New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-11
TESTIMONY FOR MIR. PIERCE
ANOTHER DAY OF PROBING THE CHARGES
AGAINST THE SUPERINTENDENT.
.o,,srR WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION USED
m ADVANTAGE BY THE DEFENCE-A
pOy,S LETTER

BOY ffE<AD
,roes w Pierce the superintendent Of the West
.s.ster Temporary Home for Destitute Children
secured another victory yesterday when the nearing
=, the managers side OF the case before Referee
nan,el W. Guernsey continued. AS OH inc
d.v before. the audience in the supreme ooul'
,oor at White Plains. where the hearing 'ooh
,lace. was composed for the most part OF women
Thev occupied the best places In the courtroom anu
o. the gallery. and paid close attention TO the pro-
..ed,ngs They were in their PAGES before the near
,.o hogan and remained until the last word was
oten and even then they fingered In the court
orn and in the corridors discussing the celebrated
case. 49, $1,000, x,o,,
Pack of the rail sat number OF the women man
oars of the institution. The attendance was small
49, than on the day before. This was accounted LOT
nv a resident of the village who said: AS the
s.oa and thunder in the dwindle, the NOR
IA interest grows less. While there was talk aoou.
chains and dungeons foul food. whips. handcuffs
rrtnated bodies and children cruelty treated and
-lsntlessly tortured. the place was full to over
eox,ng Now that much Of the sensational matter
= he,ng refuted." he added. "the people who glory
IN gore find nothing to interest Them. The wit
asses examined yesterday were all either attend
,,s or former inmates of the institution, and their
.s,r,onv contradicted much Of what had been said
.sainst the management.
ppEFERRED CHAINS TO CONFINEMENT.
tn. most remarkable incident OF the proceedings
,s,srdav was the production of letter written by
olored how fourteen years old. inmate Of the
pone in which the writer asks in his own name
a,d that of three other boys that the old method
=, using the chain be revived. This means OF pun
sshment was deemed by the boys less severe than
,.,ro locked up in a room and being deprived OF
.h. privileges of the Fairgrounds, although the
roo, II appeared from the evidence was large, we'll
pyhted and perfectly heated and ventilated. 1t was
.ynlaned by one who is connected with the Home.
that the chain by which runaway boys have been
punished has been held up as the chief instrument
q, torture employed by Mr. Pierce. Evidence was
.sven early in the hearing which was calculated to
i've people the impression that most OF the boys
were chained. and that the chain punishment was a
barbarity at which the institution wnked On the
first day OF the hearing for the managers side 1t
was brought out that the runaway boys VINO were
punished by having chain put on their feet could
not have been injured because the limbs were pro-
tec,ed by strips of buckskin under the chains. But
This form OF punishment has been discontinued and
runaway boys are now punished by being confined
In the large room.
The first witness called yesterday was Miss Daisy
CARPENTER who Is at present and has been for
year an attendant and has charge OF one OF the
cottages in which about forty boys. ranging from
four to fourteen years DID, housed She was
asked about the management of the place and as to
the observations she had made during her res dence
there She knew Of cruel punishment Children
were punished, she said, for misconduct and she
had herself reported unru!y inmates TO Mr. Pierce
for punishment after she had failed to make them
Go what was required of them. but she never knew
Of anv Of the children SO reported being cruelty
punished They came back TO her after being
punished BY Mr.. Pierce, and II they had been IN
jured she would have known 1t. The children were
reported only for the graver offences.
She gave as an instance the OF a ten-year-
old boy whom she had reported for stealing. She
f1vfr<k
the floor and she thought the case serious enough
to be reported so that the boy might be punSned
In al where talking would do no good the
children were reported to the superintendent for
punishment. but in no other case.
THE FOOD ALWAYS GOOD"
Early in the hearing witness testified to the bad
quality OF the food in the institution. 1t was the
only time during the hearing that anything derog-
atory 10 the food had been said. Miss Carpenter
contradicted this witness and said that the food
was always good and that only once since she came
10 the institution was there any ground for com
plaint; that morning when II was iouhd
that the food had been nsuficiently cooked and at
that time she had rejected the food. She was
asked about the various alleged crue.t!es. such as
compelling a child to stand in crouchins position
under table or bench. having the girls hair
clipped uneveny so that they would look grotesqle.
washing the ch.ldren's mouths with ashes or oil or
beating them so that blood would flow. She denied
chat anv such practices existed at the home, far
as she knew.
Mrs Carrie Snyder formerly Carrie Heddy. was
the next witness. The defence had summoned her
90 that she might be, asked about a conversation
which had taken pla:e Between her and one of the
attendants at the home. She ore of those VINO
had testified TO having been whipped by Mr.. Pierce
until blood was drawn and that she was subjected
to other crue,ties while an inmate Of the institu-
ton. After making that statement in the course
Of the Investigation she told Miss Dealing, the at
tendant that she had been punished and that she
had seen other girls whipped, but that she never
knew Of a case where blood was drawn by such
whipping She evidently did not wish to appear. as
physicians certificate was presented, In which 1t
was stated that she in bl-health and that IL
would be Injurious for her to appear on sne VIII VIII
ness-stand The counse. for the managers was
about to pass TO the next witness when MS atten-
Ton was called the fact that the woman ~as.In
would be a short one he had her called and sworn:
S ts admitted that she had SAD 10 Mss had seem
other girls whipped. but that she had never seen
D.ood drawn by the punishment Inasnuch as ' ms
oignation against the management of the home, tne
ssaenee OF yesterday is looked upon by the de'ehcc
MISS Ella n. Dealing. an attendant at the home.
reSHHnony as TO the conversation WIN Mrs VT;
that she had slapped and spanked" the children
W"o cooiI not be made to conform with the rules
about the department in the home since corporal
Psun,snnen, had been abolshd and said that since
Iheh II was extremely hard 10 control the children
once then she sad four boys had run away They
were brought back and confined In one Of the d0rm-
tories where an attendant watched them.
BOYS LETTER PLACED IN EVIDENCE.
one OF the boys wrote letter which placed
IN evidence after wrangle between cx-Judge Isaac
~ NILS. counsel for the managers, and Mr.. Hender
son' OF counsel for the prosecution The letter was
written with lead pencil a piece of soiied paper
and read follows
Dear Mr.: Pierce: thought ] would write to you
% !ei you Know am sorry TO run away. but ought
20 think about IL before went and / would not be
kept In and away from the boys. / would like TO
ASK you this, we would all like know II You would
!he playground and let us make all the beds as W.
have been doing for the last three morning we |
pray 10 God every night. because can't do any-
thing without him. think ! will close my letter |
rom Louis Hall - - /