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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63641 ***</div>
<h1 class="pgx" title="">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The New York Tombs Inside and Out!, by John
Josiah Munro</h1>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
Note:
</td>
<td>
Images of the original pages are available through
Internet Archive. See
https://archive.org/details/cu31924080788643
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
<hr class="pgx" />
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div class='figcenter id001'>
<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><span class='small'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c000' />
</div>
<div class='figcenter id002'>
<img src='images/i002.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>John J. Munro<br />Ex-chaplain of the Tombs.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c000' />
</div>
<p class='c001'> </p>
<div class='box1'>
<div class='box2'>
<div>
<h1 class='c002'><span class='large'>───────── THE ─────────</span><br /> <br /><span class='c003'>New York Tombs</span><br /> <br /><span class='c003'>Inside and Out!</span></h1>
</div>
</div>
<div class='box2'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c000'>
<div><span class='large'><i>Scenes and Reminiscences Coming Down to the</i></span></div>
<div><span class='large'><i>Present.—A Story Stranger Than Fiction,</i></span></div>
<div><span class='large'><i>With an Historic Account of</i></span></div>
<div><span class='large'><i>America’s Most Famous</i></span></div>
<div><span class='large'><i>Prison.</i></span></div>
<div class='c004'>By</div>
<div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>JOHN JOSIAH MUNRO,</span></div>
<div><span class='small'>Ex-Chaplain of the Tombs.</span></div>
<div class='c005'>(<i>Illustrated</i>)</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='box2'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center'>
<div>BROOKLYN, N. Y.</div>
<div class='c000'>Printed and Published by the Author,</div>
<div>at 186 Ainslie Street.</div>
<div class='c000'>PRICE, $1.50.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'> </p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<p class='c007'> </p>
<div class='box3'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center'>
<div>Copyrighted, 1909,</div>
<div>by</div>
<div>John J. Munro,</div>
<div>Brooklyn, N. Y.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c008'>
<div><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Thomas J. Blain, printer</span>,</span></div>
<div><span class='small'>PORT CHESTER, NEW YORK.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c008' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>INTRODUCTION.<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>By Rev. Madison C. Peters, D. D.</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>I have known the author of this book for many years.
He was once associated with me in my ministerial work.
I know all about his work as Chaplain of the Tombs, and
have often spoken with him about the conditions prevailing
in that institution, and have again and again urged him to
tell the public all he knows about its inside workings. I
have every reason to believe from what I know of the
author, that he has written a true story, one which every
citizen of Greater New York should read, and which ought
to arouse the red-hot blood of every lover of his kind.</p>
<p class='c006'>The book ought to be in the hands of every clergyman,
lawyer, physician, and of every good citizen. It will furnish
material for sermons and addresses, and give impulse
and impetus to all the workers for social betterment, and
bring to us the blessings of Him who said: “I was in
prison and ye visited Me.”</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>THANKS.</h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>In the preparation of this work, I feel I am under lasting
obligations for discriminating advice and kindly suggestions
tendered me at different times by many friends. But
I am under special debt to Mr. George H. Sandison, Managing
Editor, and J. A. Belford, Art Editor of the Christian
Herald, for valuable suggestions.</p>
<p class='c006'>I also express my sincere thanks to the Rev. Madison
C. Peters, D. D., whose clarion voice against wrongs and
abuses of various kinds has been heard all over Greater New
York, for many helpful suggestions. I am also thankful to
many of the New York magazines and papers for kind
words and much interest in articles of mine on Prison
Work that have appeared from time to time. These magazines
and papers include Harper’s Weekly, Success, Van
Norden, Intelligencer, Christian Advocate, Examiner,
Press, Presbyterian, Witness and many others.</p>
<p class='c006'>I extend my thanks also to Messrs. Harper & Bro., for
the use of a cut, and to the Evening Journal for the loan
of photographs.</p>
<div class='c011'><span class='sc'>The Author.</span></div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
</div>
<div class='lg-container-l c005'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>The Author, Rev. John J. Munro</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Children’s Court</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>General Sessions Judges</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Criminal Branch of Supreme Court</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Ex-Police Commissioner Theodore A. Bingham</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Police Commissioner Baker at His Desk</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>New Tombs Prison</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Corridor of Women’s Prison</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Old Tombs Entrance on Leonard Street</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Davis, Who Pardoned Himself Out of Prison</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Sing Sing Prison Entrance</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Sing Sing Chapel</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>The Death Chamber at Sing Sing</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>New Police Headquarters</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Sunday Morning Service in the Old Tombs</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Old Police Headquarters</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Justice Blanchard of Supreme Court</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Justice Goff of the Supreme Court</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>The Bridge of Sighs</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Hon C. V. Collins, Superintendent of Prisons</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Hon. John F. McIntyre, Criminal Lawyer</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Scene in the Tenderloin Station House</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Mrs. John A. Foster, the Tombs Angel</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Putting a Crook Through the “Third Degree” at Police Headquarters</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Roll Call in a Station House at Midnight</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Men’s Prison</span></div>
<div class='line'><span class='sc'>Women’s Prison</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>CONTENTS.</h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>FOREWORD</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>PERSONAL EXPERIENCES<br /><br /> The strange circumstances of a visit to the Tombs on an errand of mercy.—Early impressions more than thirty years ago.—Recollections—Humane Overseers.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#fwd'>11</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER I.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THE TOMBS<br /><br /> A modern Prison Barracks—Personal Experiences—Amazing stories of corruption—Ruth Howard’s bomb—Charges pigeon-holed—Commissioner Hynes’ Administration—Bissert in clover—Drunken prisoners—The gamblers’ paradise—Lawyers and clients—Privileges for the few—Abusing the unfortunate—The food—Tammany Politics—City Prisons in charge of State authorities.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch01'>17</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER II.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS PRISON<br /><br /> The Collect Pond of three generations ago—King William’s Experience—Agitation to fill up—How it came to be called the Tombs—Size of the old Tombs—Retrospect—The New Tombs—When Opened—The semiofficial characters.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch02'>29</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER III</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>MODERN EXCUSES FOR CRIME<br /><br /> Criminal instincts—Moral defectives—Inducing men to commit crime—Examples—The fair sex as tempters—The irresistible impulse—Drawing the line.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch03'>38</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER IV.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>HOW CRIMINALS ARE MADE<br /><br /> Increase in crime—Fierce modern temptations—Strong drink as a crime maker—Immigration—Gladstone’s dictum—Finding the causes—Is there a remedy?</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch04'>45</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER V.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE SCIENTIFIC CRIMINAL<br /><br /> The criminal product of the 20th century—A crook’s outfit—Criminal character—Beating the law—Anthropology—Lombroso as an authority on crime—Crime and the Nation—Repressive measures.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch05'>50</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER VI.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>SOME FAMOUS TOMBS PRISONERS<br /><br /> The irony of fate—The innocent and guilty—Monroe Edwards—Murderers’ Row—Scannel, Croker, Erastus Wyman, Ferdinand Ward, Buchanan, Carlyle Harris, Patrick and Thaw.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch06'>57</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER VII</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE DANGEROUS EDUCATED CROOK<br /><br /> The fallacy that education cures crime—Moral training necessary—John Howard and education—Industry and crime—Elmira’s experience—Where the educated crook is dangerous—Examples.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch07'>62</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER VIII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>LEAVES FROM THE HISTORY OF A CHECKERED CAREER<br /><br /> The remarkable confessions of one of the brightest, brainiest and smartest crooks of his day.<br /> How He Pardoned Himself Out of Prison<br /> Admits total depravity—His prayer—Serving time in a Coal Mine—Impersonating a clergyman—Feigning to be deaf and dumb—Bemoaning His sad condition.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch08'>67</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER IX.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CROOK<br /> How a Young Life Was Wrecked<br /><br /> A New England ancestry—An indulgent mother—Idleness and bad company—The feelings of a guilty conscience—Work or crime, which?—State prison—Liberty—Again arrested—A new career in crime—Many burglaries.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch09'>75</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER X</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>WANDERING STARS AND BUZZARDS OF THE TOMBS<br /> Thrilling Experiences<br /><br /> The study of human nature—Deception of the looks—Chronic liars—A deserter from Russia—Chump of Harlem—Many dark records—Four years for telling a lie—Capt. Jack—Crooked Kahn—The Panel Crooks—Wilson’s career—The dress slasher—Amazing cheek.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch10'>81</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XI.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>BRILLIANT FORGERY CROOKS<br /><br /> Forgery as a fine art—A skilled crime—Forgery experts—Becker, the King of Forgers—His career—Three of a kind.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch11'>100</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>CHANGING THE GRAND JURY INTO A BOARD OF CRIMINAL EXPERTS<br /> A New Classification of Criminals<br /><br /> Popular demand to abolish the Grand Jury—Judges ask for legal indictments—Too rapid work in Grand Jury room—The weakness of the system—Rich men on the Grand Jury—Under the control of District-Attorney—Board of Criminal Experts—Save the county millions of dollars—Cases—An original classification.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch12'>108</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XIII</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>SCHOOLS OF CRIME<br /> How Young Crooks are Educated<br /><br /> Crime both infectious and contagious—Importing crooks—New York prisons, crime breeders—Modern Fagins—Breaking up Faginism—Best remedy morality in the public schools.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch13'>120</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XIV.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>YOUTHFUL DELINQUENTS AND THE CHILDREN’S COURT<br /><br /> The cause of temptations—Reasons for children in crime—Evil resorts—Conversations with child criminals—The German boy—The Children’s Court—Its origin—Crime among poor children the result of social conditions—Incorrigibles—The good work of the Children’s Aid Society—Foolish “coddling” of lawless children.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch14'>126</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XV.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE ROD AS A REFORMATIVE AGENT IN THE EDUCATION OF YOUTHFUL LAWBREAKERS<br /><br /> A recent ruling on corporal punishment—Favored by best prison reformers—Horace Mann—School Principals and teachers—Supt. Brockway—What they do in England and Germany—Rights of parents—Lawless homes—Crime more demoralizing than pain—An experienced probation officer—What others say.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch15'>133</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XVI</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>CRIME AMONG WOMEN<br /> (1) The Social Evil. (2) Felonies. (3) The Shoplifter.<br /><br /> Causes of crime among women—Reasons for moral leprosy—The Cadet system—How carried on—Examples—The celestials of Chinatown—Women of the Tombs—Mother Mandelbaum—Queen Bertha—A belle from old Kentucky—Others—The modern shoplifter—Examples.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch16'>139</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XVII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE STEAL OR STARVE UNFORTUNATES<br /><br /> A great omission—Poverty and social conditions the cause of crime—The unemployed—Hungry children—Poverty homes and crime—What ex-convicts say—Hungry men commit crime to be sent to prison—Want food.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch17'>151</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XVIII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>HOW YOUNG MEN BREAK INTO PRISON<br /><br /> Startling facts—Save young men—The way of the transgressor—How young men go down—Example—Percentage of young men—Opinion of Supt. Brockway—Generators of crime—Fast living—Examples—Bad associates—Need of agencies.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch18'>157</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XIX</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>OUR POLICE GUARDIANS<br /><br /> Prevention better than cure—An experienced Superintendent—Politics the curse of the Department—The Lexow investigations—The single-headed Commissioner—Present standing of the Police—The work of a policeman—The cost of the police for 1909—General Bingham.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch19'>164</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XX.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE DETECTIVE BUREAU<br /><br /> The Detective Bureau—Early heads—Modern methods—Crime as a science—The Dewey parade—Detectives in disguise—Old world methods—Scotland Yard and French methods—The work of the stool pigeon—Examples.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch20'>171</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXI.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE ROGUES’ GALLERY AND THE THIRD DEGREE<br /><br /> The Gallery—Measurement of crooks—Clippings—Up to date records—Arrests last year—Curiosities of crime—Mugging crooks—The third degree, what is it—Inspector Byrnes and Jake Sharp—The third degree in Germany.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch21'>179</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXII</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE CITY GANGS<br /><br /> City gangs for sixty years—Political clans—The Bloody Sixth—The Whyo Gang—How they lived—Relation to crime—Paul Kelly and Monk Eastman Gangs—Their East Side pull.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch22'>185</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXIII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>CRIMINAL TRIALS AND THE GLORIOUS UNCERTAINTY OF THE LAW<br /><br /> Noted criminal trials—Catering to depraved tastes—Some great trials—Legal loopholes—Beating the case—Many trials a farce—Swift justice for criminals—Homicide trials—Lax condition of courts—Greasing the machinery of the law—Crooks at the bar of justice—Noted criminal lawyers—Strange sentences—Examples.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch23'>190</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXIV.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>CRIMINAL BRANCH OF THE SUPREME COURT<br /><br /> The new Constitution—Abolition of the Oyer and Terminer—An exclusively criminal court—The highest Court in the State—Criminal branch of the Supreme Court in session nine months—Cases of great public importance—Narrow margin between civil and criminal law—Dead sympathies—Variety of thinking—Merging the General Sessions.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch24'>202</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXV</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>SHARKS AND SHYSTERS OF OUR CRIMINAL COURTS<br /><br /> Fallen on evil days—Robbing clients—Examples—Steerers and policemen—The City and District prisons—Grafting around Courts.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch25'>206</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXVI.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>SCENES IN OUR POLICE COURTS<br /><br /> The sorting Criminal Bureau—How crooks are gathered in the pens—The Magistrates’ Court—The shyster and ward heeler—The power of a pull—Examples—Mike Maguire—The drunks—Sunday morning at the Tombs Court—Small justice—Good Judges.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch26'>213</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXVII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>CROOKED CROOKS IN PRISONS<br /> Crime Committed in Penal Institutions<br /><br /> Brilliant men in prison—Bold crooks—Dr. Robertson’s experience with crooks—Shep of New York—A big undertaking—His success—Counterfeiters in Auburn—Big discovery—Sent to Clinton Prison.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch27'>219</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXVIII</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>SCENES DURING VISITING HOURS IN THE TOMBS<br /><br /> A polyglot assembly—Many nationalities—Pathetic scenes—The guilty son—The young woman—Mothers kneeling—The newsboy—Murderers’ Row—Negroes—Italians—Germans—The prisoner’s plaint.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch28'>226</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXIX.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>DOES IMPRISONMENT REFORM?<br /><br /> A hard question—Changing character—Cure for crime—Brooding over the past—Born crooks—Lines of circumvallation—Efforts made to reform—Evolution of prison reform—Needed reforms to-day—The greatest barrier.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch29'>236</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXX.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>STRONG DRINK AND CRIME<br /><br /> Personal observations of the effect of strong drink—Close the saloons and you will close the prisons—Moral supineness—A New York expert on murders—The Medical News—Empty jails in Prohibition States.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch30'>243</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div class='c000'>CHAPTER XXXI</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE ANGELS OF THE TOMBS<br /><br /> The phrase originally given to only two missionary workers—How Mrs. Schaffner became a Tombs Angel—Her work as a missionary—The second Tombs Angel, Mrs. John A. Forster—A night in the Death House—How missionaries are deceived.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch31'>248</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>WEDDINGS OF THE TOMBS<br /><br /> Marriages performed since 1838—Two kinds, voluntary and compulsory—One of the earliest marriages—Married on the train to Sing Sing—Lawyer Patrick’s venture—Other marriages.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch32'>256</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXIII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>AFTER SENTENCE, WHAT?<br /><br /> From Tombs to State Prison—English system—Received in prison—Initiation, classification and shops—A prison reformer—What he has done to improve the prisoner’s lot—A new discipline—The soul of reformation.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch33'>261</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXIV</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE TOMBS<br /><br /> John C. Colt—A suicide—Hanging day in the Tombs—The hanging of Harry Carlton—Scenes around the building—Official list of the executed.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch34'>269</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXV.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>A VISIT TO THE DEATH HOUSE AT SING SING<br /><br /> A never-to-be-forgotten visit—Supreme Court orders—The earliest victims—The escape of Pallister and Roche—What I saw—The men present—Casconea’s experience.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch35'>277</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXVI.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>A TRAMP COLONY<br /><br /> What shall be done with our tramps?—Organize a colony—How graded—Working on business principles—The cost of such an undertaking—What the French do—Habitual criminals and misdemeanants—How they may be segregated and classified.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch36'>284</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXVII</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE COST OF CRIME IN GREATER NEW YORK<br /><br /> A staggering question—Rikers Prison—A national waste—Careful study of the cost of crime—Crime on the increase—Direct expenditures—Indirect expenditures—Tables showing how money is spent—Criminal loopholes—Results.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch37'>291</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='80%' />
<col width='20%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>THE AGE OF GRAFT.<br /><br /> The bane of our municipal government—New York’s prosperity—What it cost to run the city—Assessments and commissions—Ancient and modern grafters—Police graft—Fortunes for the few—Various grafting schemes—The new water works.</td>
<td class='c013'>Page <a href='#ch38'>296</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='figcenter id003'>
<img src='images/i025.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>A Sunday morning service in the old Tombs prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='fwd' class='c009'>FOREWORD<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>Some Personal Experiences</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>My first visit to the grim old Tombs Prison was in the
early part of 1875. I have never forgotten that visit and
the deep impression it left on my mind. The scenes I witnessed
that day have come back to me scores of times and
I have wished that I had the power to have changed the
things I then saw. At any rate, that memorable experience
started in my soul a deeper sympathy and pity for
erring humanity.</p>
<p class='c006'>Afterwards I spent much time visiting the old prison, as
I had the opportunity, and I found it a splendid place for
the study of human nature, and especially the criminal side
of life.</p>
<p class='c006'>When speaking to New Yorkers of the scenes I had witnessed
in this prison, I found them to be densely ignorant
of its history and management. Why should they take any
interest in the old Tombs? New Yorkers are too busy in
commercial pursuits to give much time to such trifles! I
found, however, after they were aroused on the subject of
abuses they wished to know everything, and they wondered
like myself why politics should be allowed to have such a
controlling power in the City Prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>At this time I was a lay missionary. My field of labor
was the old “Red Light District.” This part of New York
was not as densely populated as now. It contained a large
number of people, mostly of the thrifty Irish and German
class. It had many large tenements which contained from
eight to twelve families, which were veritable “bee hives”
of the human species.</p>
<p class='c006'>While visiting, not far from Essex Market Court, a lady
informed me that a member of my Sunday School was then
in the Tombs, and asked me to go and see him. This was
new work for me and I confess, I did not know how to go
about it. I called to see the boy’s mother, who kept a beer
garden in the neighborhood. But I could get nothing out
of her, and came away feeling that my labor was all in vain.
