New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-10-27
The Prison as the Prisoner Sees It.

The Prison as tile PRISONER sees LIE
The warden may safely calculate
that every convict is a spy on his tel-
low. / don't say that three or four
men cannot band together in aseheme
to escape, and keep the secret among
them, but if six were in the scheme,
some one of them would certainly
peach. have known OF twenty different
plots and plans among prisoners, and
in at least eighteen of them there was
traitor who posted the prison OH
ciab in time 10 Illustrate everything
What was known as the "schoolroom
plot" was conceived about four years
ago, and but for traitors. would have
resulted in the greatest prison delivery
in the history of Michigan. One side
of the schoolroom fronts on the pub
lie street, and the windows are defend
ed of course, by stout iron bars. From
twenty to twenty-five convicts used to
march into this room with teacher,
and remain Tor an hour Or more COM
pletely isolated from all others. The
idea OF escape is ever present in the
minds of the long, time men. Some OF
them realized that if the teacher could
be "stood up long enough to
permit a couple of bars to be filed off
! there would be nothing to prevent
twenty or more men from leaping to
the glound, only twelve feet below,
would not do to resort to files, as the
process would consume too much
time. A keen-witted prisoner there
fore set his brain to work to devise a
cutting machine. 1t was machine to
act something On the principle OF d
pair of pruning shears, and the lever
] age worked fine-tooth saw in a hori-
] zontal manner. It was composed of
! five pieces, and each piece was made
by a separate convict.
/ The plot included only three men at
the start, but before the machine was
completed full score had been ad
mitted. You can Judge of the extent
of the spy system when | tell you that
/ three different men gave the affair
away to the warden a week before it
/ was to come off. This was unknown
! to the other seventeen, however. On
a certain evening the "B'' class march
ed to the schoolroom at the usual hour.
Five men each had a portion of the
machine, and the sixth carried an
iron bar to menance the schoolteach-
er when the time came. The warden
had plenty of notice, and as the class
marched up the six men were invited
| to step into a room and deposit the
! various articles they carried on a Ia
BILE. 1t was complete surprise to
them, and they complied with deep
humility. While the prison officials
let the matter drop with that, SO far
as the prisoners were concerned, the
machine was put together a day or
two afterward and given fair trial.
The result was astounding. It would
sever an inch and a half bar in four
minutes.
Do the spies expect to be rewarded?
In most cases they do, but in Others
it is a selfish spirit which actuates
| them. You know of people who can
! get ahead themselves, and therefore
dislike to see other people do SO. AS
to rewards, some little special privil-
eyes may be granted in return for be-
trayals, but you would hardly con-
slider them proper return for such
treachery.
AS to aogging, it is a last resort.
The instrument is not a cat-o'-nine-
tails, but leather strap about two
feet long and two inches wide, attach
ed to handle. While it does not
draw blood, it stings and smarts in a
way to make a man remember the
event for weeks and weeks. II q con-
vict becomes obstinate he is "taken
down" for punishment Up to the
very moment when the first blow is
struck he can save himself by promis-
ing to return to duty. Sometimes five
blows are sufficient; sometimes the
convict is obstinate after twenty-five
have been administered. 4 The
other punishments include the dark
cell, bread and water and the forfeit
ure of good time.
Very few professional criminals put
themselves in the way to receive pun
ishment. They enter prison calclllat-
ing to shorten their terms as much as
possible by piling up good time. lam
not speaking of lifers, but OF men with
from five to fifteen years sentences.
Every day they can earn is one day
nearer liberty. They might possibly
escape, but the chances are ali against
it and they know that nine out of
every ten who do escape are captured
within month. AS to the lifers and
long term men, it is only natural that
they are constantly thinking of escape
or pardon. This becomes a mania
with them in time. They never glance
at wall without calculating the thick
ness of it. They size up a guard or
keeper, not for his intellect or good or
bad nature, but for his nerve in case
of pinch. They notice the bars at
window simply to estimate how long
it would take to sever them.
It may surprise you to learn that
the worst men in State prison are by
no means the professional criminals
whom thelaw pursues relentlessly while
they have their liberty. Your farm
er who has shot down his neighbor's
live stock in revenge, or poisoned a
we'll, or hamstrung horse, the tramp
who has fred a barn or committed a
rape, the village tough who has chewed
roro0po'o COR nH or mead a 1pifo