Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-20

only 10 were fit for human occupa.
| ton" This is the report just sent by
Mrs. II. S. Mcintyre, secretary of the
Prisoners Relief society, after a trip
from this city to Seattle, in which she
visited some 200 jails In order to OBJ
serve conditions.
Mrs. Mcintyre found the majority Of
| the institutions dirty and unhealthy
| and graft rampant. The prisoner who
sends out for a quart of milk is apt to
have to pay % cents, and the change
goes to the jailer or whoever does the
| errand. Vermin Of all sorts are the
rule, rather than the exception in
county jails, we are told. Disinfect-
| illness, clean kitchens are Injuries
which seem to have no place in the
average Jail.
| In fact, the county Jail, as it is now
conducted, is one of the worst evils in
| the country, according to Earl Dud-
| ding, head of the Prisoners Relief So
ciety.
Very little is heard about bad jail
conditions" DR.. budding says. 'he-
cause few attacks are made against
| the system or against individual insti-
tutions. Inmates do not dare to pro-
| test against unfair treatment. know
of case in which man who fell ill
| asked for a doctor. The request was
refused. When he insisted he was
knocked unconscious and allowed to
| in his head. So there are few pro-
tests from prisoners"
You might think that the ex-prison-
err would expose bad conditions. DR..
budding explains that the ex-pris-
| oner is "jailbird'. His record is
against him. He would have a hard
time establishing case against cou' ty
| officials.
The few well-to-do men who infre-
quently get put into Jail do not make
complaints because they do not as a
rule see conditions at their worst.
Money will do more in Jail. than in a
penitentiary. The inmate can gener-
ally get Injuries if he can pay, and the
man Of means does pay.
This privilege of spending money has
been attacked as unfair to prisoners
who cannot buy Injuries. According to
in Jail are glad to see a wealthy man
come to join them, because his COM
ing means that they will benefit
Generosity blossoms out in such in
situations, where there is much time
for thought, and little things become
unusually important. Newspapers, to-
bacco. fruit and books bought by the
affluent prisoner are passed around.
One millionaire who was in a local Jail
for three months awaiting trial for a
large financial theft is said to have
spent about $1,000 day on himself
and his neighbors during that time.
This amount of spending is unusual, it
is true. But the wealthy man in Jail
can dispose. OF more money than most
people would imagine.
Money Helps
II he has wealth and position a
prisoner does not undergo the hard
ships Of ordinary Jail life Even if he
did not spend much money, he would
be made comfortable. since otherwise
he would undoubtedly make trouble
afterwards. The wealthy man who has
served his Jail term somehow generally
manages to keep his social status. He
is still a power to be recognized,
though he is a jailbird
Then, too, such man is most apt
to be held in city Jail, where as a
rule there is better management than
in rural districts. City institutions are
visited by many people, whereas rural
Jail often is not.
DR.. budding finds that people who
60 to inspect conditions do not, unless
they are experienced, see the bad side
Of Jail management. If they write
ahead to make an appointment, the e.
ficials are warned, and the place is
cleaned up when they arrive. Officials
pilot them over the building and point
out the excellent order and the cheer
full prisoners.
The visitors may be asked if they
wish to talk with the inmates; but with
guard present, such a conversation is
not revealing. For a prisoner to
complain of the food or to remark that
the table dishes had been washed that