The woman was so much absorbed in her saloon business
and so benumbed and besotted with beer that she seemed
devoid of all motherly instinct and feeling. And she seemed
not to care the snap of her finger about her boy.</p>
<p class='c006'>After a good deal of difficulty I made my way to the
Boys’ Prison in the Tombs, which was in the rear of the
building. To my amazement I found a crowd of young
thieves and pickpockets huddled together, and this Sunday
School lad in the midst. In those days the authorities
made no attempt at segregation or discrimination. The
boys were all together, cursing and howling like a lot of
devils! I was pained beyond measure, and I regret to say
when I returned to the City Prison after nearly twenty
years, almost the same condition existed. I found the
Boys’ Prison in a filthy condition—damp and foul, more fit
for hogs than human beings, and this besides the continual
noises, yelling, howling, cursing, swearing and cat-calls in
ten languages!</p>
<p class='c006'>I made a hurried investigation and saw the authorities,
after which the boy was discharged and returned home.
He never forgot his experience in that gloomy old prison!
I kept watch of him but I do not think he was ever the
same person. Those few days in the Tombs as the companion
of thieves and pickpockets not only marred his
future life but came near blasting his usefulness forever!</p>
<p class='c006'>I kept up my interest in the poor, gaunt, ill clad, badly
fed and poverty stricken unfortunates of the old Tombs, a
large number of whom were criminals simply because of
their social conditions and for no other reason. I was a
frequent visitor till my graduation from Union Theological
Seminary in 1880.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1897 I again took up my residence in New York. I
felt my interest in prison labors come back with the freshness
of youth, and at once gave my Sundays to the prosecution
of the work.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have found that the Boys’ Prison has always been the
hardest department to manage in the entire Tombs system.
Sometimes a keeper was placed in charge who knew how
to handle boys. But in later years the conditions were
worse than ever. We knew one keeper who was a common
scold. He swore at the boys and they swore back at him,
using the most vulgar and lurid profanity. Then they
would steal from each other, fight among themselves like
old time pugilists and they could always depend on outsiders
to smuggle in cigarettes and blood curdling dime
novels. On account of the lack of discipline, the Boys’
Prison became one of the most proficient Schools of Crime.
Here they learned to become expert pickpockets under the
very nose of the prison authorities!</p>
<p class='c006'>I have often told my friends when showing them around
the building I would rather bury a relative of mine than
have him spend a week in this dirty, immoral pest hole.
During the past five or six years there has been an average
of 75 to 80 boys a day in this prison, and shocking to relate,
one-half have frequently to be treated for venereal disease.
If you want your boy to be a full-fledged degenerate and
outcast send him to the Tombs Prison, for only a few days,
and when he comes out of this School of Crime he will
dare anything in the line of criminality!</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a fact that cannot be denied that in this prison some
of the boys plan crime and execute it on the outside. This
has been proven scores of times, when these young crooks
return to the prison on fresh charges. If you question
them they will admit that they received their incentive to
do crooked deeds while in the Tombs. Those who are sent
to the Protectory and the House of Refuge are seldom improved
when they come out. Barney McGill, who had
been a lieutenant in the Navy during the Civil War, was
one of the best and kindest of keepers. He was in the
Department of Corrections for many years and was noted
for his outspoken fidelity. While in charge of the Boys’
Prison a few years ago, he wore a gold watch and chain
exposed to view. Some of the “kids” thought it was a
“dead-easy” thing to get Barney’s watch. An East Side
boy named Mickey Cohen, promised to secure it without
much trouble. One morning this young crook called Barney
to his cell and said, “Keeper, I want to speak to you.
Excuse me, I am afraid to speak loud ‘cause if some of dese
kids hear it, dey will kill me.” “Speak out, my little man,”
said Barney, “I will see that no one harms you.” Then he
told Barney a “fake” tale of some boys who intended to
escape. While he was doing this he stole Barney’s
watch, leaving the chain dangle in front of his vest. In
half an hour Barney missed his gold watch. After threatening
to “kill” a half a dozen of the suspicious crooks, the
guilty one confessed. Afterwards the watch was found in
the cell mattress.</p>
<p class='c006'>When Jimmy Hagan was boss of the Tombs he took
Billy Evers from Murderers’ Row and sent him to the Boys’
Prison for some trifling offence. Billy was a good keeper
and a favorite among the boys. He had a fatherly way of
getting around them and into their affection. He never
swore at them! Whenever I made trips to Sing Sing in
after years in the interest of the discharged prisoner and
met any of the old boys they were sure to ask after Billy
Evers.</p>
<p class='c006'>Then there was Larry Creevy. Some boys were afraid
of him but he knew how to keep them in their place. Then
there were John O’Conners and Mike Breen, two most excellent
keepers. Under John E. Van De Carr, who can
truthfully be called the Prince of Wardens, the Boys’ Prison
was carried on above reproach!</p>
<p class='c006'>It is needless to say that some of these boys were the
children of well-to-do parents who allowed them to be sent
to the City Prison for the “scare” it would give them. But
it had no apparent effect on most of them. Many times a
mother in silks and satins with a full display of jewelry
would visit the Prison. One day a mother went to one of
the judges to ask clemency for her boy who was up for
sentence. The judge was disposed to be lenient with the
lad as he was not a thief. But the Court had made inquiry
and learned that the parents were more to blame for his
downfall than the boy. I was glad the judge spoke as he
did, before he got through that mother’s face was crimson.
“Woman,” said the judge, “why don’t you look after your
boy? You are responsible for his disgrace. You go out
at night to the theatre and other social functions, and while
you are having a nice time your boy is going to the Devil!
If you promise to stay at home and try and bring up your
boy the proper way, I will suspend sentence.” She did.</p>
<p class='c006'>For several years after I went to the Tombs there was a
man who acted as school teacher and probation officer,
whose vile relations with the boys in his rooms on Chrystie
street, was scandalous. Several had confessed to me as
well as to Father Smith, the Catholic Priest. As soon as I
learned that the shocking information was true, I sent the
boys and their parents to Commissioner Hynes, and with
the aid of Justice Meyers of Special Sessions he was
“bounced.” The general opinion at the time was that the
brute ought to have been sent to Sing Sing for twenty
years. Warden Van De Carr deserved great credit for the
help rendered on this occasion. These and similar abuses
have been going on in our prisons for years, but no body
is willing to stop them or expose them? The present missionary
mollycoddles would not dare to speak against them,
and as far as the Tombs abuses are concerned the Prison
Association has been dumb on these and similar subjects.
The courts find it hard to secure the right kind of Probation
officers. This is especially true in regard to Boys. A loud
mouthed, untruthful grafter should not be allowed to
manage boys under any circumstances. There are two
notable exceptions, one in Brooklyn and the other in New
York—both reliable men, Messrs. Baccus and Kimball.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch01' class='c009'>CHAPTER I<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THE TOMBS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>No prison on the American continent has had such an unsavory
reputation as a corrupt grafting institution as the
New York Tombs. This has been especially true when City
politics had decreed it to be in charge of the House of
Grafters on Fourteenth Street.</p>
<p class='c006'>In giving my personal experience of what I have beheld
with my own eyes in America’s greatest criminal barracks,
I do so with the sole object of letting the light in, and
making it easier, if possible, for future unfortunates who
may be domiciled here for any length of time.</p>
<p class='c006'>For many years the Tombs Prison has been the happy
hunting ground for graft and “rake-offs” of various kinds,
given in return for all kinds of privileges. Money has
always been used to awaken the darkest passions in man,
those who are mad for the “dough” take all kinds of
chances to secure it.</p>
<p class='c006'>To the daily visitor who comes to the City Prison, everything
looks beautiful and serene on the outside. But the
careful observer sees things in a different light and as he
reads between the lines he can detect the spurious from
the genuine.</p>
<p class='c006'>In endeavoring to carry on the work of a prison from a
business standpoint we must rid ourselves of everything
romantic and deal only with facts and common sense. It
is not a pleasant task to expose infamy, no matter where
it is found. And you can rest assured that the one who
dares do it will be rewarded with invective, abuse and
slander. On the other hand, to pass it by without making
some effort to change the wretched conditions is cowardly.</p>
<p class='c006'>The stories told of the abuses of the Tombs seem as
strange as the Arabian Nights! But most of them were
true and would have made fine reading for the average
New Yorker, but graft kept them out of the newspapers
and from publicity.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the earliest “bombs” that struck the City Prison,
was hurled by an inmate named Ruth Howard during the
sitting of the Mazet Committee, in 1897-8. The Committee
threatened to make an investigation and expose the vile
conditions which then existed. In her letter to the Committee,
Mrs. Howard describes the place as grossly immoral
and, of course, excoriated several of the officials by name.
It was the general opinion at the time that if the case had
been pushed against these Tammanyites they would soon
be wearing striped suits either in Sing Sing or Blackwell’s
Island. After this the Commissioner refused to allow certain
ones to inspect the Women’s Prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>For a number of years charges have been made at
various times against the Tombs Prison in general and the
Department of Corrections in particular, which many of
our City newspapers and a score of criminal lawyers who
have come in contact with the conditions have known to be
true, but nothing has been done to clean out this sink of
iniquity.</p>
<p class='c006'>Whenever any person has had the courage to call attention
to the grafting abuses, common assaults, whiskey and
dope smuggling and other unseemly conduct of the Tombs
officials, the usual response was “Traitor, humbug, liar,”
and a volley of anathemas! Such an answer sufficed for
the time being. Frequently these officials would resort to
a “white wash” paper, signed by missionaries and other
hangers-on in the building who would be compelled to affix
their names to the document or else be “bounced.” It
seems to me all such whitewash “buzzards” were no better
than the real inmates of the cells!</p>
<p class='c006'>I recall now when I first went there that there were two
Wall Street swindlers in the old Prison who were said to
be rich. They had sumptuous privileges. One of these
crooks fought for his liberty in the state and federal courts
but did not succeed, but as he had the ready cash on hand
he found a good cell in the annex. He had everything he
desired. The other man who was convicted, but had appealed
for a stay, fought against being bled any longer and
was removed to an inferior cell. I remember he sent out
for reporters that he might give them a tale of oppression,
but they were not allowed to see him. The “grafters” told
the newspaper men that the fellow was crazy.</p>
<p class='c006'>In those days some of the abuses were of a gross sensual
character and had been going on for years but who would
dare speak against them? And so the grafters had everything
their own way!</p>
<p class='c006'>I have nothing but kind words for the excellent work of
the Hon. Thomas W. Hynes, who was an ideal Commissioner
during the Mayor Low administration. Mr. Hynes
was an honest, upright and fair Commissioner and sought
in every way to keep his department clean. He removed
Warden Flynn and it would have been well if the Courts
had left him out as he certainly has made a poor Warden.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Whiskey, Gambling and Other Privileges</h3>
<p class='c015'>When Warden Bissert was an involuntary inmate of the
Tombs in the fall of 1901, he had so many privileges and
such an old-fashioned good time that many persons rightly
concluded that he owned the City Prison. Not only did he
eat, drink, smoke the best Havanas and play cards at the
Warden’s table, but he was allowed to receive from ten to
thirty plain clothes policemen as his visitors daily! They
had no passes whatever when they came to the Tombs, but
these were not necessary. All they were required to say
to the gateman was, “We are the Wardman’s friends.” On
Sunday afternoons, when everything was quiet, a woman
was allowed to pass through the front gate, enter a cell and
be with a prisoner for immoral purposes! The Keeper had
orders to allow her pass into the prison. I watched her
enter the corner cell in the annex, which had a gas jet, she
came every Sunday for weeks and usually stayed an hour.
Nor was this an uncommon occurrence. Francis J. Lantry
was Commissioner of Corrections, James Hagan, Warden,
and William Flynn, the present Warden, was head keeper.
Did I speak about it at the time? Certainly. And an
investigation was promised but like all of Tammany’s investigations
it never came!</p>
<p class='c006'>The city cops that came daily to see the wardman always
brought a plentiful supply of whiskey. And judging from
the number of empty bottles found around the ten-day
house, the quantity consumed on the premises was enormous.
And often keepers, “trusties” and prisoners were
found more than half drunk.</p>
<p class='c006'>In these days Joe Williams, ballot-box stuffer, who was
afterwards sent to Sing Sing for a term of years, had
special privileges. Joe was seldom locked in his cell night
or day. Many months afterwards when I personally visited
Auburn Prison, I found a man who had been at that time
in the “hall” with Williams; he informed him that the
reason Williams had so many privileges bestowed on him
was on account of being the “graft collector” in the ten-day
house.</p>
<p class='c006'>Williams, “Jimmie” Maguire and other trusties, were
often “paralyzed” drunk in the tiers with the whiskey
brought in for Bissert’s benefit. “Jimmie” Maguire had
been in the Tombs no less than twenty times to my knowledge
for drunk and disorderly conduct, and worked most
of the time in the kitchen under the colored chef.</p>
<p class='c006'>Every afternoon when the visitors had gone, keepers
and inmates in various parts of the prison sat down and
boldly “picked out” the winners of the races. And some
made “books.” Then an official would be dispatched to a
pool room opposite the Criminal Court Building, said to be
over Tom Foley’s gin mill. This kind of gambling was
kept up in the Tombs daily, Sundays excepted, for years
under Tammany Hall. The prisoners saw the officials
gamble and they in turn made “pools” and sent their money
where it could do the most good.</p>
<p class='c006'>This gambling became such a nuisance that it became
known on the outside. A gentleman well known around
the Criminal Court Building told me afterwards that to
make sure of the rumor he sent a betting “commissioner”
to the pool room over Tom Foley’s saloon and he waited
there till the Tombs runner came and laid several bets on
the ponies.</p>
<p class='c006'>When I saw how the poor unfortunates were being robbed
and ruined, by the prison gamblers, I made bold to go
to Lantry and asked him to stop it. I saw at once that I
touched him, for he got red in the face. He called Warden
Flynn over the telephone and gave him a “roasting.”
What he said after I left the room, I have no idea, but
when I reached the Tombs I found that some persons had
been struck by a cyclone. Thanks to Mr. Lantry, the
regular pool room messenger had been “fired” to Blackwells
Island and for several weeks the gamblers in the
prison went out of business. But in a short time the
crooked work went on as brisk as ever. At any rate, I relieved
my conscience of a painful duty in the matter and
stopped the mean business for a season. I wish now that
I had called on Mr. Jerome and he might have sent the
“bunch” to the Penitentiary.</p>
<p class='c006'>From that time on these gambling officials became my
Nemesis. They hated to see me around the Tombs. Commissioner
Lantry afterwards told me that I was the only
person among Catholics, Jews and Protestant missionaries
that ever personally complained against the rotten conditions
in the Tombs. But then cowards are afraid to tell
the truth!</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Steerage</h3>
<p class='c015'>The way that lawyers have been robbed of their clients
the past few years in the City Prison has become a public
scandal. Almost every day there is a fight in the vicinity
of the Counsel Room. It is the old story, some reputable
lawyer is fighting for his rights because an official has
stolen his client and given him to a “shyster.” It is said
that thousands of dollars a year have been passed to certain
ones, who have been the real “steerers,” and not the
keepers. The Bar Association should investigate and
remedy this evil. There are a dozen reputable lawyers
in New York who are ready to furnish satisfactory evidence
of this bare-faced thievery and grafting. These corrupt
officials should be bounced, and a new Diogenes sent
around the State with a searchlight under his wing in an
endeavor to find some honest men to take their place.</p>
<p class='c006'>Old time “steerers” in the palmy days made plenty of
money in securing lawyers for prisoners. I recall a man
who had secured a lawyer through one of his friends while
in the District Prison. It was a homicide case. When he
came to the Tombs one of the keepers persuaded him to
give him up. The keeper approached him, thus, “Say, who
is your lawyer?” “So and So,” was the reply. “Well, let
me tell you, he is no good. You will have a chance of
going to the Chair or away for life!” “It’s only manslaughter,
my lawyer says.” “Don’t make any difference,”
said the keeper, “I am telling you for your own good.
