davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18
noh, II Is coodl II Is eOodl"

arms to the window. he whispered
over and over: And Gods blue sky
over all. oh, It is goodl It is good!"
Although the old man had been i'll
from a complication Of diseases for
some time, his condition was not
thought alarming, and with his re-
stored sight he scented to gain in-
creased strength and vitality. The
doctors who came to him pronounced
his sight perfect, and for two hours
he sat up reading the papers with a
zest born Of five years of darkness and
watched with unfailing delight and in-
terest the passing Of the clouds across
the sky outside the window.
Then suddenly he turned to the
nurse and said quietly; I am very
tired" Hardly had the words left his
lips when he slipped back upon the
pillows, and before the nurse could
reach his side he was dead.
Two reasons are given for his death
-one that the shock Of his regained
sight caused heart disease, and the
other that the power to see was
merely the final rally Of dying man.
Mr.. Bailey was born in New York.
state August 8, 1891, and was q
sailor during his early life. He them
came to this city, where he was pro-
prietor of little hotel. long since de-
stroyed, but known at that time as
the Astor house.
The old man was a great favorite at
the Masonic home, and the news OF
| his restored sight soon reached the
inmates, who came with bated breath
to the infirmary after dinner to visit
him. They found him dead. In his
hands were still clutched the pictures
and books which he had begged for in
his great Joy, but his face was turned
toward the square Of sky visible
through the narrow window.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18
SUFFERS FOR DAYS
ON BURNING SANDS
TWO WHITE MEN HAVE TERRIBLE
EXPERIENCE IN SOUTH
AFRICAN DESERT.
STOCK OF WATER GIVES OUT
Oxen Collapse When Still Fifty Miles
from Destination and Travellers
Try to Complete Journey
on Foot.

London. Two Vryburg men, Sidney
Smith, a well-known local farmer, and
]. ~ Brymer have had a terrible ex-
perience in the Kalahari desert where
they were three days under a blazing
sun with neither food nor water and
hardly came through alive
They left home together in Cape
cart drawn by six oxen to visit George
Lennox, of Kingstown, a farm some
distance into the desert. The travel
ers were mainly relying for their
water supply on the trammas, spe-
cies of wild melon which grows abun-
dantly on the sand dunes and con
serves its water for months, but they
found to their dismay that these had
all been consumed by the fiocks and
herds OF the nomadic natives Of the
Kalaharl. The meager stock Of water
they had brought with them soon gave
out, and after trekking for two days
without drink the oxen collapsed.
The travellers were still about so miles
from their destination.
Abandoning the cart and oxen they
determined to make the rest OF the
journey on foot Eight miles tramp
through the heavy sand reduced Mr.
Brymer to a state of exhaustion, and
leaving him behind Mr.. Smith toiled
on with his native servant in the teeth
Of a scorching wind to attempt tC
make the nearest water, Mr.. Lennox''
farm, which was his only hope In sil
hours he had become quite deaf one
eye was almost blind, his tongue haC
shriveled UP and his palate and lip
were coated with a thick skin. H'
had left Brymer at $3.50 at night. A
dawn next morning his Kafir bo.
threw up the sponge, and sad at hear
Smith had to push on with his colli'
dog as his only companion.
An hour or two later he was over
taken by two young Transvaalers
Messrs. Gerber and LIE Roux, on horse
back. They had lost a horse and
mule from thirst not far from tn
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

