Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-03-11
WOMEN IN THE JAIL
STORIES THEY TELL. OF WHAT
BROUGHT THEM THERE.
MARYi BORDEN'S ODD TALE
Revenge Of a Tilted Suitor-F Forgery to
Save Husband From Drink
Strange Romance, That Crops out
in Most Unexpected Places.

The register of the bulletin bclrd In
the Kings County peLitentary read,
Long term 45l, short term 579, women
"a" but even while the writer was in
the building one woman and four or
five men were added to this number.
There is caste among prisoners as
among other folk. Kings County's
penitentiary has its aristrcracy, its
middle, and its lower class of prisoners.
Those favored by the warden and by
the keepers do not escape the Jealousy
of her less fortunate neighbors. The
belief that there Is favoritism may have
no bottom basis IN fac, than that some
of the United States prisoners, who are
in there for evading the revenue laws
wrecking national banks. using the
United States mails fol- Illegal pur
Poses, or some such offenCe-educate
men, who can make their labor Of more
value to Kings County by being kept in
the Offices than by being sent to the
manufacturing derartmcntE-are given
positions at bookkeeping
People behind prisons walls ee orally
deserve TO be there, and are seldom |
treated while they are there; hence, any
great amount Of sympathy for them is
waste of good material There are per-
sons who cannot witness suffering
without feeling pity even when they
know that the suffer ng is the resul, o.
a KNOWING laV on
order. II cuts deeply iu,o ores sym
pathies to see a mother with N inf2n.
coolng and smiling in her arms and to
be told that the baby was born in the
prison and that the mother has ano her
child Of less than two years in the pen
itentiary with her. This is the case
of Mary Miller, now in the Kings Coun-
ty penitentiaTy at F,atbusn with her
baby-as pre- ty, as fat, as dimpled
baby as it would have been ha i hce,
born before its mother was committed
and her 2-year-old girl.
Mary Miller is a delicate looking
woman, thin nearly to emar ipaton
She does not look as If she han the
streng h TO do very hard work Wnen
she was asked what brought her to the
penitentary, she replied with trembl-
ing lip, but a bitter expressi "The
formal charge against me was forgery
in the second degree Pres ed a lit lie
to talk more freely and to believe tn /
the one who was speaking to her wish
ed her well, the tears sprang to her
o,AI oh, 7 -
cause ! am such a deprayed, wicked
woman, | suppose When urged not
to talk in that way, she said
What's the good? | forged several
checks only one of them did | succeed
in getting the cash on That was a
check for $3.50, and $40 Of that amount
| returned. My husband was in bust
ness at the time. Upon these cold facts
| am here, and everybody will say I
deserve to be here. What's the good
of telling people that my husba d
drank, that he did no. bring his money
TO his family, that have been sick
nigh unto death, that | had my little
girl, now only years Old, and knew
that | would soon be the mother of
another that trouble, sickness and a
drunken husband had made me crazy
desperate? Nobody will make any al
lowance for these things. They think
me a shrewd, smart woman because
committed forgery. Let it go at that" "
Does your husband still drink"
Eyes he was here lost Sunday, and he
was certainly considerably under the
influence of liquor"
when do you go out?"
In March,"
And will you 20 back to your hus-
band when you are free?'
yes; what can / do? | have these
two children. | have not a dollar or
friend in the world. My husband
knew absolutely nothing about my at
the fact that his drinking brought me
to do what did he is perfectly guilt
less
Was there any special use to which
you wanted 10 pay this money!"
eyes. My idea was TO get enough TO-
PeLneT 10 70 away rum Httt' ! tHbuSht
that II ! could separate my husband
from his companions with whom he
drank | could reform him. But, again,
whats the good Of talking about that?
Nobody will believe me Even my own
family has turned against me.
Gould any Of your family have he'"
ed you financially"
"None Of those that are here could.
Nv father, who Is in Central America,
could have helped me, but did not
want him to know about my husband
drinking
That Is the story Mary Miller has to
tell Of herself.
Mrs Annie Murray was sentenced
by Judge Tighe TO spend 100 DAYS IN
the Kings county penitentiary or pay
pay a fine OF 800 for shopllfting Tha
article stolen was leather belt Of less
than 81 in value. Mrs Murray says
that she has daughter who Is on the
operate stage and son Of u years
who Is with friends According 70 her
story. she was made use Of 10 build up