The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-07-14
old JAIL HORRORS
When Imprisonment For Debt
Was the Law of the Land.
ToRTURS FOR ITS VICTIMS.

on 10 Starvo to Death Uutess Res
oued by CLARITY or Their Creditors.
In the early part Of the Hast century
there was started an earnest effort 70
entirely abolish or at least to regulate
the old co.oiy law of Imprisonment
for debt. The moveps in this abolish.
ment lclt that Ho class of the coiamu-
nity deserved hideratiJn more.
II leld l.eea the i.aluman rule that
for the smallest dcbt possible TO con-
tract thou Il Il were hut cent In
r:lue, TIE dy of lae debtor, whether
man Tn Noalm wCrtd be seized by
The crcdlt,r atnd clat li,o Jail.
Each year poor Wsctches had been
dragged 20 pt.Joa b. thousands on
waat were truly called spite actions
Once lc' 'hG the rs1,n walls taey were
consigned to fa,c harder thar that
which awaited worse criminals.
Murdc.e.s aad th.eycA fCGgers and
coantcrfelicls. real criminals of all
kinds. were I'D. clothed aad cared for
at the eXpcasc of the state, bat for
the unhappy man whose only offense
was his Inability 10 pay n triding sum
Of Il few ccIds no sncllprovision was
made. The food he ate, the shreds that
covered him. the medicine he took
nay, The very rags he wrapped about
his sores provided. II provided
at all. by his friends, by the ljiliIc or
| by some humane soelety,ao =, o-,,fs..p I.
4 The room in which he was confined
with scores OF other offenders was ut.
terly without furniture of any sort.
In it were neither beds. nor tables. nor
chairs, nor SO much as bench or
stool. He sat on the floor, ate off the
floor and as night lay 10 sleep on 1t
like a dog. and this misery he endured
until he died or his debt was paid or
his creditor released him.
Against this al length humanity re-
polted. and In 1894 change for the
better was ordered 1t was stipulated
that the inspector should provide fuel
and blankets for such debtors as. by
reason of their dire property. could
not get them and should make an al
iowance Of cents day for food and
charge this against the creditors. If
any Creditor refused 10 pay after ten
days notice his debtor was to be dis
charged.
For twenty-five years the communi-
ty seemed TO have thought that this
mild concession was all that humanity
required. for no further change was
made until 1914. Then was passed
the dread act" under which each pris-
oDer whose debt did not exceed SIS
was entitled to a discharge after an
Imprisonment Of thirty DAYS
From documents presented to the
senate of New York In 1877 II appears
that the keeper OF the debtors Jail in
Now York city certified that during
1916 1854 debtors were confined and
that upward OF coo were always in the
prison. The sheriff Of the county GER
tilted that 1.129 were imprisoned for
debt under 500 that of these 40 owed
| less than So and that every one OF
them would have starved to death but
| FOR the assistance of the Humane So
| ciety. -
One man remained. II was noted. In
the New York Jail for three years, who
was only indebted to the extent of $50,
before death ended his misery and
during the entire time was fed by the
Humane society. Another unfortunate
had been imprisoned six years and
was supported by charity. In the face
OF such striking evidence the legisla-
ture of New York state reiented md
m 1917 forbade the Imprisonment of
debtors for sums less than So. This
led the way. and state after state fol-
| lowed. e.,.>t t.ss,-
l When the new states IN the west
framed their constitutions they order
cd that no one should be imprisoned
for debt. The old statute was finally
| stricken from the laws OF the eastern
Estates until today none of our states
has law requiring that debt Is
punishable by Imprisonment. unless II
has been contracted under some fraud.
ulent Misrepresentation Philadelphia
Press,