OCR Text |
Show 1 FEASTED IX A JAIL. THE EXPERIENCE OF KATE FIELD AND AN ACENT OF JUSTICE As Ouests of the Warden-The Evils of Prison tabor, as They Leaked Out in h Court Roora Need of More J udgea on the Bench. That ubiquitous missionary of the department depart-ment of justice, J. T. Stutsman, esq., had 3'ifet junketed out to the penitentiary and featk in company -w ith Miss Kate Pield and nited States Marshal Parsons when a 'u'r rcPIesentative landed on the scene. 'We've had a royal trip," exclaimed the lighted limb of the law, "and seen another example of the excellent condition of Uncle caw's affairs in the department of Utah." "Eminently correct are you there," chimed the omnipresent Miss Field, "and if ny onc challenges your expression jnst refer re-fer them to the original of this card." - "Yffs," said the knight of justice,- "we have been through a prison and never heard a complaint. AVe have seen a well-conducted school, a library far superior in the number, and character of its volumes to many of which the stone fronts of Washington Wash-ington boast, and a set of prisoners who are i-eij;ned to it if not happy in their fate. The rmon is airy, the vent-illation is perfect and I see but one thing that opens itself to a suggestion from any one there is not nought work to busy its inmates. Nor do I bc any remedy for that. You can't put them to work on your farms, vou have no quarries under territorial" operation, J'our manufactories arc limited and scarce furnish more labor than Is necessary to keep up the comforts of a Jaw-abidinir home, and there is no appeal ,m V.10 present somnolence of the prisoner's prison-er's life. Then ny;ain the active eniploy-tnent eniploy-tnent of prison labor outside its own dreary Jurisdiction has always given rise to disturbances disturb-ances between labor and the government and between you and I. I doubt the propriety pro-priety of giving employment until necessity compels it, and then I want the definition of necessity to read like this: "Necessity, n; a deplorable and insurmountable condition of fate, superinduced by the impoverished Bupply. of labor and for which there is iio remedy save an appeal to prison labor." In that emergency, and where every hand was supplied with employment, I say there would be a valid excuse for the employment of prison labor. "Again the active use of prison labor you may not hare observed it gives rise to other evils, to other iniquities. I remember an episode in my travels up in the northeast v here, I was going to say, a factory to every family at all events where they are very numerous. The police authorities had been waging a crusade on the vagabonds, and they were appealing to everj" ruse to liberate themselves. "How long have you been out of work?" demanded the court of one fellow. "Purty nigh onto live months, y'honor," he said with good old Quaker candor. "How have you succeeded in keeping the Wolf from the door durinsr that period?'"' 'With the help o' tio:l an' the neighbors.' 'Haven't you about worn out those sources of life? You're a strong, hearty fellow, why don't you seek work?' 'I have, but thar haint none.' 'Been to AVolcott's woolen mills? 'Yes, sir: no woik.' 'To Ford's foundry?' 'Ys, sir ; no work.' 'What did they say to you T Told me to com 'round in a few days; that they was workin' prison labor now and they was goiu' to let a fellow out in a few days as his sentence expired.' "No;the court didn't tine him" resumed Mr. Stutsman, "but it did read, if my memory serves me, a chapter on the evils of prison labor in American work shops." "Have you inquired into the neceesity for more judues that the old ones miijht get an opportunity to breathe?" piped the inter-Viewer. inter-Viewer. "Not far enough to make a recommendation, recommenda-tion, but my observations at this time have been that the courts here are going all the time, that a breathing spell is a, novelty if not a surprise party to. your judges and tatf they are doine more work than anv 6et I've ,evcr been. When you become a state hut that period appears to be vcrv vague and indefinite in-definite your state, courts will furnish relief sual reduce the rcsponsibilies that now burden bur-den the foot of the docket, and which our friend McMillan hre t.ys. is so monstrous hig now that ' he tan scarcely dras it into the emirt rham- I rT. But I believe you -n ill ho allowed ad ditional judges when your case is properly rretcnted to congress whkh convenes in December: at all events I wish the present movement in that direction luck." Mr. Stut-man will be enaiT'd in this ter-Titorp ter-Titorp until the eve of the. hoiidavs and in the meantime every effort is being made to render Ins visit a pleasant one. |