The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-07-26
JAILDIRDS HOME TO ROOST
ONE TINE GUESTS OF THE CITY
HANG AROUND THE TONES.

Hard to Explain, Says o Keeper Who Has
watched Them for Years-A Disagree
able Prisoner Made Over BY Acquittai
Women Less Frequently Return.
A young man with O face sallow and
pale walked up and down in front Of the
Tombs one day last week looking up at the
windows. He didn't seem to be looking
at any window in particular. and after he
had made a circuit Of the building he stopped
In front of the Centre street entrance and
watched the crowd OF MONDAY visitors.
prison has q strange fascination for q
man who has been In it. said an old prison
keeper, who had kept an eye on the young
man. sYou would think that that chap
had seen enough Of this place and would
be as far away from here as he could get.
But he has been around here the last three
days doing exactly just what you have seen.
Around the Christmas holidays he was
brought In here for murder. There had
been q family quarrel and he shot a rela-
tive, killing him. 1t looked like a pretty
| bad case against him. There were witnesses
that the young man had shot his relative on
very little provocation. he was scared
badly then, but after a while he began to
cheer up. A few friends came to help him
and they got q lawyer. The trial came
of a few days ago. To the surprise OF
everybody this young fellow was acquitted.
aThe jury brought In it's verdict and the
young man walked out Of court, getting the
first bit Of freedom he had had for six
months. He came over here, got the few
things he had and walked away. That's
the last we'll see Of him, / guess said a
keeper as the young man passed out. 1
didn't say anything, for I had seen his
kind before, but I thought a whole lot:
@The first thing the next morning he as
back. He had no right to get in, but as he
had been one OF our guests for six months
we accepted his statement that he had for
/ gotten something. I knew that nothing
like that had happened; all he wanted to do,
was to look over the old place again. He
hung around until it was suggested that
! the rules were being violated, n then he
went away. I mean by that he walked
| out OF the building. He didn't 60 far.
| He stepped across the street to a saloon
| and got a glass Of beer. For two hours
| after tina he wandered up and down in
| front Of this building, occasionally stopping
| at the door, but nearly all the time with bis
| eyes on the windows on the upper floors;
feeble biuff to get in, but as be had no pass
we kept him out. We had been bothered
| by those chaps before. He stayed around
the building most sen q rh how 11 lSng E y Viii hg be
| before the fascination wears of and his feet
| keep on the ground. / don't know what
| brings him here. because there Is NOBODY
in the place he cares for or cares Tor him
same way It Is not true of those who are
, here for a short time. But the long term
| fellows, most OF them. get the feeling once
in SO often that they've got to come back
| natbetio at times, too. There was a chap
| here the other day that l always symPa-
thized with, although he was one OF the
worst and most disgreeable prisoners We
ever had. ! aiway rs had ,sav the nr ldss ,aat INK ae<
he was. He was In for larceny. and he said
that a couple Of enemies were bounding
| him and trying to have him put away
Evidently the jury believed his story.
long to pack up his buds and get out; We
were glad Of it. He was sour and surly and
forever making complaints, He never did
anything to violate the rules. 90 We had no
fair treatment stirred up the other prisoners,
and we were kept in hot water all the time.
When the people here heard the verdict
that he was innocent and going away from
here he couldn't have been any happier
He was one Of the kind that didn't hang
| around looking gloomily at the walls: He
went away at once, but he came oack the
other day. He was a different looking mar
sion was gone. and he was as cheerful as
could be, but a bit bashful. He wanted to
apologize. He had been mean to every
body In the place. and he knew It.
| Of a man who has something to say on his
side, I was innocent and In Jail: It wa a
trumped up Job against me and i believed
that everybody was pounding me, l wasn't
that way at FIRST but after a while II grew
had nothing but enemies. no friends:
thought, and in a very short time ! felt
that way about the keepers and officials
here; go, ,....r
7 have prospered and I have come to the
conclusion after thinking 1t over for a long
time that ] was a nuisance when l was here
| and I want to let those who had anything
well, he made q hit with me- continued
the keeper. Il always believed. him in
nooent and I never lost faith in him even
when he was making 1t 30 uncomfortable
for US. Before he said good.oy e us an tn 1hs
boys. He has never been back. and i don't
expect to see him again.
1The women are not inclined to come
back ono they get away. Some Of them,
IL u16y nave dby JIG 80
prisoners by sending them food and dain.
ties on holidays. but there isn't much OF
that. There was one m VINO came
around for a long time after she had spent
a couple Of months in a cell here She
said that she was 80 fond Of the place hat
It was just as good as taking an outing to
come down and look around, 1t was a
pleasure resort and finally she stayed away.
She was nothing more than q Drank. though.
sOf course this ID only a detention. prison
and It does not 20 so hard with the prisoners
as In o place Ike Sing Sing: Yet I have
worked In Sing Sing. and while they do not
hang around the walls there 1t IL not UNI
common for a prisoner to come q to
renew acquaintance with the keepes-l
mean others than those who return against
their win. 1t has always been e puzzle
why these fellows come back. I shouldn't
think that anybody who had ever been in
side OF q prison would want TO return after
he had passed the doom
WHALE SCARES LOBSTERMEN.