Give him up. Why don’t you get Mr. ——?” So he
secures Mr. —— and that keeper gets the graft from
the lawyer.</p>
<p class='c006'>When a certain politician was the boss of the City
Prison, it was said by the knowing ones that all homicides
as soon as they gave their pedigree at the desk were
marched to the warden’s office where they were privately
catechised to know whether any “steerer” of the prison
had been giving them information about lawyers, and then
informed that it was not necessary for them to go to Court
to get counsel, that he would out of the goodness of his
heart look after their interests and assign them a lawyer.
Two or three shyster firms had the murder cases during this
“regime,” at $500.00 per head, which was the amount of
money allowed by the State for the defence of every murderer,
less one-half, which went to the “grafter.” Thanks
to Judge Rosalsky, who has made it a rule that no prisoner
in the Tombs can change his attorney without the consent
of the court.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Prison Food</h3>
<p class='c015'>The bread given to the prisoner comes from Blackwell’s
Island. It used to be said that it was an inferior quality to
that given to the “cons” in the penitentiary. It was often
so black that it had to be thrown away, and frequently the
dogs would not eat it. The tea and coffee was colored
water and the daily soup was mighty poor stuff. When I
asked a wise official to explain, he said, “Can’t explain;
some guy is getting rich.” It used to be a prisoner could
get a small piece of meat once in a while if he paid the
captain of the tier five cents! The Friday clam soup used
to be horrible! They said it stank like the devil! Holy
angels, what stuff to give to human beings. Hear the profane
expressions of disapproval from the prisoners as it is
taken to the cell doors. “D—— that chowder, take it
away at once. The first time I ate it, it nearly killed me.”
Perhaps from another tier could be heard as they passed
the stinking stuff along, “Not for me. Send for the coroner
and the grand jury, call Jerome.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Abusing the Unfortunates</h3>
<p class='c015'>Some officials shamefully abuse the prisoners for a small
offence and in turn the prisoners curse them in the vilest
profanity.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the early morning of July 4th, 1906, a colored man
named Cambridge called loudly for help. A night keeper
responded. When he reached the cell door he said, “What
do you want?” The sick man replied, “Keeper, get me a
doctor, I am very sick.” The answer of the official was,
“Go to hell and put a cloth around your head.” In the
morning Cambridge was carried to the hall where he died
the following day. When I spoke to an official about it he
said it was nobody’s damned business. But this was common
treatment toward moneyless unfortunates!</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Special Privileges</h3>
<p class='c015'>When a West Side gambler was in the Tombs charged
with murder, he had a fresh bottle of whiskey brought to
him almost daily and he made no bones of the matter. Of
course, it could not come into the Tombs without money, of
which B. had an abundance. One of the keepers said to
me that he saw the warden drinking whiskey with the murderer
in his cell. But this was nothing!</p>
<p class='c006'>Scotty Young, who had spent two years in the Tombs
awaiting trial, was another prisoner that had special privileges.
Scotty bragged that he had his whiskey daily and
none dared molest him. What kind of a “pull” he had,
never could be learned, as he was never known to have
any more money than he required for his personal needs.
That “Scotty” had special privileges none can deny; when
a keeper tried to take away a large piece of broken mirror,
a pocket knife, a razor and other deadly things from him,
he was told that the warden gave him special permission,
and of course, that ended it.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Grand Jury</h3>
<p class='c015'>Every month at the close of the term the Grand Jury
pays a visit of inspection to the Tombs. This has been
their custom for many years. As the warden knows they
are coming he puts everything in a “spick and span” order.
They receive unusual attention on all such occasions, the
discipline is up to the highest pitch and the warden as a
rule shows them around. But to the man who can read
between the lines this is all “make believe.”</p>
<p class='c006'>If the Grand Jury should visit the Tombs like a thief in
the night, that is, unexpectedly, they would then see the
place as it is and would not be imposed upon any longer.
If the Grand Jury came to the Tombs on Friday and refused
to be led around by the warden, but by a Court official,
their eyes would be opened. Perhaps they could be induced
to wait around till the noon hour, when they would
have an opportunity of at least “smelling” the stinking
chowder which the unfortunate inmates are compelled to
eat or starve.</p>
<p class='c006'>If any of the Grand Jury tried to eat some of this unpalatable
stuff they would become so deathly sick that a
doctor would have to be called and if they ever recovered
we fear they would indict the warden on the spot!</p>
<p class='c006'>Of course the monthly visit of the Grand Jury is known
in advance. They are carefully piloted around through
the halls where the floors have been mopped that morning
and everything made to look “shiny” and neat for the
occasion. As a rule they are taken through the new prison
and down into the cellar where may be found the machinery
all polished and bright.</p>
<p class='c006'>I would like to lock some of these gentlemen in one of
the cells for an hour or two. As is well known, many of
these cells are “reeking” with vermin and filth. Not of the
Tombs only, but some of the district prisons. I have seen
men in the Tombs and in other prisons of the City, who
had hardly become inmates before the vermin would literally
be found crawling over them.</p>
<p class='c006'>In summer time when the weather is warm and oppressive,
the “Annex bug” (where the misdemeanants are
kept) which is said to be an “Asiatic” brand of bug, comes
out of the porous brick by thousands and for two or three
months have their “fill” of human gore. I think the main
trouble is with the bedding. It is sent to the Workhouse
and washed about twice a year in ordinary water, instead
of being boiled in a vat of carbolic acid or <i>aqua fortis</i>,
and beaten for a few days with clubs. Not infrequently
visitors and missionaries find vermin crawling over their
clothing after they have returned to their homes.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Politics and the Prisons</h3>
<p class='c015'>I hope the time is not far distant when the prisons of
greater New York will be conducted by the State authorities,
as is the case in nearly all other countries. They
are the proper custodians of the prisoner. It seems to me
that this is the only cure for the rank abuses that have
existed in these prisons for half a century. Under Tammany
as everybody knows, the warden or other official
could get as drunk as a lord, abuse everybody in sight and
yet be considered a hero! Some men have been suspended
for a few days but when the district leader took a hand in
the matter that ended it.</p>
<p class='c006'>Last election day, November, 1908, two members of the
State Prison Commission visited Hart’s Island and found
it deserted. The keepers and orderlies were scattered all
over greater New York trying to pile up Tammany votes.
For more than two years the Workhouse end of the Island
has been in a state of pandemonium. Under Tammany
Hall, politics always cuts a wide swath in prison matters.
A keeper who refuses to work for votes on election day is
considered “no good” and is recommended by the district
leader for dismissal. If this cannot be done, “fake”
charges are presented against him and unless he repents
and returns to the “fold” he is bounced. One of the most
intelligent keepers the Tombs ever had was Frank Smith.
He knew his business so well that he was an authority on
the various kinds of commitments. When Flynn became
warden he was sent to Blackwell’s Island. If Frank told
all he knew about the Tombs’ grafters there would have
been a sensation! The old Book says “resist the devil and
he will flee from you, but resist the Tammany grafters and
they will fly at you!” As soon as any one tries to reform
such a place he gets mud and filth thrown at him!</p>
<p class='c006'>When W. R. Hearst ran for Mayor of New York, he had
several warm friends among the keepers. At first they
were not afraid to speak in his favor, but this was soon
changed. Spies were sent to the prisons and the unlucky
wights that favored him were given to understand that if
they deserted Tammany they would lose their jobs, and
the civil service law would not save them. Notwithstanding
this “scare” a large number of the most intelligent
keepers voted the Independence League ticket, but kept it
to themselves. I have nothing but kind words for the rank
and file of the keepers in the Tombs and the other New
York prisons. I believe most of them try to do their duty
faithfully.</p>
<p class='c006'>After the scandalous sale or “give away” of Kings
County Penitentiary, for one-sixth of its real value, the
grafters said that it was done for economy’s sake, which is
untrue, for soon after—from sixty to seventy keepers were
transferred to the District Prisons of New York and Blackwell’s
Island, where was an over supply already. The
result was that ever since there have been two Wardens
and two deputy Wardens in the New York Penitentiary,
besides a superfluous number of keepers and orderlies in
all penal institutions of greater New York.</p>
<p class='c006'>At one time Hart’s Island had something like sixty extra
men who were classed as stablemen and orderlies. They
had absolutely nothing to do except to draw their pay and
help the district leaders. Bitter complaints were made
from time to time against a brother of the deputy who ran
things with a high hand. If anybody complained against
these scandalous conditions he would soon be “fired.”
Tammany has no use for reformers. I do not think it possible
to paint the New York prisons as black as they have
been until recently. If a day of judgment ever comes
when all the scandalous conditions shall be exposed to
public view the people will be astonished.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch02' class='c009'>CHAPTER II<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS PRISON</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>For more than two centuries after the arrival of the early
Dutch settlers on Manhattan Island the land for a considerable
distance on all sides of the present Tombs prison was
a fresh water lake known to the people of that day as the
“Kalchhook” or Collect Pond.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems almost incredible that less than a century ago
the visitor to Manhattan Island could have stood at the
juncture of Park Row and Centre Street, and looking north
might behold a beautiful fresh water pond hidden between
the hills. This lake had been a favorite resort of the Indians
for hundreds of years prior to the arrival of Henry
Hudson and the Half Moon in September, 1609, or even
before the discovery of America. On the Broadway side
was an Indian settlement where the red man pitched his
wigwam and when not hunting or fishing smoked his pipe
of peace.</p>
<p class='c006'>The name given to this pond had a curious history. It
seems that the Indians had been in the habit of carrying
oysters from the North River in their canoes; afterwards
they dumped the shells in heaps at the side of the pond.
What name the Indians gave to this sheet of water before
the coming of the white man we have never been able to
learn. The Dutch settlers called it “Kalchhook” or the
Shell Point, from a large deposit of shells found along its
western shores.</p>
<p class='c006'>After the erection of the original Tombs Prison, the
authorities experienced great trouble with water flooding
the cellars, which clearly proved that there were springs
underneath the main building.</p>
<p class='c006'>With the aid of some old maps now in possession of the
Lenox Library, the exact location of the Collect Pond can
be readily described. It was bounded by Pearl Street on
the south, half way between White and Walker Streets on
the north, Elm Street on the west and Mulberry Street on
the east. Centre street as now laid out ran directly
through the pond. It had a navigable outlet to the North
River, through Canal Street.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is said that William IV, who was then the Duke of
Clarence, came to New York during the Revolution and
was in charge of Admiral Digbie on whose ship he was an
officer. He was fond of skating on the Collect Pond when
off duty, and would have drowned there on one occasion,
having broken through the ice, were it not for the quick
action of Gulian C. Verplanck, one of New York’s distinguished
citizens. Mr. Verplanck was afterwards President
of the Bank of New York, which position he filled for
twenty years. He died in 1799.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1805 the City Council gave orders that the Collect
Pond should be filled in with clean dirt from the hills that
surrounded it, as it had become a menace to the health of
the city because of the filth that had been dumped into it
for several years. But little had been done towards carrying
this order into effect.</p>
<p class='c006'>The winter of 1807-8 was one of great distress and poverty
in this city. To add to the misery of the poor, business
was at a standstill and hundreds of men were out of
employment. In January, 1808, the unemployed made a
demonstration in front of the City Hall and called upon the
Mayor and Common Council to give them bread for themselves
and their families who were then in a starving condition.
After a thorough discussion of the situation money
was appropriated and several hundred men put to work to
fill in the Collect Pond as a public improvement. After
many months the work was completed.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the year 1830 the Common Council again took up the
matter of erecting a new prison. The population of the
city had increased by this time to over 200,000. The old
Bridewell which had been erected before the Revolution,
situated west of the City Hall, had become a nuisance and
was unfit any longer for use as a prison. For several years
the agitation was kept up without any definite results. At
last in 1835 the erection of the Tombs Prison on a part of
the old Collect Pond was decided upon and work begun.</p>
<p class='c006'>For over a year the construction of the new building was
slow, as the filling in of the pond had not been properly
done. The ground was so wet and “springy” that the
foundation of the new prison had to be laid on pine logs
fastened to the ground by spiles.</p>
<p class='c006'>The old Tombs was said to contain the purest specimen
of Coptic architecture outside of Egypt and was admired as
a splendid work of art.</p>
<p class='c006'>The style of this prison was decided on soon after the
publication of a new book of travels by John L. Stevens,
of Hoboken. Mr. Stevens had just returned from a visit
to Egypt and the Holy Land and had given to the public the
result of his impressions abroad in a handsome volume.
As the author was well known in New York, his book became
widely popular. On the front page was a picture of
an Egyptian Tomb. Some suggested that the new city
prison be built after this design. The Common Council
accepted the suggestion. Ever since the city prison has
been called “The Tombs.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Strange to say, this new prison was erected in the midst
of a neighborhood that has ever since run riot in every
form of crime and wickedness. For over sixty years some
of the blackest and bloodiest murders, robberies, assaults,
hold-ups and other deeds of darkness were committed in
this neighborhood or within a stone’s throw of the prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>In early days that part of the old Tombs building fronting
Centre Street was known as the Halls of Justice, as it
contained the Court of Special Sessions and the First District
Police Court. For several years after the Tombs was
opened the Sheriff of the County had charge of the building
and all of the prisoners from the time of their committal
till they were safely landed in the Penitentiary or State
Prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>The old Tombs Prison was an oblong building 142x48
and contained four tiers, having one hundred and forty-eight
double cells. As far as safety and economy were
concerned, it was one of the best in the country. It was
so constructed that one man on the fourth tier and one man
at the desk could see everything going on in the building.</p>
<p class='c006'>Forty years ago there was a stone building at the corner
of Franklin and Centre Streets which for years was known
as “Bummers’ Hall.” It was used principally for drunk,
disorderly and crazy people. After a time it became
dilapidated, filthy and overrun with rats. A young tough
named Mahoney and some boys who were detained with
him for some minor offence, made their escape from
“Bummers’ Hall” through a window. After it was demolished,
a brick building was erected known as the New
Prison, which is now called the Annex. When the Tombs
was first built it contained a cupola over the main entrance,
which was burned on the day set for the execution of John
C. Colt, November 18th, 1842. The original Tombs Prison
was opened for business in the early part of 1838.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Retrospect</h3>
<p class='c015'>If the stones and iron grating of this dismal old prison,
now no more, which for two-thirds of a century stood with
its back toward Elm Street, and its front entrance facing
Centre Street, could only speak out its experience and tell
its woes, what a heart-rending story of crime it would tell;
what bitterness of soul, dashed prospects, guilty consciences
that presage horrors, together with the breath of
a fetid atmosphere, where like hades, the smoke of their
torment rises continually! It would also be a story of
blood and tears!</p>
<p class='c006'>For over sixty-five years the “old Tombs” prison has
been the scene of so many tragedies and the grave of innumerable
buried hopes, once most promising, but long
since crushed under the iron heel of fate! And these
realms of darkness, cold, damp and forbidding cells,
clammy and foul with the sweat and tears of a past generation,
remind us of the cruel dungeons underneath the
Mamertine prison of the Caesars!</p>
<p class='c006'>When we think of the number of cold-blooded murderers,
the burglars, highwaymen, forgers, swindlers, gold-brick
men, green-goods operators and hundreds of others possessing
dark criminal records, that have lain here for many
months, coming from every State and part of the globe, our
blood curdles within.</p>
<p class='c006'>What hideous characters have domiciled in this prison
during these two generations, who afterwards paid the penalty
of the law for their bloody deeds! Think also of the
conglomeration of forces that actuated and bore them into
their doom like driftwood going over a Niagara as merciless
as fate would have them!</p>
<p class='c006'>Men and women that came from noble sires, scholars
and specialists with trained minds that would have shone
in any department of life, lawyers, teachers, business
men, bankers, brokers and even men of letters, all under
the cruel hand of fate, succumbed to the tempter in a weak
moment and fell; alas! some never to rise again.</p>
<div class='lg-container-b c016'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>“Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years,</div>
<div class='line in1'>I am so weary of toil and tears.”</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c015'>But, alas, it is too late. The die is cast forever!</p>
<p class='c006'>Our young men and women should learn ere it is too
late, or even before they launch forth on a career of crime,
that we cannot break the divine law without punishment.
“Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,” is a
law that is as true in the moral world as it is in the realm of
nature. Our large cities are full of the whirlpools of vice
that carry multitudes swiftly over the rapids of destruction
into the maelstrom of eternal death.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The New City Prison</h3>
<p class='c015'>After many years of agitation the plans for the new
Tombs Prison were prepared and approved during the
Strong administration, which went into power on a reform
wave in 1894.</p>
<p class='c006'>The new City Prison contains three hundred and twenty
steel cells arranged in four tiers in the men’s and four in
the boys’ prison, with parallel corridors. There are forty
large cells on each tier, arranged back to back, with all the
recent improvements, which consist of running water, electric
light, toilet, wash basin, hung table and cot. The new
building is said to have cost over one million dollars.</p>
<p class='c006'>On September 30th, 1902, the old offices on Leonard
Street which had been in use since the front building on
Centre Street had been torn down to make room for the
new structure, were abandoned and the books and other
important documents removed to the offices in the new
building. This new building, however, was not entirely
ready for use, but the first step had been taken and the
occasion was hailed with joy. The second step in the
entire occupation of the new City Prison took place Tuesday,
January 6th, 1903, when the contractors handed over
the entire structure to the City authorities and it was
formally opened to the public by Mayor Seth Low and
Commissioner Thomas W. Hynes in the presence of a
number of invited guests. A few days afterwards the
prisoners were transferred from the old prison to the new,
and the work of demolishing the old Tombs was begun.</p>
<p class='c006'>When the new Tombs was opened in 1901, John E. Van
De Carr was Warden. And a kinder and more obliging
man never lived than he. Both under the administrations
of Mayors Strong and Low he was the official head of the
city prison, and cared for the inmates of the prison as if
they were his own family.</p>
<p class='c006'>For many years the city prison has been noted for some
of its semi-official inmates, who lived on perquisites and
tips, and one of this class was old John Curran, the official
guide of the prison. Old John had served in this capacity
for many years, and knew every nook and cranny of the
old structure. Roland B. Molineaux had a good opportunity
of seeing old John at his best, and has kindly spoken of
him in his book, “The Room with the Little Door.” Whenever
John waxed eloquent, in describing the places of interest
within the Tombs yard, he revealed a strong Irish
brogue, that made his descriptions witty. You could not
help smiling when you heard John, as he was wont to do,
point out the last remaining beam of the old Tombs gallows,
on which a score or more of persons were hung.
“Gintlemens, thems th’ last and true part of old galleys of
New Yark, on which so many famous chaps wint to death.”
As he turned toward “Bummers’ Hall” with his visitors in
the rear, he would exclaim, “Gints, thems the way to the
exodus” as he would point to the back door of the new
prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>Soon after the opening of the new prison John disappeared
from history as if the earth had opened its mouth
and swallowed him out of sight. Where did he go? No
person seemed to know. Mr. Sullivan, who was known as
the Captain of the Bum Brigade, and was known as John’s
confidential adviser, said that as soon as the old fellow
secured his “pile” he vanished. I afterwards learned that
John had a daughter living in Maine, and without communicating
his plans to any one in the prison, removed
thither, where he purchased a farm and now resides, happy
and contented, ever and anon dreaming, how he had lived
so long in the old Tombs and how he had so long fooled the
visitors with his “Corkonian eloquence.”</p>
<p class='c006'>After John’s disappearance the redoubtable Billy
Gallagher added to his already onerous duties of prison
messenger, that of official prison guide. After a while
Billy learned the “lingo” and became as proficient as a
“Bowery drummer” or a Coney Island “barker.” When
the Commissioner had learned that John Curran had made
a fortune as Tombs guide, he prohibited Billy Gallagher
from asking fees for his services. Billy was a favorite
with everybody, and could always be depended on for his
veracity. Apple Mary who knew Billy for many years
used to say, “God bless Billy Gallagher,” to which everybody
would say Amen.</p>
<p class='c006'>Billy Gallagher devoted more time to the Bowery bums
who so often infested the ten-day house, and they took
advantage of his generosity.</p>
<p class='c006'>They frequently palmed off on him a lot of “fake”
jewelry on the strength of which he paid their fines. After
a time Billy had a carpet bag full of tin watches and paste
diamonds, on which he had made small loans. Charley
Sheridan, who was one of Frank Lantry’s district captains,
was “boss” of the ten-day house for several seasons. He
was tender hearted and often talked to the fellows from
the Bowery and Mulberry Bend in a fatherly way and more
than once paid their fines. Of course they “beat” him in
the end as they do everybody who trusts them. They go
on the principle that they have everything to gain and
nothing to lose by a lie.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch03' class='c009'>CHAPTER III<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>MODERN EXCUSES FOR CRIME</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Modern penologists tell us that a large number of our
present day law breakers possess criminal instincts and in
a sense are not entirely responsible for the unlawful deeds
they commit. What generates these instincts it would be
difficult to say. Perhaps early training, erratic temperaments
or mental diseases of various kinds may account for
them. We are inclined to think that much of our modern
criminality is nothing less than old fashioned depravity.
By nature most of us are so cross-grained that we find it
easy to go wrong, and there is no telling where evil tendencies
may lead to. Sometimes it needs only a spark to draw
out the crookedness in man and make him a full-fledged
criminal.</p>
<p class='c006'>While the matter of self restraint should be kept continually
before the minds of young people, the question of
how far one should be allowed to tempt another to the committal
of a crime is one of vastly greater importance. In
this we believe the State should draw the line. This is in
accordance with Gladstone’s well known dictum, “That it
should be the duty of every well organized government to
make it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong.” There
is no mistaking that the present is a fast age. More than
that, the competition for human existence, education,
wealth and social standing is so great as to be unhealthy,
because of the nervous strain which it creates. These
conditions have developed an army of moral defectives in
almost every walk of life.</p>
<p class='c006'>Placing temptations before such people is simply making
them criminals in advance. A vast number of men and
women are unable to resist evil, as they lack the moral
stamina. Many of this class, having been brought up in
homes of vice and evil environments, can no more stand
the temptations of the present day than a hungry dog can
resist taking a piece of unguarded meat from a neighbor’s
door.</p>
<p class='c006'>The dipsomaniac, kleptomaniac, morphine, cocaine,
cigarette users, and high livers, generally all belong to this
class, many of whom are on the way to the madhouse!</p>
<p class='c006'>It has been ascertained by long study of the subject that
those who possess criminal instincts have little or no resistive
power when tempted to commit crime. If the judge
on the bench, before passing sentence on a convicted felon,
had the insight or perception to see the moral deformities
and lack of will power existing in the individual before
him, we are inclined to believe that he would send the
prisoner to a sanitarium for treatment rather than to prison
for punishment. And it is our candid opinion that there
are hundreds of moral defectives in all the penal institutions
of this and other States who ought to be under the
care of a physician rather than a jailer.</p>
<p class='c006'>Sometimes the police disguise themselves, then induce
gamblers to play roulette and other games of chance for
the purpose of securing evidence, after which they arrest
them for violating the law. This may be good ethics from
the police standpoint, but we question it. It is absurd to
think that we have any moral right to tempt a person to
commit a crime against the laws of God or man.</p>
<p class='c006'>Not long since a city magistrate reprimanded two plain
clothes policemen for inducing a German saloon keeper to
open his store on Sunday morning and give them a drink.
They succeeded in doing so only under false pretences by
saying they were sick. After they had secured the evidence,
they placed him under arrest. In this way they
compelled him to break the law. A woman was tried in
the Court of General Sessions, some time ago for keeping
a disorderly house. It was proved that she kept a boarding
house, but there was no evidence to show that she or any
of the inmates were immoral or that impure language was
used on the premises. The police, however, suspected the
house and sent a plain clothes officer who stayed on the
premises for a day or two. After a time by the skillful
use of money he was able to tempt the woman to place
herself in a compromising position and in this way secured
evidence against her. Now the law says that any person
who directly or indirectly induces or procures another to
commit a crime is as bad as the principal.</p>
<p class='c006'>As an unusually large number of persons had passed the
examination for positions on the City Police and Fire Departments
some time ago, the Civil Service Board became
suspicious. It occurred to them that somebody was stealing
the examination papers. Two detectives were put on
the case. They secured the services of an athletic instructor
to prepare them to pass the examination for a position
on the Fire Department and offered him $400 for his
labors. He promised to do so, provided he could secure
the stolen examination papers. The instructor secured the
papers and both men passed. When passing sentence the
presiding Judge commented unfavorably on the large
money temptation placed before the defendant which was
in the nature of a bribe and was the one thing which made
the crime possible.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a question in our mind how far valuable property,
such as gold, diamonds and other jewelry, should be exposed
on the counters of large stores. Multitudes cannot
view these things without secretly trying to carry some
away. Nor should people expose money unnecessarily
before the gaze of strangers; for in doing so, many a man
has been robbed and some have lost their lives.</p>
<p class='c006'>The fair sex are sometimes at fault in this respect and
indirectly responsible for certain kinds of crime. When
they go shopping they carry in their hands wallets or
pocket-books containing small amounts of money. In
former years they carried their money in their dress
pockets. By exposing their pocket-books they tempt the
moral defective to commit crime. Men and women also
tempt the instinctive criminal, when they carry, exposed
to public gaze, watches and jewelry on the person. It is
true that this is our right. But we must not tempt men.
I believe that the crimes of pocket-book snatching and
larcenies from the person would be few and far between
if people carried their valuables concealed from public
view.</p>
<p class='c006'>Frequently we meet people who possess a morbid propensity
to commit crime. On some things they are perfectly
rational, on others they are incapable of acting correctly.
You can safely say, they are mildly insane!</p>
<p class='c006'>Here is a lady on the street with a chatelaine bag dangling
around her waist. The thief presumes that it contains
money and other valuables. The owner is unconsciously
tempting a poor weakling. From our standpoint this is a
dangerous expedient. By and by there comes along a poor,
hungry, homeless, penniless creature. He possesses criminal
instincts. He sees the pocket-book in the lady’s possession.
It is a well known fact that the sight of money
awakens the worst passions of men. An evil impulse takes
possession of him. He seizes the money and runs away.
This is not an exceptional case. The criminal annals of
New York can furnish hundreds of such cases, where men
were seized with an impulse to commit a crime that sent
them to prison for many years.</p>
<p class='c006'>We knew personally the cases of two young men, bank
messengers, who were bonded in a surety company for five
thousand dollars each, but had only a salary of eight dollars
per week. They were entrusted with large sums of
money daily, which they received in collections. Both
claimed at different times, to have been seized with an evil
impulse to abscond with the money, which they did. The
first took $5,000 and left the city. He went to Chicago,
then to a southern city. Here he considered what he had
done, in the light of cold reason. He sent a dispatch to the
bank, saying that he would return with the money in two
days. He did so. He accounted for all he took away except
the railroad fare and hotel bills, which his people
made good. That young man had always borne a splendid
reputation for honesty and truthfulness. When I asked
him why he left the city with other people’s money, he
replied, “An irresistible impulse came over me and for a
time I was like a crazy man under a spell. It is all a
dream to me. I cannot understand it.”</p>
<p class='c006'>The second lad had gone away with $56,000, $6,000 of
which was in hard cash and the balance in bonds. He returned
the bonds to the bank by a messenger. They were
really useless to him. When he had spent nearly all the
money he concluded to give himself up.</p>
<p class='c006'>A poor unfortunate who was sent to prison for a long
term for pocket-book snatching explained his conduct by
saying, “I was cold and hungry. All at once I was seized
with an uncontrollable impulse to take by force what did
not belong to me. It came over me like a spell.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Under ordinary circumstances, I am not inclined to take
much stock in this “spell” theory. I think that in most
cases, we can restrain ourselves when these impulses come
over us.</p>
<p class='c006'>A Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge, who is noted for his
outspoken good sense, while sitting in a neighboring city
trying criminal cases, severely rebuked some rich people
for carelessly tempting working men employed on their
premises. It seems that while certain persons were employed
as painters and decorators in the home of a millionaire,
that jewelry and other valuables were left carelessly
within their reach. The result was that one of the men
stole some of the valuables, and was sent to prison. It
was shown at the trial that this workman was not a criminal
and had always borne a good reputation. But the jewelry
which lay around so carelessly in this home appealed to
him. Such temptations arouse in men the worst passions,
and even prey on their minds.</p>
<p class='c006'>A young man whom I met in the Tombs broke down and
wept as he told me the story of his disgrace. He loved a
young woman and desired to seal his engagement to her
with a gold ring. He went down to a Maiden Lane store.
He explained the object of his visit to the salesman. He
had nine dollars in his pocket and was willing to pay a fair
price for what he wanted. The salesman went to a case
and took therefrom a handful of gold rings and placed them
before him on a velvet cloth and then went away. As the
young man examined the rings alone the temptation seized
him to secrete one and conceal it on his person. He did so
with the result that the salesman saw him. He had not
only tempted him but he concealed himself and watched
all his movements with aid of a mirror.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another way in which both men and women are frequently
made criminals is by the present instalment system.
For example, persons purchase watches, jewelry, typewriters,
clothing and furniture and agree to pay for the
same by weekly or monthly instalments. The buyer is
compelled to sign an agreement in which he waives his
right to his property till the last payment is made. If he
has purchased a watch or suit of clothes and defaults on a
payment he is compelled to surrender the property or be
liable to an indictment for grand larceny. The trouble is,
our legislature, to accommodate commercial sharpers,
changes what has always been considered a civil suit into a
criminal offence. Any one who sells another a typewriter
takes chances to get his money back, the same as the baker
who sells him a loaf of bread. If he is unable to pay that
debt honestly the seller has no right to have recourse to an
indictment to force him. This is all wrong.</p>
<p class='c006'>Just where our State or local authorities can draw the
line between an insane and a rational criminal, it would be
hard to say. And how far people who possess criminal
tendencies should be allowed to roam at large is also important.
But how far individuals and corporations should
be allowed to tempt moral weaklings to commit crime is a
question for the twentieth century statesman and penologist
to decide.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch04' class='c009'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>HOW CRIMINALS ARE MADE</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Since the close of the Civil War, crime of every kind has
made enormous strides, not only in our large cities but also
in our sparsely populated districts. Various reasons have
been assigned for this condition of things but the reasons
given are not entirely satisfactory. One thing, however,
is certain, the temptations of modern times, which engulf
and enslave so many of our young people, were never more
numerous or more alluring than they are to-day. And the
saddest thing of all is that very little is done to take the
temptations out of the way or reduce them to a minimum.</p>
<p class='c006'>I believe bad homes are largely responsible for many of
the moral shipwrecks of our day. A report of the superintendent
of Elmira Reformatory states that fifty-two per
cent. of all the inmates of that institution came from positively
bad homes and only seven per cent. from positively
good homes. Without going any further into this discussion,
it would be well to find out what makes bad homes
and, if possible, furnish a remedy, so as to save our young
people from becoming criminals. By all means find out
the disease and then apply the remedy. This is the only
rational thing to do, and to this method of treatment few
persons can object.</p>
<p class='c006'>The fact that crime increases faster than the ratio of
population should come to our statesmen with startling
effect and set them thinking to know just what methods
should be used to change the evil currents of the times.</p>
<p class='c006'>As long as fierce temptations are allowed to surge
around our young people, especially in large cities, so long
may we expect to see them in the police net and afterward
filling prison cells. Crime is a menace to our republican
institutions and in the end will reduce a free people to
anarchy or serfdom.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the crime makers of our time, as is evident from
everyday facts and figures, is the liquor traffic. From fifty
to seventy per cent. of all convicted felons have been
ruined by it. Many a man who is behind the bars to-day
never would have been there were it not for strong drink
that robbed him of his senses in a weak moment, and made
him a criminal and a fool. In states where the rum power
is under the ban and prohibition strictly or even partially
enforced, jails are usually empty except for a few petty
offenders.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some men say that immigration is largely responsible
for the criminality of to-day. That there is some truth in
this statement we have no doubt whatever. But to hold
immigrants responsible for the criminality of this age is unfair
and uncharitable. That some parts of Europe send
people to this country who are expert criminals and others
full of criminal instincts, is true in part. That people without
means and employment drift to the United States from
every land and when in want naturally attack property
under the spur of necessity, coupled, of course, with low
ethical standards and lacking a sense of moral obligation,
and perhaps possessing weak resistive powers, is also true.</p>
<p class='c006'>Often persons are driven to crime by motives generated
in a vicious nature, and as they are too weak to resist they
soon lose their liberty, and society to protect itself simply
places them behind the bars. Criminality is simply the
darkened side of a reckless, sinful life, showing itself in
deeds of wickedness and rebellion against God and man.
Any one with such an impulse will dare to commit the most
atrocious crime on record and will not think of the consequences!</p>
<p class='c006'>The small army of boys that are committed to prison in
this city every year between the ages of sixteen and twenty,
for every crime on the calendar, shows the trend of the
rising generation toward delinquency. In these figures we
leave out of consideration several thousands of boys and
girls who are disposed of by the city magistrates, many of
whom are sent to the Reform School, Juvenile Asylum and
the House of Refuge, while others are discharged on suspended
sentences, with a warning to keep out of bad company.</p>
<p class='c006'>I believe the first and foremost cause of crime in our
large cities, as I have intimated, as well as the degradation
of the poor man’s home, is the American saloon. Nor will
there be any material decrease in the volume of crime till
the power of the saloon has been crushed. Our stupid,
thick-skulled, short-sighted reformers and state legislators
forget that the soul-dishonoring and God-defying gin mill
is the great crime generator of the twentieth century. The
one primary cause of crime to-day is alcohol, and as a well-known
authority says: “The decrease in the use of alcoholic
drink must ever remain the great aim of anti-criminal
legislation as well as of future moral and social reform.”
