New-York tribune., 1905-05-09
THE HORROR OF THE" "PEN."
MR, ONlnEN DESCRIBES 1T.
Er-Mogistrate Tells Of Disease
Breeding Stations and Courts.

Ex-Cfty Magistrate Ommen read paper uelole
the Society of Medical Jurisprudence at the Acau-
envy of Medicine, No. II West iSi-st last night III
which he made vigorous attack on the unsanltarY
condition of the police stations and city magis-
trates' courts of Manhattan. and criticised condl
tions which he said existed in those courts
oIf 1 were Commissioner Of the Health Depart
ment, l would Immediately order the closing or
most of the stations and some of the magistrates
courts" the paper began. They are absolutely
unsanitary filthy. and in awful condition Say
a person is arrested either for some tritng lndis-
cretion, or, perhaps for crime at all Gor there
are many such). or perhaps. for a serious offence
He Is taken. for example, to the 18th Precinct sta
ton, in West 3Ot1-st., old ramshackle building
l believe this is the worst in the city, although
Deancey-st.. East 35th-st, Church-st. and others
are not very much better
In this station there are two tiers of cells, the
lower one for men, the upper for women. The
lower has no ventilation, and the upper gets its
ventilation from the lower one. The lower is
about ten feet below the level of the sidewalk.
There is no heat in winter, except from gas
jet The smell of the place. if the prisoner is
sober ought to make him seasick in twenty
minutes"
The paper continued:
Herr the prisoner is put Before long an old be
IS IhiS man perhaps two or three The other day
man was put in cell with another. and proceeded
taken to hospital, where he may die. There is no
escape. Inc size of the cell is about five by eight
for the professional bondsman to do a thriving
business?
If the prisoner stays in all night, the next
ing he Is taken to court and put in what is called
the pen There is one pen for male prisoners
and one for female prisoners. There is room for
about twenty-five men, under not very pleasant
conditions, in the men pen and about twelve
or ntteen in the wOmen'S. Frequently many
SeVenty-tIve men are jammed in these pens. and
from thirty to forty women, packed in like
dimes, standing up for hours some old habitues
Deedlng heads, some who have been to the hos
pital treated by the ambulance surgeons, ban
daged with gauzes and attended by a strong smell
or 1odoform others just dirty and filthy, some
swearing and cursing, some singing nasty songs
some crying and bewailing their fate-the whole
thing a veritable hell
In the Essex Market Court the pens" are di-
recty underneath the courtroom. 1t is practically
an old damp cellar. The Magistrate debates with
himself whether he will freeze choke, and finally
decides TO alternate with little of each. Is It
any wonder that policemen fall over and are taken
nome to die from pneumonia in a few days? that
have TO be brought in to give stimulants the
clerk can be sent home? that magistrates get ty-
phoid fever and in bed for months?
talked with Police Commissioner McAdOO yes
terday and asked him why something was not done
in the way of making the stations sanitary He
said he realized that the condition of the cell
at Police Headquarters worse than any
prison in Siberia. but that little could be done.
The society voted TO empower the president to
appoint committee Of five to investigate the de-
tails OF the paper, and report. Mr.. Ommen Will
head the committee.