The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1913-02-22
DR.. BOWLING ON THE
ST. FRANC|SV|LLE JAIL

| L he lTue DeMOCrLL naQ nOpeQ 10
be able this week to publish DR..
Dowling's official report upon the
sanitary conditions of Bayou Sara
and st. FranciSville, but at this writ
ng, had not been furnished with the
report as had been promised us dur.
ing the visit of the health train here.
last week.
However, upon reading DR.. Dowl-
.ng's talk to the Prison Reform Asso-
citation in New Orleans, last Friday
night, we are led to the belief that
lie took notice of the parish Jail while
here. DR.. Dowlings talk to the Pris-
on Reform Association was not along
sanitary lines but rather along the
inadequacy of the penal system in
vogue in Louisiana.
DR.. Dowlig did not mention the 81.
Francisville Jail, but the description
given in the following excerpts from
| LILO letlh III 81 We'll IudI luSES Cdu
be but little doubt as to which Jail
he meant:
Our prison system is an inher-
lance said Dr. Bowling. "Its basic
| principles reflect the spirit and form
of society which has passed. To-
day all who are in sympathy with
the new order deplore federation of
the present penal regime
1T may be that in the old days,
| theoretically prisons were thought of
as reformatory institutions, but their
construction and the management
embodied the popular notion that
they should be made as repulSive as
possible and that it was justifiable,
even necessary, to subject the m
mates to suffering and punishment.
I'm Louisiana and many other
states where l have visited these in
solutions, the buildings, | am sorry
to say some of recent construction,
bear witness to this mistaken notion.
In a few states prisons now nearing
completion have been planned and
ordered according to the principles of
modern sanitary science, with every
room to be used as sleeping apart
ment having outside exposure.
In our own state | can call to
mind only a few that may be consid-
cred adequate for physical necessi-
ties. On the other hand, | recall
many unfit for use as a detention
place for human beings. AS an ex-
ample, Jail typical of many others
in the state is a brick structure. The
interior is lined with sheet iron.
in three cells, each about eight
by ten, there is no provision for
heating, nor is there any sanitary
convenience, nor water. Two cells
have each three small windows about
| five and half feet from the floor,
and one cell, one window. The pris-
oners confined in these cells are not
provided with beds, only blankets. In
one large room the cage, ten by fif-
teen feet, is placed On the day the
inspection was made there were five
negroes in the larger division of
l 10 m
from one side to the other, side by
side, with no space between. The
portion of the cage separated by up.
rights and crosspieces contained san
!tary closet equipment and the fau-
Get for water supply.
"FOr bathing there was a large tub,
which could be filled from the faucet
| by using bucket or pitcher. No pr-
! vacy was afforded. On being asked
| how they got bath, one of the men
who was sitting on the tub arose and
said, in this His reply to the ques-
| lion how often they took a bath was,
| whenever their fOlkes could bring
them clean clothes. The room was
heated by stove outside the cage
The whole building was distressingly
damp, so much SO that a little boy
running his hand along the wall said,
it's been raining in here"
If it was the ST. Francisville Jail
that DR.. Bowling cited in the forego.
ing, it will be noted that he had moth
ing to say concerning the cleanl-
ness of the Jail. 1t will be remem-
| bered that The True Democrat had
occasion, recently, to take Rev. Jno.
L, Sutton, secretary of the Prison Re-
form Association, to task about ut
terances which he made concerning
the cleanliness Of the st. Francisville
jail, and which, upon investigation,
proved incorrect.