New Britain herald., 1914-07-22
BECKY EDfLSON IS
 ON HUNGER STRIKE
Won't Eat or Drink, and is Also
 RebeNiouS.

NeW 1OTk, July lS.-W lIl beChy Edelson's hunger strike thirty-six hours old at midnight last, she was still a rebellious prisoner at Black wells Island, without any successful attempt having been made to reduce her to q state of obedience to any of the prison rules.
 It was planned to give Miss Edel- son thorough physical examination upon her arrival at the island from the Tombs yesterday morning at 10 o'clock, but Miss Edelson objected in noisy tones The examination was postponed. Miss Edelson was then ordered to go to work, following the usual prison routine. She refused, saying that never would she work for an institu. tion that deprived her of her liberty merely for demanding the one funda- mental. right of the poor-the right to voice a grievance" Miss Edelson was not pressed by demands that she go to work, Commissioner of Correc- tion Davis having decided to take her time in tanning Miss Edelsons spirit of rebellion. When an attempt was made to take the woman anarchists pedigree, in order to fill out certain usual prison blanks, she declined to tell anything about herself even to the right way to spell her name. The blanks were left unified.
 At breakfast oatmeal was offered to her, but she would not eat it. At luncheon, soup, boiled mutton, onions, and tea, with butterless bread, were placed in her cell. She did not touch them, and at night she refused dish of rice with maple syrup poured over 1t.
 Miss Edelson would not even take a drink of water. She declared her purpose was to Ego into state of collapse" at the earliest possible mo- ment so as to precipitate the prob- lem of what to do with her in that con- dition. She estimated that it would take her ninety-six hours to reach the state she sought for.
 Left Alone in Her Cell.
 As there was nothing else to do with her, Miss Edelson was left alone in her cell throughout the day and last night. She wrote two letters, both to Alexander Berkman. In these letters, as he explained in showing them late last night, she expressed her satisfaction with the way things were progressing, and repeated her statement that she would never leave Blackwell's Island alive if food and drink, voluntarily eaten, should be necessary to keep her alive for tho three months of her sentence.
 At City Hall much satisfaction was expressed because the problem of this, country's first woman hunger strike was being met by woman commis- sioner of correction, with a woman surgeon, woman trained nurse and woman matron to assist her. Sev- eral Englishmen who are visiting this country expressed to city officials, 1t was stated, the wish that England might had had an opportunity to meet the problem of the hunger strike with women officials.
 The very thought of rough men jailers, treating the hunger strikers in the rough-and-ready manner of jailers, won them much sympathy, the | English visitors thought, and 1t was because of this wave of sympathy that the women had to be released.
 pr. Davis went to Blackwelrs Is- land personally to see that Miss Edelson's hunger strike got start under proper supervision and with out the use of forcible means to add fuel to the fire of her already in- famed mind.
 Dr. Davis "Watchful Waiting"
 pr. Davis believes that a policy of "watchful waiting," with much wom- anly patience, will win.
 II have simply postponed the plans I made to have Miss Edelson exam ined physically" said pr. Davis upon her return to her office after learning that Miss Edelson had refused the third meal of the day. "I have every confidence in Dr. Anna Hubert and in pr. Katz, to whom pr. Hubert re- ports. What we shall do with Miss Edelson will depend on what they recommend. I am not disturbed be- There are not enough jobs to go | around on the Island, and working Is not considered to be burden there. The prisoners regard it as priv ilege, since there are some who can't have that out -of-doors opportunity. If Miss Edelson doesn't want to work, we won't try to make her. Prison discipline does not require that
 pr. Davis announced that she would not permit interviews with Miss Edelson nor allow reporters to wit ness any attempts that might be made to fOrcibly feed her. She said that she did not wish Miss Edelson to get an idea that she was an important prisoner whose case was different from that of the other prisoners.
 Dr. Davis said there would be no special temptations during the present hunger strike, such as chocolates or broiled chops She said Miss Edel. son would receive the regular prison fare without any extras, and that the meals would be offered to her just as they were to all the other prisoners.
 Besides the woman surgeon who will have special charge of Miss Edel- sons case four hospital internes have