labor colony do not reform and reioin
the ranks Of the industrial army A
trained English investigator stated
recently, regarding Witzwyl, that
there Is no douDt that the fact Of hav-
ing worked hard for year or is
months makes a man apt to get into
the habit of working, and this is be-
lieved to be the actual result in
Switzerland.
What, then, shall we say regarding
the treatment Of vagrancy in the Uni
ted States? First, that at present It
is thoroughly inadequate. As statis-
tics and the accompanying diagrams
show, 81 per cent. Of the commitments
to penal institutions are TO county
jails and warehouses; in which the
conditions are often exceptionally
bad. Drunkenness, vagraney and dis
orderly conduct were responsible for
more than half the commitments dur
ing 1904 to penal institutions in the
United States. For these three Of
fenses the county jails and work
houses, to which the large majority Of
offenders are committed, offer prac-
tically no reformative influences. For
more serious crimes, such as burglary,
robbery, assault, forgery, etc. there
are reformatories and state prisons, in
which latter institutions some reform
atory influence is felt.
THE sentences for vagrancy are in
over 80 per cent. Of the cases for
six months or less, and the largest
percentage Of commitments is shown
to be for less than one month. No
cure for vagrancy can be had under
such conditions. New York state
leads all other states of our country
in the number Of its commitments for
vagrancy. The burden Of vagrancy in
the United States was represented in
1904 by over $4,000 commitments, be-
ing about 20 per cent. OF all commit
ments to penal institutions during
tlldt year.
This brief resume Of the present
conditions inevitably points to the
necessity Of a material change In our
system of combating yagrancy. In
this connection it is of special inter.
est that within recent months bin
has been drafted in New York state
providing for the establishment Of a
farm colony upon lines very similar
to that Of the Swiss compulsory colo
ny, Witzwyl. This bill. which has the
approval Of the leading charitable so
cieties OF New York city and Of sew
efal trunk lines terminating In New
York, and which win be introduced
into the next legislature, provides fol
the establishment In New York state
Of compulsory labor colony, with in
4~terminate sentence. regular labor
re1ermatory Influences and classified
ton Of prisoners.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

In Birmingham, Ala, 240 men In "
cells; 25 women in ten cells.
The inmates of jails are chiefly Of two
classes-those awaiting trial and con-
victed misdemeanants. The ordi-
nary term Of convicted misdemean-
ants, vagrants and inebrates Is too
short for any sort Of industrial train
ing or systematic production A care
ful study of the situation in all parts
OF the land has long ago driven many
to the conclusion that we must have
district labor colonies or warehouses;
for those convicted Of offenses, and
that the term Of degenerates must be
at least two years, II we really intend
to tit them for useful lives
THE committee plainly shows that
/ under present conditions and laws
the county jail must provide for males
and females; children, youth and
adults first offenders, habitual criml-
mails, vagabonds, prostitutes; wit
nesses held for their testimony; poor
debtors whose crime is their poverty;
idiots, imbeciles, insane, epileptics,
persons arrested on suspicion, and
apoplectics whom the sapient police
man could not distinguish from drunk
ards. All these, says the report, are
often under one roof and management,
In building SO built that cries and
whispers travel along a corridor with
cages open at the side.
Now, what chance Is there in the
average jail for the reformation of the
imprisoned yagrant? We may think
that Jack London draws the long bow
in his picturesque descriptions Of life
/ on the road, but in his tale Of impris-
onment in the Erie county jail he
never wrote Of such horrifying condi-
tions as are described by the report
Of the committee, Of which Prof
Charles r. Henderson of the Uniyer
sity Of Chicago was chairman. What
chance, above all. has the detained
witness or suspect, held in the jail for
his testimony, and innocent before the
law until he Is proven guilty? What
chance has he Of not suffering con
tamination and gaining a hatred Of so
ciety that will not die? In many coun
I ty iails the only exercise enjoyed
by the prisoners is in a common large
room, with steel grating separating 4
from the surrounding corridors, anC
called in jail parlance the bull pen.
A RE we not then in wretched di
"A lemma, we who urge that th'
vagrant receive treatment that will
deter and reform? Shall we, know
ing Jail conditions. allow him to roam
at large? But the vagrant habit is fos
tered by idleness, mendicancy and thI
absence Of prosecution. Even as 1t is
the unwillingness Of many police Off
cials or magistrates to prosecut
tramps IS well known. When IN
vagrant is told to get out Of town o
be run in" he Of course decamps, an
the town finances are spared. Will
the neighboring community receive
the shifted burden. Yet II the cor
ylcted vagrant Is sent to jail he b
! comes a source Of contamination t
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18
MoNkEY DRvEs eIRL lNsANE.
Organ Grinder Throws simian Into
Young Wonan's Face.

