Morning journal and courier., 1893-05-10
HE SLEPT ON THE FLOOR.

So Textiles Warden Chamberlain
About Wales Doolittle-The War
den Admits Various Charges OF
Cruelty Against Him but Does Not
Think Them Such-Other Witnesses
Heard by - the Committee - The
Senate and House-New Haven Mat
tiers.
HARTFORD, May 9.-[Specisll Before
the state prison committee to-day the pub
lie hearings were continued on the abuses
at the state prison. The attendance was
rather small, although the number OF
women, ex.ofacers of the prison and ex-
convicts were eager listeners to the evil
denee. The committee pushed the work
to-day, and had on the stand ex-oficers at
the prison, Bently v. Powers, Ralph F.
Hills, Emerson Babcock, General Chamber
lain and Henry Holmes. Bently s. Powers
of Vernon, farmer and ex- deputy warden
Of the prison for twenty-five years, said
he left the prison about five years ago. I
went to the prson at Wethersfeld the last
time in 'S4 and left In $50. was in the
prison at Albany ten years previous to
1884. left on account of trouble between
the warden and myself. think 1t was on
account of the Carpenter matter. had
no knowledge of why left, the warden
never told me. I demanded an investi-
cation by the directors. The latter came
to the prison, but gave me no hearing, but
when they went back to Hartford they
sent me letter, signed by Mr.. Murphy,
saying my resignation would be accepted.
| The warden came in while I was reading
II l,,k~
The warden told me ten days later that If
been at the prison still. understood him
| to mean Mr.. Carpenter.
I knew nothing about the Carpenter
| scrape but what heard; I knew of nc
| men dying in the cells while was there.
| DR.. Warner was there at the time and he
! told me that the warden did not carry out
/ his orders. The DOCTORS orders to send q
man to the hospital were given to me and
gave them to the warden, but the lsttez
often paid no attention to them
Men were confined in dungeons while
| was there. never knew of man being
confined in dungeon over four days.
In all prisons was ever in, when man
gave up he was released. can't say
whether this rule was always carried out
in the state prison or not.
Confinement in dungeon would gener-
ally break man down go he would show
it by being weak and staggering when he
came out.
remember one Frank Hawkins of New
Haven, who laid in his cell a long time.
His time was out in month. Tho warden
said the man was beat and could either
go work or to the solitary. he went to
work for two weeks and when his time was
out he was carried to the hospital, where
L. lsaI 49, Iokn
sick man and was suffering with eonsump-
ton. he had been previously order.
ed to the hospital by the doctor several
! times.
Ex-Watchman Ralph F. Hills was the
next witness, and said was connected
/ with the state PRISON sixteen years alto
gether. I was night Waterman during
| Warden Chamberlsin's time. I saw Mar
1 tin Collou when he was taken out of the
| cell the night he died and put in his cell.
He was making a noise and hollering, dis.
/ turbing the others. Hs was quite weak.
1t was about II O'Clock at night. He was
hollsring murder very loud. General
Chamberlain and Keeper Holmes were
with Collou when he was taken to the west
end. Collou was deranged and sick.
| did not see much of the man or know much
about him. was not on his side of the
/ cell block.
Chambsrlain-Dld you hear him make
| any more noise after I reached his cell?
Answer-No, sir, I did not.
| Warden Haven next took the stand, and
| testified as to how the hospital books were
| kept. The books are in the custody of the
hospital steward, Dwight Steers, and the
| prison doctor, Mr.. Thomson. The record
| of the hospital shows that Collou died Of
| valvulsr disease of the heart. while 1t ia
| said the book, when introduced as evidence
last week, stated that Collou died of con.
sumption, as did also the certificate OF
| death. No one but Dwight Steers, the
doctor and the deputy warden has had &C.
| cess to the record since Ravens has been in
control.
The book was then handed to Warden
Chamberlain, who did not recognize the
handwriting.
Emerson D. Babcock, night watchman
| at the prison, was the next witness. In the
Gallon case, he said, recolleet calling the
warden up to attend him. That night
Collou was hollering and singing, and Anal
ly wound uprby hollering murder. He
/ walked out of the cell when the warden
without any assistance. I had no idea the
man would be dead in the morning.
never saw any sick people punished unless
you say taking Collou out was punish
ment. know very little about these
cases testified to.
Characterization have seen other cases
Of men taken out for noises
Answer-I never knew of any other cast
on my side.
Witness-I saw Hotohkiss dead in his
cell. He was suffering, understand, from
consumption.
General Chamberlain was next put OF
the stand and in reply to questions put by
| the members of the committee he testified
substantially as follows: remember Franz
Jones; he died at the prison in the ives
end. My attention was called to his deatl
either by Hall Officer Martin or some on
else. He was put in the west end partial
4 ly for punishment. His was peculia
ease. He was put to work in the shop
where he would complain of pains. 81
was examined by the doctor several times
who told me that he could find nothing
the matter with him. Not being satisfied
as to his case put him in the cell block
sometimes on bread and water and some
times on full rations. I afterwards put
him in the large cell in the old prison
which is the west end. The cell was fool
| larger than the others and was light cell
He had a phenomenal appetite and would
beg me for bread even after eating full
| meal. put him in the vest end partially
because he hollered and groaned when the
| other men came in.
WAS told he was dead but found 1t was
not 80 and went to the hospital to get some
brandy, and when I came back he was
dead. He did not have consumption, and
think his disease was some internal trou-
BILE.
only looked at the body specifically
and no inquest was held, and do not
think he committed suicide. He was In
the west end about twenty days before he
| died. I was with the doctor once to see
him during this time. did not report the
| circumstances of this mans death to the
board of directors, and as far as I knew
| the directors knew nothing about it.
I remember Charles Hutohins, he died
in a cell from general debility think.
he was an idiot and probably had con-
sumption. I generally talked with the
about this one, but don't remember
Hutohins' cell was in filthy condition q
few days before he died when I saw it.
He was under the DOCTORS treatment, and
not to my knowledge was he or
dered to the hospital because had
he been would have gone there. he was
| entirely under the DOCTORS care. Hutch
ms must have died in the night, as 1t was
reported to me in the morning. This man
| was in what We call the sick bay, some
cells on the lower tier, east eide, where we
put sick men who We cannot send to the
hospital, I do not know what care Hutch
ins had, but probably what the doctor pre-
scribed.
| Patrick Fox I remember He was siok