The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-28
A POOR HAND.
Elizabeth c watson. in the New Yorl


~ EoPLE have been wondering why
Madeline Doty and l got locked
u up in state prison for five days.
They seem to think we went to Auburn
to discover horrors, a natural inference,
since Miss Doty is member of the state
prison commission and l have been a
child labor and female delinquency inves-
tigator We came back and reported no
sensational abuses, terribly disappointing
people who thirst for thrills but don't
care about prison conditions.
What went we in for to see? We didn't
know; we were open minded.
We found that convicts in prison are
just folks" 1t isn't criminal types
that Auburn is full Of It's ourselves"
who got lin bad" don't quite know how
we got in, sbut we knew mighty well what
Auburn's doing to us.
The Auburn women convicts are folks
so much like Miss Doty and me that Pm
in terror these days of doing something
that will put me back in cell. It's SO
easy to get into prison. My family down
in Maryland, my old school friends, my
set in good" society, couldn't now be
more astonished If told that Elizabeth
Watson served in Auburn, listed as a
"forger," than was surprised when l
talked with my prison mates. Why We're
they in prison? Larceny" said one:
assault" another; "manslaughter," the
shyest little girl of them ALL There they
are, Ill of them and Auburn's doing
them up.
l was shocked when l realized that my
heart was full of hate. 1t was the literal
| truth. Precisely like the well bred girl in
"Fanny's First Play who suddenly
| found herself 'bashing" a bobby, sayingl
fearful swear words, too, at the police
| man, | also was astounded at the rage
prison walls had put into me.
| And suppose had been sent up un-
| justly imprisoned for what 1 hadn't done,
as is true of some of the Ill, or sentenced
| to 10 years for what | couldn't help, as
most of the Ill believe-well. Auburn
| would have taken my mind away in short
order
Hysteria? You force me to give some
| catalogue of my mental characteristics.
am naturally of a matter-of-fact disposi-
tion, don't get angry. 1 have had long
studying female delinquency, and have
learned to see facts, to report what's
what. quite oblivious to self 1t has been
my business when an observer in trying
circumstances to observe everything ex-
cept that the circumstances We're trying.
The personal mustn't count in a good in
vestigation.
II sleep we'll 1 don't dream, don't know
what a nightmare is and never walk in
my sleep.
Yet the last night of my term" in
prison found me sleep walking in my cell
walked up standing at the door, clutch
ing at the bars and trying to get out. The
dominant spirit of Auburn-that all men s.
hands are against the convict-suddeniy
got hold of me and made we a sleep
walker for a night.
Examine some EQUATIONS from my
prison log and see If you think that the
following treatment is advisable or neces-
sary:
First comes the arbitrary and unreason-
able Interpretation of prison rules.
Don't touch your door and window and
you'll be all richt.' the matron said when
she first locked me in. But one day it
grew intolerably stuffy in my cell and
asked the matron. please may open
my Window" There was no answer. /
called again. No answer from the
woman standing near. asked four times,
the last time just as colored convict
passed my door -
what you waitin' for? Stand up on the
stool and open your window yourself
You want that girl to be a servant and do
it for you? You can't be upity here.
Black and white, all the same. You're
in prison, you are" That was the mat
ron's response.
Another quotation. One night Maggie
(as Miss Doty was known. asked for
blanket as she was chilly on her cot
What you mean by asking for blan-
ket?" the night warden cried You're in
prison now, d'you understand? The idea
idea of asking for luxuries' .
Then this matron met another keeper
and began upbraiding the luxury asker.
New girl wants blanket. What do you
know about that?'
Then down the corridor the matron met
hospital nurse and still cried out
against "the idea of asking for a blan-
ket." Whereupon the nurse took the
trouble to go over to Maggie and give her
an overhauling for daring to ask the
night matron for blanket" Lastly the
enggetic matron reported to the head
mafron. And the head matron said,
why, get her a blanket of course"
onsanother day: My cell neighbor smiled