The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-12-23
EXPERIENCE IN
A REFORMATORY
Seems To Have Made This
Boy Worse.
SAYS NOBODY CARED FOR HIM
He Now Stands a Chance To
Get Forty Years In
Sing Sing.
COULDN'T SEE DYING MOTHER

a half in a refOrmatory come IOrln
embitt..rcd. discouraged and read
40 plunge deeper into crime?
These we're the questions in my
mind as ! stood on one side OF q
stout iron door and looked through
the bars at John Gaskins. 81. who
is at Brooklyn Jail awaiting sentence
for a series OF robberies to which he
pleaded guilty.
Under his plea-"first degree, sec
end oNonse"-this boy may get for
is years in Sing Sing. 1t seemed
hard to realize, as ] looked into his
clear, blue eyes and followed the
straight. youthful lines Of his slim
figure.
Gaskins was one Of gang which.
Last spring. looted car OF silver
ware in a freight yard. They melt
ed down $4,000 worth Of silver
ware. Gaskins testified. and got 49,
400 for It ..-- His .share--w9s $3,oVD1
and he spent it in two months on
Broadway. He had a suite OF rooms
at a swell hotel. and he opened a
good many magnums for the deni-
zens of the White Way"
When his money was gone Gas
kins turned to robbery again. He
aided i'm burglarizing four cigar
stores and a iewelry store. He was
arrested and escaped from the
Tombs. Arrested again. he got
away while being transferred from
court TO prison. and was caught for
the third time few nights ago.
He's in bad now, there's no doubt
about that. But it seems as though
he might have been saved from the
place he stands in to-day if reforma-
tories reformed.
He was the son of chief engin-
Ger on one of the big coast lines. His
father died when he was a child. His
mother married again, and he didn't
get along with his step-father. He
ran away from home. He got into
pdnss iOi SNiit
onense was sent to the Elmira Re-
formatory. He stayed there eigh-
teen months.
When Gaskins made his plea OF
guilty, he told the judge that his ex-
perience in Elmira was largely re-
sponsible for his subsequent life of
crime. | went to ask him his reason
Tor making that statement.
There was another boy there
that knew me-" h. said. and he
knew that I can play the + fiat tuta.
I was assigned 10 play i'm the band.
! hal to play every day. wasn't
etTOaY enough to stand il and ! 20
Giiated heart. asked TO be re-
iievcd from band duty and to b. al
lowed TO do more gymnasium work.
Ay appeal was ignored. II was just
ecause nobody cared.
The band had room to itself,
ahere We met sor practice. with
practically no supervision. In the
Dand were number OF the most de-
generate young criminals you can
imagine. The conversation after
practice was finished was horrible,
and there were even worse things. |
vas in constant touch with the worst
vileness anybody can think of.
"One day I got letter from New
York. saying my mother was dying.
Il was February II. | had expected
20 get out on the twentieth That
was when my time was up. show
I'd the letter to one OF the officials
and asked him If / couldn't go home
% see my mother, under guard. He
raid he didn't believe my mother
vas sick; that probably | had got
one OF the other band boys. who had
done his time. to write me fake
otter.
II was kept an extra month, be-
cause my cell floor was not as clean
as AN inspector thought II should
be. and ! got out March %. When
! got 10 New York and went TO my
mothers home. ! learned that she
rad been dead aud buried month.
II loved my mother. She was all
had IN the world TO loye!" The
boys eyes filed with tears very
real tears
II didn't care much what happen
ID" he said. II was just sore at ey-
srything. hadn't touched hands
with anybody but criminals for
eighteen months. | hadn't heard
anything but crime and rottenness.
turned back 10 crime.
I'm not roasting the men at Ell
Mira. | guess they're all right. in
heir way. They mean well enough.