The San Francisco call., 1896-07-07
Prisoners Packed Tighter Than
the Traditional Sar.
dine.
MEN AND WOMEN BEATEN.
The Women's Single Cell Makes No
Distinction Between New and
Old Offenders.


since reused itself to the necessity of
woman's separate cell and especial provi-
sion for women in the City Prison at the
City Hall.
The board has had time to rest from its
exhaustive labors in that instance and it
is, Therefore, time to call attention to the
needs of the California-street station in
that and other regards.
There are five cells in the California
street station. No. 1 is exclusively re-
served for Cinnamon. No. 2 is held for
sober people arrested on charges of felonies
and aggravated misdemeanors.
Nos. and are for drunks pure and
simple.
No. is for women of all kinds and con-
ditions, arrested upon whatsoever charge
they be.
To those familiar with the variety of
kinds and conditions that are nightly
found in the police dragnet-the old
drunks and utterly disreputables, the
young women with the flush of innocence
scarcely brushed from their cheek, the
suspects, the woman dressed in clean linen
and fnery who sat too long at her French
dinner and discovers only when on her
way home how much wine she really did
drink-to the man who has seen represen-
tatives of all these classes thrown together
on the stone floor and the narrow benches
of tn women's cell of the CaIlfornia-street
Station, there is suggested the need of
swift reform.
Again, when Chinatown is raided, as it
frequently is, the Chinese cell is not suffi-
cient. The felony cell-men arrested upon
complaints not prevents emptied into
~ Il
with the filthy, vermin-infested and ILL
smelling crowd.
a few nights ago the Chinese cell was so
crowded that it overfowed into No. and
crowded it to such a degree that the in
mates we're compelled to keep on their feet,
there not being room enough behind the
bars for them to sit down.
The two cells of the PLAIN drunks dur
ing such periods is simply unspeaka BILE,
and the stencil of the underground place
is scarcely to be mentioned to early morn
ing readers, much less dwelt upon.
The prison or lookup, it should be men,
toned, is under ground. 1t is necessary
III order to exist here at all to drench it
out frequently, and hose is found always
attached to a hydrant in the passage in
front of the cells. AS a consequence, the
board flooring is provided to be laid on
the stone. 1t is not always laid, however,
and men and women also are required to
sleep on the damp, stone floor.
There is in addition to the FIVE cells
named dark cell. Here the floor does
not drain, but that does not cause the
officers to be any more careful about put
ting down the flooring. The water some
times stands on the floor there half an
inch deep.
On the night of the Fourth the prison
was crowded in every cell. The wagon
picked up four drunks on Clay street
helplessly drunk. There was fifth that
was not apparently drunk at all. He was
one John Kelly, found itting on the step
in front of a Clay-street warehouse with a
pair of crutches beside him. He explained
that he lived at Salinas; that be had been
driver of a hose team, that his foot had
been run over and had to be amputated
that he had come to town to see the dem.
onstration here, and that, tired of walking
on his crUtches, he had sat down to rest.
He was thrown into the wagon with the
other four, and his arm so wrenched that
when being taken out of the wagon at the
California-street station he had to craw
upon his hands and knees into the station
The bendages on mis- foot were also partly
torn off, and the stitches in the flesh were
wrenched so that his progress across tht
floor and down the stairs and acros.
the floor to the booking window wa.
trailed in his blood. Despite his protes
and that of some of the bystanders, he wa
booked as that of drunk. The bystand
ers urged that he be sent to the Receivin;
Hospital, but no attention was paid to tn,
suggestion.
Kelly in his turn demonstrated against
the abuse heaped upon the four "drunks'
who had come with him. They were
kicked and cuffed and dragged down the
stairs, one officer to each pulling then
by the shoulders. One of them wa,
speechless and unable to give his name
He was smacked in the face and his nose
twisted brutally. AS this was not effectiv,
IN bringing him TO it was ordered that b,
be taken to the dark cell. The dark Gel