Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-03-17
LIFE IN DUBLlN'S PRISON
Dresry SIGHTS Within the lowered Walls Of
Grim kountioy,
EASY TO GET IN, HARD TO GET OUT
How Prisoners Are Guarded, FED and
wOrkea-Msthod OF Treatment
OF Inmates OF various
Grades.

I was In Dnblin and wanted to have a
look through Mountjoy. the largest convict
prison in ireland, and TO which ell Irish
convicts are now sent. Visitors are very
seldom allowed into this penitentary. apd
especially newspaper writer's, who at the
time Of which 1 write were holding a con-
vention in the Irish capital. For this rea-
son found II very difhcult TO get a peep
into the big penal establishment which
belongs to his majesty. the king.
When a man Is in Jail he may get out in
two ways. He may leave with permission,
or he may break loose without permission
Getting into durance vile is a different
matter. There is the common method Of
being put in. Most people object to that
TO break Into a penitenhary Is a very I'M
common thing in these days, yet such
case occurred near Chicago lately. A man
had been sentenced to Imprisonment, but
his lawyers succeeded against his will In
having the sentence appealed. In the dark
hours OF night their client stole up to the
Jail and made a determined effort TO break
into the prison for the purpose Of begin
ming his sentence, The prison officials threw
him out, which was also rather uncommon
treatment for lawbreaker to receive at
Jail.
II the man from Chicago had attempted
have found It Just as difficult. probably, as
TO break out Of II he once got in. From an
exterior view 1 came to the. conclusion
that this big Irish prison was constructed
20 keep all intruders out and others, once
IN, safe in. A prison In Ireland is place
of forbidding mystery 70 everybody but
the unfortunate inmates who must reside
there. Furthermore, all Irish prisons have
d sort of patriotic history attached to them
Great Irishmen have honored their walls in
the past for love OF their native land. In
this respect the institution OF which
write has had no small share.
Through the influence Of a former lord
mayor OF Dublin ! at last obtained per-
NIT from the chairman Of the Irish Prison
board to visit the prison. But not without
a tremendous lot Of red tape. cross-ques-
tioning and official wirepulling. long
white, official envelope was placed In my
hand, addressed TO 1.-The Governor OF His
Majesty's Prison, Mountjoy, Dublin" 1t
was a mysterious looking document, and,
for all I knew, might have been an order
to have me hanged. drawn and quartered
as soon as I presented myself inside the
gates.
A Grim Looking Pile.
Mountioy prison is situated In the very
center of the beautiful capital OF ireland.
anything but joyful picture. 1t seemed
very large and grim looking as stood out
side and surveyed the buildings of dark
stone, surrounded by high walls and tow
ers standing out chill cold and forbidding'
Overlooking the walls that made such a
'"'Ereat divide" between the world out
side and the sad world within, one caught
O. glimpse OF several rows OF small, barred
windows, whose dark, thick glass shut out
not only the bright sunlight, but also the
noise and turmoil of the busy world with
ont and all that it held dearest and best
ID iife-llberty,
standing OF the gate, pulled at the big
bell which re-echoed In those halls of
misery as II It were re-echoing In the
grim shades of hadeg. The huge gates
swung open with a rafting OF keys and
chains and entered. warder took my
name and address and my order OF adj
mission TO the governor. In the meantime
I was asked to be seated in a small room
which I soon discovered was the guard
room It was nothing more than bare
cell, with bare walls, an open fireplace and
a large armchair with covered tops and
sides. in which the guard sat through tbs
long hours Of the night. While waiting
there I had time for reflection and OBJ
servation Everything about me seemeC
quiet and cold. A funeral silence prevailed
about my surroundings. I felt as If ha(
left the twentieth century outside anC
taken my first step backyard on the 'roa'
to yesterday"
Once again the big bell would ring out
the keys rattle the heavy gates roll bacl
10 admit some Individual with royal es
cort, who was coming to stay as the cues
of his majesty, the king. I was kept
long time waiting in the reception cell,
whisper was given me that the jail au
thorities were not prepared for my cominl
and were putting thing in good shape be
fore my august person came along. II
the authorities Of Mountjoy I might hav,
been some secret government inspecto
prying around under the guise Of a touris
looking for trouble. At last the great maj
himself, the governor, came, He was
small, unassuming little man. whom
= was hard TO believe was the man In charg
Of 700 men and women conviets.
Prison Arrangements.
AS we entered the prison proper we wer
followed by the head warden as a guar
OF honor. and who, by the way, unlocke
every door we came to, and relocked
after we had passed through. To be brief
Mountjoy Is divided into two principal de
partments-the cells and the workshops
The daily life of a prisoner is spent wit
the exception OF a short time for exercise
either I'm the workshop or 70 his cell. Tn
interior OF the prison e well lighted an
what surprised me, more cheerful than
expected. Indeed the interior was /
striking contrast 10 the exterior. Like a
penitentiaries the cells are arranged int
long corridors or wings. The cells Of tn
longtime men are somewhat better tina
those for short term residents. Each &c
contained the usual plank bed, mattress
warm wooden blankets, table, chair, boob
rack. and utensils for food In America
prisons the prisoners are fed I'm one larg
Common dining room. In Mountjoy eac
inmate eats his food in the seclusion c
his own apartment. The food is brought u
20 the different corridors on an elevator
(even Irish prisons have elevators, not I
mention the hotels) and then served I
each convict. Outside the cell doors. hang
a small card bearing the prisoners nam
a. and number, the date OF his arrival an
the date when he leaves. He may have
month 10 serve. or ten years but wha'
ever the time the date OF release is marke,
some cards have no date for freedol
marked upon themi they were life prison
ers. Save for the barred windows an