Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-04-17

| Dickens, even at this remote period from his
"American Notes. has impressed the aver
| age sentmentalist with the idea that there is
something: terrible and tortuous in the sys-
tenn Of solitary confinement practised at our
Eastern penitentiary. How skillfully, how
earnestly, how viyidly and how eiiectually
| that master appealed To the imagination
| when he depicted " the immense amount Of
| torture and agony which the dreadful pun
| ishment prolonged for years ipilicts upon
| the sufferers" Iio no doubt was sincere In
| writing OF "the slow aud daily tamperng
| with the mysteries OF tho BRAIN" that went
| on there ho meant we'll in trying To excite
| popular attention To the hard cases Of mon
F" dead TO everything but tortlSring anxieties
| aud horrible despair" II may have been,
thirty years ago, that the inmate OF this
place never heard Of wife or children, home
or friends, the life or death OF any single crea-
| ture, " sees the prison officers, but with that
| exception he never looks upon a human
countenance or hears n human voice he IL n
| man buried alive" lie drew pictures that
led his readers to suppose there was nothing
| but misery and anguish aud heart-breaking
| despair deep melancholy; hopelessness
and helplessnoss detection, heart-breaking
| and trembling on the edge OF insanity about
| all the convicts In that place.
If il was so then 1t Is not true now. On
tho other hand, all in ALL never saw any
thing like penal or reformatory institution
that so impressed mo with its rational, hu-
name and effective management III the OBJ
jcct of punishment IL to reform the offender,
protect society from a repetition of his as
saults upon its order and to set an example
of warning 10 other evil-doers, ! think this
penitentiary IN doing its work. Ii " to be
presumed the inmates do not feel entirely
satisfied with IL 4; 1t would he bad sign If
they did but | am told by some OF the
country Judges that prisoners before them
often ask TO be " sent down " instead of get
ting term in " the county jail" That they
ara hpneeSu and halnieaa n brpaE inc Ia
no reproach TO the management none ever
get away. The only point upon which l am
uncertain is whether 1t Is terrifying to those
who haven't yet got in. After two hours
stay went away rather reluctantly and
fully determined that il | was ever put into
that position where one has no choice and
yet has this much choice, would vastly pre-
ter cell in the Eastern penitentiary to any
cell in any other Jail l had ever gone
through. There are possibilities OF vast
amount of undisturbed work in the quietude
of those little chambers
Now for a few frozen facts. Tho average
man and the Observation-Disclosures
woman likes to draw her own conclusions
sometimes. There are six OF these corridors
running out from the round chamber in the
centre and four of them have the second
story tiers of cells. There are in all over
seven hundred cells and eleven hundred
conyicts so that probably not over half OF
them are in absolutely " solitary contine-
ment." Two Of the corridors had to be
planned 80 that they cannot he viewed di-
rectly by man simply turning on his heel,
but by an arrangement OF mirrors-N aux's
invention, of course, they are brought into
view. The light and ventilation of the place
arc its charm--if you will let ME use that
word in this connection. They are perfect.
They rob the place of gloom and any of the
thick, choky feeling that the ordinary jail
compels Where there isn't enough light
the warden knocks a hole in the roof he
knows it costs no more TO cover II with glass
than to keep it plugged shut with stone. The
steam heat Is distributed evenly and there is
gas all around. A half dozen strong lights
and reflectors ON top make the grounds "a
plain "a moonlight at night The stone
floors are as clean as new pin and the side
walls as white rs the best kitchen in town
after the spring house-cleaning The women
are in one block, and there are only - OF
them, all told. Az - Is TO ll22, so is the de-
pravity of EYES daughters to Adams sons.
There are about 10 paid people entrusted
with the entire management and work OF
the Jail, including matron, who looks after
the women aphysiCian-whose little tickets
for eggs and toast and milk and broiled
steak tor his patients looked at and won
dered what the Dickens would complain of
in that-and a moral Instructor. There is
copious library from which inmates can or
der books by catalogue the weekly papers
from their home counties are allowed the
convicts and any other reasonable period
icals. There is reservoir within the
grounds. NauX and Cassidy built it years
ago for $4,000, while the architects and en-
gineers were discussing how 1t couldn't be
done for $4,000 and how II wouldn't hold
water when it was done. 1t has never leaked
a drop. There is mill for grinding Hour,
and the wheat is brought in in clean salt
sacks The fine flour and middlings are
mixed and convict bakers turn out stacks OF
sweet, wholesome bread. There are little
hot-houses every here aud there between the
blocks, and last year the penitentiary sold
500 worth of roses. Every cell on the
ground floor has a little yard to II, and the
husbandman can get plants for 1t the sun
gets To nearly all of them, and i'll some OF
them are stalwart and prolific grape vines
that thrive against the exposed walls They
never let the farmers of al joining patches OF
this ground out at the same time, so that an
empty yard always intervenes between those
who are enjoying AS good light and as pure
air rs we sons of freedom have-better, |
suppose, than those who dwell above tho
sewerage line in Lancaster.
| saw no signs OF that abjoct despair, that
woeiul exclusion from sight of human face
and sound OF human voice that wrought
upon Dickens 80 pitifully or which his imaS-
inatinn wrought so graphically. On the con-
trary saw great deal of humanity. those
white-winged angels of mercy aud charity,
the good Catholic sisters, were assiduous IN
attention down one corridor; and everywhere
there were signs ot gracious mlnlsterng
to the best feelings Oi our common nature.
But concluded the best standard by which
| could judge was sight at some OF the peo-
pie knew. And so | asked for Abe Ru2-
zard
Everybody asks Ior him." sarcastically
observed the warden-ss ii a hero in the pop
ular fancy WAS apt to not DO much oi a hero
in his. lie told me incidentally that Rollin,
tho rascal who ingratiated himself into the
favor OF the people of Chambersburg and
then robbed their bank, ought not to have
fooled anybody ; he was transparent fraud.
While we talked BuZzard's cell door flew
open and he greeted me cordially he is as
sociated with fellow convict who looks
like IA German professor. They have a COM
plcte outfit of carpenter tools and are making
very neat looking walnut chairs Abo says
| he can run a lathe very eNpertly. "Of
course there is nothing like freedom" he
| said-and thought OF his eyrie up there on
| the Welsh mountain, overlooking the fat
| lands in tho yalley-"but II ! must be
| penued up this is a great deal better place
| than the Lancaster jail" Ike, away oil IN
| another part OF the penitentiary, looks pious
| and talks in the same solemn style that was
| his vogue during his last experience here.
| lie inquired after Mart and J Jakeand Joe and
| "A good many other people, and altogether
| shows no signs Of worse Keep or deprecated
| morals Ed. Sanders interested me. He has
| evidently conducted himself pretty well aud
| is A kind of runner for his block. remem-
| bered him and his crime, and recalled his
| victim. DispassiOnately viewed at this dis.
| lance, with all the horror attending il, IL
wasn't murder in any degree and with this
| opinion l need not say Sanders sympathiZes.
| Ia off III n.