Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-10-31
TO Be INVESTIGATED.
Abuses in Public InStitu-
tions in Boston.
MANY CASES OF CRUELTY.
Men in Solitary Confinement When
Known to Be Insane.


words aid exciting moments at last
nights session Of he board of aldermen.
The whole OF these manifest ions WAS
due to the consideration OF the report of
the special committee which emily paid
visit Of inspection tn the house of cor
recton, the result of which has caused
considerable comment.
A result Of last nights consideration
there will shortly he n public hearing be-
fore the whole bard, when those who arc
confident that the public institutions are
mismanaged will have an opportunity TO
prove their case.
THE First emi-Annusl Report of the
Inspectors OF Prisons and Houses Of De
tention In Suffolk County, Doc. 146."
came up In special ~ siynn ems Alder
men Lomasney, Mcguire and Halls
are the authors OF the volume, aud wien
the question Of its accept nee came mp
Alderman Lomansey said that rs they
went through the institution they saw
man there In what Is known a. the soli-
tary cell. He WIS shouting, and he At
tracted the attention OF the committee.
They talked with him, and Colonel John
G. Wilton, the man In charge OF the in
stitution, bling there with the commi tee
at that time, was asked II he did not
think the man was crazy. He said. mo,
he is shamminR Insanity; he won't work"
"A few days since write to the com
missioners Of public inst tutions," said
Mr.. Lomasney, land asked them to give
me statement showing what the record
Of Cornelius Quinlan was In prison. and
they made reply which meant that from
May 81 to June 81, 1892, q man who, ac-
cording to their own statement, was in
sane when he came to the institution, was
taken and placed Ia solitary confinement,
fed on bread and water, taken out prob
ably every three days and given a bath
and then put back again. In conversation
with . person who 10 connected with the
Institution he told me that during that
interval the man always came out Of his
solitary cell smiling, went to his bath, aud
that they never had any trouble with him.
1T took from that time until June Is,
1893. before the officers sent him to the
lunstic hospital, but In tho report dated
this man WAS insane when he came to the
inst tuition"
Another Example.
Mr.. Lomasney passed on the record of a
young man named Williap Sullivan. and
said:
This young man spent 10 nights with
cut his bed on the door AMI "a days In SOL
itary confinement Mr.. Chairman, I sup
pose the keen gentlemen who are upon the
board Of commissioners of public institu-
tions saw what spoke of.
Alderman Mcguire and myself talked
with this man on April 4, AMI talked with
him quite while. He was lying on the
floor when We were there looking up to the
ceiling. and did not know we were iu the
room when We saw him there as l have
described
He Was too weak to rise, couldn't talk
and gave every evid ence OF being an in
sane man. II took these people. how ever,
from April %, 1892, to June q, 1893, TO
como to the conclusion that this man was
In such condition that they should send
him to the insane hospital.
Il don't believe the insane hospitals or
the institutions OF correction of Massa-
chusetts are going to send their people to
the house Of COZ rection for the purpose of
having charged to the house II correction
their insanity. 1t is not necessary that
they should do 30, and i don't think they
would lay themselves open In any such
way.
"Now / desire to refer to gentleman
who was the steward in that hospital,
who has charge II the hospta The hos
pital il the place, IL is calle the hospital
at least, where they keep people who are
supposed to bs sick. This mans name
was Birchmore, and he had pa lent come
into his charge who had a stra Jacket
on him. The doctor gave him instructions
TO take the straitjtcket off.
This man deliberately compelled that
poor fellow to lie on his stomach and eat
the food out Of his dish like dog, and
only when = convict called the attention If
DR.. Bancroft to 1t was 1t stopped. The
fruit left ther by people for the inmates
Of the hospital this mau used to keep aud
use"