A mass of absolutely correct statistics could be given in
support of this statement, if necessary.</p>
<p class='c006'>In many of the crimes committed by young men which
we have personally investigated, it has been a question with
us who has been the greatest criminal, the state, the parents
or the boy. Many a young man would never have reached
prison had his parents placed around him any reasonable
moral safeguards. When I remember that hundreds of
boys who get into the Tombs every year come from homes
of poverty, misery, drunkenness, profanity and vice of
every name, I do not wonder when I see crime written on
their pale faces.</p>
<p class='c006'>If Gladstone’s dictum were to actuate our state legislature,
laws would be forthwith passed, making it a crime to
sell to minors the blood-curdling novel, tobacco or cigarettes,
or intoxicating liquor in any form. Boys should be
prohibited from going to prize fights, the race course, gambling
hells, theatres, billiard halls, or even from staying on
the street after nine o’clock at night. This might seem
harsh, but if strictly carried out we have no doubt whatever
that crime would be reduced thereby.</p>
<p class='c006'>It was a law in the Commonwealth of Israel, promulgated
long before their settlement in Canaan, that when they
built a house in the promised land they must put a railing
or battlement around the roof to protect their children from
injury by accidentally falling off. If the state were to
make it difficult for our young people to do wrong by erecting
around them moral barriers, there would be less criminality
among boys and young men, and fewer human shipwrecks
in after life.</p>
<p class='c006'>When young men are admitted to prison for the first
time, efforts should be put forth to save them. The work
of isolation, separation and classification should then begin.
If the authorities were to sift and separate the good from
the bad, the precious from the vile, I am positive there
would be fewer recidivists who are now compelled to repeat
the same prison experiences several times over.</p>
<div class='figcenter id004'>
<img src='images/i065a.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The new Tombs prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id005'>
<img src='images/i065b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The open corridor of the women’s prison of the Tombs.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id006'>
<img src='images/i065c.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The old Tombs entrance on Leonard street.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>Hundreds of boys who are sent to the Tombs enjoy the
novelty immensely. It is a new experience to them, and
as such is exciting. In prison they are huddled together as
a band of incorrigibles. There seems to be no punishment
in such an experience. Some of them are better off there
than they would be in their homes. They get enough to
eat. In some prisons they can smoke all the cigarettes and
read all the dime novels they please. If up till this time
they have been ignorant of the ways of pickpockets and
sneak thieves, when they come out, after a few weeks’ incarceration,
they are expert crooks, and fifty per cent. of
them are soon back in prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>In order to reduce crime among boys we must take away
the operating causes. There is no other way to reach the
desired end, and the sooner we get our eyes open to these
facts, the better for ourselves and everybody else.</p>
<p class='c006'>The object of all prison discipline should be the moral
transformation of young offenders. They should be taught
righteousness and purity of life, honesty and industry, self-respect
and courteous behaviour to all. Whenever prison
reform comes short of this, it is a failure, and society at
large is injured thereby.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch05' class='c009'>CHAPTER V<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE SCIENTIFIC CRIMINAL</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>There can be little doubt that the criminal product of the
twentieth century is vastly different in its make up and
harder to deal with than the criminal of any other century
of the Christian era. Not perhaps from the standpoint of
moral depravity, for all criminals are depraved, although
some seem to be more so than others. But the criminal of
to-day to be successful in his operations must be daring in
his conceptions and highly scientific in his methods; otherwise
he will be unable to cope with the difficulties in his
way.</p>
<p class='c006'>Criminals as a rule are not indifferent to the feelings of
honest men as to their methods of getting a living. They
know full well they do wrong. Yet if you cross their path
while in the act of committing a felony, they will without
the least hesitation take your life, and think nothing of it.
All men who start out on a mission of crime make up their
minds beforehand to take “no chances.” They are strenuously
against every one that opposes them and they know
that every honest, law-abiding citizen is against them.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the great advance in civilization the past hundred
years and the easy way fortunes seem to be accumulated,
has unquestionably invented new methods of guarding the
wealth, but it has also sharpened the criminal’s wit, making
him more practical in his deeds of daring and ingenious in
his plans and operations.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a well known fact that criminals of to-day do not
carry around with them long “jimmies,” saws or crowbars
such as were used by the old school crooks.</p>
<p class='c006'>The twentieth century “outfit” of an experienced criminal
seldom weighs more than sixteen to twenty ounces. The
entire “kit” is made of the finest steel instruments and by
these he is able to find his way to strong boxes, bureau
drawers and closets of the best city and country residences.
If he thinks he has to encounter a safe he will carry with
him an electric drill by which he can punch holes in steel
plates at short notice.</p>
<p class='c006'>With these he has besides a silk rope ladder, which has
an attachment that can take him to the roof of a house or
get him to the street from any part of the building when he
desires.</p>
<p class='c006'>With the outfit just described a Connecticut crook was
able to commit sixty burglaries in less than three months
in this city. The typical twentieth century criminal is
therefore a most dangerous character to deal with, and
when in possession of a gun he lets nothing stand in his
way.</p>
<p class='c006'>Scientific writers on penology of recent times have
divided the criminal into many parts for the purpose of
analyzing the natural causes that have led to his downfall
and the treatment best calculated to bring about his restoration.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the grave defects, in the study of criminal law,
is that while the lawyer ransacks the Code in an effort to
save or punish the wrongdoer, the criminal’s moral nature
is entirely ignored. This is certainly not right. We firmly
believe that the best possible way of reaching a correct
solution of the mysterious dualism which confronts us in
our study of criminal character, is to find out not only his
early habits, but what he is in his normal and abnormal
conditions, and how his delusions can be removed.</p>
<p class='c006'>But there are criminals and criminals. Some indeed
are born into criminal lives from infancy, aided by the laws
of heredity, while others become criminals on the impulse
of the moment and for months or years, run a wild career
of wrong doing, but afterwards change the course of their
conduct, and become useful members of society. Of
course the only kind of reformation that becomes permanent
is the kind that changes the man inside and out.
Others like the twig that is bent, remain crooked all their
lives. Nor does imprisonment improve such people to any
great extent. Harsh treatment may subdue the animal
passions but will not change his higher nature.</p>
<p class='c006'>We do not believe that God brands any man as the victim
of an unavoidable destiny, nor does He compel him to live
a criminal life against his will. The fact is each law
breaker is the victim of his own depraved will and is what
he wants to be.</p>
<p class='c006'>The twentieth century crook in forgery, burglary, safe
cracking and swindling studies the situation so carefully
that in two-thirds of the cases he is able to “beat” the law.
A greenhorn crook is sure to leave traces behind him but
an expert never. The twentieth century crook uses an
automobile and naphtha launch so as to disappear with his
“loot” to parts unknown. When he travels at home or
abroad, he patronizes the most expensive hotels, the dearest
express trains, and only the best accommodations on
ocean steamers. Expert crooks as a rule travel in pairs.</p>
<p class='c006'>Under the head of Criminal Anthropology we are called
upon to study the criminal’s anatomy, social and moral
habits and temperaments. But the strangest thing about
him is that though he may be physically and mentally
normal—just as other men are—he is abnormal morally.
We must always remember, however, that while we consider
the criminal scientifically, his disease is entirely
moral. Nor has the average criminal any peculiarities
that are not common to the rank and file of other men in
every walk of life. His head and his heart and his brain
are like those of other men and he shows the marks of
human folly just as men do who never saw the inside of a
jail.</p>
<p class='c006'>As a rule the criminal is largely a creature of circumstances;
often too lazy to work and unwilling to resist the
common temptations of life, he simply drifts. He takes to
crime as an easy way of making a living and often believes
that the fates are against him, as an excuse for his wrong-doing,
or perhaps he has a foolish delusion that there is
something heroic in criminality.</p>
<p class='c006'>Crime is defined as a violation of a human law enacted
by the state in its own defense, and the criminal is the one
who wilfully breaks that law and makes himself amenable
to it.</p>
<p class='c006'>The most noted authority in our day on crime and criminals
is Lombroso, the Italian penologist, who has made a
thorough study of the subject. In describing the criminal
we find there is a freshness of detail to whatever he says,
and he writes like one familiar with the subject. Lombroso
rightly contends that criminals must be dealt with,
not according to the way that society views the crime, but
according to the circumstances and conditions that have led
to it, and our laws must be changed to meet the new conditions.
“Penal repression,” says Lombroso, “should be
based on social utility scientifically demonstrated; instead
of studying law books, we should study the criminal. It is
doubtless true the criminal, as a rule, has feeble cranial
capacity, a heavy developed jaw, large orbital capacity,
projecting superciliary ridges, an abnormal and symmetrical
cranium, a scanty beard or none, or an abundance of hair,
projecting ears and frequently a crooked or flat nose.
Criminals are sometimes subject to Daltonism or left-handedness,
their muscular force is feeble and alcoholic
and epileptic degeneration exists among them to a large
extent. Their nerve centres are frequently pigmented.
They blush with difficulty. Their moral degeneracy corresponds
to their physical make up. Their criminal tendencies
are manifested in infancy by onanism, cruelty, inclination
to steal, excessive vanity and impulsive character.
The criminal in a large number of cases is lazy, cowardly,
not susceptible to remorse, without foresight, fond of tattooing.
His handwriting is peculiar, his signature is complicated
and adorned with flourishes. His slang is widely
diffused, abbreviated and full of archaisms.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Before we leave the subject it would be well to say that
naturally the criminal is the product of anomalous conditions
of long standing that have worked themselves into
the moral fibre of his being. After many years the criminal
has come to bear the distinguishing peculiarities of crime
which mark him as a man among men. So that to-day with
all our advanced civilization, the criminal stands midway,
as Lombroso remarks, “Between the savage and the
lunatic.”</p>
<p class='c006'>It has therefore become a perplexing question what is to
be done with him, for during the four hundred years of
white civilization on the American Continent his condition
remains almost the same.</p>
<p class='c006'>After many years of failure to improve him, would it
not be well to adjust the penal treatment to his nature as a
man and eliminate from his life the temptations that overcame
him? For example, thousands of people are arrested
yearly in New York for drunkenness, a temptation which
they cannot resist. Why not close the saloons and thus
take even this one temptation out of the way of such weaklings?
At any rate, if our prison populations are to be
reduced, society must pass a law to prevent crime, or invent
something that shall defeat the conditions that make men
criminals.</p>
<p class='c006'>At the present time the main object of a criminal court
is to find out if a defendant is guilty or innocent. If guilty,
the sentence of the Court is measured by the character of
the crime and not by the conditions that led to it. Before
the wrongdoer can be reformed our criminal laws must be
readjusted to the conditions of the times. Many of those
who come into our courts for sentence, if not hardened
criminals themselves, are the offspring of criminal parents
or are mentally defective, weak-minded or insane, epileptics
or otherwise diseased.</p>
<p class='c006'>Crime gnaws at the life of the nation, destroys its vitality
and wastes its wealth. We can stand changes of government
or changes of policy, hard times, prosperity and adversity,
but no nation can long survive the awful demoralization
of crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>But what an anomalous life the criminal lives! After
having many chances and opportunities placed in his way
to live right, he refuses the good and chooses the evil. He
will not reform nor do better. He has become a misanthrope;
he hates himself and everybody else.</p>
<p class='c006'>The only sure remedy for the present day criminal is the
indeterminate sentence; he should be detained in prison
under the most rigorous discipline, till he is reformed or
cured of his insane notions. It is nothing short of a crime
to turn such people loose to scourge society after a few
months or years’ detention in prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>European criminologists are unanimous in advocating the
most restrictive measures for incorrigibles, such as hard
labor, longer imprisonment and more repressive humiliation,
or if necessary, deportation and exile. Professor
Prins of Brussels says, “The solution of the question of the
incorrigible lies in a progressive aggravation of punishment
and the absence of all prison luxury.” After reading a
mass of opinions on what should be done with the criminal
incorrigible and how he should be punished, all of which
had not a ray of hope in it for his higher nature, we thought
of the British soldier in India half a century ago, who was
called up for sentence before a court martial; he had suffered
all sorts of imprisonment, corporal punishment and
all manner of deprivation and humiliations, but all to no
purpose; the punishments only hardened him. But now a
new commander came on the scene who, after hearing all
that could be said against him, dismissed him with an admonition,
saying that they forgave him, asking him from
henceforth to go and sin no more. The effect of this was
that he broke down and wept like a child. He had steeled
his heart to every kind of punishment, but when they tried
kindness it touched him.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch06' class='c009'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>SOME FAMOUS TOMBS PRISONERS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>During its long and eventful history the Tombs has had
many notable prisoners. It would be impossible in this
brief sketch to do justice to this subject by giving a full
and detailed account of the deeds and escapades of these
persons. But the men of money and influence who have
had the misfortune to be sent to the City Prison have always
fared well. Although it is not always the case, the
rich and poor in such a place should be treated with becoming
fairness and moderation, not simply because they are
rich or poor, but the law presumes a man to be innocent
till his guilt is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. It is
well known that a great many people are sent to the Tombs
every year on trumped up charges. As they are not criminals,
it would be manifestly improper to deny them the deserved
consideration to which every uncondemned man is
entitled in this enlightened age.</p>
<p class='c006'>In dealing with this subject we shall only mention the
names of a few well known persons.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1842 the Tombs had a prisoner named Monroe Edwards;
he is said to have been one of the most noted and
boldest of all round forgers of the time. He had plenty
of money and lived more like a prince than a prisoner. He
was able to engage the most eminent counsel in his behalf.
His wardrobe was the finest and most expensive that money
could buy. He was allowed to furnish his cell in an
elegant manner. Lady friends and admirers called upon
him daily and brought bouquets and cut flowers in abundance,
all of which he was permitted to receive, on the
ground that the law presumed him innocent till found
guilty. There must have been many abuses in the Tombs
in those days, perhaps as glaring as those that exist to-day.
For example, Edwards received other gifts from his lady
friends besides flowers and knick-knacks for his cell. These
consisted of a set of highly tempered steel saws for iron
work, a silk rope ladder, grappling irons and a horse pistol.
These were to be used to enable him to make good his
escape, if he so desired. As soon as the Warden learned
that he possessed these things, he went to his cell and made
a demand of Edwards for their surrender. After they were
confiscated many of Edwards’ privileges were cut off.</p>
<p class='c006'>John Scannel, a Tammany politician, having filled a
number of offices within the City Government, but who
more recently was Fire Commissioner during Mayor Van
Wyck’s administration, was an inmate of the Tombs in the
fall of 1871.</p>
<p class='c006'>On September 19th of that year he shot Thomas Donohue
whom he supposed to have been the man who had
assaulted his brother Florence. The charge against him
was homicide. But like many other Tammany officials, he
had a tremendous “pull” and was soon afterwards admitted
to bail in the sum of $20,000. He was finally cleared.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Tombs’ authorities have always been indulgent to
the men who lived on “Murderers’ Row.” The foolish idea
that comes down through the ages, which pictures the murderer
resting on a pallet of straw with a chain around his
neck, has certainly never been experienced in the Tombs.
Twenty years ago and even later, nearly all the cells on
Murderers’ Row received bouquets of flowers almost every
morning. And some of them had bird cages, swinging
shelves, lace curtains, carpets and draperies. When you
entered such a cell, your feet did not touch the stone floor,
but a rug or a Kidderminister. And the prisoner—he
usually wore an elegant dressing gown, silk slippers and
beautiful clothing; he is shaved and groomed daily; when
he sleeps it is on a real bed of comfort. When the old
prison was yet standing, every afternoon after he had made
his toilet and was booted and gloved he walked into the
yard for a stroll. Between four and five o’clock he dines;
he never ate prison fare. His food came from the outside
and consisted of a variety of dishes, such as oysters, quail,
clams, fish, fowl, roast beef and vegetables—the best the
market could provide, that is, for rich prisoners. The poor
crooks had to be content with prison fare and take “pot
luck.”</p>
<p class='c006'>On January 6th, 1872, at 4:30 p. m., Edward S. Stokes
shot and killed James Fisk, Jr., in the Broadway Central
Hotel. After the coroner had committed Stokes to the
Tombs, he was assigned to Cell 43 on “Murderers’ Row,”
which was situated on the western side of the second tier.
Soon after coming to the City Prison he was allowed to fix
up his cell in a most lavish manner; for example, he was
permitted to put a hard finish on the walls of his cell, fit
it with several fine pieces of furniture, pictures on the
walls, damask curtains and Turkish rugs galore! He was
permitted to build a walnut toilet stand in his cell. He
was also allowed the use of the yard whenever he desired
and to walk about unmolested. The graft paid in those
days for such liberties, must have been enormous as he
had more privileges than any ten men.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is also said that Stokes had a large room on the Centre
Street side of the old prison where he received his friends
who called on him daily. It was here that he ate the
choicest cuts, the best turkeys the market could furnish,
and where he and his friends regaled themselves with the
best champagne and claret, and smoked the finest cigars.
