The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1914-04-23
TRAGIC STORY
OF SING SING
History of Prison Is Full of Weird
and Somber Incidents

Sing Sing is the name of the hest
known prison in the United States
For nearly century it, erim MAILS
have excluded from view the tears
the sunorings. the deSpairs 81 Us thou-
sands OF inmates. Its site was known
As Mount Pleasant and pleasant one
it j.. overlooking the Hudson. but ;o
the inmates the name is dism i
mockery.
Mount Pleasant was chosen a. the
site Tor New York's penal Institution
in 1926. one hundred and fourteen
acres were appropriated for its pur-
pose. and The original prison contained
6t1 cells the bulk OF the work having
been executed by convicts from Au-
burn. II required three years in its
first building. hut as IL was found To-
Dee too small shortly 200 more cells
We're added, and afterwards 400 more.
Sing Sings story is fun Of weird and
Somber and tragic Incidents Fire "a
the SOS destroyed It's records. but pop
ular memory and the public prints
hold the main outlines. Contract labor
caused many tumultuouS disorders.
but Of recent years reforms have been
brought 10 the extent that there has
been little or no disturbance. and the
wardens have had more or less Of an
easy time OF IL.
Keepers used L. hc in league with
the contractors, and they WORKED the
men terribly. Frequently the com
bination was especially cruel Prison
ers would dip their feet into cauldrons
Of molten metal 10 make it mpos-
sible that they should have To do the
labor imposed upon them. The most
exciting revolt that Sing Sing ever
witnessed was during the bread and
water riots in 1863. one hot July day
in the quarries 40 convicts refused To
work unless they got ice water. The
keeper in charge marched them back
10 prison. There the strike spread
To the shoe shops Soon 900 men
had to be locked up. They howlad
and hooted at the attendant night
and day.
Finally all doors and windows were
closed to shut out fresh air. and the
obstreperous prisoners were denied
food and water. They sweltered, hum
gered and could not sleep, but would
not give in. Then the steam heat was
turned on. This nearly roasted them
and on the sixth day they promised
obedience.
The stories of the many escapes
from Sing Sing, particularly i'm the old
days, would fiji volumes OF thrilling
around the prison in 1857 the steam
siren, which announces an escape has
not had Ia be- sounded very often.
When the late Addison Johnson he
came warden of the institution he de-
vsed "A wire screen for the room for
with meshes 50 fine that
nothing could he passed to the prisons
ers His rule sOftcncd the lives of the
conVicts, and he made the entire pris- |
on as airy ana clean as hospital |
Nobody is made To work when i'll. Food
is better than it was: instead of iron
cups and plates, crockery has been
provided. There are summer hotels |
today with not as sweet place to eat
i'm as the dining room of Sing Sing.
Stripes have been given up at Sing |
Sing, along with the lockstep. Today |
when political campaigneIs talk Of
putting the rascals into stripes" they |
are using an obstacle figure. The |
prison uniform is dark gray, with Il |
blue, ncgligcc shirt.
The heads of the prisoners are no
longer shaved, except as a matter Of |
lcanliness when they first arrive.
After that they are permitted to let
their hair grow so they can comb il. |
Johnson argued that there was moth
ing morally improving i'm shaving a |
mans head.