New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-04-26
The Redwood Gazette Makes of Itself
Sewer for Filthy Charges Against
the New Ulm Jail.
1t Takes the Prize-Fighter Thurber into
Confidence and Listens to him as
it Would to Gospel.
1t Not Only Commits it's Self Respect by
Publishing an Interview with a
Tough, but, what is worse
it Makes it's Own
Comments.
In those it Spouts its Little Sensational
Eloquence in an Effortto Besmirch
Brown County Official.

"a Human InquiSition' was the pad
ded heading Of a startling "leader' in
the current issue of that gushy, over
reaching and would-be metropolitan
sheet known as the Gazette and pub
lishcl at Redwood Falls, and following
it came what was intended for IL terrific
expose Of the New Ulm Jail. The arti-
Gle was as follows:
''It is the worst hole that was ever
in, in my lifc," said Calvin R. Thurber,
the pugilist, as he stepped into the Ga
zette office, two hours after the indict-
ment of the Renville comfy 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 Rcnville and Redwood county pri-
soners, the State board of corrections and
charities should lose no time in ordering
general lemodeling of that place of
confinement. "It is as dirty as dirt can
make it, continued Thurbcr, "and the
parties in charge boast that it is only
! scrubbed twice year. When the prison.
crs offered to scrub the hole out, the off
GERS refused, saying that it was clean
enough. There are eight ccllsi in the Jail,
and while four of them are fairly light,
the other four are dark, damp and gloo-
my, and almost unfit for human habita-
ton. All the cells arc of stone, and
Wreak Of stencil almost unbcarable to
human nostrils. The beds are Of iron
construction and the blankets on them
look as though they had not been
washed since the time they were pur-
chased from the storcs-so dirty and fill
thy are they. Probabl, the most horri-
Die part of this inquisition are the out
houses They are in one corner of the
jail, and apparently are never cleaned, the
disayrecable odor arising from them and
mixing with the air inhaled by the VIC
TINS of the law. | was there several
months and these out-houscs were never
cleaned during my confinement. In the
morning the prisoners are treated to a
breakfast of barley coffee, bologna sau-
sage, dry bread and a stale mixture, the
jailor declares to be butter. The noon
meal is composed of al imitation of tea,
bread and butter, sausage, and OCCASION
ally beef, ii the sheriff's family leaves
any from their noon meal. The supper
is composed OF tea, bread and butterine
and either beef or bologna. Occasional
ly real butter was handed in, but Sheriff
Anderson would protest, saying that the
prisoners ate it like hogs. But the mos1
disagrccablc part of this course of feeC
was that nearly everything served to tho
prisoners was the leavings from thu
family table Of the sheriff, and wa
served out to the prisoners somewha
similar to the manner in which the fani
ly dog was fed.''
After doctoring up this interview Will
Thurber SO as to make it racy and read
able, the Gazette editor adds his owl
overwhelming conclusions, SO weight,
and so pathetic in behalf Of the prison
ers confined in the eden" that ones bloot
almost runs cold at reading them. IL
says:
"The Gazette does not claim that al
of the above statements are precisely cor
rect, bnt the greatest portion of them ar
confirmed as essentially correct by mel
whose names are withheld for the present
And granted that these men are tellins
the truth, according to their biased know
ledge, it is certain that the time for jai
reformation is at hand, in Redwood coun
tv, at least, for it is to our shame tha
the few prisoners this county general!
controls, are placed into this den, almos
equalling an inquisition. The Brown
county sheriff receives in the neighbor
hood of So per week for the board an(
care of the prisoners, and if the bill of far
above given is exact no sane man vii
venture the statement that it costs 81 pc
week to board them. The Brown count,
jail is considered an object of terror t
the unfortunates, and it is somewhat of