The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1879-10-21

(From Sundays Daily.)
! A Prisoners COmpIaint.

For some time past complaints have been
made Of the manner in which prisoners are
treated in the city lookup. AS yet we have
failed to give publicity to the structures we have
heard passed on our municipal institutions,
because they failed to reach us in the anthem
tic shape in which personal testimony can be
brought forward in case of a controverted
statement. The following case, though, can
be substantiated by the oath of the person by
whom the facts are related, and we feel some
curiosity to learn how those statements are to
be replied to. We will mention no names,
unless called upon for the authority upon
which those facts are made public. In that
case, as we have already intimated, they will
be backed up by the sworn statement of the
person submitting them. Some two or three
weeks ago a young man from Walkerville
slapped the face of a man who had called
him a liar. This offense, we may remark, is
one the best of citizens may commit and is
furthermore one in whose commission the
transgressor is more apt to win the respect of
his acquaintance than he could by the most
law-abiding course to be taken under the cir
cumstances. However, our friend, Mr.. Doe,
well known to the MINER, slapped his man,
was arrested, tried, fined S. and costs, in all
amounting to $50, and in default of payment
was committed to the calaboose for a week.
So far so good. The law can recognize no such
thing as a justifiable assault under the provo
cation of a verbal insult, and the man who
oruom;tc .c,,ol, a., ose,nlt o,l tlor. a:4l,,- .o
fuses or is unable to pay the fine and costs
accrlling should be imprisoned, as was done
in the case of Mr.. Doe. Not a word of COM
plant, then, is made against the sentence as
too severe, or its communication into too long a
period of imprisonment. The prisoner &C.
knowledges it was right and proper that he
should be sent to the calaboose; what he OBJ
jects to, is the action of the City Marshal IN
starving him after he got there. The allow
ance made the Marshal for the maintenance
of prisoners is large enough to give each of
those unfortunates all he wants to eat, but in
this instance, our informant says he was given
only two rery scant meals 4 day, while such
little meannesses as luke warm water in
place of tea or coffee, and no sugar being pro-
vided for said luke warm water were also to
be observed. The man thus treated was a
hardworking miner, one who had always been
accustomed to a well served table, and his
suffering was not inconsiderable when cut
down to less than half rations. This is the
complaint made against the Marshal. mas
much as torture is not resorted to in punish
nent of those who, while within the limits of
the City of Butte, happen to commit an in
fraction of the law, we have placed the COL
umns of the MINER at the services of the
person making the complaint as they will
always continue to be open to those who
have real grievances to express. The prison.
err, we may add, had a wounded hand, and
for this reason was not asked to work on the
streets or elsewhere. So the short rations
were not the bread and water prescribed for
those who refuse to work out their sentence.