Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-08-03
CRUELTY TO PRISONERS
In New jerseys state Industris
school fro., Girls

1 In New JERSEYS state Industrial
school For Girls.
Trenton. Aug. 2.-lovernor Voorhees,
has decided to personally investigate
the charges of cruelty in the manage
ment OF the State Industrial School
for Girls made against Mrs. EyIer, the
Rev DIR. Maddox and P. ]. F'itzgib-
bon, of the board of trustees. The gov
ernor had his stenographer there to
take notes, and will make a thorough
! Investigation, which will be conducted
publicly.
Several witnesses were examined
yesterday afternoon, all of whom made
statements against Mrs. Eyler and the
methods employed il iiscipling the
girls. The first witness was Gottleib
kohier, fireman at the institution,
who said that he had often been sent
for by Mrs. Eyler to hold the girls
while she punished them generally by
| slapping them in the face. Shackles
and straight jackets, he said, were free
| ly used, and he was obliged to hold the
girls while they were spanked. He ex-
pressed the opinion that the punish
ment was too severe, and said the
straight jackets has never been used
before Mrs. Eyler's time, except once
on crazy girl.
Timothy Coniff, coachman at the
| institution, gave testimony in the
same vein as Kohler, and instanced
one case where he was holding a girl
when Mrs Eyler wrapped the girls
hair around her wrist and pulling her
head back over a chair struck the girl
in the face with her fist.
Martha Wight, teacher at the
school and sister of Rev. DIR. Wight,
of Long Branch, said that the affairs
| at the school were very unpleasant.
She had purposely avoided witnessing
corporal punishment, because she was
opposed to it, and practically none Of
this was practiced under Mrs Ety.
| ler's predecessors. Miss Wight told
of three girls who had run away from
the school and had been caught again.
They were kept in close confinement
for five weeks, part of the time in a
dungeon, and for three weeks were
given only bread and water. Miss
Wight said that she and Miss Har-
bourt had charge of 50 of the girls and
managed them with very little difficult
/ y.
! and IA teachers altogether.
Miss Margaret Harbourt, another
| teacher, told of the punishment of
Katie Barlow, the little girl who last
week was sent to the city hospital.
| The girl had tainted one of the teach
ers, and for this Mrs. Eyler ordered
her to walk up and down tier of
steps rs times, and was then put in a
dungeon.
A colored girl who had broken the
rules by writing a letter to another
girl in the school was put in cell for
seven days. Miss Harbourt said that
when girls were put on bread and
water the cups were not allowed to re-
main in the cell, and the girls could
only have a drink when served to
them Miss Harbourt admitted that
she disobeyed the rules in this respect,
and that when she served water to the
girls in the cell she left a cupfuI with
them in order that they might drink
as they needed it.
Isabella Scott, employed in the school
laundry, said that it was common oc-
currence for girls to be punished by
being slapped in the face. On one oc-
casion, she said, 80 girls were sent to
bed without supper for failing to learn
scriptural lesson.
During the investigation there was
colloquy between Trustee Fitzgibbon
and Trustee Cook as to whether
shackles were introduced in the school
by Mrs. Eyler Mr. Crook said they
were used before Mrs Eyler's time
Trustee Fitzgibbon denied this, and
reading from a note book said that five
pairs had been ordered by Mrs Eyler's
husband who is an employee of the in
stitution, without the knowledge of
the board of trustees.