Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1914-01-08

HAWTHORNE'S TALE OF PRISON
HORRORS IS TO Be PR0BED
Had Been Regarded as a
Model Under Warden
w. H. Meyer.

they left, however. when echoes of
their denunciation We're heard. From
Representative Howard cane the state
ment that he believed most Of the
charges against the prison and would
see that an investigation vas ordered.
A former guard at the penitentiary de-
clared that conditions were just as
Hawthorne and Morton had described
them.
On the other hand, there was de-
tense Of Warden Meyer. The warden
himself Immediately requested an in
vestigation. Mrs. A. Springer. a pris-
! on worker. said Hawthorne was an
"old crouch" and not to be taken Sc
riously. ]. P. Mathiessen. a we'll
known Atlanta musician, for several
years director of the prison orchestra.
said he knew Warden Meyers admin
%1stration to be above reproach. A. c.
Bran. for seventeen years a federal
prisoner, came to the warden's sup
port. branding the charges as false.
| Prisoners Must Work.
To outward appearances the prison
is thus: Every prisoner has work to do,
and most Of the work is some form of
manual labor. There is the %stonecut-
ter's shop. the tailor's shop. the laun-
dry, the storeroom. the farm. the car
penter's shop. the bakery. in all of
which there are prisoners at work Be
hind the group of buildings. bordering
IN tho rn0yaa finp Grounds &c q modal
camp for tuberculosis prisoners. Near
by is a plant in which soap is manu~
featured from the waste products of
the shops and kitchen.
Everything is operated on a basis of
strict economy. A line of railroad
tracks runs into the grounds, and a
string of freight cars is always there.
The plant at which electricity is gen
Grated for light and power is always
running. The entire plant appears to
visitors to be a well ordered enterprise.
"They are starving men in the name
Of economy" said Hawthorne, and
Morton nodded his head in corrobora-
ton.
prisoners are subjected to treat
ment that is nothing less than slow
murder" said DR.. Morton. who is a
practicing physician. "There is never
enough to eat. The warden attempts
to feed strong men on 8 cents a day.
and when he succeeds he brags about
it. There has never a man gone into
that prison but who undergoes q steady
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS slow. but always
sure"
you hear of the clean cells in which
the prisoners Sleep said Hawthorne.
but you never heal Of the hole do
you? For the slightest fault. some
times for breaking a plate. sometimes
for a little more or less. a prisoner is
sent to the hole a place under the
main building for solitary confinement.
There the heat is terrific at times and
the stencil is bad. There the prisoners
are chained by their wrists and held
thus with rms outstretched for hours.
And sometimes confinement in the
hole is for days.
Apparently a Model.
And the most miserable part Of it
"AA 40 SAo " appear AS-SS lAC
prison is a model. There is always the
clean grounds to exhibit and the base
ball games to talk Of. the music at
meals and the outward semblance Of
good care and consideration. There is
always a smoothness and graciousness
to the public. You are never told Of
the hole. Nobody w sees that.
Probably nobody knows of the solitary
confinement cells and the uses to which
they are put"
Senator Hoke Smith Of Georgia. who
has made II tour of inspection Of the
prison since Hawthorne preferred his
charges. has refused to make a state
ment. He states that he has as yet
formed no opinion that he cares to
make public on the sensational allega-
tons made.