New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-24

II the I, potts that have been pouring INT inc
columns OF our contemporary The Ncw-lork
World" for the last two or tire" days con
corning the management OF the Connecticut
state Prison are true. there j. y condition OF
affairs in that institution which II II existed
in any boarding school in the land. would ere
ate disaifcction and very likely cause man!
pupis 10 go home to their parents. II has long
been suspected that the warden OF The inSiitp-
tin had taken advantage Of his position u re-
strain the inmates Of their liberty and subject
them to arbitrary rules concerning hours Of
labor. diet etc. which were CALLING 10 their
self Prospect. II was pretty we'll known that in
some cases rules had been adopted and actually
enforced without the slightest prctcnca Of con
sulting the wishes Of those whom they most
concerned From the fact that the guests ol
the institution were very rarely, If ever, seen
cut nights it was reasonably inferred that they
we've under durcss. and casual visitors had sad
that although they had regular meals there
were days and days in succession when they
were without pie. These things created dis
satisfaction. dissatisfaction which has been
smouldering for many years probably because
of certain esprit du corps" which forbade
crit icism Of the rules Of the house whose guests
they wcre and whose uniform they wore. In
most cases the guests continued rctccnt about
the nconvcnicnceS 10 which they had been
subjected long after they had moved away.
In ,nscqncnoc it was not until quite recently
that il began to leak out that there was dis
affection that tho rules were so strict that they
were not generally liked 1t being a subject in
which the readers Of our stirring contcmpo-
rary "Thc World take the livccst interest
that journal proceeded t. agitate il with It's
usual energy and enthusiasm. by its direction
the Connecticut Legislature has ordered All i'll
vcstigation Of the prison management.
Meantime our contemporary il printing com
municatons on the subject from various per
sons who resided in the institution for terms
of years, showing a state OF things which is
likely to affect unfavorably the reputation of
that sanitarium. No one who has ever been
in a State prison. or likely to be, can read
these testimonies without being profoundly al
fected by the contemplation Of mans inhuman-
ity TO man. The effect upon the state of
Connecticut will undoubtedly be to deter read
ers Of "Thc Wolld' from vcnturng over the
border, except just before State election when
tho necessities Of the Democratic party demand
that its voters take some risks. Tho effect
upon those who are already inside the institu
Understanding that they read "Tho World"
Acknowledgements be to increase the dissatsfac-
ton and unrest 1t would not be at all strange if
some Of them should manifest disposition To
withdraw permanently. Should this be done
to any considerable extent the reputation Of
the institution as health resort will seriously
suffer. Some of the stories told by former
guests are quite narrowing. A deserving citi
zen named Plum, who resided there for six
years, and is described as "a very intelligent
man." was greatly shocked by what he saw
there. lie went there for his health, which he
had carclcssly exposed on tho public highway
in manner that brought him under the opera
ton Of statute law. Went there, it seems.
perfectly unbiased and without any prejudice
against the management. And he says-Plum
says-that it is not at all healthy there. From
what he says we Judge that after the expert
encc he had of IT, he would rather take his
chances outdoors any time. lie spent seven
days in 1.-THE cooler" where, he says, the pro-
visions were scanty and the weather severe.
At times Plum was almost discouraged.
Other citizens who have ut enc time and an
other enjoyed the Inequalities of the Wethers-
field sanitarium are running up against repre-