The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-05-09
CARNIVAL At
!. THE CITY PRISON
The Inmates Wear All Sorts of
ICn Costumes.
TOO MUCH HONOR TO REX
More of the Condition of the City Prison
-wardens Claim That the Stencil
Comes from the Refuse from
the Market.
TOO MUCH HONOR TO REX

To convince one that yesterday was Car
nival day, all that Is necessary is to take
look through the bars of the city
prison.
They are there in large numbers and at
tired in all kinds of costumes
Some are in the dress of the American
Indian with long black hair and the toma-
hawk attachment. Others arc in the spike
tail coat and striped breeehes of Uncle
Sam looking far from natural behind bars
while many with other bright hued outfits
add gayety to the scene. The ballet girl
and the yellow kid are also represented
together with several imperfect limitations
of Fausts Mephisto. Black eyes and
skinned noses predominant. as most Of the
arrests were made for ARRAYS and disor-
derby conduct.
Judge Feagin will indeed be presented
with a variegated array of unfortuates on
which to operate this morning. Darkness
would add decidedly to the beauty and
romance of some of the costumes, but the
judge doesn't run night performance and
the show must be pulled off in broad
daylight.
sixty-three Were Registered
The police were kept at a fever heat all
day, and though no very serious crimes
were committed, numbers of minor arrests
were made. Up to IL o'clock last night
sixty three prisoners had registered at the
city bastile and the visitors were still
arriving. Some of them had partaken too
freely of the ovevrjoyftl in celebrating the
visit of his majesty, and had to be given
a. resting place until this morning when
, Judge Feagin will fix the amount of the
hotel bill
Others had evidently imbibed another
( brand of whisky and imagined themselves
. in the pugilistic arena. They thought it
their duty in exhibiting their loyalty to the
great Rex Vulcan to belabor everybody in
sight and necessarily had to be taken to
quiet resting place where they could
nurse their wounds in peace.
Wanted All The Hogs for Mardi Gras
Eli Wells, a gentleman of ebony hue. for
several months has been laboring under a
false impression that all the hogs in town
were his personal property, and had to be
correctly informed regarding the matter.
Officer Perdue took it on himself to inform
Eli OF his mistake, and he is now under the
kindly care of the city warden, where he
is being taugat an object lesson in the diff
ference between his property and that Of
his neighbors's He will be given a hearing
this morning on the charge of larceny.
Thr SANITARY Condition
Tho sanitary condition of the city prison
has been causing some comment during the
last few days, and false. impression has
gotten out that it is the fruit of the war
dens. Mr.. Gouriey, the day warden, said
yaSteray that it was a fact that the jail
was in a bad condition, but that it was
out of their power to improve 1t. The
prison is swept two or three times day
and Is thoroughly scrubbed once or twice
a week." he said. ut is also lined daily,
ard everything possible is being done To
keep the prison clean, but this jail Is too
small and should be torn down and recon-
structed so that 1t can be run in more
systematic manner"
The smell in the jail comes from a large
boz Just outside the rear wall in which
refuse from the market is deposited. From
this place arises a horrible stencil. With
this depository for filth in such close prox-
unity to the Jail nothing can be done by
the wardens to prevent the siekening smell
which pervades it.
at is a amentab,e fact" said one of the
officers yesterday, "that white women and
negro women have to be confined together.
No one hates it worse than We do, but un-
til the prison is rearranged nothing can be
done to prevent it.