The Cairo bulletin., 1905-12-06
LOCKED IN DARK
ROOM WITH RATS
Which Ran Over Girls Feet
Every Night.
MANY OTHER CRUELTIES
PRACTicED UPON THEM-GRAvE
CHARGES MADE AGAINST
SUPERlNTENDENT OF IN
DUSTRlAL SCHOOL.

indianapolis, Ind Dec 5.-Public
hearing Of the cha Of mismanage.
ment and cruel treatment against Miss
Emily Rhoades. superintendent Of the
Woman's Prison and Girls Industrial
school here. was begun today by the
Board of State Charities. headed by
Gov. Hanley. The charges were pre-
ferred by Miss Eva j. Hall. formerly
/ teacher at the institution. and Jose
! phina Stafford and Jennie Bowers, fo--
mer inmates
| Miss Hall testified that on one Occa.
sicn she saw Miss Rhoades deIiber.
ately knock down Daisy Row. col
ored inmtea. She declared thar Miss
Rhoades beat the girl in the face
while she had her down She also said
she saw the superintendent kick Ger
u'ude Faus, another inmate, and on
another occasion beat the girls head
az linst the floor
While she was filing another Off
GERS place in the Kitchen she said
she was obliged to cook decayed liz er
for The girls. One time, she said, she
went to Miss Rhoades for medic ne
for a sick girl. and was informed that
Miss Rhoaaes could not be disturbed
until morning. and that the child
would have 10 wait
On cross-examination by Governor
Hanly, Miss Hall became confused
and testified that she did not per-
.onally know about several charges in
the COMPLAIN
Josephine Stafford, whose name was
s gned 10 the charges, said that Miss
Rhoades caught her by the braid OF
her hair and threw her to the floor and
held he there for thirty minutes. An
other time she said she was bound
with her hands behind her back and
gagged and kept In solitary confine-
ment several day. The gag was cnly
removed at short intervals for her to
take something to eat
Jennie Bowers, former inmate.
swore TO stories of cruel treatment.
Under the girls school there are damp
cells. inhabited by rats and zee. The
girls called the place China" rtiIl
more horrible dark hole under the
woman's prison was known as jap
an" The Biwers girl said Miss
Rhoades knocked her down for trying
10 interfere when another girl was
being terribly punished that she
pulled her UP three flights Of stairs
by her har and that she was hand
culfed aud gagged In cell IN China
for two weeks and fed on bread and
wafer.
All the time her ankles were in
irons and rats and mice ran across her
feet day and night When she WAS re-
lcased she had ~ be nla@e1 under a.
ioctors care. She testified that she
saw Miss Rhoades jam one girls head
against WALL knock another down
.tslrs and o'fppal one to stand till she
tainted. Another was tied by the hands
to bars In an attic cell for hours at
{ me.
Mrf Caroline Hinkmycr. former
music teacher at III school. aid one
day she heard blow struck and the
lull thud Of someone falling. Then a
gil screamed. Don't Miss Rhoades
don't" She said ore healthy girl was
sent away to be punished and returned
hree days afterwasd looking as II she
had been sick three months.
Mss Elizabeth X rby. formerly a
teacher said she hal seen Mrs
Rhoades knock down nfieen-year-old
girls. Mis- Rhoades is large and mus
culer Miss Kirby aid ,he pu1ishod
child IN the scbool roo mfor a trivial
offens and Mis- Rhoades eute.el AMI
Knocked the girl down. arer whi-h
she beat Der v th a naddle
Minnie Jennc- who was dropped
from the payroll reesntly because 90
cruelty. said she only followed Mi-s
Rhoades's ORDER. II wa charged after
bringing q runaway girl FROM Micsi
gan she hsndcuGed h"r a1d place
her in a damp cold cell a ihe end of
an eighteen hou- ride The cell was
not even furnishes with a mattress or
blanket The tired girl had 20 iia on 4
the wet floor with her hands tcd Dee 4
hind her.
Several inmates and emplores is-
tilted tonight that Miss Rhoaje- .
treated them kindly.
Governor Ha1ly and iha Board of
Charities seem TO Dee friendly 20 Miss
Rhoades
The testimony viii be continued
tomorrow