It is also said by men now living that Stokes often attended
the Bowery theatre accompanied, of course, by a couple of
keepers, who danced attendance on him—all of which cost
money.</p>
<p class='c006'>Stokes was tried for murder three times. At the close
of the first two trials he was convicted of murder in the
first degree and sentenced to be hanged. At the close of
the last trial he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced
to Sing Sing for four years.</p>
<p class='c006'>Richard Croker, all round Tammany Hall leader and politician
for many years, alderman and at the time of his involuntary
confinement in the Tombs a city coroner, shot
and killed John McKenna at Second Avenue and 34th
Street, November 3rd, 1874. The shot that killed McKenna
was intended for Ex-Senator James O’Brian, a
brother of Inspector Steve O’Brian. It is said while an inmate
of the Tombs Croker had the privilege of leaving the
building and returning when he pleased. How true this
was nobody could tell, but others who were able to pay for
it had the same privileges since that time. Money and
other influences have always been a tremendous power in
the Tombs Prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>Ferdinand Ward, bank president and bank looter, who
stole no less than $2,000,000 from the Marine Bank and
eventually ruined General Grant, spent some months in the
Tombs and was finally sent to Sing Sing for a term of
years.</p>
<p class='c006'>Erastus Wyman, a well-to-do Staten Island Real Estate
operator, lay in the Tombs for many months. He had a
hard fight against a horde of persecutors who sought his
ruin. His case went to the Court of Appeals, where he
received a new trial. He was never tried again.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another rich banker—I well remember him—was Cornelius
L. Alvord. He got away with more than $700,000
from the First National Bank.</p>
<p class='c006'>He was in a cell in Murderers’ Row, in the old prison.
While there he ate the best food and smoked the finest
cigars till he took up his abode in Sing Sing. His sentence
was seven and one-half years.</p>
<p class='c006'>Roland Burnham Molineux, a popular young man, was
arrested February 2nd, 1899.</p>
<p class='c006'>He lay in the Tombs about nine months before the first
trial. Mr. Molineux was plucky, courageous and optimistic.
It is needless to say he made many friends, all of whom
were glad when he received his liberty. In manners he
was a perfect gentleman, courteous and obliging to all.
While in the Tombs he was very kind to his fellow unfortunates
and frequently fed, clothed and shod needy prisoners
at his own expense.</p>
<p class='c006'>Then there were Fritz Meyer, Carlyle Harris, Doc. Kennedy,
and Patrick, besides, lawyers, doctors, bankers, insurance
agents and walking delegates without number.</p>
<p class='c006'>Harry Kendall Thaw, a native of Pittsburg, Pa., a multi-millionaire,
shot and killed Stanford White while in Madison
Square roof garden June 6th, 1906. He lay in the
Tombs over ten months. His first trial lasted nearly three
months. His immense wealth brought around him an
army of friends who flattered him night and day—for his
money. While in the Tombs he had unusual privileges, all
of which he doubtless paid for highly. Physically his imprisonment
made him a new man. His defence is said to
have cost him a million dollars. He came from a first
class family.</p>
<p class='c006'>At his second trial the Demosthenes of the Brooklyn Bar,
Littlefield, successfully defended him and saved him from
the Electric Chair. His mother, who is known as a lovely
Christian lady, visited him regularly during his confinement.
Thaw is at present in Matteawan. He has made
several efforts to secure his freedom but has failed. The
general opinion is that if he keeps at it he will succeed.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch07' class='c009'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE DANGEROUS EDUCATED CROOK</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>One of our modern fallacies is that education is a cure
for all the ails and weaknesses of life. There never was a
greater mistake. When we think of humanity in its deranged
and weakened condition and the constant liability
to err—a liability that is inherent in all men—learned and
unlearned—making them subject to temptations and crime
which at any moment may blast their lives, we must be
cautious about believing that education alone can make
men and women honest and virtuous. Education is only
a means to an end, and serves its purpose best when joined
to moral training and industrious habits as taught in a well
regulated life. Without moral training, education alone
will only generate a type of cunning crookedness, that will
be dangerous alike to the home and the republic at large.</p>
<p class='c006'>I believe that education in its best and broadest sense,
means not only mental culture, but carefully trained habits
of industry, together with morality and religion as founded
on the basic principles of the Decalogue and the Sermon on
the Mount—all of which tend to promote the happiness of
the human family.</p>
<p class='c006'>John Howard, the Morning Star of Prison Reform, who
in his day encouraged popular education, was careful to say,
“Make men diligent and you will tend to make them honest,”
and he added that he did not believe education of the
head would amount to much unless it was followed by
“education of heart and hands.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Within recent years Christian penologists are almost
unanimous in the opinion that mental training <i>alone</i> has
little influence in decreasing crime. Nor does it follow
that in countries where illiteracy stands high that crime is
greater than in countries where the opposite is true. In
Spain, where two-thirds of the people are illiterate there is
less crime, according to the population, than in Massachusetts
where nine-tenths of the people can read and write.</p>
<p class='c006'>So also in rural settlements where there is always less
educational privileges than in large cities, crime is vastly
less in the former than in the latter.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the early history of this country petty crimes were
usually committed against domestic products, but with the
advance of our present civilization such crimes are nothing
compared to stealing railroads, coal mines, gold mines, safe
cracking, colossal swindling and bank wrecking in which
millions are stolen yearly. And all of these crimes are the
work of well educated men.</p>
<p class='c006'>Victor Hugo says, “He who opens a school closes a prison,”
which is true if that school teaches the morality of the
ten commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, but not
otherwise.</p>
<p class='c006'>In Great Britain in 1880 the number of pupils in the
schools increased to 3,895,324, while the prisoners numbered
only 30,719; but the greatest decrease in the prison
population is seen in 1899, when the school pupils numbered
5,601,249, while the prison population fell to 17,687.
That is to say, the prison population decreased 38 per cent.
while the population of the country increased 11 per cent.</p>
<p class='c006'>Notwithstanding all that may be said, it is our humble
opinion after years of observation that criminality is largely
the result of ignorance, idleness and indolent habits. Since
I have been in the habit of visiting reformatories I have
often thought of Isaac Watts’ philosophy, “Satan finds mischief
for idle hands to do.” It is the young loafer and
idler who is around the streets night and day “killing time”
that gets into trouble. Whenever parents rear their children
in idleness they simply sap the foundations of personal
character and fit them for criminality. A report of the
Elmira Reformatory shows that of thousands of persons
who were received into that institution since it was first
opened over 83 per cent. are classed as laborers and idlers.</p>
<p class='c006'>For more than fifty years it has been said that a greater
advance in education would reduce crime to a large extent.
But this is only true in part. Secular education does not
reduce murder, forgery, grand larceny, embezzlements and
other heinous crimes. There must be moral education.
Indeed, such offences are usually the work of well educated
men.</p>
<p class='c006'>Those best able to judge will not deny that the most
dangerous person to-day is the educated crook. He plans
crime scientifically, at the same time exercising the greatest
care. Indeed, he makes it a business, and, as is
sometimes said, goes into it for all he is worth. The college
graduate behind the bars is becoming very common. At
the present time nearly all of our large prisons have doctors,
lawyers, editors, teachers and others of keen minds
and large professional experience. Some of the articles
found in the Star of Hope, the State Prison paper, show a
wide range of reading, and could only be written by scholars.
And at the lowest calculation, most of our large prisons
contain from five to ten per cent. of college graduates,
and the number is rapidly increasing.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the most scholarly men that I ever knew came
from a little town in Massachusetts. He was so exceptionally
bright that had he put his native talents and energies
into an effort to keep the Ten Commandments, instead
of aiming continually to plunder his fellow men, he might
have been a Morgan or a Rockefeller. The man of whom
I speak began life as a school teacher, then a clerk in the
office of a country attorney. After this he became a full-fledged
lawyer, and drifted into politics.</p>
<p class='c006'>From politics he went into crime, and soon became an
expert forger and swindler on a large scale, and as a rule
he always worked for “big game.” As a confidence man
he had a shrewd way of getting hold of millionaires and
fleecing them.</p>
<p class='c006'>A most noted and clever crook some time ago came to
grief in an effort to impersonate an English earl. This
man had a charm of manner about him and other polished
ways that would have given him a place in any society. But
he used all his cleverness and scholarship only to make for
himself a criminal career of the most romantic character.
He was afterwards sent to Sing Sing Prison, where he
became the first editor of the Star of Hope, and a regular
“mogul” among the inmates because of his scholarly attainments.
It was said that he wrote sermons for an ignorant
chaplain now no longer there.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another college graduate whom I have known, and who
had a national reputation for crookedness, was born in
western New York. At his father’s death he inherited
$600,000. After he had graduated from Columbia Law
School, he went West and became a land and grain speculator.
He afterwards opened a bank and was made president.
Then he was elected mayor of the city and state
senator; he ran for Congress, but was defeated. He was
an expert gambler, and he told me that he more than once
lost $40,000 in one night, in the Tenderloin. Having
been a banker himself for several years, he knew how to
“work” banks for all they are worth by the use of forged
checks. He was arrested five or six times, but only convicted
twice, and was then able to cheat the prison by a
technicality.</p>
<p class='c006'>No person is so much exposed to crime as the mental
and industrial illiterate, and it will always be so till the
end of time. But education that does not elevate, purify
and generate high ideas in man is nothing short of a curse
to the individual. Furthermore, the educated crook can do
vastly more harm in the world than the ignorant crook, and
is much more dangerous when at large. It does not necessarily
follow, therefore, that the more educated the man is
the better the citizen, nor that he is less liable to crime.
The fact is well admitted that in nearly all the northern and
western cities the prison inmates are able to read and
write, and scores are classed as really educated. Among
the young men that go to Elmira Reformatory only six to
nine per cent. are classified as illiterate, and the number of
illiterates admitted to Sing Sing is said to be nine per cent.,
a very small proportion when we think of the large number
of persons who are sent there.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Rev. Fred H. Wines, D. D., defines education as
labor, instruction and religion. He says:</p>
<p class='c006'>“The best preventives against crime are a well trained
mind, industrious habits and a good moral life. And the
power of a good example and a pure conversation is incalculable
in leading young people into steady habits and a
noble life such as they should everywhere follow. Let New
York follow out the teaching of Solomon, and there is sure
to be less crime in the future than in the past: ‘Train up a
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will
not depart from it.’”</p>
<div class='figcenter id007'>
<img src='images/i085.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The only Man on Record who is known to have Pardoned himself out of Prison. He began life as a School Teacher, Clerk in a Law Office, full fledged Lawyer and Treasurer of a Political organization in New England, with whose funds he decamped. He has been in Prison a dozen times under as many aliases, where he has spent twenty-five years. When he pardoned himself out of prison he was in Nashville, Tenn., under the name of Henry B. Davis. He is now supposed to be dead.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch08' class='c009'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>LEAVES FROM THE HISTORY OF A CHECKERED CAREER</span></h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c017'>
<div>The Remarkable Confessions of One of the Brightest, Brainiest and Smartest Crooks of His Day—How He Pardoned Himself Out of Prison.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c001'>“Naturally I shrink from publishing my sins to the world.
I prefer speaking of the shortcomings of others. Like most
of the human family I can see the mote in my brother’s
eye, but am blind to the beam in my own eye. That I am a
son of Belial the journals of the country have not for the
past twenty-five years permitted me to forget. I am viewed
as all that is bad—as one whom it were folly to try to reform—as
an incorrigible, morally deformed. If I am not
totally depraved, society is not to be blamed. I rejoice that
I am far better than society knows, that I know God and
His love for me, and that in my inner life abides a faith
that assures me I am but a wanderer from my Father’s
house, to which I shall some day return and be numbered
among the ransomed.”</p>
<p class='c006'>“Often have I looked heavenward and exclaimed: ‘Oh,
God, I thank Thee that Thou knowest me, and that Thou
wilt never misjudge me. Thou knowest why I wandered
from the path of righteousness, and when I shall return
thereto. I pray for the grace that will enable me to return—that
will so fortify me that I may depart from evil and
cleave unto Thee.’</p>
<p class='c006'>“I have never doubted that God will eventually grant
my prayer. Were it not for the faith I have in myself, the
merciless, unchristian condemnation I have been subjected
to for the past quarter century would have sent me to
hell beyond redemption! Had I been prayed for more and
denounced less by those who are continually announcing
their belief in prayer, and the power of God to save to
the uttermost all sinners, I might have been a better man
than I am. But I am forgetting that I was not asked to
write a sermon—that the request was for some of the most
sensational and interesting of my experiences—my exploits.
The most successful, most valuable and by far the cleverest
work of my life was the forging of the documents which
induced Governor Buchanan, of Tennessee, to pardon me,
April 3d, 1891. I was confined at Tracy City, Tenn., under
a six years’ sentence. It is one of the branch prisons of
the state, and the convicts are employed in the coal mines.
I was put to work in ‘a 3 foot vein,’ with a negro convict—an
old miner—for boss. The most arduous labor I ever
performed, did little else than grumble from morning till
night, and shirked all I dared. At night I laid awake trying
to evolve a plan by which I could escape from my wretched
plight. I decided that I would try to forge my way to liberty.
I soon prepared to execute my plan, secured legal
cap paper, official envelopes, ink and some good pens. In
three days I forged a petition bearing upward of 150 signatures,
writing differing in each, the names of the leading
citizens of Tipton county, Tenn., the county in which I was
sentenced. I then forged a letter bearing the signature
of the firm of attorneys that defended me, one of whom
was a friend of the Governor, and enclosed it with the petition,
and had them mailed in Memphis, remote from
where I was confined, 320 miles. I then forged another
letter purporting to have been written by the aforesaid
attorney to John Tipton, representative in the Legislature
at Nashville, in which he was asked to see Governor Buchanan,
and to urge him to pardon Henry B. Davis (my
alias). All this was done in March, 1891. On the 3rd day
of April, 1891, the pardon reached the warden at Tracy
City. I received the glad tidings while in the dining room,
writing a letter for a fellow prisoner. Warden Mottern
walked in and threw a letter on the table at my side, remarking
as he did so, ‘Henry, don’t let that take your breath
away.’ I did not take up the letter, but continued to write.
The warden, eager that I should read the letter, repeated
his remark. I then felt that it was a letter bearing very
important intelligence, and drew it from the envelope. I
have never forgotten its contents. It read:</p>
<p class='c018'>Henry B. Davis, Esq.,</p>
<p class='c019'>Tracy City, Tenn.,</p>
<p class='c020'>Dear Sir:</p>
<p class='c006'>I send herewith your pardon. After you have called at
the Capitol and signed certain papers, forwarded to the
Governor by your attorneys, you are free to go home or
elsewhere, I am</p>
<div class='c011'>Yours very truly,</div>
<div class='c011'>W. H. <span class='sc'>Norman</span>,</div>
<div class='c011'>Adj’t-Gen’l and Private Secretary to His Excellency</div>
<div class='c011'>John P. Buchanan, Governor.</div>
<p class='c006'>“As they could not clothe me that day nor arrange for my
transportation to Covington, Tenn., I remained in the stockade
until 4 a. m., of the 4th. And a more fearful and uneasy
mortal the world had not. I made my way to Indianapolis,
and did not until I reached that city see anything
which indicated that I was being sought—that officers were
after me. While sitting in the depot a man passed and
re-passed me, closely observing me. I said to myself,
‘He evidently is looking for me; I had better get out of
this.’ I went out of the north door as he passed out of the
south door, and hastily boarded the “White Mail” express
on the P. C. C. & St. L. R. R., without one cent in my
pocket. I was on the front end of the mail car, and rode
to Denison, Ohio, unmolested—the longest ride I ever
knew anyone to make ‘on the beat’ on a passenger train.</p>
<p class='c006'>“In August, 1901, I was arrested in Jersey City for forging
a telegram. Shortly after I was bound over to the
grand jury it was learned that I had been sentenced to
six years’ imprisonment in Tennessee, and a letter of inquiry
was sent to the Governor, who quickly notified the
Jersey City authorities that I had been pardoned because
of forged documents sent to him by some person unknown.
A certain detective then went to Nashville, called on the
Governor, and said: “Governor, Edwin Stoddard, alias
Henry B. Davis, is subject to your order. Do you want
him, and what is the reward?”</p>
<p class='c006'>The good Governor, eternal peace and happiness be his,
slowly rose from his chair, straightened his tall form and
said: ‘Do I want Edwin Stoddard, alias Henry B. Davis?
No, sir; I do <i>not</i> want Edwin Stoddard, alias Henry B. Davis.
He beat me very cleverly, and is altogether too brilliant
a man to be in prison! All I ask of Edwin Stoddard
alias Henry B. Davis, is to stay out of the State of Tennessee!
