Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-06-28

| time and place you may be present il
you so desire.
GEORGE w. PRICHARD,
Attorney General.
| "On the day named in the notice Mr.
Arthur Trelford, the superintendent
OF the penitentiary, appeared before
me in person and by his attorney and
the investigation began and was con-
tinued from time to time until the
26th day Of June, when 1t was finally
closed. The sole question before me
for inquiry was the matter of alleged
cruel treatment of prisoners under
the present management of the Terri
rltorial penitentiary, and on that
charge the following witnesses were
fully examined: Mr.. Timothy Breen,
q cell house captain under the pres
ent management; DR.. David Knapp.
the penitentiary physician, and J. l.,
Clark, Jail prisoner sent to the peni-
Tertiary for safe keeping.
THE fullest latitude was given the
attorney for the superintendent Of
that institati to cross examine the
above named witnesses as will appear
by the testimony submitted herewith
and made part of this report. The
testimony was confined as nearly as
possible to the one single charge of
cruel treatment of convicts. At the
conclusion of the testimony for the
Territory the attorney for the accused
was advised that he could introduce
witnesses to disprove or deny the
statements of the witnesses for the
Territory; he was told he could call
Captain Arthur Trelford, the superin-
tendent; Mr.. s. %. Sample, the as
sistant superintendent, and Mr..
Knight, an employe of the peniten-
tiary, all of whom were charged with
cruel treatment of convicts, and he
vas also advised that he would be
permitted to examine the following
named conylcts upon whom 1t had
been testified cruel treatment had
been inflicted William Meyers, Con-
vict No. 2023; Bailey Brown, Claude
Eggleston, Convict No. 2O02; Negro
Tony, Convict No. 1907; Claude
Doan, Armijo Gomez, Convict No.
1705, and such other witnesses as he
might have or could get whose testi-
mony would have a bearing on the
testimony adduced by the Territory
For reasons best known to the super
irtendent of the penitentiary and mis-
attorney they refused to call any wit
nesses to the stand, and announced
that they would proceed on their side
OF the case in another way.
1t will be observed from the testi.
mony OF the witnesses for the Terri
tory tnat the fullest opportunity was
given for cross examination by the
attorney Of the accused. Only ques.
tons that wgre palpably irrelevant
and immaterial to the matter under
consideration were excluded. The
substantial part of the testimony of
Timothy Breen, the cell house cap
tain, is to the effect: That William
Meyers, Convict No. 2O23, was strung
up in dark cell under order Of S.
D. Sample, assistant superintendent,
for seventeen days; tnat during the
punishment the convict was fed on
bread and water; that Sample ordered
witness to tie the convict up every
morning at half past six o'clock and
let him down at IL NJ, and at / p. m.
to tie him up again until s o'clock at
r ght; that the witness carried out
this oruer; tlat Re was instructed to
give the convict bread enough to
keep him alive, which witness did;
that during the time the convict was
thus punished his hands were hand
cuffed and tied to bolt of iron in
the wall just above his head; that
there was no ventilation in this dark
cell except a couple of little holes
bored through the door, that on the
sixteenth day the convict, who was
thus tied up, tainted twice; that wit
ness heard racket and went into the
cell and found the convict's head ly-
ing back; that on the seventeenth
day while the convict was still tied up
witness told Sample, the assistant
superintendent, that the convict was
very near all in, that he couldn't last
much longer tied up there that Sam
pie only laughed; that the convicts
condition was very poor and he asked
to see the doctor; that on or about
the sixteenth day after the convict
had been tied up, Sample said: u do
not see how that fellow can live;
simebody must be feeding him. that
witness said nobody is feeding him
but me- that on the seventeenth day
Superintendent Trelford said: I want
to see that fellow in the dark CELL
that witness went with Trelford to the
cell and Trelford asked the convict
how he felt; that the convict said he
did not believe he ought to be tied up
for the little crime he had commit
ted; that Trelford told him to shut
up but the convict kept on talking
and Trelford slapped him on the side
of the head while the convict was
tied up that witness turned away on
account of the cruelty, and heard two
more slaps; that the punishment thus
inflicted was because the con