The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-08-25

Yesterday Peter J. Harrington OF Fall
River was released from the Providence
county jail at Cranston after serving nine
weeks for a first offence drunkenness. He
felt thst the punishment was utterly dis
proportfpnate to the gravity of his mis-
1demeanor. and told a very pathetic story
of his experience in the prison.
Il was arrested" he said "for drunk
enness In North Tiverton on June 20. /
was taken to Newport and the next day
fined IS and costs. They charge by the
mile from the place you are arrested in.
and pay costs were $40. 1 had no money
/ 30 / was taken to Cranston to work it
6pt. was there nine weeks and one day.
AThe first five weeks you get Is cents
a day, and after that 80 cents a day.
came Nout without any money.
II wfS put into the attic working on
shoes made by Rice & Hutchins. 10 High
street, Boston. Big rolls of upper leather
came while was there, and We had to
take them apart, make them into smaller
rolls and carry them up two flights OF
stairs. These bundles weighed from 20
to $50 rounds. There were about 150 bun
dies three times a week and four men had
to carry them all up.
IN BAD SHAPE FROM DRUNK.
.I told them I was sick and not able to
do such heavy lifting"
what was the matter with your"
'why-rd been drinking, and got my
self into bad shape. l was so sick about
the first of July that one day / had diar-
rhoea and vomiting. and when told the
man over me he said could 60 to bed
IT went to bed about the middle OF the
afternoon and staid there all the next
day A doctor comes to the prison three
times a week, but he didn't see me.
Finally Kemp. the keeper of the annex.
where we slept, came and gave me COM
mon salts knew IL was the opposite OF
what needed. but IL you know whats S
best for you you'll do what they tell you
and take what they give YOU
"whfie l was there n big. heavy shoe
machine came and we four men had to
carry IL up the two flights Of stairs. They
wouldn't let us take 1t part way on the
freight elevator, because they were
afraid the elevator would break with It,
wasn't At for any such work. My
trade r. making cigars. I'm not built to
lift heavy weights.
Sunday was a blank, The pay was
figured only for week days. But Thomp-
son, one Of the officers. used to come
around Sundays and make me do some
cent for that.
vERMIN IN THE BEDS.
"The annex I spoke OF is a long hall.
with two long dining tables on each side,
washing trouRhs at each end. and I'm the
walls behind the tables hunks like on a
Fall River boat. They gave us one clean
sheet week. so that the bed clothes
were fairly clean. but the beds were
filthy with vermin.an nothing was done,
while I was there, anyway, to clean them
out"
Harrington described the prison fare,
which he though was pretty monotonous.
but which was probably the usual prison
fare. But he added:
when there was fish. the men in the
state prison, serving long terms. for
crimes. each got half fish. and we men
serving short terms, for drunkenness. got
the tails and scraps"
Every morning while our breakfast
was laid out and getting cold we waited
for the men from the state prison 10
come In and wash at the trough. While
that was going on we could talk with
them on the sly. though we weren't al
lowed 10 talk to each other except at
meal times.
The prisoners awaiting trial hung
around I'm the annex all day and we
could communicate with them. Wa
marched TO meals with men serving life
sentences for murder, and long sentences
for burglary and other crimes. st. Paul
Tip. who is serving rs years for holding up
the car barn at Portsmouth. asked me
the day before left for my piece OF to-
bscco and I gave II to him. II that was
known i would have been locked up In
the dark cell.
COULD TALK WITH LONG TERMERs.
ION the Fourth OF July all the men In
both prisons were allowed TO mix up with
each other In the yard and men serving %
days for drunkenness could talk for two
hours with men serving life. Is years. 10
years and anybody In the prison; any