The pardon stands. I bid you good day, sir.’</p>
<p class='c006'>“How the small, inhuman, unfeeling soul of the detective,
who for two hundred dollars was eager to return me
to a loathsome prison, must have shrank from that great,
noble, white-souled Governor. What a rebuke the good Governor
administered to the mercenary, unchristian wretch!</p>
<p class='c006'>“In November, 1889, while journeying from Chicago to
St. Louis, in a parlor car, on the Chicago & Alton R. R., I
entered upon what resulted in one of the most interesting
experiences of my life. A gentleman left his chair and
said to me: ‘I am the Rev. —— ——, of Springfield,
Mo., and if I mistake not, you are the Rev. —— ——,
of Detroit,’ (at that time a well known preacher). At once
seeing an opportunity for amusing myself, I said: ‘You
are right; I am pleased to form your acquaintance.’ After
we had conversed for some time he said, ‘I should be
pleased to have you accompany me to Springfield and become
my guest and to occupy my pulpit Sunday.’ To
which, after some hesitation, I consented. He had a very
pleasant home, and the sweetest, kindliest consort it has
ever been my pleasure to meet. They could not do enough
for my comfort and pleasure. Impostor that I was, their
assiduous attention only served to render me uncomfortable.
I asked a blessing at each meal, and read the Bible
and prayed in the morning and evening. But the thought
of the two sermons I was expected to preach Sunday caused
me unspeakable perturbation, as I had but 36 hours in
which to prepare them. I was tempted to flee the place
and let the good pastor think what he pleased. But as I
had never in the course of my wayward career proved unequal
to any emergency I determined to face the rugged
proposition and preach as he had requested. Retiring to
my room with a Bible and several sheets of paper I went
to agonizing over the sermons. For the morning sermon I
took for my text the verse in Genesis (1:26) where God
gives man dominion over all living creatures. I spoke
from notes and flatter myself that I did fairly well. I was
warmly congratulated by the good pastor and his wife, and
introduced at the close of the services to a number of the
congregation.</p>
<p class='c006'>“In the evening I preached on Faith, and from notes. I
labored to be very original and succeeded. I recall maintaining
that we could not exercise any more faith than God
allotted to us, that since he was ‘the author and finisher of
our faith,’ we might reasonably hold him responsible for
our lack of faith provided we had prayed most earnestly
for the proper faith—for sufficient faith. I also maintained
that it were possible for one to have faith sufficient to
secure an answer to a prayer that, while it benefited one
might be harmful to many others. That God often denied
a petitioner even when he had exercised the required faith
because God saw that to answer the prayer—to bestow
what was prayed for, would work harm instead of good to
the supplicant. That it was more the nature of what we
prayed for than the faith we evinced that influenced the
Almighty to a decision. I spoke of the assassination of
President Garfield, reminding the congregation that prayers
were ascending to God from all parts of the world, and
that many of the petitioners believed that God would spare
his life. Yet he died. What conclusion must those who
prayed for Garfield’s recovery reach in order to be consistent?
Could it be other than that the Almighty deemed it
best to remove James A. Garfield from this sphere of
action? Therefore faith does not induce God to answer an
unwise prayer.</p>
<p class='c006'>“A child four years of age lay sick and at death’s door.
The physician decided that he must die. The mother
agonized in prayer. God spared his life. That boy grew
to manhood and at the age of twenty-eight robbed and
murdered his grandfather and was hung. Did faith save
the boy for such an awful crime, and death on the gallows?
If so, it accomplished an awful work! Far better had the
boy died in his innocent childhood! Faith should behold
not merely the substance of things hoped for but should
go far beyond this and see that the things hoped for will
permanently and soulfully benefit the petitioner!</p>
<p class='c006'>“At the close of the service the pastor said to me, ‘Your
discourse was forceful and original, and stimulated my
mind and has given birth to thoughts hitherto unknown to
it. You interfered somewhat with the old orthodox line of
belief but have nevertheless done us much good. You
have quickened and driven us from the old ruts which we
have followed for many years. I believe my people are
very much pleased with the sermon.’</p>
<p class='c006'>“The next day I was taken about the city and shown the
different points of interest and introduced to a number of
the leading citizens.</p>
<p class='c006'>“To this day I think the worthy pastor and his noble wife
fully believe that they entertained the Rev. —— —— of
Detroit.</p>
<p class='c006'>“In December, 1889, I was arrested 400 miles from a
city where I had obtained $1,400.00 on a forged draft.
While escaping, I changed my clothes, and had my mustache
removed, and hair dyed a jet black. When arrested
it flashed through my mind as quick as lightning, ‘Feign
deafness and dumbness, and that you can neither read nor
write.’ I was taken back to the city where I had cashed
the draft, and so changed was my appearance, that the
cashier was in doubt as to my identity, but they placed me
in jail and finally succeeded in holding me for the grand
jury. For sixty days I was closely watched, four different
men were placed in the cell with me and, instructed by the
police, did their utmost to induce me to talk or to write,
but by the utmost care I evaded all their little artifices and
cunning, and the grand jury did not find a true bill. Thus
did I obtain my liberty after maintaining silence for two
months and not placing pen or pencil to paper. The most
trying time of my life, but I never regretted playing the
part inasmuch as it saved me from a sentence of not less
than ten years!</p>
<p class='c006'>“That I sorrow o’er the evil I have done is to be believed.
I have often wondered why I have had such a wayward
career. I sincerely desired to be one of the best men
in the world, and in my early manhood believed that I was
to become such a man. I am well nigh a fatalist. What
God foresees must be equivalent to a law that cannot be
evaded. He foresaw my career. I could not do otherwise
than I have done. I sometimes so reason. I am
grateful to God that in all my unrighteousness I never
wholly lost my belief in his saving grace and that he loved
me; that there was a glorious reality in the religion of our
Saviour; and that the uplift of fallen men and women and
their leading noble, useful lives was and is an unanswerable
argument in support of his gospel of love, mercy and
helpfulness. That I may become a humble, earnest follower
of him who made known God the Father unto men,
is my earnest prayer. I am soul weary of a life of sin. I
have had an unspeakably wretched life for the past twenty-eight
years. I mean to get away from my old wayward
sinful self—out of self and into Christ! I am glad that I
can truthfully say, that there has never been a period in my
life when I did not love Christ and venerate God, never a
time since I was twelve years of age that I did not at some
hour in the day fix my mind on God and ask him for his
mercy and guidance. But for all this I have had a very
checkered career. Still I believe he heard my prayer and
will yet enable me to lead a righteous life.</p>
<p class='c006'>“If I can say anything which will induce any wayward
fellow creature to depart from evil and walk Godward—heavenward,
I should be most happy to do so. God’s
mercy is for all. He never turned a deaf ear to the prayer
for mercy. Nothing so beautiful to the angels as a sinner
on his knees imploring the mercy of the merciful and
loving God!</p>
<p class='c006'>“I have written the foregoing for the Rev. J. J. Munro,
Chaplain of the City Prison, New York City. Interested
for my spiritual welfare he won my confidence and gratitude
by his sincerity and the spirit of helpfulness that
dominates him. He is doing a noble work at the prison
and cannot be too highly commended, and the good people
of the city should earnestly and generously aid him that he
may be enabled to extend his noble, Christian work in behalf
of the fallen and the neglected who, if properly befriended,
may be restored to honest and useful lives.</p>
<div class='c011'>“E. S. S.”</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch09' class='c009'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CROOK</span></h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c017'>
<div>How A Young Life Was Wrecked</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c001'>The writer of the following sketch received a sentence
of twenty-three years imprisonment. He is a bright and
brainy criminal. It is the general opinion that had he used
his talents and business sagacity along honest lines he
would have been a different man to-day. He has brains
in abundance, but he uses them wrongly. Let him tell his
own story.</p>
<p class='c006'>“My father and mother as well as all my relatives on
both sides of the family were exceptionally well connected
and highly respected in the community. My father in his
best days had plenty of money. My earliest recollection of
my father was as a railroad manager, always full of business—seldom
at home except for meals or on Sundays.
After the New England road changed hands and became
part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, he lost his
job. This was a calamity to my father as it compelled him
to begin over again, which at his time of life was a very
serious task. I was then ten years of age, and although
unable to take in the situation fully, I knew something was
wrong.</p>
<p class='c006'>“Without flattery I wish to say I was not a bad boy at this
age. I attended school and like other boys, I cut up once
in a while, but when my teacher sent word home to my
mother recounting my pranks, she always punished me
soundly for my conduct. After leaving the railroad company,
my father went into a little town near New Haven,
where he sunk sixty thousand dollars in what afterwards
proved to be an unprofitable business. When I was fourteen
years of age my grandfather died and left my mother
ten thousand dollars. This money came like a god-send.
Again my father started in business. This time it was
keeping a hotel. It was not so successful as we had expected,
but my father made a living out of it. When I
was fifteen years old I left school and for a whole year
simply spent my time loafing. I would not work. I mixed
in with all kinds of company—mostly bad. I listened to
men as they told how to commit crime and escape punishment.
At first my conscience would scourge me for allowing
myself to be in such company, but I would dismiss my
fears by saying, ‘There is no harm in that as long as a fellow
does not get caught.’ I was yet of tender years, although
I felt I was at heart a degenerate. I can see now
where I made the great mistake of my life.</p>
<p class='c006'>“I can see now that my mother was far too lenient with
me, and should have punished me often for my mean ways,
when she only admonished me with kind words. If I had
known that I was to be punished for many of my youthful
pranks, I certainly would not have repeated them. But I
knew that I could impose on mother and make her prevent
father from punishing me even when I deserved it. This
made me reckless and daring, so I did not care what I did
as long as I was not to be punished. I could steal a few
pennies from my mother’s wallet, smash a pane of glass in
anger, and steal the horse from the barn against my
father’s will, and yet be immune from punishment. All
this tended to make my downward career swift and sure.</p>
<p class='c006'>“On my bed at night I often thought of my mad and
foolish ways. I knew I was doing wrong—sinning against
light and deceiving my kind-hearted mother. It was not
kindness I needed as much as a firm hand over me. I confess
I suffered greatly from moral struggles within. I
came from a good New England ancestry. My relatives
were all respectable people. Why should I do anything
that would bring disgrace upon my family? But I would
not work. I preferred to be an indolent loafer than an
industrious young man. Then the inward struggles would
return to me again. I fought them to the death, continued
to trample God’s laws under my feet and went on to do my
own will.</p>
<p class='c006'>“I believe now that my unrestrained pranks led to my
final criminality. I was now seventeen years of age. I
was not a gambler, nor was I a drunkard or profane. But
I positively refused to work. I spent my days loafing
around the village in all kinds of company, getting trained
for a downward career.</p>
<p class='c006'>“One day my father took me aside and said, ‘George, you
must go to work at once or leave this house.’ Several
words passed between us that had better not been said. I
refused to go to work, and left the house the next day. I
stayed around the village for several days, living with
friends. I soon found myself hard up. Like the man
mentioned in the Gospel, I refused to dig, and to beg I was
ashamed. I said to myself, I must get some money somewhere,
I cannot stand this any longer. I had no wish to be
a criminal and yet I must get money without working
for it. It was summer time. I saw many houses empty,
the Devil said, ‘This is your chance.’ The people had
gone to the seaside and the mountains. I selected a house
where I thought there was plunder and that night burglarized
it. This gave me plenty of ready money. I followed
this with a number of more burglaries. After a time this
kind of crime became my second nature. Then I became
reckless and soon after was arrested, convicted and sent to
Wethersfield State Prison for two years and two months.</p>
<p class='c006'>“After I had reached State’s Prison and had donned the
convict’s garb, I was totally ashamed of myself, not to say
mortified. I made many resolutions and even cried over
my worthless life, but was no better inwardly or outwardly.
The fact is my heart was evil continually. I was twenty
years of age when I left prison. I was not reformed, nor
had I any desire for inward reformation. My heart was
still on the old life. During my two years of enforced
servitude I had learned the bakery business. I thought
when I got out, if all things failed, I could earn a living by
it. After my discharge I went to a place called Long
B—— in a neighboring state. Here I found employment
in a bakery which was kept by a widow woman. I
worked so faithfully for her that after a few months she
made me her manager. I now made up my mind to do
what was right, so I shunned crooked companions. Many
wealthy people lived on the Beach, where they had summer
homes. As many burglaries had been committed in
the neighborhood, I was appointed special watchman. I
served in this capacity for two years, during which time I
gave entire satisfaction to all concerned.</p>
<p class='c006'>“After a few years of sweet liberty, I was in prison
again. This time, I assure you, it was by mere accident,
as I had no intention of being back again in crime. While
playing with a pistol, I accidentally shot a girl. I was convicted
of criminal carelessness, and was sent to prison for
two years—simply because I was an old offender.</p>
<p class='c006'>“I had been a free man several years. I never expected
to go to prison again. This sentence was a surprise to me
and everybody else. It was unlooked for. I was mad with
myself. In prison I became sullen and brooded over my
trials. My wife had abandoned me. Before I left prison
I wrote asking her to secure a divorce from me. I assured
her I would not oppose it.</p>
<p class='c006'>“After leaving prison, I came to New York, where I
operated extensively as a scientific burglar. In my last
prison experience, I met some expert crooks who willingly
perfected my criminal education. I believe the curse of
our prisons to-day is the lack of segregation. I am satisfied
nearly all the prisons are schools of crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>“As long as the authorities mix young beginners with
men old in crime, so long will our prisons be seminaries of
vice of the darkest and vilest character.</p>
<p class='c006'>“With my new ideas I found New York a profitable field
for criminal enterprise, but was not confined to this place
alone. I visited a dozen cities where I worked as a criminal.
In New York City alone, I managed to perform sixty-five
burglaries in a brief space of six months. In some of
them I netted as much as $12,000. The police could not
get ‘the drop on me,’ but were pleased to call me a
‘Twentieth Century up-to-date Second Story Man.’ I
eluded them for three years. All this time I took great
chances. My plans were so perfect that I never believed
I could be detected.</p>
<p class='c006'>“My methods were to hire a room or two in a respectable
part of the city—usually on the top floor—go up on
the roof through the scuttle at night when all were in bed,
and return with my plunder before morning. I never
robbed the house in which I lived, nor any place near to it.
I usually crossed over a dozen houses. If one house was
ten or twenty feet higher than another, I overcame the
difficulty by lassooing the chimney with my silk ladder.
Then I let myself down into any window I wished to enter.
I overcame all difficulties. I always carried a pair of pistols
ready for any emergency, a bull’s-eye lantern and a set
of burglar tools in a leather case in my hip pocket.</p>
<p class='c006'>“In July I committed six burglaries on one street near
Fifth Avenue, New York, and made a big haul each time.
The gold and silver heirlooms I could not sell I melted and
sold for their intrinsic value.</p>
<p class='c006'>“I was so successful in all my operations as a burglar
that I became careless. I had laid my plans so carefully
that I did not think I could be found out. I burglarized
the house of a well known millionaire. He afterwards
offered a reward of a hundred dollars for my detection, for
I had taken away all his valuable bric-a-brac. A month
or two afterwards I again hired rooms in the same neighborhood
and went over the old grounds. This was the
mistake of my life, as they were on the outlook for ‘my
kind.’ I wanted more money and took chances. I became
reckless in my methods. The night I was caught I was
coming up the fire-escape with a pillow slip of silverware
on my back. A woman servant heard me, came to the
window and gave the alarm. I ran to the roof with haste
and threw away my booty. I was cornered before I knew
it. Three cops met me with loaded guns; when I was shot
I surrendered.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Brooks was one of the most remarkable and dangerous
men that ever followed the profession, so he was characterized
on the day the Judge sentenced him to twenty-three
years imprisonment. Before passing sentence, the Judge
said, “Brooks, I doubt if there was ever a criminal in this
city like you. Cold, calculating, scientific, systematic, you
have pursued your criminal career like a mechanic without
interruption, for years. In the course of a few months you
have committed thirty-nine burglaries and stole more than
$65,000 worth of property.”</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch10' class='c009'>CHAPTER X<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>WANDERING STARS AND BUZZARDS OF THE TOMBS</span></h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c017'>
<div>Thrilling Experiences</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c001'>What a field for the study of human nature the careful
observer finds in the Tombs Prison! I do not know of any
other place on this continent where such a display of types
may be found as here; not only every nation, language and
color on the face of the earth, but the variety is kaleidoscopic
and leaves on you a deep impress. The moment you
see a real crook his personality stamps you at once for
good or evil—rather for evil; nor can you help yielding to
such impressions. But then the face is the expression of
the individual and reveals to some extent the character of
the inner man. Although there are many exceptions to
the general rule, these are few and far between. I find
that backsliders in crime after a few years show a vitiated
and debased brutality in their physiognomy.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the ten years that I have been connected with the
Tombs Prison, I have met a great many brilliant men who
were at heart dyed-in-the-wool crooks and bent on a criminal
career. I do not care to call a man a criminal if I can
help it, but how can one avoid it when called upon to describe
a modern social anarchist but use such terms as will
best describe the one who lives on crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a most difficult thing to know just what to do with
such people; but unless they are reached by the milk of
human kindness and the love of God there is little hope
for them. I have found by observation and experience
that the average recidivist is insane on criminal matters,
and is besides a notorious liar! Nor is it best to believe
a word of what he says, unless it is supported by some other
testimony. The fact is, he will not tell the truth even
though in the end it might do him vastly more good than a
lie. And any man who denies the truthfulness of total
depravity needs only visit a prison and hear the confessions
of crooks and then seek their corroboration, and it will not
be long before he will be compelled to abandon his foolish
denials.</p>
<p class='c006'>I find that in youthful degenerates the face holds a pleasant
expression sometimes for years, but then the long confinement
behind the bars reveals a white pallor and dull
sunken eyes that cannot be mistaken; on these crime seems
to have written itself indelibly!</p>
<p class='c006'>Young sixteen-year-old Stewart, who was sentenced to
twenty years in Sing Sing for killing a boy his own age on
Randall’s Island, whose facial lineaments I often watched
and studied, had a most attractive physiognomy. No one
could have believed from his looks that he was a criminal,
but how long he can retain these looks is a matter of conjecture.</p>
<p class='c006'>Our prisons are full of young buzzards who need to be
watched continually. These boys are cunning, sly and
treacherous. When you see them coming be sure and give
them a wide berth. Do not believe what they tell you,
even if they swear on a monument of Bibles. Most of
them are in the business to lie and they know how to attend
to their own business!</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Untruthful Crook</h3>
<p class='c015'>Nor can you rely on any of their promises. If they
speak to you sweet words you will find that they have the
poison of asps under the tongue. They are born buzzards
and can no more change their ravenous nature than a
leopard his spots.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the earliest buzzard freaks I knew was a boy
named Dietz, who was several times in the Tombs for misdemeanors
before he was finally sent to Elmira for a
felony. I found Dietz to be one of the most expert and
finished liars ever I met. It was no trouble for him to lie
in three languages! It seems that he could hardly make a
statement of any kind, without crowding into it a few lies.
