THE TOMBS.

NZ Truth, Issue 151, 9 May 1908, Page 7

THE TOMBS.

NEW YORK'S GRIM PRISON.

The Murderer's Wing— Ethics of the Law— A Bogus English Lord.

A Prison Chaplain's Experiences of Prisons and Prisoners.

(BY DR. ZILLMANN.)

111. Having passed out again into the stonepaved prison yard we stand facing the ponderous iron-railed gateway of the "Old Tombs Prisons," called "old" because this was the original building where, jn the early days of the city and the republic, those denizens of the Commonwealth were detained who were charged with crimes which, if not disproved, deprived them of the glorious privileges of free citizenship. Immediately on entering at your left, just inside a railing, is the desk where "the recording clerk" sits, where the pedigree of each prisoner is taken on arrival, the number of his cell assigned to him, and where the dismissal and departure of all male prisoners are registered. There are still further to the left, within still another iron-railing, and behind high wooden screens, six rather capacious cells, three on each side of the corridor, where MURDERERS CONDEMNED TO DEATH are confined, and where they are retained until . railroaded to Sing Sing for execution, \or until their appeals to the High Court are decided. This part of the prisons is called "Murderer's^ Row." Strange how custom breeds indiiferencc. The horror of first visiting those cells later on became quite a matter of fact performance of everyday duty to me. True I could never get over a certain kind of disagreeable sense of coming doom for the unfortunates I visited here ; but my general feeling, so far as I can recall, i was that I had as much kindly and favorable appreciation of my efforts to benefit the prisoners from this part .of that great establishment as any other. From this part of the building, you look above to tier upon tier of long rows (taking the entire length) of about 100 cells m each tier. The balconies are rather narrow and bridged over m the middle and near the ends. In all these cells prisoners arc confined, generally two m each cell waiting for THE TIME OF TRIAL or the time of departure to the regular 'State prisons where they are to serve their sentences ; or, if they have appealed, waiting the result of the appeal. Twenty-two out of the twenty-four hours of the' day are spent m those cells. Only two hours', from Bto 9 m the morning, and from 2to 3 m the afternoon, are 'spent m taking exercise. There is no privacy here. Mothers, wives, sisters have to stand outside the bars while they interview their relatives and friends m the cells. Only an official on duty, or the chaplain oh his usual round, has access to the prison cell. This rigorous discipline for -innocent men (for the law adjudges everyone innocent until proved guilty) is carried to an extreme sometimes that one would scarcely credit. A story was told m a well-known weekly journal called "Once a Week," m a serial story called "The Ethics of the Law," illus-» trating HOW CRUEL THE LAW IS sometimes. My own name is -.mentioned m this story m that connection, and the whole system of prison discipline is arraigned for its cold-blooded cruelty. The case specially referred to was' printed m the pages of the "New York World," and I can certify to the truth of the following extract : — "It was "a tfme of the year when, instead of being hot and humid, the cells were cold and damp. J. M. was taken ill with pneumonia. Every effort to secure his transfer to a hospital, where he could enjoy proper food and attendance,, was madd by the visiting physician, by the warden, and by Dr. Zillmann, the chaplain, but as the man was awaiting sentence for a^ minor degree of larceny the •Judge insisted that he should remain where he was. His wife could only speak to him through the grating of the door. Delirious, alone, he died without the solace of a hand on his brow." I said 1 could certify to the truth of this extract. I wish to slightly correct that. The prison physician only interfered after the chaplain had repeatedly brought the matter before the prison authorities, and then he complained of THE CHAPLAIN'S INTERFERENCES. The difficulty all along was owing to the prisoner not yet having been sentenced, and until then he is supposed to be m the hands, of the Judge, who, alone, can give permission for removal from the cell. Recorder Smythe, the Windeyer of New York Judges (and that will explain his

