upon mis- Imagination en-
tirely. There is not scintilla of fact
to found that statement upon"
che claims to have. tea the officials,
and to have obtained thereby undue
privileges. Is that true"
"He did have extra privileges, and
when this present board came into
nower they found HIM in the enjoyment
of them, and they tried at once to limit
and reduce them, but they found that
at Sing Sing it was impossible 10 do
this. ana that was the reason he was
sent to Auburn. We sent for Stokes
and told him he must reform these
things, that we could not tolerate them;
but this monition was of no effect, as,
whenever he saw an opportunity to do
il without observation by the prominent
officials, he would disobey us. We had
no wish to be harsh with him, but we
were obliged 10 insist on his conformity
to the prison rules"
"What did those privileges consist
Off"
aWell, for one thing, he has been in
prison three years, and for about two
and halt years OF tpe time he was never
in CELL"
"Where did he sleepp
"ln the second story Of the hospital.
He was given this privilege on account
of certificate given him by DR.. Wood,
of this city, that he was subject 10 asth-
ma, and there is not much doubt that he
is subject to that disease to some small
extent"
"Was he put to any labor while in the
prisonT
1.-The State got forty cents day for
him tor considerable time, but he was
u book-keeper for CONTRACTOR"
Did he pay anything for thatW --
81 don't know anything about his deal
ings with tine contractor; it may be
tn ut he had to pay something, but don't
know any Thing about it at ALL"
"What reason do you suppose Mr..
Stokes has tor making these state
mentsW
"The reason is that he has been treat
ed like any other convict while at Au-
burn, for the last four months"
'.Was the investigating Commission
cognizant of the reasons OF Stokes re.
.ov al to AuburnW
"Certainly. Mr.. Pillsbury came to
Sing Sing, and the matter of Stokes
removal was thoroughly discussed and
agreed upon"
IL see that he says here that when he
was taken from Sing Sing he had neither
coat nor Waistcoat."
''That is entirely untrue, as can be
proven by many Inhabitants
OF Sing Sing. He had both"
Chow about his being linked to Jimmy
the KidT"
'sThat 1 don't know anything about.
We don't know Jimmy the Kid' from a
side of sele-leather. The principal
from 'Reddy the Blacksmith,' or any.
other man."
t'ILow about the inhuman cold bathW
"Well, sir, itwas in the month OF July,
and there is not much inhumanity in a
bath when the temperature ranges be-
tween 80 and 80 degrees"
"Since Mr.. Stokes removal to Auburn
has he still been able to purchase those
privileges which he thus obtained AZ
Sing SingT .TTG.. .a .E. g.
mo, sir; and there is where the shoe
pinches. At Auburn his money has
been of no use to him."
"Well, he still managed to remain in
the hospital~
mo, he dad not. 1t is untrue, this
statement that he makes that he re-
NAMED in the hospital up to the time
of his release"
"Was he put to work while thereW
'sNo. We did not put him 10 work. be.
cause we had three hundred idle men
and he still had slight touch of the
asthma"
"He says that he never ate mouthful
of prison food, but paid for all he re-
ceiyed, and had good food?"
.oTis simply false. He ate the prison
fare regularly, and it is good, healthy
food"
"Please tell me what sort of q thing
this 'paralyzing jacket is Of which he