The Jersey City news., 1899-12-09
CRUEL lMPRIS ONMEN r.
An Inmate Or Daden Describes fhc
Ce1lnlzr system.


When the ceiiuiars OF iehlisyi ssiiiisl''
system Of Imprisonment was hfst propos-
ed in Baden, / happened to listen TO the
debates IN the house Of deputies on that
subject. II seemed to me then a most
o,.,,ally ;nh,,man treatment even for the
s sroyst common criminals. and | wrote
stTo,,eslv lgai,,st II. Now. L got a person
81 ev,,o,.;.,7,ca of Il for having fought in
~ ! .a,,se Sc German freedom and unity
and If the elevation of the suffering
masses to : better and nobler condition
Of life. writes Karl Blind in The Corn
hin Magazine. The cell was in at
R,,,chsal was but a few feet long and
broad Everything was quite clean.
A strip OF dimned glass at the top of the
room formed the window. so as to shut
out fhe light of heaven. The small mat
tress he'd in which one could not turn,
was screwed UP against the wall during
DAYTIME from o'clock in the morning.
On the opposite wall there was fixed
narrow board, serving as a table, with
a bench for seat. This seat, immova-
BILE like the board, was so placed that
the prisoner had to face the door when
occupied in any way at the table. No.
chair No possibility of lying down
during the day. No means of walking
up and down in this cramped room ex-
cept at the risk of giddiness through in
cessant turning. In the door. through
sliding peep window which could be
opened only from the outside, the food
was showed in. ANY moment the captive
could thus IL inspected. On the corridor
there was mating, insuring deathlike 81
lence.
Out of that little cell was again not
allowed for Il single moment to go as long
as | was at Bruchsal-no exercise what
ever, no book. no occupation of any kind.
My sense or hearing hadS always been
uncommonly keen. as it is still even now.
| felt the absence of all sound so pain
fully that during sleepless nights or when
| was lying half awake the ear, craving
for some sGdNd. became subject to a kind
Of hallucinaiion. In some nights, be-
tween waking and sleep, it was as if
heard voices CT men being stranged.
Probably fhe foul air created in the mar
row cell oppressed the brain and gave
rise to disturbing faneies. La vain did
reason myself out Of these nocturnal
horrors during the day. Night after night
they came back. In the underground but
spacious casemate of Rastatt, with its
lOleS IN LDc Will Oh OHe sIut, itS VI
door not quite covering the upper part of
the embrasure and the nightly careering
Of rats. / had not had any such ghastly
sensation. Again, while at Bruehsal !
could scarcely take any food. You will
die if you DO net cat" Matt. the turnkey,
kindly whispered one day through the
peep window. Bat | could not. The
coarse dishes ! got we're quite unsalted,
as if cunningIy made to be indigestble
and to bring about the ruin Of health. 1t
was a perfect torture Though | had not
undergone a judicial trial yet, | was. con-
trary to custom, not allowed anything
that could have been bought, By way Of
relief from this torture, with my own
money. which had been taken away when
we were made prisoners.
| had. resolved upon bearing everything
without a word of complaint. My suf-
ferings, however, became SO intense that
at last | asked for little salt and few
grapes after Matt himself had said that
| would die if | did not eat. But in spite
Of all his sympathy he, being himself