Mexico weekly ledger., 1909-02-25

IN ne dnsk Of the crowded ball
pea at midday. The seventeen In
matss, mostly Negroes loH about the
floof, resting affer their dinner. And
through tho heavy. solled wooden bars
can be sGen the barred sunlight as
Il tries 70 pierce ths gloon q the an
terror. Eow and then the nonotcne
q hopeless iifs that pervAdes the
place with its undercurrent Of mum
bling voices IL broken BY the ribaid
laugh q some black prisoner whose
sunny nAture IL not ons whit af-
fscts& By the melAncholy surround
ings.
Though the outside world Is wrap
ped IN oyercoats and mui1ers In this
bastns Of 1iEay morter and brick
the men sit On the rough cement
floor. there not being room for chairs
in the bull-psa. clad only in trOus-
ers ana soLled undsrshirts and then
uncomfortzbly warn. The big stove
in the corner has to be kept almost
red hot TO heat the prisoners quarters
and then II the windows n opened
the least bit, for ventilation, the
place chUs with the Shiny frost Of
the spring grave.
No, It il not another black hole
q Calcutta" but considering the civ
ilized age we live in snd move in. fl
Is as near . counterpart, in all prob
ability, as there is extant to-day.
Even the casual visitor Is repealed
by the situation Yet be is no fit
Judge to pass upon the horrors OF
this place Of Incarceration He has
no conception Of the sickening odors
that the watches Of the night bring
when this score Of men r forced
to sleep, packed as closely as the pro
verbal sardines, with scarcely any
ventilation.
Sanitary? Why the best efforts OF
Sheriff WOolery. II he spend a life
time and be assisted by physicians,
could not make IT that The building
Ia so far out Of date the officers Of
the old inquisitlon would consider 1t
an ideal place of torture and rele-
gate the rack and thumb4screw to the
store-room as mere plsythings beside
this chamber OF horrors"
Audrain county is one Of the most
prominent and weslthiest within the
great commonwealth OF Missouri.
Mexico is one Of the secondary Cit
les OF the State. We have paved
streets, q court house though In
some particulars OF ~ante-bellum archi.
lecture. IA most respects ap-tO-date,
schools and churches IN accordance
with the times and other institutions
we are not afraid TO refer to.
But the County Jail We speak Of
IL with mantllng cheek where the
blush u shame rests rs unwillingly
as the new blown rose beneath the
unexpected fall Of snow nature sur
prises the tropics with at times. No
lOud tones Of praise or glanees Of
pride sits upon our features when we
discuss this institution Rather the
doEncast eyes and shameful glance
Of ons who knows what Is right, but
has net complies Eah tbs dictates Of
society.
Not man In ten realizes the
exact conditions existing In this jail
Were they familiar with them they
would rise and demand better quar-
ters for our criminals. Is 1t right
that he who has stnned against So
eiety through ignorance should be
placed with hardened criminals. What
would BE- the result? Ignorance en-
hghtened in the arts Of the under
world. AS 1t il to-day the Audrain
county jan is q school for criminals
where the degenerate can procure
knowledge Of thievery and murder by
the mer intuition Of minor faults
and in this way become finished
"Fagsns."