Show COUNTY JAIL CLUBS I 1 A queer quo er organization of prisoners behind the bars bare air he court and d its if ariona 02 Ala an initiation into the tb of f the ayt order I 1 the most interesting of these impromptu clubs is the one called in the vernacular the kangaroo court it is found almost entirely in county jails in which petty offenders and persons ns awaiting trial are confined during the day writes josiah flynt in har pera magazine the prisoners are allowed the freedom of a large hall and at night they lodge in cells the looks locks of which are sometimes fastened and sometimes not the hall contains tables benches daily papers and in some instances stoves and kitchen utensils a the prisoners can and do wall walk jump and play vanous various games after awhile these games become tiresome und the kan kangaroo sharoo court is formed it consists of all the prisoners and the officers are elected cl by them the positions they fill are the judgeship the earcher ship the and general jury ship to illustrate the duties of these various officials I 1 shall give a personal experience in a county jail annew in new york state it was my first encounter with the kangaroo court I 1 had been arrested for sleeping in an empty box car the watchman found me and lodged mein me in the station house where I 1 spent a most gloomy night wondering what my punish punishment melt r would be early in the morning I 1 was brought before tb the squire esquire ile he ask asked ed in me what my name might be and I 1 replied that it might he be billy rice what are you doing around here billy he be queried further looking for work your honor thirty days he thundered at me and I 1 was led away to the jail proper I 1 had three companions at the time and after we had passed the sheriff and his clerk who had noted down all the facts imaginary and otherwise that we had cared to give him about our family histories we were ushered pell mell into the large hall surrounded in a twinkling by the other prisoners we were asked to explain our general principles and misdemeanors this over and a few salutations exchanged a tall and lanky rogue cried out in a loud voice I 1 the kanaru will now T there h e T were ere about twenty present soon and n d t they h e y soon planted themselves about us in a most solemn manner some rested on their haunches others lounged against the walls and still others sat quietly on the te flagstones flag stones As soon as entire quiet had been reached the tall fellow who by the way was the judge instructed a half grown companion whom le nicknamed the searcher to bring his charges against the newcomers he approached p pro ached us solemnly and in a most conventional manner and said prisoners prisoner you are charged with havin boodle in ver pockets wha does ye plead guilty or not guil guilty I 1 was the first in line and pleaded not guilty are ye willin to be ba searched asked a the judge 1 I am your honor I 1 replied then the searcher inspected all my pockets the lining of my coat the leather band inside hylint my hat my shoes and socks and finding nothing in inthe the shape of money declared that I 1 was guiltless you are discharged exclaimed the judge and the jury ratified the decision with a grunt A young fellow a vagrant by profession slon I 1 was the next case ile he pleaded not guilty and allowed himself to be searched but unfortunately ho he had forgotten a solitary cent which was in his vest pocket it was quickly confiscated and he was remanded for trial on the charge of contempt of the kan gru 11 the next victim pleaded guilty to the possession of thirty six cents and was relieved of half the last I 1 man an the guiltiest of all although he pleaded innocence was found out and his three dollars were taken away from him instanter he too was charged with contempt of court his case came up scon after the preliminaries were over and he was sentenced by the judge to walk the length of the corridor one hundred and two times each day of his confinement besides washing all the dishes used after dinner for a week after all the trials were over the confiscated money was handed to the genuine tur turnkey rikey with instructions that it be invested in tobacco later in the day the tobacco was brought into the jail and equally divided among all the prisoners the next day I 1 with the other late arrivals was initiated as a member of the kangaroo court it was a very simple proceeding I 1 had to promise that I 1 would always do my share of the necessary cleaning and washing and also be honest and fair in judging the cases which might come up for trial since then I 1 have had opportunities of studying other kangaroo courts but they have all been very much like the one I 1 have just described they are both socialistic and autocratic and at times they are very funny but wherever they are they command the respect of jailbirds jail birds and if a prisoner insults the court he is punished very severely moreover it avails him nothing to complain to the authorities he has too many against him and the best thing ho he can do is to become one of them as soon as possible |