St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-31
Queer Laws Which Often Make
NJ
the Innocent Suffer Inn .ns
prisonment. T.
Needed Change in the Juris-
diction of the Municipal e.
Court. 8.
Interviews With Some Of the
Little Fellows Now Be- 81
hind Iron Bars.

in the county Jail under his charge
you see, there is no apartment FOL
them and we have to turn them right
in with the toughest men we have and
every time young boy is put in here
can't help but notice that he gets
worse and worse. The last grand jury
turned out a number of boys who have
been here since last September. l have
now put the boys in the city side of the
Jail with the men confined for thirty
and sixty days. and it isn't so bad there,
but it's bad enough; it's bound to be
a training school for crime in the pres
ent condition of the Jail. Of course.
too, the law that makes it possible to
send boys, and men, too, for that mat
ter. here ON the slightest sus-
picion makes it all the worse.
There are lots of innocent fell
lows sent here. There are two boys
in there now, if you want to see them.
The youngest is thirteen and the other
fifteen; there are others sixteen and
seventeen years old who could teach
old men crime. They could tell you or
lots of things we never dreamed of. if
we have seen good deal, and they took
their first lessons, lots of them, right
here in this JAIL"
Going into the Jail the first view was
the main part of the jail to the left.
There behind double-barred CRATES
were men who wore penitentiary coun-
tenances, and these fellows, up to few
days ago, have been the educators of
dozens of little fellows who have been
turned in with them. many of them on
their first Offense. Here was where Tim
and Pete barrett have been confined up
to day before yesterday. After glance
at the grim-faced. scantily clothed fell
lows, the reporter walked back to the
city side of the Jail. Here the boys and
some of the older men crowded around
the CRATE, as the GLOBE man leaned up
against it to talk to Willie Klifford. a
tiny shaver of thirteen, with a bright,
not bad-looking face. A half dozen
young fellows. from sixteen to twenty,
formed background, and the older
men stood little way in the rear. a.
"Billy, what are you in for?" asked
the reporter, but Billy was onto the
newspaper racket. and, with grimaee,
SHE'D off across the cell. e:
Haven't got any cigarettes about
your clothes, have yer?' asked one of
the young toughs inside, and this furn-
ished a clue to the way to reach Bills
heart and loosen his tongue. Securing
package Of the desired articles. and
learning that young Klifford was await
ing trial for robbing lady of So at
Eden Prairie, the reporter returned to
the gate. Slipping the cigarettes into
the little fellows hand, he began
again:
How did you come to rob that lady,
Billy?'
III didn't rob her? They just say did.
! amt had my trial yet, you KNOW" he
answered.
YOU'RE onto the law points, aren't
your"
"They can't prove stole it; no body
saw me-"
"Where was it?''
Cup to Eden Prairie"
''Do you live there?"
mo, sir. l live on Twenty-third
street. 1 had just been down to see
grandma. Say, mister, | don't like
these things. never tried to smoke
till came here, and they make me
sick"
"All right. you give them to the other
boys and I'll get you something else"
"This little fellow oughn't to be in
here with us rough devils. He isn't a
bad boy at all. It's the first time he
ever did anything wrong. He told me
he didn't know what made him do it.
He don't swear. nor smoke, nor nOthin';
but he's learnin' fast enough here"
said an old-timer.
= 81 saw your father out here, Billy.
What sort of man is he?"
ooh, he's all right. You're sure it
was him? Kind of nice-looking man,
with whiskerS an mustache an SLOUGH
hat? That's him. I want to see him."
said the little fellow, the tears filing
his eyes.
HE has been writin' letter to him
this morning." said his rough protector,
his hand Oh his shoulder.
Billy tried hard to brace up. and be
tough like the others, but it was no use.
He wouldn't talk much more, but said
he would like very much to go home.
and that he had been in there two
weeks, and it was awful bad.
Johnny Martin is in for breaking
into shoe store. On questioning him
he scowled back with:
''Oh hi. l got one roast" and the
cigarettes wouldn't soften him a bit.
He is but fifteen but can put on as bold
face as any of them.
"The action by the board of trade in
this matter at their meeting Monday
authorized P. d. McMillen, Daniel Fish
and III. &. 0. Morrison as a committee,
to draw up bill to be introduced in the
legislature putting the power in the
hands of the municipal judges to act on
all city cases without making accused
persons lie In Jail with convicted Grim
inalS to await the action of the grand
Jury. There is a decided sentiment
among the members of the board that
som ething must be done. President j.
P. Wyman ON being interviewed in re-
gard to it. last evening, said:
when the grand jury met the 4th of
January we found in the county Jail
boys under sixteen years of age who
had lain there since last September
awaiting our action. We learned on in
quiry that the municipal court does not
have jurisdiction in certain cases of
misdemeanor, for instance burglary.
A boy tries to steal some little article,
and the person offended happens to
be particularly severe, he makes the
charge of burglary and the court
has to bind them over to the grand jury
and he has to await the next session. 1t
may be in one week or it may be three
1iC SOOo UOlls LII lLOSb
such cases he is an orphan, or worse,
and has to go to jail. We found five
boys III the Jail from nine to thirteen,
arrested for trying to steal marbles.
They didn't succeed in getting the
marbles but were sent to the grand jury
because the charge was burglary. They
lay there confined with Tim and Pete
Barrett, and for all know good deal
worse men, the hardest criminals in
the county. In all, we found there at
our last session. fourteen boys under
sixteen years of age and with the mai
Ority of them their we found no case
against them at all. What the legisla-
ture ought to do is to give the mum
cipal court jurisdiction over all cases of
misdemeanor; thus enabling them to
take final action. In some cases, they
must be confined. There should be a