The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-01-20

KecOrdS Hale of SutferfngS in
 Diary - Bridgeport Women
 on Hunger Strike.
 Senator George l.. Mclean. who with Conneoticut's other Senator, Frank B. Brandegee, has been conspicuous by his opposition 10 Woman Suffrage incurred the contemplation and something of the contempt of the militant women, by ap- pcaring among them, where they were in jail, with sym pathy and something resemb- ling tears. The story is told in the diary of Mrs. Nj. Toscan Bennett, the Connecticut lead CT, who is willing to go to jail for suffrage, she says, as often as may be necessary,
 According to her record kept in her diary, Mrs. Bennett said to Senator Mclean, speaking of the misery of the militants engaged in hunger strike: By one vote you can end it all" Mclean replied, she said, as follows:
 You would stop burning the Presidents words and l don't object to that at all. l think it is a fine thing to de-"
 The five Bridge port women served sentences contempor- aneously with Mrs. Bennett, and the tale of their activities is interesting.
 There may be some people who will think the title of this article far-fetched, and who will reason that the Suffragists need not so to jail unless they like and that there fore they ought not to claim mar tyrdon. Anyone who so argues misses the real meaning of the word martyrdom- Martyrdom is always accepted of free choice, or 1t is no mar rtyrdom- The criminals who ara imprisoned as the punishment of their crimes, may be harshly used. They may even De shockingly ill., treated; but they are not martyrs. The martyrs are those who bear witness, by their own voluntary sub mission to s"ffaring to some great cause which -eems to them worth suffering or dying for.
 Then there are others who say -L.1 It. jail is kind of a joke for the Suf- fragists; that they can't dislike it very much or suffer very severely, or they would not go- Those people who have any such opinion should read the notes 5otted down by Mrs. M- TosCaa Bennett while she was in jail These notes would disabuse their mi or any idea that the suffragistS don't mind' the cond- tions that face them when they go to jail as a protest against continued disfra 1chise1nent.
 The first of these notes ia dated January 9th It reads: The tan gerine orange which was my last meal partaken of in the prisoner room off the co rt room, Is e very N4|'''iAt AA1|iA1"A Ss W 4lCIl GSdiilb Ill here today, my nostrils were as sailed with a vile odor, which re- lieyed my contemplated hunger strike of It's martyrdom. Three tiers of cells facing dusty walls and two long windows. covered with filth and cobwebs; women and girl> black and white. in strange gari sitting about the table and in their cells, abusing the prison fare. Sev- eral were smoking cigarettes ant one colored woman had a pipe. was put in the bunk over another suffragist. also arrested on the silly technical charge of building a fire after sunset A large and very agile cockroach danced across the wall The mattress is made of straw about the size of slate pencil. the pillow of the same. The sheets are of unbleachad cotton. The ail on the upper tier is terrific SC thick and hot filled with ancien food odors.
 I've arrived here at noon. ant never have spent such a lengtf of time arriving at o'clock. A that hour I crawled into my bunk The cells on either side of us haC colored girls in them. who sang anC banged the walls, nearly shaking me out of bed. They objected tt any air in the room. but we tri umphed. though we tried to ge them more blankets, poor girls. Fo three hours pandenonium reign ed laughing. calling. ugly noises roaret about I was so tired I slep through a good deal of it. As l lis tened to the vile talk and obscen language. ] wondered how societ could imagine th>lt anybody, any where. could profit from this fare of punishment They must all b harder and uglier and less desirou of trying to achieve anything whei they leave than when they came They must inevitably slide to tn level of the lowest :-d there ar some pretty low here.
 "All night turned from side { side, a hungry insect visited me lon enough to get a meal: the rat played about the floor and squealet
 Jan. 10 One of the coloret prisoners said to me this morning Why chile. de rats dey come trip ping down de stairs lak lir childrer der fleets so bl!p. blip, blip. h1i on de iron stairs We are all goin without food. Two of the women ar III, Those who came in ahead of u are pretty weak.
 Senator Mclean called on m this morning. invited him upstair to sec the other prisoners I kne' someone was coming for they hay hAAn haptp0 1iaaUiuU hae