"THIRSTY" ISLAND.

NZ Truth, Issue 217, 21 August 1909, Page 4

"THIRSTY" ISLAND.

POIGNANT PLAINTS FROM PAKATOA. §1

How Pauper Patients are Exploited.

THE DAMNATION OF THE DIPSOMANIAC.

Crawlers, Sneaks and Hypocrites Rampant.

(By Mix- Inmate.)

I think it is time that the public and all those who have subscribed to the I funds of the Salvation Army for the benefit of the Salvation Army inebriates' Home at Pakatoa Island should be made acquainted with the way things are managed there. On the island there arc three (3) grades of patients— those who have gone there voluntarily and who pay 30s a week for board and who board at the manager's house ; secondly, those also v*ho have gone voluntarily and who piv T^=? per week ; thirdly, those who ; .v> • sent by the magistrates for iu> o ne and two years,- undtfr the • Tai/it'.^j Drunkards' Act. The last two classes of tiatients board together at the 1 irarracks. The rank injustice under which some of the patients (those sentenced to two years) labor is the principal cause of the- great discontent on the Island ; why should one man get douMc the length of sentence that another man docs when all are equally first offenders under the Act ? Some months ago Dr. Findlay., Minister of Justice, paid a visit to the Island. A petition was presented to him by the men sentenced to two- years. He acknowledged that they had cause for complaint, and said that when any two-year man had completed one year *of his sentence, he could send m a petition for remission of the 'remainder of his sentence, and if the manager's report was favorable he would be released. Shortly after that four men sent m their- petitions. Three were released. These were all recommended by the manager, simply because they HAD BEEN CRAWLERS AND TALEBEARKR'S, and been useful men m carrying tales, and often wrong ones, of what the men had been saying and doing up to the manager ; and principally because they were regular attendants at the so-called religious meetings on Wednesdays and Sundays. One of these men, when spoken to about his tale-carrying propensities, acknowledged he did so, and said he would do any dirty trick to get out. Aliout three months ago two more men sent m petitions for relqaae, and an answer came back refusing the requests, saying they might send m another petition m six months' time. Wo reason was given them for the refusal, lioth men saw the manager about this. He said he could not understand it at all ; he knew no reasons why the petitions were refused. In fact, he had no complaint to make about any of the two-year men, for they were the best-behaved men on the island. About a month after this Mr Waldegrave, Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Justice, paid a visit to the Island. Both these men interviewed him, ana to one he said he would look further into the matter when he returned to Wellington. To the other he said it was ON ACCOUNT OF THE MANAGER'S REPORT, or words to that eftect. Now, which was telling the truth — the Manager or Mr Waldegrave ? Nothing further has been done m the matter for either man. One of the men's case was particularly hard, and most unjust, for he is a man who suf fers badly from asthma, has had three very bad attacks, and when the medical officer was called down 1 , in* all three cases m the middle of the night, he could only bring him round with difficulty. The man suffers from this distressing complaint every -night and is never free from it. When I>r 4 !l>ucdy, (Government Mcdi cal Officer, saw him shortly beiore his first year's detention was completed, hv said he .would recommend his discharge at the end of the 12 months, as he could see that the place did not agree witb him at all, being too near the sea. It's a most extraordinary ' thing that a Gov ernment medical officer's recommendation is of