The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-16
Prison Officials Tell What ARRANGEMENTS They
Have Made for the Enforcement
of Discipline
ANOTHER SESSION TO BE Held TODAY.
This Morning the Governors Appointees Will Go
Through the Dungeons Dark and Drear
on the Banks of the St. Croix.

Two Of the three members Of the COM
mission appointed by Gov. Clough to
inquire into the charges of brutal treat
ment of the convicts at the state pris-
on met yesterday afternoon at that In
stitution for brief session, and began
the taking of testimony relative to the
condition of things in the prison.
The hour and q half which the in
quisitors spent was devoted to famil-
iarizing themselves with the general
executive and disciplinary arrange
ments of the prison. the testimony as
to these being furnished by James s..
O'Brien, chairman Of the board Of man
ayers; Warden Henry Wolfer, George
Hixby, the prison bookkeeper, and DR..
B. ]. Merrill, the prison physician.
The information elected in the ques-
tioning of these witnesses yesterday
will be supplemented this morning by
a personal survey Of the prison by the
inquisitors. 1t is possible that little
testimony Of other persons than prison
attaches will be taken, but the session
of today will probably be short on ac-
count of the funeral Of the late John
F. Norrish, for many years member
of the prison board, who Is to be buried
this afternoon at Hastings.
There was a little delay in opening
the session, necessitated by the time Of
arriving trains. Mr.. Harrison, of Min
neapolis, was absent. Judge j. c.
NethaWay and e. J. Darragh were
present as counsel for Deputy Warden
Lemon, while Robert L. Penney, of
Minneapolis, was there to present to
the commission, If need be, any infor-
nation secured by the G. b e in its
inquiry, which for any reason might
not have been published. Gus M. Wing.
Of Minneapolis, the official reporter;
Warden Wolfer, Deputy Lemon, Sec
retary Hart, Of the state board of cor
rections and charities, with a number
Of newspaper men, completed the par
ty which gathered in the meeting room
of the board of managers.
Chairman Flandrau, in opening the
proceedings, announced that, while the
primary purpose Of the commission was
to inquire into the charges of brutality
on the part of Deputy Warden Lemon,
it had full power to, and it would,
make q full inquiry into any alleged
lack of discipline or mismanagement.
He then, without further ado, summon
L
managers, as the first witness.
Mr.. O'Brien said he had been on the
board eight years, and he named the
other members. He had been chair
man of the board for two years. The
board had, as required by the prison
law, made rules for the management Of
the prison, and had inspected the insti-
tuition once q month.
What is the nature of this inspec-
tion?"
1--WE meet here, and go through the
bills, consider applications for paroles,
conside suggestions or reports made
by the warden as to matter of the
prison, investigate complaints of pris-
oners, and any other business that may
come in. The inspection included
survey Of the prison buildings and Of
the fare, clothing ETC., of the inmates"
Warden Wolfer was next called. He
had been warden since June Z, 1892,
and had no other business. His usual
hours were from a. m. to p. m. and
frequently to 8, 9 or 10 o'clock at night.
The law makes it your duty to
make a daily inspection of the prison
and to inquire into any complaints Of
prisoners, and to keep a daily journal
of such complaints. Have you done
so?" asked Judge Flandrau.
"a record is kept here; yes, sir"
"In what form?'
Not in a book. We keep the orig
inal complaint slips, on which I note
the result of my inquiry and whatever
disposition is made of the complaint"
"Have you made monthly reports of
these to the board as required by the
laW?"
'Yes. sir. Whenever there have been
any complaints made, I have referred
them to the board"
The record of these is kept on the
original slips.
when cruelty is reported what do
you do?"
"I investigate it at once"
personally"
yes, sir
"What do you do?"
"If it is the officers first offense, l
call him in and warn him against
repetition of it, If it is a second offense,
or q very serious infraction of discip-
line, I discharge h-m."
"Will you give us a copy Of your
record for, say eighteen months?"
Yes. sir, or for three or five years"
do you remember any complaint
that has been made to you of cruelty
on the part of Deputy Warden Lemon
that you have investigated and found
to be well founded?"
Mr. Wolfer replied "yes" in the first
lnSldHCS, DII Udollly NOlINNlNO 1lillIoO1AJ
having misunderstood the qualifying
clause.
"Who is the clerk of the PRISON."
'Mr. George Blxby."
Judge Nethaway asked permission to
examine the witness, which was grant
ed.
'You also keep a record of infractions
of the rules by convicts?" was asked.
Yes, sir. These are also placed be-
fore the board of managers at its meet
ing"
GLOW are these complaints made?"
every shop guard has a blank book
for complaints, and the rule is that
when a prisoner wants to make a COM
plaint, the guard must send it direct
to me, not to the deputy warden's office
nor to him at all. That is one of the
most stringent of our rules"
"Have you ever seen any cruel pun
ishment of conyicts?'
mo, sir"
In response to questions as to the