The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-01-19
what Acting Sheriff Morris Saw a.
Tolie@ and Pontiac.

George Waite TO the Reform School at
Pontiac, and like any newspaper man.
Morris is one of the craft" could mos
resist the temptation to put bis expsrisncs
on paper. and Of course, being well written
and having the merit of practical ex-
perience, it found its way into print. and
80 it happened the Moline Dispatch pub
lished the letters. Acting Sheriff Morris
is an observing man-always was. in faes
it became habitu al with him to jot happen.
ings. etc. when he was a newspaper man.
and was so IN this case As his letters
are both interesting and instructive. we
give them below 10 full:
JOLIET PENITENTIARY.
Il left Rock Island in snow storm on
Friday last to take George Waite. the lu-
Nor of the gang of chicken thiavss. to the
Reform School at Pontiac. Reaching Jol-
let two hours late, found my train on
the CA. & St. L. gone and no train South
until 1925 o. ma. AS my young friend
didn't want to see the inside OF the psni-
Tertiary and / did. | locked the young
man in the SherifFs Office, and 10 com pany
with DR.. NJ. Il. Hand. the Rentlsmanly
dentist took the street ear for the Peni-
tsntiary. Reaching there was introduced
to Mr.. Muller, the book keeper, and under
the charge of MIR. Spangler. one of the
guides of the institution we made the
rounds. The guards armed with Win"
chester repeating rifles on the outside
walls made us think somewha: oi the
guards we have seen doing duty over
Rebel prisons during the late war, but
receiving assurances from our friend
SpaDgler that they were not dangerous to
visitors, We commenced the grand rounds
The Erst object of interest we heard
about was Angel. the Pullman car agent,
We saw his desk in the Office. but he was
at the time absent 10 some of the shops
looking up matters connected with his du-
ties. We won't through the quarters, cock
room, bakery. and took 10 the lodging and
feeding of the 100 inmates. and By the
way we saw hash machins run by men
power and q good looking young cclored
man was handling the crank as we enter
ed. The composition of the hash was
meat. potatoes. onions aud fst, which was
dised up into large pans and baked. A
soldier would rsvsl in a dish of hash like
that for month, and would think more
of it than the victory of Gettysburg.
We took in the stone rooms, where they
were em ployed grinding and saving stone.
From there We went to the harness de-
psrtment, where the celebrated Devil
Rand was employed. You are not allow
% to look at q prisoner too closely aud
they are not allowed to look at you at all
or recognize yous in ths work shops.
Were you brother. the only commune
cation that can be had with than Is in q
room specially prepared and arranged for
shat purpose.
Tho tailoring establishment, shoe and
marble shops are the most important
work shops. There You Gun see them
driving away as if their lives depended
upon doing certain amount of work. A
days work 10 set for each. and small
premium is paid for ovsrwork, Many of
them make quite a sum of money from
this source. and when they are DISCHARGED,
have little something to commence the
world anew with.
| saw Barnard Heeney in the marble
shop. He.is looking in excellent health.
and regrets rs doubt, and will to his dying
day, the midnight assassination OF poor
Rosenfsld | kept my eyes open 10 see
Cavanaueh and tho rest of the crowd. bnt
Bernard Reeney was the only one out Of
the Rock Island delegates saw.
Seeing them file in for supper and then
sight of the visit, I'd see how they are
disciplined. They come in gangs of abou:
two hundred, having their left hand on
the left shoulder of their file leader. with
with slop bucket hooked upon the left
arm. As they enter the door they take
their hand from the shoulder
of the fila leader. take a tin po.
full Of tea and as much bread as they
C4tO 10 ki@bt IN e'sEeiuH AAOib thS VI
the convict attendants. and then rup up
stairs. an iron winding. 20 their cells
They stand in front .of the cells. two to a
cell. and at signal given by the guard
they open the door aud disappear as if by
magic. A turn of lever locks hem in
The guard then passes down the lne. locka
each door counts his prisoners and departs
The guard is kept On the walls until each
prisoner ia accounted for.
THE PONTIAC REFORM SCHOOL.
After seeing sthe penitsntiaTy carefully |
ocked and guards set l retired With my
friend to the city, and had supper at the
robertson House: and by the way if shere |
8 anything l should prescribe tor the peo-
Il Joliet it would be to get (if the Robert-
on ia fair sample) new hotel.
About ll:l5. p, M the train on the
chicago. Alton and St. Louis reached the
epot We soon pulled opt ard wend-
d our way as fast as the snow would
ermit, southwark. The train was We
lied and were compelled much against OF
,il to take seat in the smoking car 10