The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-05-21
THE COLD WATER CURE.
In Oregon State Penltentiary It Has
Proved Effective.

From the Portland Oregonian.
The cold water cure has recently been
adopted at the Oregon state penitentiary,
with apparently satisfactory results. For
all practical purposes fiogging has been
abandoned. No rule has been established
prohibiting foggng, and if a case should
be presented in which all other punish
ment failed the last might be resorted to.
but this is a contingency not deemed
probable. The cold water cure has been
found effective in some very obstinate
cases.
The cold water, remedy consists of
stripping the prisoner to the skin and
turning upon him a stream of cold water
from an ordinary garden hose. The In
Fiction of the punishment is not as brutal
as fiogging, 1t leaves no scars or perm
anent injuries, and the punishment ends
the moment the water Is turned off. A
prisoner who has been subjected to the
punishment once wants no more of 1t.
though he may be smiling within few
moments after the ordeal is ovN-. Gov
ernor Chamberlain and the prison author
tiles are highly pleased over the result
of the experiments, for they have been
DESTROYS of aboshing the whip.
Only one prisoner has been tlogged
during this administration. That man
was trusty and had run away and
upon being captured was given the
penalty always imposed in such cases up
to that time. Since then two prisoners
have been punished with the cold water
remedy One of them was big. buriy
negro. When he came to the prison he
was assigned to work in the shops, but
refused to obey orders. He asserted that
he didn't have to work and wouldn't
work. He was taken to the bathroom.
stripped and stood in corner. The first
squirt of water from the hose brought out
a shrek that was evidence of the effec-
tiyeness of the remedy. After trying for
half a minute to doge the stream of cold
water the man gave up and began to beg
and make promises The punishment end
ed, he went to work and has given no
further trouble.
The other prisoner subjected to the
water cure was a white man. For sew
eral months he had been giving trouble
and seemed to find enjoyment In dis
obeying rules even when he gained Moth
ing by 1t. Small penalties did no good,
and he was finally warned that another
offense would bring severe consequent
ces. A few days later he deliberately
violated an important regulation and was
sent to the bathroom. He began to beg
before the water struck him, and before
a pailful of water. had been used he was
completely subdued. Before he had dress
ed again he was laughing over the pun
ishment, but his subsequent conduct has
proved that he doesn't intend receiving a
second dose of the water cure.
There are men In Oregon peniten-
tiary who bear fiogging scars that they
will carry to their graves. It is but fair
to say that the scars were not received
during this administration. Some of the
men thus punished are still unconquered
and are perhaps more vicious and more
desperate because of the method of in
flicting pain Many prisoner has sworn
that II he ever gets an opportunity he
will take the life of the officer who laid
the lash across his back. Flogging was
man who imposed the punishment The
prisoner was stripped and bound and
logged until In many instances the blood
flowed down his back. Not so with the
water cure The prisoners are not bound
nor cut and bruised. The cold water
cure leaves the offending prisoner with a
cleaner body and apparently more
peaceful mind