The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-11-28
FROM A UTAH DUNGEON
A Letter which Escapes the
Warden'S Eyes.
ouIRAGES ON THE CONNECTS.
How a Prisoner Charges that the
ron IS Receive their Supplies
of Provisions and Poultry.

UTAH PENIrENTIARY, November IL
Last night was a cold one for many of
the prisoners incIrcerated in this
"Bridewen," which Judge Powers says
is no. fit to herd cattle in. Our cells are
cold and comfortless. Two men sleep
together. A straw mattress and two
pairs OF thin, flimsy blankets form the
bed and clothing. One pair over and
the other under them. Many of the
blankets are worn threadbare, having
been in use for many years and they
are meyer washed. No pillows are fur
nished. Coats and pants are used for
pillows. S1me of the men sleep with
their scantY clothes on to keep warm, and
numbers of them say they suffer from
cold night and day. from fall till spring.
They are seldom warm.
Cell No. l. is trying place to sleep
in, veritable "6lack Hole" The noe
turnal exhalations from the sixty odd
prisoners, and the stencil from the mis-
erably ventila ed privy located in the
northwest corner of the cell is sitting
and dazing in the morning. The won
der is that great numbers don't die out
right under the miasmatIc pOisons. The
cell affords but ninety-fiYe cubic feet of
room to the man, and the ventilation is
not more than 1.-THE what it should be,
especially when the four windows are
closed TO keep the snow, rain and cold
from those that sleep against them.
These matters should be investigated
and remedies speedily applied. AS
it is, men are cursing almost
every wakeful hour about the
cruel treatment, and I marvel that the
attempts to break away from the place
are not more numerous. The greatest
sufferers are those who have no per-
sonal resources and no friends in the
country to pity and befriend them, being
strangers in Utah. Over 100 men oc-
cupy the three cells, which are all alike,
from p. m. till 6 a. m. Smoking in the
cells is against the rule, but from the
time the convictS enter, the cells are
filed with smoke and with the baSest
vulgarity and profanity ever heard from
the lips of man. This is Winked at by
the warden, who, however, imposes
severe punishment for the most trifing
infractions of rule, which he and the
marshal make at will. While all these
officers are carpet bag Republicans, the
Democratic party-now in powers
charged up with the baneful fruitage of
their misdeeds and cruelties.
There are many matters respecting
the management of this institution
which should have light thrown on
them. 1 have wished that some one
would explain why Marshal Ireland
and Warden Dow should discriminate
in favor of few of the Federal officials
OF Utah by supplying their tables only
with edibles from the penitentiary
ranch, (produced solely by convict
labor all summer and fall, and not
extend the fruitage of prison labor to
all the Z. o. H.'s?-FOr instance, BY
consulting my memoranda, find that
rarely day passed during the summer
send to Judge Zane, Marshal Ireland
Republican appointees, parcels OF the
various products from the government,
160-acre farm on which the Penitentiary.
stands. My memoranda, made daily ui.
the spot, run after this fashion:
Bread, milk, onions, melons, cucuf
bers, etc; peaches and sundry VI .s-
tables; bread. tomatoes, onions sn.,i
milk; milk, peaches, tomatoes and CO.
two bushels best potatoes, milk, brc
and onions; eighteen picked chicke,.
milk, melons and corn; bread, co.
I2.lk, etc; onions, cUcumbers, be-
melons, carrots, tomatoes; peael
melons, picked chickens, etc.
This was kept up during the en-
season. Some days double wagon
loads of kindling wood are sent in, .
feathers, sacks, and other supplies
numerous to itemize. These repres.
gifts daily bestowed upon the Offici
named. and the aggregate value of
seasons output must amount to til,
sands of dollars. Are they given as s.,
sides? If not, what are the inspiIi. :
impulses which prompt such g.
and bis brother in : law, "
den Dow, both of whom ~.
known to be parsimonious? And why
were they not sent to Gov. z. II. Mar
ray, Judges Foreman and Powtr
Commissioner Mckay, and other lead
ing government officers, is Che querr
that bothers me? Has Judge Zalle',
immediate approval of Marshal Ire
lands accounts anything TO do IN the
premises, or are there wheels within
wheels cOmprehended in these trans
actions2 As they cost the marshal ana
warden nothing TO produce them do
they get pay fer them in any direct Or
indirect manner
Messrs. Ireland and Dow have some
mines in Neff's Canyon, 3 few miles
southeast of this ".pen. and every
year they send up conYicts to work
them. I question it there is any ac-
counting to the government or Terri
tory-for the labor thus performed.
1.-the government has any desire TO
unearth Interesting data respecting The !
acts of its Utah representatives alluded
to, let an investigation be made at once
and summon the TRUSTEES. . the guards,