I attitude) refused my appeals for the man's removal to the hospital time after time until it was too late. As to the refined cruelty of prison discipline, let me give the following case :— A man aged 55— he looked 70, for consumption had already made serious inroads into his constitution— after being kept for many months m one of these cells, was tried, found guilty of arson, and sentenced to twenty years' penal ser-* vitude. He could not possibly live more than a third of that time. His wife had died just before his arrest, and his three daughters, m deep mourning, visited him regularly until he was sent away to begin bis term of imprisonment. The goodbye between father and daughters was most affecting. Later on, I heard that the daughters had been gaily dressed ; their checks had . THE SCARLET OF SHAME, not of maidenly blushes. This is only a case I give at random, and it will illustrate "•enerally what I meant m my opening remarks about the administration of out penal laws inflicting more wrong than they are supposed to correct. Here is another case :— A tall, handsome looking man, whose marked features betrayed his Jewish nationality, was taking farewell to his wife and family and five small children. He had been sentenced to 18 years' for arson. The wife stood outside the bars near the recording clerk with a baby m arms and four small chil r dren at her side. The man having had the particulars of his sentence entered, was allowed to step outside the rails to : say good-bye. I never felt a worse three minutes of emotion^ and had to turn away from the sight of the father saying good-bye to his wife and babies. Quick, however, was the word, AND CLICK, CLlcfc went the hand-cuffs and chains as he took his place m the gang and departed. I remained to condole with the wife and her little ones, and was enabled to give her information concerning the Hebrew orphanage up town, where I heard she found refuge for her . children. One morning, while making my usual round of visits m one of the tiers of the j old prisons, I noticed a mild, intelligent, respectable-looking man with a most woe-begone countenance. He did not look like a criminal, but told me that only a few days before ■he had completed a term of five years at Sing Sing. He was again m the clutches of the law. As it turned out he had to begin another term j of eight years. His ,story was dreadfully I sad. While serving his five years his wife, sorrow-stricken and oper- weigh ted with the I burden of providing for a small family, fell sick and died. He had kept up a cor- j rcspondence with the kindly , neighbors, who undertook the charge of' the children I until the father returned— his time having nearly expired— but not imagining that his release was so near they had moved to another part of the city Avithout writing to him. When he arrived he went to the old place, and not finding them there, went to an hotel close by. . Two mild glasses ■of Jagor were only slightly stimulating, and he was about to proceed m quest of his little ones. Just at • that moment two customers approached : "STAY, FRIEND AND HAVE A DRINK." It .was a stronger fluid this time r and the truth of the Russian saying was verified : "The man takes a glass, the glass takes a glass, and the glass takes the man." I don't know what happened, but I believe one of the men died from a blow. This man pleaded guilty, and was sentenced right away to another eight years within three weeks of the time of completing his first sentence. I could go on with these kind of experiences and could fill volumes, but I may now vary my remarks somewhat and describe other cases. One of my distinct recollections was that of A BOGUS ENGLISH. LORD, who knew something (a good deal) about Australian society, and may have been known m quarters not mentioned by him. He was glib-tongued enough m talking about. Governors antU their entourage of officialdom. He callen himself "Lord Beresford," and claimed that he was one of the renowned Beresfoi'ds of Ireland. At that time I was associated m City Mission work with the Rev. Jocelyn Johnston, formerly an Irish Church clergyman, who was m a position to disprove this man's aristocratic pretensions. As asnociation recalls incidents 1 , I may here mention that pne day my friend, Mr Johnston, walked into my room with an opened telegram signed by Lord Belmore's son to the effect "Thanks to your .good coaching, I successfully passed my exams, for B.A. degree to-day." When I informed Mr Johnston, who had been private tutor to Lord Belmore's son, that I had ( been chaplain to the Governor many year's I before, during his sojourn at the' Governor's country residence, Throsby Park, at the time I was m charge of Sutton Forest parish, and that it was during my incumbency there that Lord Belmore's , SON AND HEIR was born, his astonishment may be better imagined than described. However, Mr Johnston, who had * an Academical acquaintance (through Trinity College, Dublin) with the Beresfords, upon my mentioning the case of "Lord Beresford" to him, requested me to arrange for a visit to the prisons m company with me. "If he is a Beresford," He said, "I shall know him at once." We went to the prisons together, and after out\ interview with his 'lordship," he said, emphatically, "The fellow is no morn a Beresford than I am." He certainly had MANNERS ENOUGH FOR A DOZEN LORDS, and seemed to have been remarkably successful m imposing on the upper ten, or "the favored four hundred" as they are called, of New York society. He had married a highly-refined and well-educated American lady, whom he had first met m crossing the Atlantic, and with the money and influence which she brought to him he started on a most ambitious career of fraud. He appeared m Georgia as the representative of a wealthy English syndicate and began negotiating for tbe purchase of extensive trade and property interests. In this way he was enabled to command a great deal of money m the shape of United States dollar bills, which he transformed into British gold, and placed on board a ship destined for Europe. He had only just got on board m New York harbor when a detective placed his hand oh his shoulder and invited him ■ to accompany him on j A WARRANT OF ARREST for the Tombs prisons. (Here I met "my lord" two or three days" after. He was detained here for sever at months, as he fought his extradition to Georgia, and at last, when he "had to go," he was tried there and sentenced to five years, against which sentence he appealed, and got out on very high bail, himself and another or 10,000 dollars each. Anotner attempt at a bolt was made, and this time he was making for tue Canadian border. The last I heard of him was that the appeal had gone against him, and that he had at last to begin bis long-de-layed live years m one of Ucorgia's State prisons.