The evening times., 1899-08-11
TORTURED INTO 1D1ocY.
Sworn Statement of q Girps Treat.
ment in q State school.

4
sworn Statement of q Girls Treat
ment I'm a State School.
New York. Aug. I--Miss Frances Day.
who was formerly clerk at the New Jersey
! State Industrial School for Girls, went to
Trenton yesterday and made sworn affi-
davit before Attorney John Backes In which
she charged Mrs. Eyler with the most
extreme cruelty in her treatment of the in
mates of that institution.
Miss Day swore that she was committed
to the institution when she was thirteen
years old and at the age of eighteen years
| she was appointed clerk and made one OF
| the nurses.
She resigned, she said, because of Mrs.
Eyler's treatment Of the children under her
charge.
Immediately after Mrs: Eyler came to
the school she procukd 81 number Of straps
| and placed them in tie shands of the teach
ers for use. "a Vi
Mrs. Eylers favorite expression while
striking the girls was. according to Miss
Day, You got the detii IN you and I'm 60.
| ing to get IT ont, u ~
Referring to the case of,sadie weissman,
| who was sent to the lunatic asylum. Miss
Day said that the girl9was sixteen years
old when Mrs. Eylertook,charge of her.
She was rosy-cheeked d,and healthy in
mind and body f4- II
When she left, ',ssaid Miss Day, "she
was broken down, physically, emaciated,
and bloodless # -
mrs. Eyler fromfhel start showed an
aversion to Sadie Weissman. She was
constantly nagging the girl and Furnishing
her severely for most trivial offences. The
girl could never do anything that would
please Mrs. Eyler."
One afternoon in April, 1897, Mrs. Eyler
sent for me to get straitjacket and pair
| of anklets. The girl Sadie was on the fiat
of her back in the upper hall of the school
| with Mrs. Sickel, who weighs in the neigh
borhood of 200 pounds, sitting on her.
Timothy Commit was also there.
Mrs. Eyler said to Conniff: Drag her
| right upstairs to the dungeon!' Commit
| obeyed. When he got the girl to the dun
geon was ordered to put the straitjacket
and anklets on her. ~
Mrs Eyler was in great rage. She
had lost complete control OF herself She
ordered Commit to choke Sadie while the
girl was talking and Commit put both
hands around the girls throat and choked
her until she was black and blue in the
face.
Commit released his hold on Sadie's
| throat twice, and was ordered by Mrs Fly
Ter to repeat the dose. The straightiacket
and anklets were on her during the opera
tion.
while the choking was going on Mrs.
Eyler was whipping Sadie with leather
strap. She struck her at least a hum
dred times about the body and twice in
the face.
'The blows across the face raised welts
! and the girl was black and blue from the
| beating. After the beating she was dragged
into a cell and was kept in confinement
Until she was taken TO the lunatic asy-
lum.
While Sadie was In the dungeon Mrs.
Eyler ordered me to give her one slice
OF bread and one cup of water at O'Clock
in the morning and at O'Clock in the
evening, and no more"
When the straitiacket Is in use the
prisoners arms are drawn taut across the
breast and fastened with heavy straps Of
ticking.
when ! took the straitjacket off Sadie
her arms were completely paralyzed.
After Sadie had been In the dungeon
twenty-four hours she told me that she
was sorry. ! reported this to Mrs. Eyler,
who. however, refused TO release her. My
requests for Sadies release from the dun
geon were fiippantly treated.
THE child ate very little during the six
days she was kept in the dungeon. The
water cup could not be left with her and
the child had to gulp the water down while
was by her
Il reported the girl many times, but Mrs.
Eyler never visited the dungeon Poor
Sadie became SO weak she could only stag.
ger, not walk, across the dungeon floor.
'I asked of Mrs. Eyler the privilege of
taking Sadie some substantial food, but she
refused to allow It. -
After six days in the dungeon Mrs. Ey-
ler allowed me TO take Sadie TO the board
room, where she was kept for four days,
bread and water still being her diet. But
here she got two instead of one slice of
bread.
The child became so weak on this diet
that Mrs. Eyler became alarmed She final
ly allowed me to give Sadie some hot
milk. but her stomach was SO weak by this
time that she could not retain 1t.
From the board room Sadie was taken
to the hospital room, and here she was
kept under lock and key until she was
taken TO the lunatien asylum. During all
this time from April to June, Mrs. Eyler
only saw the child once.
Il know that before Sadie was put in
the asylum she was in perfect health,
physically and mentally