Morning journal and courier., 1893-03-21
THE STATE PRISON

The Stories of Alleged Inhumanity
 and Cruelty at the Institution.
 The New York Worlds long story of alleged cruelty practiced in the Connecti- cut state prison against the convicts is regarded as very sensational by many of our leading citizens who are in position to judge somewhat concerning the matter. The World story attacks Warden Chamber lain as guilty of gross and inhuman treat ment to various prisoners, by which they were either driven insane or reduced in strength and vitality so much as to hasten, if not cause, their death. A prom inent New Haven gentleman who is quite conversant with affairs at the state prison denounces the story as very unreliable.
 ''It is we'll known fact" said another gentleman, "that the board of directors go to the prison offacially once every three months and ss much oftener as they see fit. No one of the officials of the prison has any idea when the unofficial visits are to be made. It is my opinion that if there was any such brutal conduct as is charged the directors would be very apt to hear of It."
 Francis Wayland of this city dean of the Yale law school and president of the board of directors of the state prison, when asked last evening what he thought of the chal ges of brutality made against the warden. said "We are to have a hearing before the com mittee on humaneinstitutions Wednesday, and until that hearing takes plscsit would be better to keep quiet. If there is any thing to thess stories of inhuman treat ment, why, 1t will all come out at that hearing"
 Samples of the instances cited by the World are as follows: One is the case of Wales M. Doolittle, life prisoner, of whom 1t says: "This mans mind began to l weaken after he had been in prison few years, but he was regarded as harmless. | The cause of his insanity Is not clearly | established, but in his case, as in many others, the horrors of the dungeon were probably responsible.
 "Doolittle was sitting in his cell, when a French Canadian watchman, who hap. pened to be passing, thought it would be amusing to annoy the helpless convict. 1 "At the back of each cell is bell shaped | iron cylinder which terminates in 8 small l tube. This tube opens on the corridor SC
 that guard passing can look in at the prisoner without being seen himself. Ire
 deau hsstened around to this tube and be
 gan taunting Doolittle and calling him vile | names.
 "The half mad creature was reused to {
 frenzy, and in his rage hammered and bat
 tered at the door and shouted out hii | curses at his unseen foe.
 "Wsrden Chamberlain was at once sum
 moned and with Deputy Warden Baisden
 Hallkeeper Martin and Wstchmen Holmei
 and Hughes descended upon him. The | watchman came from the passage behind
 the cell and joined them. The warden
 opened the cell door and ordered Doolittle
 to come out. He sullenly refused.
 "Then the warden rushed at him with hi | loaded cane and struck him savageIy across tn
 head. Tredeau and Baisden joined their chief
 and in a moment Doolittle was on the floor howl
 heavy sticks over his head punctuating hi
 screams. He was dragged of to the dungeon
 where he remained for week without thu
 now a. the Middletown asyIum.''
 the fall of 1892 a negro named Jones' a foolisl 1 looking, narrow chested consumptive, arrived a ! was subject to epileptic fits. He was put in sho,
 No: 8. As his work was interrupted by his at | Jacks the warden at once decided that he ws l ha wing fits to shirk his .sk, and Jones fount
 amself spending ; ling great part of his time in. n
 obs nseg Jones' ony After time he was taken to the first tier, wes
 wing, and new treatment was tried: I'm I | bread became 8 scant that the miserable wretci
 spent most of his time appealing to the passing
 nadisn, T O. Tredeau, amu.ed himself by hold ing steamiog bowl of soup 10 the bars of Jones ! cell and watching the famishing wretch sprint
 it. Jones was finally transferred to ths Gel | which Smith had occuped. The starvation l treatment was continued and daily he b-cam,
 weaker January 9, 1893, Deputy Wsrden Georg' | cell. He was lying across the floor, like poo | Cnlloo, apparently dead:
 Two convictd were detailed to take the bod, l away. AS they started to lift him up the bodl l began to wrtthe in the convulsions of epilepsy For twenty-five minutes Warden chamberlain
 sas two conSets ssooa there wa1eRing % Jonea d.s n
 Martin asked if something could not be done fo
 "ob," replied Deputy Warden Baisden, care
 les-iy, whats the use? Hen die anyhow l was coolly discussing the days routine and ask ing questions of the different members of the group
 life at this extraordinary place Is the continua
 recurrence of insane cases. It is the darkes
 William ns nn for tSes
 Bridgeport, man who is now driveiIing in the s4.nssas as %os tas is
 rushed upon by the warden who, with a loaded
 broke in two. Andrews was next kept in 2 dungeon thirty days which unsettled his mipd
 Andrews was sent to the insane asylum whence l after few months, he was returned to the prison az cured. Breaking. out into ! noisy singing night in his cell War den Baisden, accompanied by two keepers | dragged Andrews out of his cell. As he con l their loaded canes. Meanwhile the whole prison siGck was aroused and convicts from hundred cells howled down, s'Murderers," "Cowardsr r Andrews was finally landed in the dungeon and ! as punishment for hs insanity was kept on | bread and water for eight days. He is now in 1 the insaae asy lum at Middletown.
 Last evenings Hartford Post says: The l World charges are probably founded on a bit. | ter attack Of Ihe prison management printed in l Bristol paper aud which gave rise to legisla- lative examinaI ion now pending.
 Two reporters from the World have been around town for the past week collecting alleged fact scontained in the article.
 Warden Chamberlain prefers to reserve his statement for the hearing which is to be held on the charges by the state prison committee at the Capitol Wednesday.