Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-04-27

: same as 1 am for any other class of
persons in my charge. l cannot place
any person in this building now for
many reasons. For instance, what is
there to prevent any one from leaping
from the dining-room windows, which
have no bars on them? There is nc
real protection at the main doorways
of the building. The stairs leading from
athe dormitories and assembly-room
Come to within ten feet of the outside
doors. which are wide, double AFFAIRS
.and a determined rush by boy prison
ers or men witnesses, and they would
he on the street and away before the
warden could possibly stop them.
-..Another thing is the housing OF
Juvenile offenders with adult witnesses
who generally are of very bad char
acter. The very fact that a witness
has to be detained and cannot be balled
out proves the statement that they are
undesirable customers. This is espe-
cialiv true of women witnesses who are
largely women of the street. TO put
this class in the same s~leeplng-rooni
and assembly-room with girls OF l. 10
is years of age who have made some
slight fall from grace is an entirely
wrong principle. I will not do 1t.
Calls 1t a Cruelty.
again, there is no fence around the
lot. l would be compelled to Keep
every inmate indoors at all times. rms
fs not only wrong from the standpoint
of health. but it is absolutely a cruelty
that is unnecessary.
Another complaint 1 have to make
is that the railing around the starr
WAYS at the assembly rooms on the top
Aoor are low. less & about four feet
On fact. With ten or a dozen healthy
Youngsters romping around a room III
2play a low railing like that is highly
dangerous. Then imagine what woulo
happen If a fight were TO STAR II
,,RSould be the easiest thing in the world
to throw a young boy over the ralllhs'
and it would be almost sure death, as
n is a drop clear to the first basement
floor. four flights in all. with a cement
floor for a landing place"
- Sheriff Harrigan has requested that
bars be placed on the d~ining-room WIN
sSFows and a fence built around the lot'
SO as 10 provide a playground for the
Inmates. Until the Board of Frse-
Holders does this work the Sheriff de-
,clares he will not occupy the building
or make any appointment of a warden
-or matron. A number Of applicants
have been pulling for the appointment
of warden, which will pay $500 a year,
but as vet Sheriff Harrigan has made
no definite selection of the man.
The place was offered to one ma
who has had large experience in such
,positions both in this country and in
England, but in a letter to the sheriff,
pointing out many of the same defects
found during an inspection by a STAR
reporter today. he refused the place.
This man, whose name the sheriff with
holds, after telling of the faults of the
building, winds up his letter as follows:
For the life of me l can't see, under
such circumstances. how the objects
and intentions of the court are TO be
realized. Possibly others would not
look at it as I. but my experience, and
j have been engaged in industrial work
on this and the ether side. tells me you
but breed discomfort and dissatisfaction
'and prepare the ground for greater
o~ffenses, If not crimes, in the future
Lives of the inmates of an institution
such as this.
= IT might go on and show you that TIE
help allowed is insufficient; I might
ask you what is to be done in case of
sickness. etc.; might ask YOU how the
assembly room Is to be ventilated on
cold or stormy days? Remembering the
inmates are always in it. Inquire about
the cleanliness of the inmates cloth
ing, etc, but what's the use? I feel I
could not do the institution justice. and
, However much interested I might be In
the work I could not censcientioIsly
fulfill its objects under existing con-
ditions."