Daily Republican., 1883-02-20
AREVOLT AT SING SING.
Forty COmvicts Defy Their X eepers
and Refuse to Work.

Sing Sing prison Was the scene 81
considerable excitement yesterday,
Grave approximations of impending
trouble with the convicts were express
ed when the Keepers marched their Sev-
era, companies to their respective work
! shops, and Warden Brush was al
monishcd to be- prepared for an out
break, as il was plain that the convicts
were in All ugly mood.
| The spirit of INSTRUMENTATION develop
cd rapidly, and in less than an hour
from the time the men commenced work
the Warden was quickly summoned To
the laundry, where forty men were in
open revolt. They threw down their
tools and refused to work. The keeper
had lost all control over them and they
were having things their own way,
when the Warden appeared with a
guard and ordered the convicts to in
stantly fall in line or take the comse-
quences.
The action of the Warden broke the
spirit of the leaders Of the revolt, and
they surlily ohryrd the command. They
were marched ~ their respective cells
and locked up for the day. In CONVEX
sation with one of them he told the
Warden that they had been told by a
member Of the Investigating cOInmitte"
that the Warden would hereafter br for
hidden to punish them, and that they
could do Us they pleased without fear OF
the consequences,
DISCIPLINE DESTROYED
Since the visit Of the committee to
the prison, the Warden says, the whole
prison has been in a state of great in
security. The convicts have been told
that they were awflIIIy abused, and
that the Governor is going To revolution
ize everything and make the prison a
sort Of second rate paradise, where there
shall be nothing to ii" and plenty to eat.
The committee does not, he said, seem
to recognize the fact that "A convict is
not only sentenced to prison for GER
tain time but is sentenced to hard la
Dor
That is "A part Of the sentence, and the
Warden is expected to enforce if, and If
he is not permitted to punish obslrepcr-
OuS CUuviCts who refuse 10 work, diScl-
pliuc is destroyed and all control is lost.
"Whv, il is impossible for any one to
understand how grave the situation Is.
II is only by the most prompt and de-
risivc movement that more serious
outbreak did not occur this morning
II is impossible 10 run prison when
the convicts are given to understand
that members of the Legislature are
doing all they can to render theirpriSon
life one of idleness and pleasure.
raj L.llI tnl 4I
six months Of hard work 20 build up the
discipline that was destroyed in two
days On Saturday night he had TO pm,
three of til" conNirts, who testified be-
fore the committee into the dark cells
for characterization. He diSlikcd toI
punish these men, because il would be-
said at once that they were punished
because they testified, but that was not
the case. They became uruanagrahlc
and punishment was necessary. The
committee, he said, had conducted the
in the spirit of Il prose
CutiOn and not in the free, unbiased :
spirit of an inquiry, and the very man
ner of some members Of the committee, |
and especially of a certain outside indi |
vidUal whom they tolerated, was such /
rs to PIT mischief into the heads Of the |
rUuvict, they examined.
a rEEcoN"EETEn MOVEMENT.
The rouyicts in revolt were in two
rooms, about eighteen in one and TWEEN ,
ty-tWo in another. Tn" concert of Hr-
ton whereby those in rooms struck !
work At the same time was evidence
that a plot had been formulated to defy |