The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-04-11
WARDEN RUSSELL
DENOUNCED AND
ASKED TO RESIGN
Minority Report of Committee to
Legislature Calls Also for the
Official Heads of Marquette
Prison Board of Control.
Punishment of Convicts Is Stoutly
Condemned-Big Fight Over Mat
ter Coming in House.
lErom . staff correspOndentl.

(From a staff Correspondent.
/ LANSING, Mich, April ll.-Wlln
1 the filing OF the minority report Oh
the Marquette investigation commit
tee today. issue is joined for What
will probably be the most bitter ngh'
of the session.
The report is signed by heps.
Straight and Kalmbach, Reps. Ferry
Warner and Henry having signed tne
majority report, submitted last Weeh'
The majority report endorsed the
administration OF Warden Russel'
! The minority report denounces MIN
and recommends his removal IL
and recommends his removal. II goes
! farther and recommends that all the
members 90 the board OF control be
removed and that corporal punish
ment be abolished. The minority re-
port is not as specific as the major
ity report In charging looseness IN
business methods, but In other re-
spects IL Is more severe.
Methods of capital punishment are
detailed and described as horrifying
and the warden and his brother VIII
are denominated falsifers.
In Offering the report. the minority
members express esteem for the otn-
er members, but declare themselves
compelled TO differ on material points.
II then goes on TO refer TO the vari-
Gus statutes governing the appoint
ment and conduct OF the board OF
control, warden and assistants. II
then criticises the contract made by
the warden with Shauer Bros. for
the manufacture of overalls In the
prison, as showing personal selfish
ness, dishonesty, heedlessness and In
competency. Stress is thrown on the
fact that the state furnishes space,
light, heat and superintendent. and
gives the work of convicts at 40
cents q day, pointing out that the
services OF a convict named Printz,
who acts as instructor. are worth
500 a month.
The report says on this subject:
When we consider the terms OF
this contract, with the tasks impos-
ed upon the men, one or which is 10
sew on 700 pockets a day. with a dis
honest foreman, William Russell. who
has all the qualifications OF fiendish
slave-driver, TO rush them from
morning to night. with the bull-pen
or the paddle staring them in the
face II they fail TO do their task. is
there a member OF the house who
would quietly submit to such condi-
tons were he the recipient OF such
treatment, without offering resis-
lancer
This leads the signers OF the re-
port to the subject of corporal pun
ishment, which II says is administer
ed IN manner that is horrifying.
we do not believe that we can
produce in your mind full concep-
ton Of the punishments that have
been inflicted on these poor victims,
because much of the evidence is too
revolving to have printed. While we
realize that much OF the evidence Is
from convicts, and that for that rea-
son, much allowance must be made,
yet all that evidence Is borne out
by corroborating testimony and the
prison records. This 10 true OF the
prisoners, but we do not hesitate to
call James Russell and William Rus
sell two OF the biggest falsifiers that
ever made defence.
The majority report does not con-
vey any notion OF the real facts. At
the east end OF the east wing is what
Is known as the bull-pen 1t Is as
near sound proof as can be made.
In this bull-pen, men are tortured al
most beyond human endurance. They
are chained in a standing position
to the gates OF their cells in such
way that many OF them have been
permanently injured. The hands OF
each convict are drawn up to the
same height. Such a position allows
some men to rest their arms on the
cross-bars. but IL compels others
to raise their hands above
their heads and subjects them to
extreme torture, Men have been
chained continuously in this position
for, period OF 10 days. only getting
relief at night when allowed to lie
on their cots. The handouts are new
er removed. and the convict is COM
PEELED to wait on himself. While en-.
during this punishment, the convict
Is fed on bread and water, and only
twice a day, two slices OF bread In
the morning and two at night.
The punishment known as fog
ging Is the most severe punishment
resorted TO at the prison and has
been inflicted on crazy and epileptic
men, and TO such an extent that II
does not seem as II person could
be brutal enough to witness II.
The paraphernalia used consists
OF a ladder, barrel. chains, handcufrs.
ropes and paddle. The ladder is
about ninefeet long and has set
OF brackets in the center SO that II
will firmly hold barrel. The pad.
die Is made OF the heaviest kind OF
sole leather, Is about two feet. three
inches long and oval In shape. Its
greatest width is six inches. taper.
Ing to two inches, where Il is fas.
tened to a wooden handle, about nine
inches long. II is rivetted TO the han.
die with one and one-quarter inch cap.
per riyets and weighs one and one.
quarter pounds when dry. and nearly
two pounds when IL is soaked. The
barrel Is placed within the bracke