The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-02-09

was very bad language.
We turned the hose on Mrs. SchweitZer
once, but she did not have to remain in bed
for two days in her wet clothes as she said
she did; dry clothes vas furnished her as
soon as she had been sent to her room;
there have been nine births in the lnStitu-
ton since its erection; the women were all
pregnant before they came TO the lnstitu-
ton: Mr. Barrett, the night Waterman,
never had anything to do with the girls in
the water-closets, as has been reported; there
was baby found in the ceSspoOl, but its
mother was never an inmate in this inStltu-
ton; Dr. Parvin said that there was not
woman in the Institution that could have
given birth to a child so large as the one
found in the cesspool; / never asked either
Mrs elem or any one else TO
/ find out what Mrs Talbert
would swear to in this investigation;
Sallie Maxwell was in the institution;
was there twice; she was punished by hav-
/ ing the hose turned on her; her health was
good when she left there; she attempted to
make herself sick: she would leave her win
dow I'D of cold nights; she would take her
undergarments off and refuse to wear them:
she would not wear her shoes unless made
/ TO do so: Sallie Maxwell was whipped be-
cause She would not mind; Jane William
son. the woman who is said to BE crazy, is a
very dangerous woman; she came from the
| Prison South; she is a life prisoner, sem
fenced for cutting the throat of her sister;
/ was one day giving shoes to those who
wanted any; Jane came TO the door and
demanded a pair: she had bucket
/ in her hand; she raised the bucket and
struck me over the head with it; it cut a
very ugly cash; | sent to the Insane Asylum
/ for restraining jacket for her, but she was
never whipped for striking me with the
bucket: never struck Jennie Sherman over
the head with pair of shoes, as she said L
did: Observation-Disclosures was frequent Wis
! itor here, anREas well acquainted with the
management of the Institution, and gener-
/ ally approved of its management; the fire
/ hose was at one time turned on Matte Scott,
and the reason it was done was thatwe could
4 not reach her with the other; she had tried
I TO kill one of the other girls, and that was
\ the reason that she was punished
/ she was very powerful woman, and we
were. in fact, afraid of her; the Board of Wis
itOrs, with the exception of Mrs. Coffin, was
not of the impression that the punishment
was too severe; Governors Hendricks and
\ Williams did not think so either; have de-
voted all the energies of body and soul III
I behalf of the success of the institution;
\ have always taught the best moral and re-
/ ligious principles that could; have at my
| own expense visited several of the girls that
/ have been here; they were glad to see me,
and was glad to see them; have hundreds
Oh lcllcIS HUN HlAib NAub Ai<'NO UGH
here. giving me the most positive
/ assurance that they would ever hold
nae in grateful remembrance for the treat
ment and moral teachings they had received
/ here. (The letters were here shown to the
1 Committee, to be read at leisure.) l have
several letters from girls who are now mar
ried, and married well; they often say to
| me: For Gods sake Mrs. Smith. do not
ever mention in your letters that was ever
the inmate of the Reformatory, fOr my hus-
| band has not the least idea of my former
| life" This is often written TO me by girls
| who came here greatly in need of moral iB-
struction, and went away perfectly reformed.
and became good and Christian women
receive $500 per year for my services as
Superintendent of this Institution.
Cross-examined by DIR. Edwins, of the
Committee was with my husband travel
ing in England when / received PROPOSE
ton to come and take charge of this Institu-
ton. We shortened our stay in England
| two months on account of the proposition.
Before | went to England / had been the
Superintendent of the Home for the Friend
less in this city. Ny rules for government
at the Home were much the same as j have
here When Jane Williams struck me with
the bucket it knocked me senseless, and
] remained 50 for some minutes.
There was no one ever struck over the
head with a broom. One day Mrs. Barnett
hit Ada Harris on the hand with the broom.
| That was done to knock large knife out of
! her hands There has been but fourteen
cases where the bath-tub was used in the
seven years of the existence of the Institu-
! ton 1t has been abolished for two years,
and no cases of punishment of
/ that kind has taken place in that time.
| do not think that we have any more severe
punishment than placing the prisoners in
I ba coltc. / thinl- tho uriCOparc rapo rd thot
the most severe punishment that has ever
been administered to them while here;
/ think ii would have a tendency to promote
the reformation of the young children were
/ they placed in a building separate and apart
/ from this: we have no way of keeping the
children from the Older inmates, who are
apt to teach the young children habits they
should not learn.
BY Mr.. Carr for the Committee think
the punishment by whipping is far more
severe than by using water
By Mr.. Marshall for the Committee
There was always warm water in the bath
| tub before the inmate was placed in the tub.
/ During the seven years of this Institution s
/ life there has been over 600 inmates here,
some of whom, when they came here, were
determined To give us trouble and they did
! so from the time they came until they left;
we had to punish them in order that we
]
BY DIR. Edwins for the Communicative
never had such cases of INSTRUMENTATION
as are going on at the present time.
Some of the inmates now say TO us: ''You
dare not whip us; if you do, I'll tell the
gentlemen when they come around you are
going to be turned out by the LegiSla ture,
and we do not propose to mind anything
/ you say" We will want some add Onf |
improvements made, and it will be neces-
sary TO have an appropriation to make the
/ Institution what it should be.
The current expenses per year have been
/ 81, 800 since the ladies have had charge of
| the Institution. The current expenses
while the gentlemen had the management
were SIS, 900.
Mrs Smith became very tired, whereupon
the Committee adjourned to meet ON Mon
day at 3 o'clock at the office of Duncan,
Smith & Duncan.
! The Committee investigating the officers
of the ReformatOry met Monday at the law
Office of Duncan, Smith & Duncan.
| The, witnesses examined were formerly in
mates of the Institution. and have since
their release entered good families A special
/ request that their names be withheld from
/ the public prints was made and the names
of those testifying were given TO the Com
mittee, but not to the reporters Mrs. -
was examined by MIR. Duncan, as follows:
| / was an inmate of the Female Reforma-
tory; was there for two years. When 1 went there
/ 1 supposed would find il a hard life ] was
I scr NVha I NaT.ff m ITaA