River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-08-16

Brooklyn.-It was a quiet day in
the police station. Brownsville was
behaving itself and the matron of the
station had a whole hour to talk, with
only one interruption to wipe the
tears from the eyes OF small, dirty
boy, induce him TO tell the address
OF his home and send him on his way
under the guidance OF big, strong
blEecoat And the matron, when she
talks, has a few things to tell. In
fact, Mrs. Cox says, with her good
irish chuckle, that she thinks she viii
write a book of her experiences to
make her rich after she retires from
the Job of matron. The boys" have
suggested it to her The "boys" are
tho blUecoats, every one of whom in
Brooklyn, knows Mrs. Cox and has
joke for her or a word of guying
when he meets her.
Duties of Police Matron.
Intoxication is the usual charge
upon which the woman prisoner is
committed, with occasional charges
of theft, of assault, an attempted sui
hands have committed some bigger
crime, homicide or infanitcide.
Whatever the charge, they all pass
through the station house on their
way to the jail or the penitentiary,
and the matron has them in her care.
She gets them fresh from their mis-
demeanors and with the stain of their
crimes new upon them. She is the
first and often the only ministering
angel they know, for 1t is to the task
of ministering that most of the ma.
irons, womenlike, give themselves,
with more heartiness than to the
technical tasks of their Office.
Young Girls Saved.
One night two young girls were
brought into the station house for in
toxication, fresh, dainty girls,
dressed in the finest of evening gowns,
covered with long coats. 1t was New
Years eve and bitter cold night.
The matron was used to the unusual,
but the presence of girls such as
these in her lodging house made her
stop and wonder. 1t was only lit
ton wore off and the girls woke to
the realization of their surroundings
and the horror of it. Finally, they
were calm enough to tell the matron
how 1t all happened. They had been
over to Manhattan to dance with
two boy friends. 1t was so icy cold
that the escorts suggested before they
crossed the bridge to take something
to warm them, and they stopped in
cafe and drank what the men or
dered for them. Unused to taking
stimulants, as soon as they struck
the cold air out of doors the drinks
went to their heads and they knew
very little else of what happened IN
til they walked to find themselves in
the police station. What had hap
pened was that the two escorts, find
ing themselves burdened with girls
too much intoxicated to know what
was happening to them. had opened
the door of a tenement house, showed
them In and left them there. The
girls had fallen Immediately to sleep
and one of the occupants of the house
stumbling over them, had reported to
the police and had them taken to the
station. 1t was a hideous night for
those girls, used only to the niceties
and refinements of life.
When the next morning came, with
its inevitable appearance at court,
they pleaded not to be taken in the
patrol wagon with the other prisoners
and the matron secured the permits
sion of the sergeant to take them to
court herself in the car, and arranged
for a private hearing before the
Judge. The circumstances related,
the judge let them off with some
strong words of admonition
Maggie a Regular Ledger.
With some of the prisoners the ma
irons become old friends, for they
almost make the station house their
regular dwelling place. One of Mrs.
Cox's old-timers is an Irish woman,
named Maggie, whom everybody in
the station house knows. She has
been habitue of station houses for Is
years. and The matrons and sergeants
get so they look for her and almost
miss her when she doesn't come. She