Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-05-20
WOMEN IN iPR|SON
suffragettes in London Jail Tell
of Their Hardships.
Bad Food and Damp Cello-Eng'lsn
Women of Position Undergoing
Punishment In Holloway Not
Having Easy Time.

now in Holloway Jail serving SEN
fences ranging from fortnight up are
not having an easy time. Most OF the
privileges which they secured from
Winston Churchill when he was home
secretary, in recognition Of their
status as political offenders. have been
taken from them since the outbreak
of window smashing and there is
return to the harsher conditions whlch
obtained three years ago.
/ At the suffragette headquarters
there is a suspicion that there has
been a resumption OF forced feeding;
but no evidence has been produced to
support the belief. In fact, the au-
,horities have adopted such secrecy
in regard to the imprisoned suffra-
gettes that it is practically impossible
TO obtain any information as to what
is going on inside Holloway.
AT the suffragette headquarters, In
Clements inn. Miss Janet Green, who
is accused of smashing $3.50 win
dow. gave a correspondent these de-
tails of her life in Holloway:
THE journey to Holloway In the
Black Maria is enough to take the
courage out of any one" she said
You are placed in narrow compart-
ment. just large enough to squeeze
into. Then you are locked in, and
whatever air or light might creep in
between the bars is shut out by the
burlv warder, who stands in the pas
saseway. The Black Maria rumbles
and shakes and with darkness and a
suffocating atmosphere, the journey Is
nightmare.
Arrived at Holloway, | was first ia
ken to my cell My bag. containing
nightdress, comb. brush and few 9th.
err needful articles. was kept by the
warder. 1t happened to be a rush day
IN which ! arrived and it was nearly
midnight before my case was attend
I'd to. When l was taken to the main
hall my money. jewelry and knick-
, knacks were taken from me and the
mounts and details entered In book,
Then my description was taken. as
we'll as my name, age and my weight.
After this l was taken 10 my cell.
1.-THE ordinary routine is to be awak'
,ned at from 6 to $50. Breakfast is
;erved at from to 100. II consists
If what is with license called tea and
, small loaf of coarse bread and what
is called butter. Then it was chapel
rom to about 9.
after supper We read, IT we had
my books. until the lights went out al
,bout $50. was one Of those placed
II solitary confinement for taking part
n the mutiny. This mutiny arose be
,ause we were not allowed to see our
eader. Mrs. Pankhurst. Then. with
he usual Inconsistency, the prison an'
horities placed the heaviest punish
nent uron Mrs. Pankhurst. who was
1ot to blame. and put her in a dark
underground damp cell where SIN"
caught bronchitis and Is now In the
hospital.
after the mutiny all privileges
were stopped BY the visiting magls'
trate."
The prison experiences Of sntfra'
gettes in the past are described in a
tract entitled women and Our Pris.
ons," written by Helen Blagg and
Charlotte Wilson. OF solitary confne-
ment one of the authors draws this
picture.
when you are put In the punish
ment cell you feel as II you we're abso-
lutely cut off from the rest OF the
world; the echoes Of footsteps along
the stone corridors. the banging and
locking of doors. become so magnihed
rs to have a grewsome and horrible
effect on your nerves.
"IIour after hour day after day. !
spent sitting on the wooden bed do
ing nothing. hardly thinking, staring
into vacancy. | could we'll imagine
the loneliness. silence. darkness ana
cold sending women mad. The horror
Of It Is still with me. and night after
night unable to sleep. go through
It all again"