The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1890-03-29

Incidental to the trial ef Sheriff Flack
comes the exposure of the vlllainies of
Eldridge Street Jail, II is in this jail that
all prisoners are kept awaiting trial, or
criminals who have been arrested on
requisltion from other States or foreign
countries, or persons who are imprisoned
or held for civil suits. Tweed, Ferdinand
Ward Jacob Sharp, Ives and Stayner, and
the English bank forgors who got half a
million of dollars from the Bank Of Eng
land all have passed time here. Only few
years ago the Sheriff, when he was elected,
appointed some friend of his to this iail'
and turned it over TO him completely for
his term, the consideration being twenty |
five thousand year cash. Then the keep |
er of the Jail was allowed TO make all out
of it he possibly could. Rich prisoners like
Tweed and Sharp had fine apartments,
richly furnished, sumptuous table, and
the opportunity at night to visit the theatre
or their own homes under the charge of
two deputies, the tax for this high privilege
being one hundred dollars per night and
the expenses of the deputies. Prisoners
who could pay we're allowed their meals at
the warden's table; they had the freedom
of the jail; they could play cards and re-
eeiye their friends, and sit up at night as
long as they pleased. But If they were
poor, God help them; they had the meanest
of prison fare, and were locked up at sun
down in cells swarming with Yermin, so
that their lives were constant torture.
A sheet or paper and an envelope cost
twenty-five cents, and it cost twenty-five
cents more to post the letter. The Eng
lish bank forgers spent there during
soionIn of about five months nearly twenty
thousand dollars of their stolen money.
Such a system of shameless robbery as was
carried on in this vile prison almost ex-
ceeds belief. The papers attacked the
abuses from time to time, but to no pur-
pose. Reforms were proclaimed, but they
amounted TO nothing, except that the
public sale of the prison was stopped, and
the Sheriff took his share of the plunder
direct, leaving his deputies to squeeze the
wretched prisoners and make all they
could. This week the keeper of the jail
was indicted for malfeasance in his office
and two hours after the writ was served on
him he resigned.
Mayor Grant is under fire from a
legislative committee, who are looking in
to his past record, and he acknowledges
that during his last year as Sheriff, that in
the way of PRESENTS his Special Deputy
had received twelve thousand dollars, Of
which he had taken six thousand dollars
as his share of the loot. Where there are
forty millions year to pay out their must
be some rich pickings; happy the fellow
that gets on the inside of the crib if he !:
able to keep outside of prison.
The week before last, before a meeting
E held here, attention was called to the con
E dtion of poor, old, decaYed Methodist
ministers. and the statement was made
= that there were many ministers too old anC
r infirm to contribute anything to their owl
support, who were receiving eighty,
= hundred, and hundred and fifty dollars
4 year. Looking at this pitiful statemen
A with the eye of a lay sinner, it occurred II
q me. that perhaps it might be as well to d.
n without steeple on the church; or to d
II without those beautiful stained glas
q windows or even to let those savages on tn
II Congo go little longer without gospe
"a privileges for the sake of helping thes
,r humble and suffering ministers of Christ
" 1t may be awful wicked from mlssionar
standpoint; but would sooner help ther
than all the black saYages you could cate
. between the Indian ocean and the MouI
!, tain OF the Moon.
ID have often told you that we must hay
,s fad of some kind in New York. 1t
m necessary to our health. II may be Osci
Wildes knee breeches and sun6ow,
:, boutonieres, or Lilly Langtry or anythin
" else, no matter what; but just now it
Wagner and Browning. We have had
" lively tussel with VOgner-that's the wa
to pronounce it If you want to be tip to,
but Vogner has got us, and we can't he
~ ourselves We have not only the oper
at night, but we have lectures on Vogn
in the afternoon, which are supposed
- give us the pointers to enjoy Das Figge
:, Deutscher, Seigfried, Neiblungen III
~ Gotterdammering, &c. A clergyman 4
qulred of one of his congregation Germa
- which he considered the greatest of Wa
~ ner's worksP The gentleman reptile
~ Gotterdammering. Excuse me, my frien
~ the minister replied, don't allow swea
30 ing in this church. The season of Germi
~ ~ Opera is to have:an appropriate windil
" up by the WOmen's Seidl Society, VIII,
~ they intend to produce Parsafal in a sty
- of magnifcence never before attempted
~ this country. Seats are about twentY-fi
- dollars each, and the price going up. IT
= performance begins in the afternoon-the
after three hours hard work, they call
- for refreshment, and after an hour at d
~ table go at it again and wind up abo
~ eleven o'clock. l don't like the price
the tickets, but DO like the idea Of t
-. refreshments.
rv Yellow haired Patti is back with us fol
a last farwell and no fooling this time;
ed are all going to see her. You can get nj
he seat for seven dollars, and the best box 4
ell the entire sixteen nights for eight hundr
rs dollars. Book me for box. Some of /
oe country friends might want to see her.
dv you're in town, come I'd like to have
M / am, yours truly.
Mn BROADBRIM
MahOning Items.
- -MahlOn Nothstein and his son Erwin W,
ho1 visiting at Lansford on Monday.
OF Mrs. p. ID. Keiser was visiting at BOwlna