Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-18
STORIES DID NOT TALLY.

Huntingdon Reformatory Prisoners Now in
the Penitentiary Say They Deserved tho
Ill Usage They Got-Youthful Criminals
Are the Hardest to Manage.
During an informal investigation of the
stories told by the inmates of the Hunting
don Reformatory, concerning the fendish
and brutal treatment that they had been
constantly subjected to, the fact was CLEANED
from the alleged victims that there were
two or three prisoners in the Western Penl-
tentiafy who could show that even worse
outrages had been committed upon them.
James B. Scott, of the State Board Of
Charities, was told the same story at Moya-
mensing prison. He looked the matter up
at Riverside penitentiary and found the pris-
oners were: John Ward, George jackson and
William Larkin. From the stories told by
the convicts in Moyamensing prison Ward
seemed to have suffered the most 1t was
claimed by them that one of the keepers
had struck him in the mouth with a ham,
mer or club and knocked all his teeth down
his throat. Accordingly Wards cell was
the first one visited and he was subjected to
rigid cross-examination during which
nothing new was developed concerning
the cruel treatment at Huntington
Reformatory. He was asked to
show his teeth. None were missing. In
fact they were in an unusually good state of
preservation, except that they had been
slightly discolored by the excessive use OF
tobacco The other tvo prisoners cells
were visited in turn, and, although they
were willing to talk upon the subject of
cruel treatment in prisons in general, they
could not corroborate the stories OF the
Young reformatory victims
Warden Wright, of the Western Peni-
tentiary, is inclined to doubt the many
stories now rampant about the extreme bru-
tality practiced by Warden Smith and his
deputies. When seen yesterday he said:
John Ward, one of the prisoners whom it
is said could throw some light upon the
Franklin reformatory matteC, was convicted
OF statutory burglary and was sentenced in
Erie county, September Is, 1880. to the Hunt
ingdon Reiormatory, and, being not only IN
corrigible. but reconv1cted prisoner, ne
was sent to this institution, which ts more
severe in its rules. Jackson and Lark1n
were also returned here for bad behavior,
the latter for stabbing a fellow prisoner.
When interviewed by Mr.. Scott ana myself
yesterday they said it was true that they
had been severely punished at the reforma-
tory, but they admitted it had been due to
their misbehavior, and the three OF them
come to the conclusion before we left them
that Huntingdon was "bully" place, ana
much easier than penitentiary.
The fact of the matter is, that the man
or woman, lady or gentleman, who thinks
the youthful prisoners the easiest
to manage, makes a very grave mistake.
Take them in all grades they are
the most troublesome. Those that want to
be bad will be as bad as they can, and when
once on the road to destruction they will go I
to the devil sure, while on the other hand
an older prisoner can at times be restored.
believe the officers who have charge of
youthful prisoners deserve some considera-
tion. because they have their hands full at
all times for in many cases where boys
have the liberty they possess at the reform
atory they are all bonded together for evil,
and the public ought to be generous in their
statements toward the keepers.