no; account m. this colony. , One recently imported officer from Australia makes a boast of his past escapades, and when he wants to prove how specially Christian he is he opens forth about when he got a man three years' imprisonment m Sydney. One Sunday evening at meeting he ridiculed the conversion of St. Paul as being nothing at all, not a patch to his own' conversion. He "boasts that if he were to die at that moment he would not mind, for he knows that all his sins are forgiven him, that HIS SOUL WAS WHITER THAN SNOW. At the present moment he was without sin, a converted, sacred man, making himself out to be the equal of (io,d Himself. This fellow, a hard-looking man, says he only wishes he could hear of any man saying a word against the SalvatioD Army or their methods, and he would take jolly good care that they did the whole of their time on the Island, even if it were five years. He says he is looking forward to the time when Ruthe's Island j is occupied by three and five year men, '< when he will make them sit up. That is ! the sort of man we are supposed to look up to and respect and whose uncorroborated word can take away any man's chance of getting a remission of a portion of his sentence. Another of this being's favorite sayings at meetings is that if any man' leaving the Island neglected the opportunity of being saved through them, he would leave 50 per cent, worse than when he entered. Considering their views are contrary to any known church this is a direct insult to Episcopalians and Roman Catholics, which should not . be tolerated by the Government, or the community at large. The Roman Catholics, to their credit, forbid the members of their Church to attend these meetings. Another shameful thing is that men who have too much self-respect and who have been taught m their younger days, that nd man is perfect save Him only, and therefore do not attend these extraordinary meetings, have a black mark put against them and are considered unfit to be discharged. Tales are taken to the manager by the "warders" and timeserving patients, and m nearly all cases nothing is said to the man himself. He is given no chance of defending himself ; he is condemned without a hearing, and only finds out when his petition for release is refused. Another thing — the sanitary conditions on the Island are shameful. There arc sixteen fixed wash-handstands m the men's bedrooms, and the whole of the dirty soapy water from these basins goes down tinder tho building, to lie there ?.nd soak gradually away. There is no 1 outlet for the water, the consequence being that the rooms are always damp, and i a fusty, mouldy smell m them. Clothe* hung on the walls GET COVERED WITH MILDEW, boots under the beds get green with 'mould ill a very short time. Even the :■ clothes and boots m trunks and boxes gcb |so damp that they have ail to be taken I out and dried every few weeks. In ono i room after heavy rain the water fronvbe- ' low soaks up through the floor. The only | time the men are allowed to wash their I clothes is Saturday afternoon. There /ire 1 35 men on the Island, and the convenienecs for doing this are two or three old ■ kerosene tins and two large round tins, one of which is also used for BOILING MUSSELS FOR THE PIGS. The water has to be boiled pn an open fire m the open air. So m wet weather no clothes can be washed. For the actual washing there Is one small iron b-ith. For bathing there is a bathing shed on the beach with a hath' m it. The door Is broken off, and a man suffering from astlTma sleeps m this shed at night. If you want a warm bath the water has to bo heated also on Saturday afternoon. Anybody can understand how difficult that would be when at ths same time some thirty men are washing their garments ; only three kerosene tins can be on the fire atfone time, and when you've '

