The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1921-02-23
TWO LETTERS
RECEIVED FROM
JACKSON PRISON
ON E PRAISES CONDITIONS
WHILE OTHER is BITTER AR
RAINGMENT OF INSTITUTION

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PRISONS Of the state at the present
time, the following two letters will
be Of more than ordinary interest. The
first letter is from a Bedding man
who was sent to Jackson prison in
1913 for fifteen year term. He is
now a trusty employed on the On
ondaga road. His letter came in the
regular way was perhaps looked ov-
ship and reached his wife, who still
tons that she was to bring it to this
paper for publication.
Onondaga Mich, Feb. 6, 81
Dear readers of this letter.
/ wish to inform
you of the fact that we are treated
fine here and / am speaking as a
body of over twelve hundred men.
When l came here to Jackson prison
in the year of 1913 on May Goth the
condition of the prison was bad.
There was everything but capital
punishment and you didn't have to
do Anything hardly to get in the so
called "bull pen" and then the strap
was applied until they could hardly
walk and then they were taken out
and a ball and chain hung on them.
Now isn't that brutality. This was
under Mr.. N. F. Simpson.
Then came the General Lisque and
he done away with the most of Simp-
sons discipline in the prison and then
came acting warden Frensdorf and
he tore down what was already done
and left the place in worse condition
than it was We were like bunch
of raving animals without food.
Then came the man that is with US
now and he is a man in every respect
he has cleaned up the prison so that
the poor inmates can sleep nights.
The bed bugs and reaches amt carry
ing you around the cell block and
singing your death march and he is
man that will give us his hand with
a hearty cheer and as to Mr.. Robert
A. McGregor our physician he can't
be beat. He is prince. He is a
friend to us all and he always is
ready to help US in any way he can
or at any time of the night and where
can you find man that can beat that
he is well thought of here and we
cant afford to lose him nor the war
den for we have seen punishment
enough from the other wardens and
Doctors before them.
The prison is in the best condition
that / have ever seen it in so / beg
of you readers to help us keep with
us Harry l.. Hubert and DR.. Robert
McGragor and we will thank you all
for it.
Yours Truly,
No. 1888
p. S. Let any one read this let
ter that wants TO. l want this
made public to everybody. Let the
minister see this and read it and
compare this to the newspaper
scandal and see which is right.
The second letter is written to
altogether different music and is
severe arrangement of the institu-
tion and its officials from the war
den down. Only parts of the letter
are given, the too personal parts
being ommted. This is an under
ground" letter, struggled out of the
prison without the knowledge of the
prison officials.
This is an underground letter from
inside Michigan State Prison, and /
am writing this to you because i
know you are square. You will find
that everything in this letter is true
and most of it can be verified without
much trouble.
am writing you facts which should
open the eyes of the state of Michi-
gan-and the entire United States.
Warden Hulburt brags about his
Honor System in Jackson because he
likes to shoot the bull, and because
they like to hear it. He has no sys-
tenn at all-he gives the convicts a
lot of hot air of how good he is try
ing to be to them. We want moth
ing but justice and a square shake.
We have no use for bull.
Do you know that fogging in the
most brutal and inhuman way is GO
ing on in here, under the direction,
and in the presence Of the warden?
/ do not know all the men who have
been logged, but / can give you a
few names, and their prison number
and, no doubt, these men can be ask
ed all about it. Now think of this
three men who were flogged recently
have gone insane-they are now in
the insane asylum at Ionia. Their
numbers are 1879, 1882 and 11348.
They can be seen in Ionia. No. 1882
was flogged about three weeks ago
and the other two a few months ago.
Other men who have been logged
lately are No. 1921, No. 1851, No.
12407 and No. 1906 and young boy
by the name of Lapp.
The man to be flogged is put in the
bull pen and is made to stand up in
narrow cage. He cannot sit down,
but is forced to stand all day in this
cage; only a man who has gone thru
this knows the torture of standing
in that narrow cage. At night the
man is put into a cell behind the cage
on a concrete floor without any bed
ding He is fed only bread and wa
ter. After a few days he has be-
come very weak; then the warden,
two huskies over six feet tall, and
the prison doctor, come into the bull
pen, blindfold the man, handcuff him