The morning call., 1891-09-13
CONNECTS STRIKE
IN SAN QUENTIN.
Two Hundred Men Make Il Stand
for Better "Grub."
They Demand to See the Board of Directors,
and Are Accommodated, but With
Poor Profit to Themselves.

Poor Profit to Themselves
The convicts in the jute-mill at San Quen-
tin Prison revolted yesterday. and for a
time it looked as though there would be a
| repetition of the famous and bloody bread
riots of six years ago.
Nearly 200 prisoners threw down their
! tools and defed the officers to set them at
work again.
They demanded that certain wrongs be
set right.
They wanted better grub and in greater
quantities.
They wanted more tobacco.
They wanted less fayoritism shown.
They wanted, last, to be taken in a body
before the Board of Prison Directors, so
that they could make personal address to
that body.
For time matters looked very sQually
The convicts were very determined and des-
| perate and feeling the resentment of many
fancied wrongs.
They made bold 'front.' and in the leader
ship were such desperadoes as Merkle, a
ten-year man, who led in the riots six years
ago, besides other equally reckless.
GUARDS QUICKLY SUMMONED.
The guards were quickly summoned, and
| every avenue Of escape was covered, while
armed men filed the doors of the LOOM
room in the jute-shop, where the insurrec-
| ton started. There was sangunary sug-
| gestiveness. too, in the rifles, which every
| where CLEANED in on the conYicts, in the
| hands of grim-face officers, and the mob
| finally quailed before the stern measures
taken. They sullenly returned to their
looms and resumed work. but not until
| some concessions had been granted. They
were granted permission to appoint COM
mittee to lay their grievances before the
board.
Therevolt was we'll planned. The convicts
have long been muttering over fancied in
| sufficiency of food and which, thev claimed,
| was Of an inferior quality. When they
heard that the Directors were TO meet yes
| terday plan OF action was quickly formed.
| Ii was decided to make stand at 9 O'Clock.
and at that hour every man Jack in tie plot
struck work.
| PRISON DIRECTORS DUMFoUNDED.
When the Directors, who were late reach
| ing the prison, heard of this they were
| dumfounded. They did not assemble un-
| til 2 o'clock, and after a brief session of
| twenty minutes, in which routine business
was hastily dispatched, they went into ex-
| ecutive session behind closed doors, and re-
manned locked in until nearly o'clock,
| Warden Hale being closeted with them
| great deal of the time.
What was done they refused to divulge.
| Immediately alter the session, however, the
| board went to the Office of the captain of
| the yard, inside the prison yard, and COM
mittee Of hve convicts, selected by the
| strikers In the morning, was uShered In
| under guard. The men were asked by Di-
| rector Sonntag TO state their grievances.
Merkle, one of the convicts, said that the
man whom they had selected as spokesman
| had not been allowed TO come with them.
| As for himself, he struck work because
the food was not good and because there
was not enough of it. 1t was not properly
| cooked, and there was no variety. Twice
week on an average the meat was so bad
| he could not eat it. The stew was terrible
| ami made a man sick. The bread was poor,
often sour, musty and heavy and so on
| through long string.
LISTENING TO COMPLAINTS.
Duffy, another convict, complained be-
cause there was not tobacco enough. 1t had
been cut off entirely for three weeks. There
| are only eight or ten potatoes set out on the
| table for about twenty men, aud the man
| with the largest grab had all.
One vi the Directors asked the men their
| occupation when they were free. Merkle
| said he was a mechanic, Duffy was
plumber, Williams was common labOrer,
the next was molder and the last man
stable helper.
President SOnntag then opened bottle
of wrath upon them. lie asked them
| whether they expected to be fed as in the
Palace Hotel. He wanted to know whether
| they were to run the prison and then warned
| them of the i'll effect of their hasty action.
| He said the next time they did anything
| like that they would all be put in solitary
confinement and fed on bread and water.
| he had hall a notion to do 1t, anyhow.
IL, all ole hot had ha ma r6s
| their strict duty in such revolt, they would
| have fired upon and shot down many Of
| them.
The board was satisfied with the present
management of the prison and it proposed
to uphold 1t.
HALE CAME TO THE RESCUE.
Director Craig advised cutting off the
| tobacco allowance altogether.
Another member OF the board advised
Furnishing them now by locking them up
and putting them all on short rations.
Warden Hale finally came to the rescue of
| the men, who were so staggered at the turn
| affairs had taken that they could only stam-
mer and make lame excuses. He said he
would overlook the Otfense this time, but as
| for the complaints about bad aud insufficient
food there was no ground for them. He
would personally superintend the kitchen,
however, hereafter, and see that the cooks,
who are convcts themselves, prepare the
food properly.
The committee" finally went out crest
fallen and very cheap looking set Of men
| and the strike was over.
MEETING OF THE BOARD.
At the meeting of the board before the
executive session all five members, Sonntag.
| Deylin, Craig. Stump and De Pue, were
present.
Bids for new electric-light plant for the
prison was the first matter up for discus
sion. Several of the gas and electric light
men complained at the insufficiercy Of the
specifications upon which to base their
bids, and wanted further information and
an extension OF time upon which to make
new bids. The Edison Light Company
which had in bid, objected to any further
extension, and wanted the bids already N
opened and read.
Director Stump thought the ground of
complaint was sufficient aud advised that
fuller specifications be prepared and that
further time be given.
The National Electric, the Edison, the
California, ana other lighting companies,
which had bids in, withdrew them, and the
board instructed Warden Hale to draw
other specifications, both for gas and electric
lighting, and sui mit them at the next meet
ing of the board.
On MIR. Stump's motion, new advertise
ments for lighting plant were ordered
printed.
wARDEN's MONTHLY REPORT.
Warden Hale's monthly report contained
mention of several repairs and small
changes made. The boilers in the shops had
been found in dangerous condition, and it
had necessitated stoppage of work for
twenty days. He also reported that the
new road running from the old county road
to the toll road is about completed, and in a
few weeks the county road will be closed.
Chief of Police Crowley of San Francisco
sent in letter asking the board to make
an exception in his favor for police purposes
in its recent ruling in regard to furnishing
photographs of first-term convicts.
Chairman Sonntag favored making an
exception in favor of the San Francisco po-
lice. but he did not think it would be good
policy to send out photographs to the vari-
Gus Sheliffs and county officers, whose
terms of Office are usually short.