got your water hot you'll have to carry it down to the bathing-shed. The consequence of this is that men who cannot stand bathing m the sea during the winter months have to go without baths. I know for a positive fact one man who was there for 12 months and never had a hath the whole time. Another man now there has only had one bath during his 14 months' sojourn on the Island, and that one was by the positive orders of the doctor, and it was such a shock for the man that he's had' one since. It will naturally •be asked, "Why don't the men complain?" If you do you are informed that it's not a first-ciass.hotel, and no one asked you to come. One man when he complained was told he was an •'agitator," and it would be remembered against him when he put m for remission. The fact ■is the men are afraid to say anything. All they want is to get a\vay, and they know that the manager, being omnipotent, or as he said he was one day, "Absolute," the best thing they can do is to grin and bear it. It is hard seeing m ; the papers such grossly 1 misleading statements as to the comforts and fine life patients are having and not being able to contradict, them and tell the truth about things, for no letters, with the exception of those addressed to Ministers of the Crown, Judges of the Supreme Court and Stipendiary Magistrates, are allowed to go out unread by the authorities ; even a man's, letters to his wife, or wife to husband, are opened and read by those m authority, and nothing is allowed to be said m any way criticising the Army or its ways. The consequence of all this sort of thing is that it has made the men a lot of . . •■ . „ .• CRAWLERS, TIMESERVERS AMDHYPOCRITES. . , The men simply go to the meetings to keep m with the manager, and make no 'secret of it. Again, the . so-called library, is a farce, consisting of a lot of girls' books, odd numbers of the Nineteenth Century and religious publications. Ail the magazines have been read, and if the Hon. Medical Officer (Dr. Barter) hadn't placed his extensive library at the disposal of any man wanting a book, after a month or two there ' would have been absolutely nothing to read, and many men have been there more than a year. Mr Poole, M.P., kindly sent some 6d editions of popular authors', and a few Chamber's Journals and some' magazines are all we have, and all these have been, read long ago. THE LICENSED VICTUALLERS' ASSOCIATION GAVE THE ARMY £600 for this place.j* Surely they could have spared £5 for books, which would have bought 200 6d. editions of good authors, but no, they could not" even do that ! When a man leaves the Island he is given £i. Out of this he has to pay steamer fare 5s 6d, leaving him 14s 6d. That won't last a man long! Not being able to get employment too often sends a man to drink." The Salvation : Army can do nothing, to get a man -work, ' for men don't want to work all their lives for them for nothing, or at the most Is 4d a day. -In fact, most men after their experience of the Army on this island want to have nqthing more.to dp with them. Surely a man should be given an opportunity immediately on leaving the Island to get work. * "■■ ' j Another vecy unjust thing is that "the one-year man" can say and do almost anything, whereas if a tworyear man says or does anything to offend them, and that is very easily and often unintentionally done, he> runs a. great risk of having to dp eighteen months or two years, and patients are reminded of this fact. What the writer wishes particularly to impress on the public is that an institution of the sort cannot prove a . success unless the inmates have confidence m, and respect for, those m charge, which' it is utterly impossible to have for those who glory m having been the lowest of the low— the scum of the earth. Even' in prisons at Home the Governor is'nearly always an ex-officer of one of the services, and a gentleman, for the simple reason HE CAN COMMAND RESPECT, which is the chief thing m handling men to advantage. The Government subsidy covers all cost of the men, the cash patients pay at a rate that leaves a large profit, and the public have subscribed liberally some thousands of pounds. Where does the money go ? The funny part of this so-called "cure" is 'the fact that though some 25 men have been discharged as cured, the writer only knows of two who have not since appeared at the Police Courts TO ANSWER A CHARGE OF DRUNKENNESS, and m many cases they have appeared two or three times; The manager, even when a man is discharged and his destination is away from Auckland, has to see the man off by train or boat, as the case may be, for fear he should imbibe too freely immediately on landing m Auckland from the Island. How long is the public going to be gulled into allowing the public money to be wasted m . this way? Banishing men away for years, and paying J the Salvation Army to keep them, at the same time giving them the labor of these men ? If Mr Setfdon had been alive I am certain he would not have allowed such a scandalous state of things, it being both a waste of public money and men's labor. According to Dr. Findlay the men at . the tree-planting camps are working at a profit of 15s per man per week ; the men at Pakatoa are costing the Government 7s per man per week. Why m the name of common sense cannot tree-plant-ing camps be formed for men sentenced to one and two years' detention under the Habitual Drunkards' Act ? The men themselves would be only too glad to be doing some useful work for tne country, for they are now workers tor the sole benefit of the Salvation Army, costing the taxpayers 7s per man per week when they might be earning 15s per man per week and benefiting the State and future generations. In money alone It is a difference of 22s per man per week,, on an average of 10 men it is £2288 per annum, arid as the Salvation Army hope to have 100 men m their charge when 'Ruthe's',. lsland is fixed up, ib would then mean a SAVING OF £5720 PER ANNUM. The men at present are simply paupers supported by the State and exploited at the expense of the country for the sole benefit of a private orjani^aticn. Though Eotne people may not think it, tho men have some feeling, some manhood ana some self-respect, and the circumstances of the life and surroundings c:n the inland nra not conducive to >.e-ping any d the^e feelU'gs long. Retrenchment iv the order of the day. Here is one w*y of retrenching thai would not fall hare on anybody, but instead vrould do incalculable good. The men wo'cM rn.w they were earning their keep und f-oiue.Uiing considerably over and be .aUle to k»p their sell-respect, keep m better health, and have over tbem those who understand men and who tlsey could look up to and have respect for. which is certainly not the case now.