The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1895-06-07
COUNTY JAIL CLUBS.
A Queer Organization Of Prison
ers Behind the Bars.
The Kangaroo Court and Its Various
OfhcIals ls-An Utilization Into the
Mysteries of the Mys-
tic Order.

Mysteries of the Niys-
tic Order.
The most interesting of these i'm
prnmptu clubs is the one called in the
vcrnacuIar The Kangaroo Court" 1t
II found almost entirely in county jailS
in which petty offenders and persons
awaiting trial are confined. During
the day. writes Josiah Flynt in IIar-
pcrs Magazine, the prisoners are al
lowed the freedom of a large hall. and
at night they lodge in cells, the locks Of
which are sometimes fastened and
sometimes not. The hall contains
cables. benches. daily papers. and in
some instances stoves and kitchen uten-
-ilN- The prisoners can and do walk,
jump. and play various games After
awhile these games become tircSome
end The Kangaroo Court" i formed.
1t consists of all the prisoners, and the
officers are elected 10y them The posi-
tiuns they fill are the ''judgeship." the
'-scarcher~hip." the ''spanl5rrNhip." and
general ''iuryship." To illustrate the
duties of these various officials, | shall
give a personal experience in a county
Jail in New York state. 1t was my first
encounter with The Kangaroo Court.
had been arrested for sleeping in an
empty box ear" The watchmau
found me and lodged me in the station
house. where | spent most gloomy
night. wondering what my punishment
would be. Early in the morning was
brought before the squire" He asked
me what my name might he. and | re
piled that lit might be Billy Rice"
What are You doing around here.
Billy" hc qUeried further.
Looking for work. your honor"
Thirty DAYS" he Numbered at me,
and was led away to the Jail proper.
| had three companions at the time.
and after we had passed the sheriff
and his clerk who had noted down all
,he facts. imaginary and otherwise.
that we had cared to give him about
our family histories. we were u>hcrcd
pcll-mcl into the large hall sur
rounded in twinkling by the other
prisoners. we were asked to explain
oar general principles and misdemcan-
ors. This over. and few salutatiun>
exchanged, a tall and lanlsy rogue cried
out in a loud voice:
The kangru will now klect,'
There were about twenty present.
and they soon planted themselves about
u, in most solemn manner. som,
rested on their launches, others
Iounged against the walls, and still
others sat quietly ON the tagStunc>.
~ soon "a entire quiet had been
reached the tall fellow. who. by the
way, was the Judge. instructed a half
grown companion. whom - niclnamcd
the searchcr." To bring his charges
against the newcomers. He ap-
preached us solemnly, and in a most
conventional manner, and said:
Prisoners are charged with
havin' Doodle in yer pockets. Wha
does ye plead-guilty or not guilty."
was the first in line, and pleaded
not guilty.
Are We wiIIn' to be searchrd?'
asked the Judge.
am. your honor" | replied.
Then the searchcr inspected all my
pockets. the lining of my coat. the
leather band inside my hat. my shoes
and socks. and, finding nothing i'll the
shape of money. declared that | WIS
guiltlcss.
You are discharged" exclaimed the
Judge. and the jury ratified the decision
with a grunt.
\ young fellow, a vagrant by profes-
sion, was the next case. He pleaded
not guilty, and allowed himself L" ho
searched. But unfortunately hc had
forgotten a solitary cent which was III
his vest pocket. II was quickly contiN
,-atcd and ne was remanded for tria
On the charge OF contempt of the Kan
.rru" The next victim pleaded guilty
d, the possession of thirty-SiX cents
and wa, relieved Of half. The last man
the guiltiest of all, although ne plcadc,
innocence. was found ont. and his three
dollars were taken away from him in
~tantcr. He. too, was charged will
contempt of court. His ease came W
loon after the preliminaricS were over
and he was sentenced Toy the judge /,
walk the length of the corridor one
hundred and two times each day Of hi
..ntiucmcnt besides washing all tn,
dishes used after dinner for a week.
After all the trials were over. tn,
conii~cated money was handed to tn
genuine turnkey. with instructions tina
il br invested in tobacco. Later in tn
dav the tobacco was brought into tn
| fail and equally divided among all tn
! prisoners.
The next dav /. with the other lat
| arrivals. was initiated as a member q
! ihc kangaroo court. 1t WAS very sin
| Die proceeding | had to promise tina
! would always do my share of ia" nee
.-,saI-v cleaning and washing. and ais
! b,. honest and fair in Judging the caSe
which might come up for trial.
Since then 1 have had opportunitie
+ fs.udving other kangaroo courts. hu
.,.v have all been very much like IN
uc | have just described. They ir
9th socialistic and autocratic. and .
| times they are very funny But whcI
ever they are they command the r.
,p,.ct Of iaiIbirds and if prisoner II
-uIts the court he is punished yer
severely. Moreover. it avails him notl
| ing To complain to the authorities ii
has too many against him, and the be-
| thing ne can do Il to become one
them as soon as possible
Bangor's Relief Method.
A novel and effective plan for the +
lief of the suffering poor of Bango
Me. has been put in operation by IL