The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1893-04-20
HUMAN INQUSITIoN :!
Culver R. Thurber's Terrible Cen.
sure of the Brown Coun-
ty Jail.
Nredking With Fifth, Meals of
Ledvings, the Sheriff Say
eth Naught.

1T is the worst hole that was ever
in, in my life" said Culver R. Thurber,
the pugilist, as he stepped into the
GAZETTE office, two hours after the in
dlctment of the Renville county grand
jury against him, had been quashed.
He was speaking of the Brown county
jail, and if his statements are true. and
they are confirmed, in great measure
by several other Renville and Red
wood county prisoners, the State board
OF corrections ard charities should
lose no time in ordering general re-
modelling of that place of confinement.
1T is as dirty as dirt can make it,
continued Thurber, "and the parties
IN charge boast that it is only scrubbed
twice year. When the prisoners Of
cred to scrub the hole out, the officers
refused, saying that it was clean
enough. There are eight cells in the
Jail, and while four of them are fairly
light, the other four are dark, damp
and gloomy, and almost unfit for hu-
man habitation. All the cells are of
stone, and wreak of stencil almost un-
Dearable to human nostrils. The beds
are OF iron construction and the blank
cts used on them, look as though they
had not been washed since the time
they were purchased from the stores
so dirty and filthy are they.
Probably the most horrible part of
this inquisition are the outhouses.
They are in one corner Of the jail, and
apparently are never cleaned, the dis
agreeable odor arising from them and
mixing with the air inhaled by the
victims of the law. [ was there sew
eral months and these outhouses were
never cleaned during my confinement.
"ln the morning the prisoners are
treated to breakfast of barley coffee,
bologna sausage, dry bread, and a
stale mixture, the jailor declares to be
butter. The noon meal is composed
of an imitation of tea, bread and but
ter, sausage, and occasionally beef. if
the sheriffs family leaves any from
Their noon meal. The supper is COM
posed of tea, bread and butterine and
either beef or bologna. Occasionally
real butter was handed in, but Sheriff
Anderson would protest, saying that
the prisoners ate it like hogs.
But the most disagreeable part of
this course of feed was that nearly ev-
erything served to the prisoners, were
the leayings from tie family table of
the sheriff, and was served out to the
prisoners somewhat similar to the
manner in which the family dog was
fed"
The GAZETTE does not claim that all
of the above statements are precisely
correct, but the greatest portion of
them are confirmed as essentially cor
rect by men whose names are with
held for the present. And granted
that these men are telling the truth,
according to their biased knowledge,
it is certain that the time for jail
reformation is at hand, in Redwood
county, at least. for it is to our shame
that the few prisoners this county
generally controls, are placed into this
den, almost equalling an inquisition.
The Brown county sheriff receives in
the neighborhood of SIS per week for
the board and care of their prisoners,
and if the bill of fare above given is
exact no sane man will venture the
statement that it costs 81 per week to
board them. The Brown county Jail
is considered an object of terror to the
unfortunates, and it is somewhat of a
surprise that the intelligent people of
that county have not long since caused
grand juries to Investigate into the
shame. A prisoner certainly has the
right to receive humane treatment,and
Redwood and Renville counties, at
least, should take steps to see that
thew receive it, particularly, if they
are paying another county to decently
care for their wards. 1t is probably
also time that the secretary OF the
State board of corrections and chari-
ties take trip outside of St. Paul
and Minneapolis, and make an inyesti-
cation into and report on this alleged
inquisition.