Peoria. nl.-Driven insane by fear
Of a monkey thrown at her by Guisep-
DO Cansone, an Italian organ grinder,
Miss Minnie Reesor, aged IS years, 10
Sanger street, this city, lies at home
bereft Of reason and a prey to the
most piteous paroxysms Of terror.
Miss Reesor had gone into the street
with others to witness the antics Of
the monkey which Cansone held by
chain as he turned the handle Of the
organ. He became angry because his
hearers refused TO give pennies to the
begging simlan and he hurled the
monkey with all his might into the
crowd. The animal hit Miss Reesor
full in the face and she fell in faint.
On regaining consciousness she was
bereft Of reason. Physicians have reeA
commended that she be taken to an
asylum for treatment.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

Muskogee, Okla.-Apparently Sleep
ing with her eyes open, suffering no
pain. but taking no hoarsshment and
actually not sleeping as that word is
generally understood, the case Of Miss
Dolly Smith, 1S years old. has baffled
local physicians. She complained Of
feeling dizzy a week ago, and, falling
on her bed, has not been able to move
since. She lapses into unconscious
ness and appears to Be dead.
The attending physicians have re-
sorted to the oldtime method Of bleed
ing. but no change in her condition il
percopible.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18
REGGIaS FITS SIGHT
JUST BEFORE DEATH.
BLIND INMATE or MASONIC HOME
HAD LoNGED FOR a GLIMPSE
or THE HEAVENS.

Cincinnati.-'T can see! Father, in
Heaven, thank Thee"
The cry startled the nurses Of tho
inhrmary at the Masonic home, at
Broad and Ontario streets. It came
from Hezekiah Z. Bailey, who FOR 1--WE
years had been totally blind, and had
been an inmate Of the Masonic home
since last June.
Sitting up in his narrow hospital
bed, the old man, with an awed face,
described with delight the various
articles In the room. One by one he
mentioned the chairs, the table and
the medicine bottles, IN their method.
ical rows, and then, stretching out hia
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

ture Of the ordinary Jail is radically
wrong, and oflends against the laws Of
health. Almost all the reports
from iails record the dull, mononton-
Gus, maddening tramp Of prisoners
walking aimlessly up and down the
corridor It is the path Of lunaey.
Why not have walled yards in the
open air, partly sheltered from rain,
covered over with steel wire to pre-
vent escape? But this plan is rarely
thought Of Card playing is the
universal resource for passing the dull
and anxious waking hours"
Many examples are given Of excess
aive overcrowding.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

other inmates, and IN addition he Is
often glad to hibernate or spend few
weeks where warmth. food, idleness
and the company Of vicious fellows is
assured Are we not often, by admin
istering the law, condemning the vag
rant to further depths Of degeneracy /?
What do the reports Of chiefs of DO.
lice show? The writer recently re-
ceived extended reports from so
chiefs representing as many different
cities, representative of large and
small municipalities. The letters
showed that in most instances vag-
rants are committed to iails, less fire.
quently to warehouses;. and in a few
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

Everything in nature IS useful"
said the philosopher. Even the beasts
of the wilderness perform some serv-
Ice 10 the great scheme OF things"
That's right" answered the man
who Is not profound; II It were not
for the beasts Of the wilderness we
wouldn't have any ZOO 70 50 to on
Sunday. Exchange.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

