, 1877-07-08

an informed n aud 81 have been told-'' eau say
Il know from my own personal knowledge, !;
The first question would rnise Is with regirdito
diet. The report Of the Grand Jury, pnhlsheS
few weeks ago, maintained that the food, es.:e.
cialiy the soup, was equal to that os any rrstaa-
rant in the city, aud they also expressed opin;on
that il Mr.. Kern continued to feed his ,sisoners.o
snmptuous1y at his North Side cafe, he vould:ba
likely to find that Institution rival to his DOWN
town restaurant; that in fact the food was slc,ry
luxurious. Now Mr, Mccarthy says that the soap
ls revolving and totally unfit for food: In
quantity insufficient and quality utterly bad ADD
rotten. Now to get at the truth. line rltat
be drawn between thesc two extremes. and Tue
result will about I'LL the bill The report OF tha
Grand Jury overrates It, and Mr. Mct'atthys ac-
count Is the reverse: From, nearly three rnuntbs'
experience Of exclusive jail food, my opinlon::is
that, although not particularly appetizins, it1s:at
all events satisfying 10 any ordinary man. hSye;
lived on it exclusively for three months, ami py
health Is as we'll as when frss came here, aud
eau ssy the same Of dfty others. Some men apuear
to expect a. good food lnsldr prison as taey xoel
get in good boarainx,house outside. These rsn
saoush tao bA' the!e : may, "a .; eoarss' sa s. 81
occasi iona cell where the wafer dies not run, !or
gets stopped in some way but BY application to the
attendants thcse matters are promptly attended1o
BY the plumber employed for the jail. :;
With regard to the matter o! baths. Mfr. sEc-
here have llad several baths, and did uok ls:re
the s.grca:cst difficulty" In ge,tin. them. / H.
ways got one whenever | asked for i, and was
never refused except once, and that wls SatR7:ts,
ana thd women were then occupying the natil-
roous and had to wait until Monday: and may
also add that the baths received here were qu:te
equal to any ever had outside, that il, fgralI
.tblntionary purposes. !;
will explain the nenial aud degr,'ns lahor
that Is spoken Of Once week, On Saturdays.
tain1y needs. About dozen prisoners arc let out
to assist in scrubbne the galleries, manipulating
the hose, etc; nope Of these men ase toEces "Et;
to be let out Tor this purpose and the lucky lnan
who gets let out to scraf is generally jubiant OYER
IS e1s 50
fore most in need Of the exercise. The degrading
labor that is performed by the two men occuuyin:
The cell ,1sr to that swseR ent sent with into ':9m s
by the hose: the expanse OF the door ,is
ABOUT six feet By eight and the time occupied abnt
confess do not see it in that light; if these cells
were not scrubbed ont occasionally large ansnEas
Of flth must accumulate, and I scarcely think
NIT to the scrubbine than have an uncean ee;!:
Most prisoners take pride In the cleanliness Of
thcs cells. and are very glad when scE1bbins d!Ay
W'ith.regard to Incarceration in the dungrda,
3ucking with the hose, and thumb tortares, am
Ignorant was never in the DUNGEON, and none
Of these acts ever came under u,E observation
also see remarks about the sermlnous conai,
ton Of the jail. Now ii ME. Mccarthy will tell
how these pests can be avoided In such an lnstIta-
tion a. our inil, he will be doing great scrvite;
but first let me set forth few OF the difficulties he
will have TO contend with All classes Of min
come here. and venture to say that fonr!h iof
them come literally iuapregnated with vernasa.
Many who were entirely free when arrested frt,:n
association with others at the station house hxsa
some on themselves. Then the men arc brt,hs:ht
here and Of course are sent to cell, and hare lo
change OF clothing Every one knows At what ri ta
these yermin accumulate. Now Is there any way
to stop them from getting hold, OF to cratieate
them after they hare established themselves: Ihe
only way at present u, ny a law regulating
prisoners dress and no such law exists whcrs men
are simply held for trial, is the with nra1l,
all in thia jail,
Apply censurc where it Is due, Mr.. Mccarthy,
and although you may perhaps have ima.f'nfd
youreclf sliyhted by IN official, do not condemn i'll
for the fault OF one. For n,T part have alwaYs
found the employees most oblig1ng, sometimes viii
perhaps little too strict regard to their duty.
may add that merely write these lines from:a
sense Of justice; aud from tue day Of my cntstins
here have always been treated in accordance with
the rules. u. G. c.,
Cell No. 107, Cook County Jail