The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-03-10

GROSS OUTRAGE.
One of Those Girl Witnesses
Beaten BY asDrunken
Prisoner.
FORCED TO SCRUB FLOORS.
Their Own Story Of Their Terri
BILE Life in Jail.
FOUL TALK AND BAD FOOD.
FORCED TO SCRUB FLOORS.
FOUL TALK AND BAD FOOD.
Health and Morals Alike in Danger.
sob! It's Awful Here"


Is suffering the same sort OF punishment
inflicted on criminals. while she has com
mit.ed no crime. She was seen today BY
NEWS reporter at the County Jail
The effect OF her three months confine-
meut in the jail was plainly visible in her
pale, wan face, aud the weary expression
about the child's eyes When THE NEWS
reporter gazed on her he could not help
feeling that law that punished innocent
people with the same severity it did Grim
ais, was unjust, and relic of barbara US
ages.
The only offense the poor child has COM
mitted, is that of being required as a
witness to aid in sending her fatber to
prison ON a charge Of perjury. The father,
as soon as he was indicted gave bail and
fed, as THE JERSEY CITY NKws stated
yesterday.
He Is free.
The innocent girl child and her brother
are in Jail.
"aow do you like it herei" inquired
of tue little one.
mot at ALL" was the response. as she
looked at several coarse women who were
locked up IN the same ward with her.
"Oh. these women are SO dreadful" !" the
little one replied.
In what particular are they SO bad'"
the girl was asked.
''They use such bad language and they
SHOCKING oUTRAGEs
"Did any OF them ever abuse youp
Yes, sir; Bridget Coogan, the hall
woman. She made me scrub the oath
room and a big ward room. aud then
wanted me to scrub the hall In the ward
/ said had done all the work l was
strong easugh to do and refused. She
then sIiuck me and beat me-"
'Do the other females detained as wit
nesses scrub the hoor?"
"1es, sir; some of them do. Some re-
fuse and don't care for Bridget. but they
are grown up people"
''Oh. yes, sir; IL Is awful here"
"Where could You goi Your homs is
broken up, is II not2"
IT could 90 to my aunt, Dora Sellers,
on Eighth street. Hoboken. She would
give me hcme. Her husband Is milk
dealer"
.'Does she ever visit youf''
mo, but my three cousins in New York
do Their name is KessIin. When they
come to see me they always bring me
lots of good things to eat. Oh, you don't
know how glad am to get them. You
see only get some soup once day and
bread and coffee. / can't eat the SOUP or
drink the coffee, 1t is so bad. The meat,
when get IL, is pretty good"
How'S THIS. MR.. BIRDSALL?
"What right has Bridget Coogan to
order you TO scrub the floorsy"
81 don't know, but she does. She Is
very bad woman and she gets drunk
b re-" the girl replied, as IL she had made
an ordinary statement.
Ibid you say Bridget Coogan while
lfoked mp here gets drunk" the aston
ished reDorter exclaimed.
"Oh yes. sir. Why, she was drunk
yesterday and wanted to fight all the
people here. She can get away with the
best OF them. She used awful bad Ian
gusge." Here the little one shud dered
and whispering to me through the iron
grating said;-''There she goes now"
looked at the big coarse woman and did
not blame the child for her antipathy.
How does she get the liquor to make
her drrnkr"
/ don't know unless some one passes
1t through the bars of the door to her
when no one Is looking"
"Do men ever come herep
mo sir; only the Keepers. There are
men across the hall, though, in those
corridors"
looked and foun it true. Separated
by but half dozen feet Of space were two
corridors filled with male criminals. AL
though | heard no noise or vile talk the
ides suggested itself TO me that at differ
ent times In the day language probabl y
was used that no innocent thirteen year
old girl should listen to. The male quar-
fers were too close entirely to the witness
room.
MARY RILEY.
Mary Riley, sixteen years old. who has
been detained as a witness a. the jail
since February 8, was next seen. She is
n plump girl, has brown hair blue eyes
and decidedly tough accent in conver-
sation. She said she would like very
mrca 70 leave the jail and thought II
ciuel that she should he there so long as
witness. Sue said IL releas I'd she had a
home to 90 TO. She found FAULT with th
fond and said:
81 don't get enough to eat The coffee
/ cart drIuk and the soup is tasteless,
just a; if it did not have salt in it. The
meat is good, sut don't yet enough of it,"
'How does Bridget Coogan treat you ?"
"A II right, except she makes me scrub
the floors every Saturday: scrub bed
room, bath room and Il hail. All OF the
women do not SCRUB"
did any of the women ever beat you?
"Oh, no. sir; we get along all right.
do you hear vile language here"
almost constantly"
Jailer Charles Birdsall informed the
reporter that the Coogan woman was a
drunk and disorderly" committed to
the Jail who was detailed by him to keep
u portion of the Jail clean.
JUDGE LlPPIEcoTT's POSITION.
Judge Lpplncott this morning sup
plemented his interview published in
THE NEWS yesterday with the following
remarks:-"The interview as published
in yesterdays NEWS might lead TO wrong
impressions as to the good faith of the
officers of the law in relation 10 the de-
tention Of witnesses In Jail The CONVEX
sation was a general one between Assist
ant Prosecutor NoOnan, Judge Paxton,
the reporter and myself, aud was in
tended only TO indicate that the Court
aud Prosecutor were intent only upon en-
forcing the law.
Il did not intend to reflect upon the
good faith of the charitable ladies and
charitable organizations who are acting
in behalf of witnesses detain ed in jail.
On tue contrary they are to be rully com
mended and upheld and encouraged in
their good work
Il am d eply sensible of the hardships
OF wi nesses detained in confinement, aud
kuow that my brethren on the bench.
and the Prosecutor aud Assistant Prose-
cuIor. feel as / do about 1t. But the
county jail lis the only institution provided
by law 70 which they can be committed
A l------ OF detention properly managed