MWEW YORK.-The course Of The
vagrant's life is in a vicious cir
Gle Street. park bench, cheap
lodging house. court, Jail, street,
brake-beam, court, jail, ETC.; so it
goes, from month 70 month, from hand
to mouth, from city to city More ac-
curately stated, the vagrant's course
is spiral and downward. with accel-
Grated momentum toward demoraliza-
tion, disease and death. Along his
road are certain rescue stations
charitable societies, missions, curb
stone breadlines, industrial homes,
personal visitations in alcoholic wards
These are efforts to extend the help
ing hand, to switch the vagrant from
the circular track to the straight
ahead line" But generally the mo
mentum is too great. Failures are re-
corded far in excess Of even imagined
successes writes o. f. Lewis of the
Charity Organization society In the
New York Times.
When we seek, by imprisonment. to
deal with the individual "vag.' what
do we find? Generally ineffective, in
adequate, unjust methods Of punish
ment, so futile as to be ridiculous,
were they not so tragic. We find cor
rectl0nal methods in jail that, instead
Of correcting, debase. methods as
vagrant as are the prisoners. We be-
lieve that each man who is able
should contribute his share Of the
days work Nature abhors a vacuum.
and the community in general abhors
the constitutional idler II the drone
work not, neither shall he eat We
believe that crime should be punished.
Vagrancy is a crime under the law.
Punishment Is generally and neces-
sarily effected BY the restraint Of lib
erty, within a penal institution Vag-
rants are imprisoned generally In jails
or warehouses;
But how7
What are the conditions Of Ameri-
can Isilsi
Do they check vagrauey7
DO they punish lustly7
DO they reform7
AN ANSWER has recently been
"A made public which is scathinf
arralgnment Of conditions in a great
majority Of American county iails, al
the more scathIng aud staggering be
cause made after careful investlga
tion by committee Of the Natona
Prison Congress, which does not seel
Eensationalism. The following para
graphs are almost random quotation.
from the report:
III the only OF chief purpose Of jaill
we're to keep Wild beasts in cages
most Of the iails are well enough
adapted for this purpose tn,
customary mode Of serving food is re
voting, demorallzing and often dan
gerous TO health. Often we mus
imagine bunk over bunk, in the SAM
cell or cage, crowded until the horror
OF stencil or suffocation are indescrih
able Under an open jail system
the iilthiest, vilest prisoner punishe
or tortures those who have not ye
sunk TO his level. The very struc
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

ID UT when Belgium does commit a
% vagrant, then woe to the liberty Of
that vagrant for a long period! Con-
yiction is to a depot de mendicite for
from two to seven years. The depot
de mendicite is at Merxplas, a great
industrial colony with accommodations
for about 5000 prisoners. Here there
occurs a classification, the worst ele-
ments being at night placed in soli-
tary confinement and otherwise placed
under strict discipline. Intensive la
Dor is carried on. the work being
graded according to the physical abili-
ty Of the Individual inmates.
The Belgian treatment OF vagrants
brings out prominently several facts
In the first place, Belgium believes in
getting vagrants of the streets and
highways. Some years ago the minis
ter of justice declared that there was
no vagabondage in Belgium. This
statement needs interpreting. There
is probably fairly little vagrancy
along the highways. because every
vagrant must be apprehended anC
made to show cause through his pa
pers, or by the absence Of a record al
Brussels, why he should not be sent tC
the depot de mendicite. The fact tha
Merxplas contains about 5000 In
mates, and that the average period O
detention is is months. and that tn,
majority Of the inmates are returned
to Merxplas for succeeding offensel
Of vagrancy shows that vagrancy il
Belgium is not eradicated from the SC
cial body but removed as much a
much as possible from society.
/ g ECONDLY, Belgium does not re
y gard all vagrants alike. If Their
are extenuating circumstances, or /
the case Of vagrancy seems the resul
og physical incapacity. the apprehend
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18
PROBLEM OF THE
AMERICAN TRAMP
HOW SHALL VACRANCY EVIL BE CHECKED?

Laws Of Various States Have Proved Unequal to the
Taslx-Elaborate System FOR the Cure of Habitual
IdIeness in Force on the Continent of EurOpe-Is
Striking Contrast to the Futile Efforts That Have
Been Made Here in the United States.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

to enable him to form an adequate
Judgment Of the case.
Coupled with this carefulness and
completeness of investigation, regis
t7ation, and adequacy Of judgment is
the Belgian system for the punish
ment Of yagrants, which differs SO eS-
sentially from cur opportunist meth
DDS as to be staggering at first to con
template. We bunch our yagrants
in law. In New York state the man
with no money, no work. and no visi-
bic means OF support Is vagrant.
That such a man is not often jailed,
unless the case Is aggravated by
other factors, is not the fault Of the
law, so to speak, but is due to the un-
willingness Of magistrates to commit
the unemployed homeless, or to the
indifference Of the authorities. But in
Belgium the state OF no work, no
home. no money" is not a crime, un-
less there Is added to that the state Of
intentional idleness.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

