The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-01-03
NOBLE WORK IN NEW YORK
PRISONS
DONE BY CATHOLIC WOMEN

DONE BY CATHOLIC WOMEN.
At the meeting of the prison commit
tee of the Association of Catholic
Charities at the Catholic club on
"Wednesday, Dec. 10, an account OF
which was published in The Catholic
News last week, an interesting report
OF the work accomplished during the
past six months was read. Announce
ment was made also that the commit
tee more than once felt the heel OF ao-
versity pressing hard, and only for the
generous interposition of Mr.. Thomas
f. Ryan the work would have had TO
be suspended.
The committee, Of which Mrs. Fioyo-
Jones is chairman. is composed of Mrs.
w. K. Vanderbilt, jr, Mrs. Herman
Oelrichs, Mrs. Bouvier, Miss Isel1n, Mrs
Nelson. Mrs. de Navarro, Mrs. John
Beresford. Mrs. John G. O'Keefe and
Mrs. Delaney Kane. The committee
IS very much in need of funds to carry
on its work. The public should be IN
terested in such work and aid it by
their contributions. Donations may
be sent to Mrs. Nelson, 100 Fifth ave-
nue.. and due acknowledgment will be
given. y !
The report read at the meeting in
the Catholic club was as follows:
Crime is almost coeval with the Gre
alton of the world. In the rude and
barbaric ages violence ruled the hour
and murder stains the record of these
dismal times, and so the story runs
almost to our own day. The church
spire has risen side by side with the
jail. but we who have the greatest
faith in a wise and overruling provi-
dence are convinced that it is moral
power alone and not laws or enact
mants however wise. that is to correct
existing bad conditions. 1t is this be-
lief that urges all who have taken up
prison work to strive for success
against odds which seem almost lnsur-
mountable. 1t is this practical, beau
tiful faith that constrains our members
to persevere in their mission despite the
many repulsive features connected with
it.
The work upon which we have en-
tered is not a new one, however, for
we can point to the fact that the Par
ticular Council of st. Vincent de Paul
has had visitors in the city prison for
a number Of years, who have attended
to the temporal and spiritual wants OF
its inmates very efficiently. Mass has
been celebrated on Sundays there for
the women and boys. and regular Wis
its have been made by representatives
of the conference. At present, Mrs.
Eleanor Clark, and also the Sisters of
Mercy are regular attendants there.
During the past year Mrs. Clark re-
ports the following:
Prisoners visited, and their cases
looked into..... 80. ..........- 39f
Visits to the Tombs ................. 210
Visits to districts courts and insti-
tutions on behalf of prisoners 80. liz
Prisoners discharged ........ ...... 12O
Prisoners sentenced ........ $1,000. Al
Suspended sentence ........ ........ Is
Letters written for prisoners ...... 81
Help given to prisoners, consisting
of clothing, underwear, shoes,
hats. and money given to their
families, and to prisoners at their
discharge ........ ....--.- ---.-.-.. AZ
AS an example of the work of the
latter. we may give the following report
which has been kindly given to US by
one Of the visiting sisters: on Wednes-
day. Saturday and Sunday each week
the sisters visit the prison. During
the past year thew paid IA visits and
interviewed $500 persons; secured the
discharge of thirty-eight prisoners,
eighteen of whom were released under
suspended sentences. Scapulars, rosa
ries, prayer books and reading matter
were distributed at each visit. We
may, therefore, rightly conclude that
the city prison has been well cared for,
and with the advent of our association
we feel that every phase of the work
there Will be thoroughly covered. Our
representative thus far has done mag
nificent work Personally she has vis-
lted the prison thirty times, secured the
release Of thirty prisoners, supplied f1f-
ty persons with clothing, and gener-
oUsly spent her own money in carrying
On the work
At a meeting Of our Catholic women,
held some months ago, the committee
IN prisons was appointed, and after eX-
Rmining into the work they concluded
that something must be done spiritual
ly for the unfortunate inmates Of our
district prisons. And for the first time
in the history of New York mass was
cel2brated in the Yorkville prison, and
soon afterward in Jefferson market. the
west side court and few weeks since
in the Harlem prison. When we men
tion these facts, those who do not un-
derstand the work will not know the
trouble it cost to prepare for the cele-
bration of mass there. The work
should have been shared by many but
devolved upon the few. The affairs and
furnishings thereof, everything neces-
sary for the proper celebration of the
holy mysteries were given for one year.
In passing. we may mention that
through our association the beautiful
chapel at the city prison has been given
Tor the celebration Of mass a chapel
large enough to accommodate not alone
the women and the boys, but also the
men. As in the other cases. it was
one Of our workers who attended to its
furnishing. The work, however. has
not been fairly started yet The many
phases of the work that must be exam
med into and cared for are so varied
qulre greater number of workers than
we have at present and greater funds
than we have in our treasury to carry
y out 1t need not be said that we
cannot cope with the difficulties nre-
sented to us One woman. fired with
zeal for the unfoTtunates whom she
visits, can accomplish more than a
score who are lukewarm and uninter-
ested As an example Of what one of
our workers did accomplish, and which