The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-03-18
A Relic of Barbarism and Its
Effect on Society
REV. w. A. KNIGHTEN'S VIEWS
President Teed of the Council Fav0rs a
Municipal Work House
Expensive Than Having the Work
Performed by Private Contract

bers of the chain gang-poorly fed
ragged and dirtv-ap oear to the full view
of the tourist. Little children stand III
droves and watch the poor fellows as they
lift the balls and chains and stagger hall
exhausted into their squalid cells to
spend the night.
The people of this community are be-
coming tired OF this relic OF barparlsm'
and "a movement is on foot to have some
legislation passed, to change the law by
which these men are SO shamefully de-
graded and i'll treated.
The average member of the chain gang
is usually some unfortunate fe low who
has committed no crime save that of be-
ing poor. He is Il vagrant, homeless and
ragged, and he is gathered in by the po-
lice and sentenced In the chain gang he
is shackled and placed on an equality
with felon and guarded as carefully as
though he had been convicted of murder
and sentenced to be hanged.
For over a year the chain gang has
been employed in cutting down the First
street hill. They are taken to work at Z
o'clock in the morning. in several dirt
wagons belonging to the street depart
ment and scant lunch packed in box
is taken along to stay Gheir hunger until
their return at night when the regulation
dinner of square inch of boiled beef, II
piece of bread and bean water is sup.
piled.
man named Houston is captain" of
the chain gang. He is a deputy in the
Street Superintendent Office, and he has
two men to assist him-one mounted and
the other on foot. Escapes are frequent.
and recaptures few and far apart
There are men at present confined in
4 d. L.
for the commission of crimes bordering
on felony. These men would make good
adjuncts to the chain gang, but they are
never assigned to it, the police claiming
that they are ''long timers" and they are
afraid they would escape.
The real reason is that these men are
made TRUSTEES in the City Jail, and, as
upon the jailers, for they would be
changed oftener if men with short SEN
fences were placed in the positions.
The police claim that man need not
work in the chain gang unless he chooses
to. 1t is literally true, but ii a prisoner
hunger will force man to embrace even
humiliation.
Freeman G. Teed president of the city
council, speaking on the subject yester-
day said:
Il always have been opposed to the
chain gang for many reasons, the princi-
pal one being that it is too expensive to
the city. The same work if let by con
tract, could be done for a much less
figure. For instance the work on the
First street cut has been in progress for
over year. Three mems salaries have
to be paid, number of teams have had
to be fed and maintained. Again | say
that the work could have been completed
long ago and with comparatively less ex-
pense.
II am in favor of public workhouse
where prisoners can be sentenced. There
they can work under cover breaking rock
for the streets, or doing whatever work
the city wants to be performed As ma t.
tiers now stand the men are demoraized,
and parading them in full view of the
public shackled | think hurts the city.
Rev. Will A. knighten was seen by a
Herald representative and he expressed
him self as follows:
II think that the chain gang is too
severe a punishment for the class of Of
lenses committed by its members. The
same punishment is melted out to felons.
who, perhaps. have been sentenced to
death and watch placed upon them.
The ball and chain was invented to secure
the higher grade of criminals and not for
those charged with simple misdemeanor.
u In the second place it demoralizes and
hardens the hearts of young men who
may never have been guilty of any seri-
Gus offense before to parade them before
the eyes of the public shackled like wild
beasts. 1t produces i'll the heart re-
pusive feeling against government and
laws ana creates q thirst for revenge
winch frequently develops into reckless
and lawless conduct.
Again the character of work required
of these men is in public places and is in
tended by the authorities as public
humiliation for their mIsdemeanors and
il is thereby related to the whipping post
and the pillory and the old methods of
punishment two hundred and fifty or
three hundred years ago.
Another thing, it is not reformatory.
1t does not teach a trade: il is a bare
faced injustice, which creates hatred for
industry and trains these men to shrk as
far as possible the performance of labor,
to pay a penalty.
Besides, it frequently puts young men
with their first offense into association
with the very worst criminals, who have be-
come hardened, and it helps develop in
them the very thing the law should try
to prevent.
Those men should be placed at work
some place, but | would favor PROPOSE
tion where those committed for fairly
long terms could be afforded an opportu-
nifty to learn trade. Or those who have
trades could use them to the advantage of
the city
An ex-member of the chain gang spoke
as follows to The Herald reporter yester-
day:
Use been chainganger, has. l'se
been one OF dose cOVes wat rides out eV-
cry morning through de fog and clips
level de ground wat prevents de citizens
OF dis Angel City from travelin' to de west
on First street. Sc been one of de fell
lows wat wears a chain and has to lug
along de ball at its end in his fist. | was
only a rancher, | was. but after got
loose from de thirty days sentence 'ich
enc OF de bg-wig P'lice Judges give me
de oder day, thought ia be something
else, did.
II come III from de ranch wild few
plunkers, thinking | would get Job in
lie town. But de Job didn't come and de
plunkers went. ! didn know no one in
dis place and de next ting knew | was
in de street and a stoppin over night in
lie box cars.
"One evenin' along comes "A bobby, and
he pulls me out and lands me in de
cooler. Den de next day de Judge he
say, you was found trespassing on pri-
waite property | tole him. | mean no
harm; but he say, I fix you, and then
he Civ me thirty days in de gang. Dat is
hard work, dat diggin all day long, wild IA
big ball and Clinker on, and | knows | !
won t forget ii. | received good advice
rom one of de fellers wot worked on bof |
sides of me. He had been tellin me
bout Il much easier way of earnin a |
Twin. No more hard ranchn for dis /
nan. Dis fellow he wa sent up Oh sus-
'cion of breakin in house. De court |
ellows couldn't prove it on him, but dey |
NV him little holiday III de gang fur