San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1884-02-21
A Voice from the Grave...IIorrors OF the
Hays County Jail-.-A Touchdown Ar.
gument for Building a New One.

iho iuooeoh Va "o
jail having, after q far too long de
lay, been somewhat suddenly and
unexpectedly sprung upon our coun'
ty, and been decided by the commits
sioners in favor Of the measure with
as little delay as possible, there will
no doubt be considerable discussion
of the subject, and at the first blush
n good deal of dissatisfaction express
cd But the absolute necessity OF
a new jail, as a general proposition,
no one who has made himself acquaint-
cd with the matter will deny. And
TO all who may not DO acquainted
with the subject or who may have
doubts as to the merits Of it, we
commend the following letter, and If
it does not produce speedy CONVEX
sion and conviction in their minds,
then we must regard them as wholly
lost to reason and humanity. The
man who penned it, on the day fol-
lowing its date laid down his life in
testimony to its truth, and in protest
against the continued degradation and
wrong which he felt and knew were be-
ing illegally inflicted on himselfand his
fellow prisoners. Here is the letter:
HAYS COUNTY JAIL, Tex, Feb. IL, "a.
To tho County Judge and Commissioners Of
Hays County
DEAR Sins How il IL that the authori-
ties keep the prisoners 30 jammed and
crowded when the law especially says that
the jails shall not become crowded. Here
we are, 10 men, crowded in space of about
IL 10 feet, probably the space is smaller,
you can mako your own calculations and
answer whether or not IL is overcrowded.
It il burning, positive shame and disgrace
to treat men who ut least lay some claims to
humanity, in any such manner, Again, we
are as lousy and filthy as the hogs in your
manager. and il is just impossible to keep
clean in such place, and crowded as we
are. These cells are literally alive with YER
min, and it ia impossible to keep them out
of our bedding and clothes.
Should we be blamed, yea, shackled and
ironed down, because we even attempt to
escape such loathsome plaoo as this?
We have not room TO lie down except
partly ON some one else-in truth in the
smaller cell there are eight men, and they
cannot literally, lie with their limbs straight
ened.
49, Rotr ha
mitted to continue one day longer, when
there are other places in the State where
prisoners can DO treated as the law directs2
Will you still allow us to be crowded and
iammed in this present inhuman and
british manner, and especially when 1t Is
In direct conflict with the law Of the land
Will your county, with it, boosted refine
ment and civilization, with its population md
wealth, allow its prisoners to suffer rs we
are obliged to do? For Gods sake, do
something to relieve us--we are certainly
entitled to humane treatment until we are
proven guilty Of charges alleged against us.
With great respect, am sirs,
Your Obed'nt Servant,
PAUL @. HUDSON.
We have said in another place that
this letter is unanswerable, and we
repeat it. That the prisoners sought
TO escape from such hole is very
much to their credit. That the coun-
ty failed to furnish suitable jail for
human beings was certainly not their
fault, nor, because it was deemed I'M
safe did it become become just to use
cruel and illegal means to hold them.
As the letter Justly says, there were
other suitable jails open to them, and
q part at least of the large number
should have been sent elsewhere,
where they conld have had breathing
space, cleanliness, and would have
been safe without having to be put
in irons. Two prisoners, incarcerat-
ed for murder, had previouly been
sent to the Austin Jail, on the ground,
we believe, that their was danger Of
escape if left here. But if ironed. as
was afterwards done with the rest,
they too, of course, could have been
held here-and perhaps no other two
more deserved San Marcos prison life
and discipline than they. If any
discrimination were thought of,
it seems to us il would have been
much more proper if made in favor
of such men az the author of the
above letter. The only objection we
have heard to sending prisoners off
is the expense. Buthuman life and
health. even in the case Of prisoners
confined in Jail, rise far above any
consideration of dollars and cents.
And besides, il the expense of extra
guards and Wholesale ironing be tax
en- into account. we doubt very much
il the county has really saved any
money by the present system as com
pared with that which we have sug
gested
This much we have felt constrain-
ed by an imperative sense Of duty,
though reluctantly. TO say by way Of
comment And now We will add that
we blame no one in particular for the
present state Of things All the PEG
pie Of the county are more or less to
blame for allowing such . state Of
things TO befsIl rs We accept our