Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-07-08
ON A STRIKE.
Riotous Demonstrations I'm the Concord
Mass, State Prison

The greater portion Of the 637 prisoners in
the State prison at Concord, Mass. are con
a strike" and their way Of manifesting their
Dissatisfaction is a novel, exciting and threat
ening one. Having been refused their Gus
tomary two hours vacation in the prison
ward on the Fourth, they have broken out
into a great uproar, the din and racket of
which can be heard at great distance, Great
ing great disturbance in the nelghbOrhood.
The outing in the yard was refused by the
Warden because of the boisterous celebra-
ton of the morning of the holiday. just
as the clock in the guard house sounded the
last stroke of IL at midnight Tuesday
morning their noisy demonstrations broke
out all over the prison. Yells, songs. calls
from cell to cell. rattling of iron bedsteads
on the floors of the cells. and every kind OF
noise the prisoners could invent or make
with the material they had, filled the air and
made horrible din. A demonstration had
been expected. and if it had ceased soon no
notice would have been taken of the disturb
ance, but Tuesday morning it was prolonged.
Officers went along the cells saying to the
most boisterous: .'The Warden wants you to
be more quiet" But it did no good. 60
to. this is the Fourth" was the general re-
ply, and the confusion continued until day.
light when the prison again became quiet.
Breakfast was served at six as usual Squads
of men came and got their rations and re-
turned quietly to their cells. About eight
O'Clock the contents of about a hundred
boxes which had been sent to the prisoners
by their friends, and which had been opened
and examined by officers the previous evening
were distributed to the fortunate men who
had been thus remembered. 1t was expected
by the prisoners that they would have the
two hours before the II O'Clock dinner for
their indulgence in the yard. Ten o'clock
passed and the gates were not opened. About
II the quiet which had prevailed all the fore
noon began to be broken. As the suspicion
of no recreation gradually became certainty,
the noise increased until the din was terrific,
stools in the cells were used to beat the floor
with, and in this way many of them were
broken. Then the legs and other fragments
would be ratified in the iron bars of the door,
or hurled out in some cases, breaking windows
in the outer wall The folding part Of
the iron bedsteads would be raised, and
the legs hammered rapidly and noisiIy on
the floor. Water closet fixtures were broken
and other furnishings of the cells destroyed.
Mingled with all this confusion, rafting, and
smashing. was the most piercing and thrill
ing yelling and bowling as if the prison were
peopled by fiends. This uproar continued
without break or any diminution all through
the afternoon, through the evening the mid
night hours, and the early morning of
Wednesday. At intervals through Wednes-
day, the babel was renewed with full force
AT every meal time the prisoners have been
fed as usual. No one has been curtaied in
his supply of food or water. As the separate
squads have been brought down to take their
rations they have been perfectly quiet, but
the others kept up the noise. and when each
squad returned it would resume it. No one has
yet been punished for his turbulence, but the
large number of the ringleaders are ''spot-
ted and they will receive attention hereafter.
As soon as the prison becomes quiet ;enough
those who are well disposed will be taken out
and put to work in the prison workshops and
the ringleaders will be punished. It ia not
doubted that there are some men who have
taken no part in the disorder, but it is utterly
impossible to tell who they are, and they have |
to suffer the loss Of their holiday the same as
their uproarious fellow prisoners. The force
at the prison to quell rising is about 40 Of |
icers. Two of the officers became 90 alarm |
ed by the demonstration of yesterday Tues |
day to Wednesday. that they resigned in Or
der to avoid the danger of the service. One |
Of them had been at the prison only two or
three weeks. The other was q veteran, but |
he showed the white feather upon hearing the |
horrible yells Wednesday.