Table showing the prisoners for agranoy
and the percentages
periods
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

ed vagrant is sent TO o maison dc roi,
uge, which besides acting as a kind
g. s.mshouse for the aged and handi-
capped, serves somewhat as do tho
voluntary colonies Of Germany for
those wanderers who at the time Of
their coming within the law are unfit
through ignorance, illness or inehicien-
cy to make their living
Thirdly, Belgium does not expect
that any large proportion of its vag.
rant population win be reformed.
Most Of the vagrants at Merxplas are
recidiyists, repeaters, who have
reached their present position through
drink.
Fourthly, Belgium believes that va
grancy, being social disease devel-
oped through months and years, can
not be cured by 30 days of fdleness In
a demoralizing jail. The average term
Of detention is 16 months, long enough
to effect a considerable cure, II cure
Is possible.
IN Germany and in Switzerland the
treatment Of the habitual vagrant is
similar to that prevailing in Belgium.
There are "a compulsory labor colo
nies in Germany, the average length
Of sentence being one year. Numerous
industries are carried on and the cost
Is comparatively small, These work
houses have diminished yagrancy,
while the "a voluntary labor colonies,
accommodating nearly 1900 persons,
show no evidence Of any substantial
improvement resulting from the time
spent in the colonies. In Switzerland
there are several compulsory colonies,
the sentences being from six months
to two years.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

Instances 10 the peniteutiary Boston
Lowell and other Massachusetts towns
report sending some vagrants to the
state farm, where there is a nine
months sentence. Ia these iails and
warehouses; the labor required, when
there is any, consists generally of
breaking stone i'm quarry or I'm jail
yard. roadmaking, chaircaning, chair
making and farm work. This work is
"on paper There is little or no ef-
fort made to bring reformative inhu-
ences to bear on those serving short
sentences or to teach a trade Even
at the Massachusetts, state farm,
where the workhouse conditions are
far better than in most correctional
institutions where misdemeanants Of
the vagrant or inebriate class are con
fined, the industries maintained seem
to be far more largely carried on as
sentences than as chances to earn
living
mHANY Of the cities use the Bertillon
iT2 system Of identification measure
ments One chief reports asking the
usual questions" another the name
and address"-as though a yagrant's
name and address would be Of yaluel
What contrast Is this to the elabor-
ate Belgian system for the Identified
ton Of vagrants, which centers in the
easier centrale de vagabondage," a
general Identification bureau at Brus-
sells? In Belgium the process Of trying
an arrested vagrant is speedy and
thorough. AS soon as the police arrest
vagrant they communicate by tele-
graph with Brussels. Within few
hours there is sent back from Brus
sells BY telegraph a full description oi
the yagrant and Of his previous career
If anything of the prisoner is on rec
ord. On the following morning the
magistrate who is a graduate Of the
university, has before him sufficient
material about this particular vagrani
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-07-18

THE Swiss colony Of Witzwyl, which
! Mr.. Edmond Kelly has recently de-
scribed in detail in his book on THE
Elimination Of the Tramp" shows that
in a certain proportion of cases the
inmates committed to a compulsory
The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-06-26

so loyal and SO sincere rs to excite not
only the respect and affection Of
those WHO were privileged to be his
friends but Of those who were opposed
to him for political or other reasons.
] know OF no man in our history more
unilinching in the performances of
what he believed to be his duty. No
man realized more fully the ideal Of
an incorruptiblc public servant. His
example has been masr wholesome in
these years Of social and economic an
rcSt, and the influence Of his calm,
reasonable and hopeful spirit has
made for Il better understanding Of
thc ncds and responsibilities Of o,r
citizenship. His death is very great
loss to the country.'
Today all army posts and stations
and all commandcrs-s -sn-chicf Of fleets
in the navy, captains of detached
ships and navy yards and naval sta
tions were ordered to fly the national
colors at half staff for 80 days.
The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-06-26
DELEGATES OPPOSED TO BRYAN
Georgia'B Vote at Denver Will 90 to
Some 0thc- T?udiH?+c.

Atlanta, Ga, June 23.--At a meet
ing OF the Georgia delegates to Den
vcr this afternoon ii was decided to
apply the unit rule 10 the delegation.
1t became apparent at the meeting
that practically the entire delegation
was opposed to the candidacy Of w.
J. Bryan, and that rfcorgia's vote
would be cast for some other candi-
date.
Clark Howell, OF Atlanta, was
elected national committeeman; AL
bert II. Colcock, of Fulton, member
Of the platform committc, and Thom-
rs Loylcss, member of the crcdcn-
tials committee of the national con-
vcntion.