He had a way of his own by which he could palm off on an
unsuspecting missionary a harrowing tale of persecution
that would bring tears to the eyes and his tales were so
well arranged that all would believe them.</p>
<p class='c006'>For daring criminality he could give points to Western
bandits and shame them in the end. A car load of such
characters dumped on a peaceful city of fifty thousand
people would disrupt it in a week. Dietz gloated on blood
and thunder yarns of the wild and woolly West, most of
the time and was unhappy unless he was draping demons
from the cesspool of his soul.</p>
<p class='c006'>When I meet a chronic liar I readily conclude—no matter
what his age may be, that the bottom has dropped out of
his character. The liar is the best evidence of total depravity,
and this particular characteristic of the individual
cannot long be hid.</p>
<p class='c006'>The second time Dietz was an inmate of the Boys’ Prison
I remember how I raced all over the city on a wild goose
chase on one of his lies, not knowing at the time that his
story was a fabrication from A to Z. I found out by mere
accident that his brother, who was a clerk in a large shipping
firm in the city, had aided him out of his first scrape,
but refused the second time to have anything more to do
with him. He knew this and took pains to conceal the
fact that after many chances to do the square thing his
brother considered him “no good.” His wanton deeds
and prodigality he considered virtues and when he recited
them to those who would listen to him he was in smiles.</p>
<p class='c006'>The third time he was in the Boys’ Prison was for a
felony. He came in under an assumed name. He did
not call upon me for help this time as I knew his record
too well. But he had some women to work for him till
they found out that his stories were only lies from start to
finish, after which they gave him up. He was finally sent
to Elmira Reformatory, but what became of him afterwards
I have never learned.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems as natural for criminals to tell lies as to breathe,
when in most cases the truth would serve to better purpose.
Some time ago a young Russian named C—— was before
Judge Cowing for stealing a diamond pin. The crime was
committed in the Thalia Theatre on the Bowery. While
his pedigree was taken in General Sessions he was asked
if he had ever been arrested before and, as usual, his reply
was a lie. When he was sentenced to Elmira Reformatory
he replied to the Court, “Judge, would rather go to hell
than to Elmira.” After he came back to the Tombs I asked
him why he hated to go to Elmira so much. He then told
me that he had been there already while Superintendent
Brockway was in charge. I then made an investigation
and found the lawyer that had defended him at his first
trial, who after he had been in the Reformatory two years
and a half had secured a pardon for him so that he might
return to Russia, which he did. He joined the Russian
Army, but is said to have deserted soon after the breaking
out of the war in the Far East. In less than two months
after reaching New York he committed another crime and
sought to cover it with a lie.</p>
<p class='c006'>This man’s career shows him to be nothing less than a
human buzzard. Criminality is written on his countenance,
which, to say the least, is forbidding. After he was
sent to Elmira Reformatory he was soon after transferred
to Auburn Prison, where he will have an opportunity to
serve his full sentence of five years.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another criminal of the Buzzard species was Chump of
Harlem. He was only twenty-six years of age, the son of
a sergeant of police. He is so indolent that he prefers to
beg or steal rather than earn an honest living. Those that
know him best call him “a gin-mill sucker,” as he spends
most of his time there for the “drinks” he can pick up for
nothing. He was arrested in midwinter for stealing a forty-dollar
chair from a furniture store in the upper part of
the city. Like most of his kind, Chump said he was innocent
and that it was the first time he was ever arrested. As
he gave a fictitious name and wrong address it was impossible
to trace his record. Under the impression that he
was a first offender, he was allowed a plea of petit larceny.
When he came up before Recorder Goff he found his
match. Some person must have given the Court an “inkling”
of Chump’s record. When he stood at the bar of
General Sessions the Recorder had him sworn on the Bible
so that he might tell the truth. Then the tug of war began.
“Chump,” said the Recorder, “Tell the truth, were
you ever convicted before?” Chump hesitated. There
was a painful silence in the room. “Now tell me,” said
Judge Goff, “How many times were you sent away in your
life? Were you ever in the penitentiary?” said the Recorder.
“Yes,” said Chump, “once.” “Is that all,” said the
Recorder; “Now tell the truth.” “No,” said he, “Twice.”
“Any other times?” He hesitated again. It seems that
this young vagabond had no less than six convictions standing
against him prior to this time. While he was under the
Recorder’s scrutiny he must have suffered torture of conscience.
But his real character was brought out which
showed him to be an A1 degenerate and a notorious liar.
Before he started for the penitentiary I asked him why he
had lied by saying that he had never been up before. He
coolly replied, “Well, you know if I had told the truth nobody
would have done anything for me.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Dark Records</h3>
<p class='c015'>In the following sketch I have selected crooks of maturer
years. They are types of modern brainy criminals.
I have said nothing of Orrin Skinner, the well read Illinois
lawyer who became a jailbird in early life and afterwards
died in Auburn prison, nor of Rue Ralley, the scholarly
criminal who was master of several languages; nor of
other well known crooks who got away with millions of
dollars from several New York banks. I have said nothing
of “Jimmie” Hope, who robbed the Bleecker Street Bank
of three million dollars, and was called the Prince of Safe
Crackers and who at one time was said to be worth a big
fortune, the “pickings” of several bank burglaries; nor of
the young crook who went boldly to a Broadway Bank at
the noon hour and with only an empty soap box under his
feet, leaned over the cashier’s cage and got away with
$10,000. But the city is full of such bold crooks who
simply wait their chances.</p>
<p class='c006'>It must be an awful insult to the Almighty, after he had
so liberally endowed such people, some of them with the
intellect of a Webster or a Gladstone, for them to use
their powers only to do evil and refuse to do good. But
this is precisely what a habitual criminal makes up his
mind to do when he continues in wrongdoing against the
wishes of his best friends.</p>
<p class='c006'>A middle-aged criminal who has made a dark record as a
thief and liar since he was ten years old was taken to the
prison desk in my presence to give his pedigree, as is the
custom with all who are committed by the Magistrate to
await trial. When asked his name, age and business, he
replied, “I am forty-five years of age. I have no home but
the Penitentiary and a ten-cent Bowery lodging house
which I use when I am not in prison. I am a thief by profession
and have followed that business nearly all my life.
As I positively refuse to work I mean to be a thief till I
die, and will compel the State to support me.”</p>
<p class='c006'>There are hundreds of this class possessing the same
delusion in all our cities, who do nothing but steal for a
living and then cover their evil conduct by lies. They are
insanely depraved and should be locked up permanently,
as they are of no use to anybody. They are social parasites
and enemies of the race.</p>
<p class='c006'>And yet I am forced to say that some of the brightest
and brainiest of men that I ever knew in their sober moments,
were crooks. I have tried to study them to see how
and where they differ from other men—and that is no
ordinary task. Whether I succeeded or not remains to be
seen. In some cases, after many patient interviews I was
able to draw them out of the dark and gloomy past, where
I could read their character in its true light. Although
many of this class are exceedingly interesting as conversationalists
and unusually intelligent on the great questions
of the day, I find they are never willing to disclose their
identity or reveal their inner life. A crook never gives
his right name when placed under arrest—always an alias.
His deeds are done in darkness.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the most forbidding faces ever I saw in my life
was that of Terry R—— who died in the New York
Penitentiary a few years ago. He was a hardened character.
During his life he had eleven convictions for crime
recorded against him, extending over twenty-five years. I
carefully observed that during his last years he became
sullen, revengeful, despondent and suspicious of everybody.
Terry was a living example of that terse old Scripture
passage, “The way of the transgressor is hard.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Speaking of lies, which are the ordinary stock in trade
of all criminals, reminds me of Frank McKenna’s experience.
Some years ago he was sent to the House of Refuge
for a year. That was before the principle of the indefinite
sentence was applied to such institutions. A few days
after his discharge he committed a crime similar to the
one for which he had been originally sent away, viz., holding
up a child on the street and taking away her wallet.
For this second offense he was in due season indicted;
when he was taken to Part I, General Sessions, Recorder
Smyth asked if he had ever been in the House of Refuge;
he replied in the negative. “Well, then,” said the Recorder,
“I will send you there for a year.” On the day
following he was taken to the House of Refuge but they
refused to receive him as he had been an inmate of the
institution and was only discharged a few weeks before.
When he came before Recorder Smyth the following Tuesday,
he asked him if he really meant to have told him a
lie on the preceding Friday, when he sentenced him;
without a moment’s hesitation he said “<i>Yes.</i>”
“<i>Then</i>,” said
the genial Recorder, “for this lie which you have told me,
<i>I will give you four years imprisonment and for the crime
charged against you in the indictment one year</i>.” Since
then McKenna has served several sentences for crime.
He is a bad crook.</p>
<p class='c006'>Before he left the Penitentiary the last time, a well
known missionary became interested in him. This gentleman
secured for him a suit of clothes and gave him a few
dollars to pay for meals and lodgings for a few days.
Since then he has entirely disappeared as if the earth had
swallowed him. But where he has gone no one knows.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another well known character, whose career goes back
some years, was Captain Jack of the Cuban Army. The
Captain was a native of Virginia, was a well educated
young man inclined to adventure; he had been in Cuba
several years fighting the Spaniards under Gomez. After
the blowing up of the Maine and the United States had
occupied Havana, Jack returned to New York on one of the
transports. He had in his possession four or five hundred
dollars besides a railroad ticket to his home in the South.
While wandering along West Street, waiting for the departure
of the Pennsylvania train, he was inveigled into a
disorderly house where he lost all his money and valuables.
When the Captain came to himself and missed his property
he made a demand on the saloon keeper for its return.
The saloon occupied the front of the building and the disorderly
house the rear. When he asked for his money
there was some loud talk in the place and as a result Captain
Jack was “fired.” As soon as he reached the sidewalk
he was arrested and taken to the Church Street Station
House. In the Centre Street Police Court next day after
hearing the policeman’s version of the trouble, the Magistrate
fined him five dollars. Up till this time Captain Jack
had nothing to say by way of explanation of his side of the
case. When he returned to the Tombs he told me his
story as he was mourning over his loss. He was grieved
over the shameful treatment he received, as he was only
put under arrest when he demanded the return of his property.
I went over to the Police Court and laid the facts in
the case before Judge Flammer who had sentenced Jack,
but had not known anything of his loss. At the suggestion
of the Magistrate I communicated with the Second Precinct
police and asked why Captain Jack was arrested while the
thieves that stole his money went scot free. Captain
Westervelt put Detective Mooney on the case, but nothing
came of it. The police kept Jack in a down town hotel for
a few days and then raised money among themselves to
buy a railroad ticket and sent him home to Virginia. The
following year Jack came to New York and was in trouble
again. This time he was charged with “beating” the
Broadway Central people out of a board bill. For this
offense he was sent to the Penitentiary for three months.
In size the Captain is diminutive, voluble of speech, full of
weird tales of adventure in Cuba and is not at all too gifted
with telling the truth. He returned to Cuba where he was
promised a position by his old comrade, General Gomez—as
he called him. But of these things I have no personal
knowledge and would be unwilling to believe one-fourth of
what was said of his past or future.</p>
<p class='c006'>It looks sometimes like an awful waste of time to do anything—even
of a humanitarian character for the average
crook who tries to interest you in his welfare with a pack of
lies. But I have never refused these people when I
thought I could do them any good. I have worked for
them in every possible way that I might win their confidence
and thus lead them into a better life. I have learned
by experience not to believe all a crook says or even a
hundredth part of it. It don’t do to allow yourself to be
caught napping by these gentry who think they have everything
to gain and nothing to lose by a lie.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Kahn, The Black-Hearted Syrian</h3>
<p class='c015'>In the lower part of New York near the Battery, in the
vicinity of Washington and Greenwich Streets, there is and
has been for several years what is known as the Syrian
colony. The few immigrants that come from Damascus,
Beyrout and other parts of the Turkish Empire all seem to
gather here. As it is contrary to the Koran for any of
them to use liquor of any kind, or sell it, these Mohammedans
are seldom in prison, yet they are lacking in saintly
character as much as the Latin and Slavic nations of
Europe. At the time of which I write there was a hotel
or boarding house in the Syrian colony, kept by a widow
named Lazarus. She spoke the English language very imperfectly.
But she had in her employment an experienced
hotel manager who attended to all her affairs whose
name was Abirams. He had been in the country a number
of years and could speak the English tongue fairly well.
Everybody liked Abirams as he kept the house clean and
sought to make it respectable. On one occasion a countryman
named Kahn came with a young girl and tried to hire
a room in the hotel for immoral purposes. Abirams positively
refused to receive him or the woman. Words passed
between them. Then he left the place swearing vengeance.</p>
<p class='c006'>It was afterwards learned that Kahn was a criminal of
the deepest dye and would do anything to ruin an innocent
man. Twice he had been saved from the gallows by turning
King’s evidence in his own country. Since he came to
America he was known to have sent many of his countrymen
to prison for long terms on perjured evidence. He
would do anything to save his own neck.</p>
<p class='c006'>In an hour afterwards Kahn returned to the hotel with a
police officer and charged Abirams with robbery. The
prisoner was at once put under arrest and then locked up
over night. In the morning he appeared in the Tombs
Police Court. Kahn was on hand and presented before
the Magistrate a sworn affidavit that Abirams had robbed
him of money and a watch in the Syrian hotel the previous
night. The woman was also present as a corroborative
witness. Without further examination the prisoner was
committed to await the action of the grand jury. For five
or six weeks the poor Syrian, Abirams, neglected and forsaken
by his countrymen, lay in prison on a false charge
founded only on malice and perjury. I made an investigation
of the case and secured affidavits of Abirams’ previous
good character, showing him to be an exceptionally good
man. I visited the Syrian colony personally and soon had
ample reason to believe that Abirams was innocent of the
charge placed against him by Kahn. After a few weeks
the woman in the case disappeared for fear of arrest, then
Kahn was given to understand that if he went before the
grand jury and perjured himself, he would receive a long
term of imprisonment. Indeed, he had offered to withdraw
the charge for a money consideration, but he, too, became
afraid of arrest and then fled to parts unknown.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the meantime I visited the District Attorney’s office
where I sought to interest Mr. Henry W. Unger, Col. Gardiner’s
chief assistant, in behalf of the poor Syrian. Mr.
Unger, always courteous and gentlemanly, gave me much
encouragement—eternal blessings on his head—he has always
tried to temper justice with mercy by giving the
friendless a helping hand, and doing it kindly, and will
certainly not lose his reward.</p>
<p class='c006'>It was afterwards learned by indisputable evidence that
Kahn was a tough character and had done the same thing
before—that is, he sent innocent men to prison who angered
him, and was ready to perjure himself again if we had
not made an investigation and showed him up as a notorious
liar and blackmailer.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is needless to say that Abirams was honorably discharged
and returned to the colony a wiser man. The
notorious Kahn was so scared that he kept out of New York
for many months afterwards.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>A Crook Whose Specialty Was Knock-Out Drops</h3>
<p class='c015'>On October 9th, 1903, a gentleman of the crooked profession
named Walter Wilson, alias George Hill, alias
Herman Fentner, alias Mr. Hawkshaw et al., was sentenced
to thirty-three years imprisonment in the Court of General
Sessions. There were eighteen indictments pending
against him but he pleaded guilty only to four, with the
above results. Wilson has had a criminal record extending
over twenty years. His specialty in crime is said to be in
the scientific use of knock-out drops, which in the medical
profession is known as chloral, and at this he was an
adept.</p>
<p class='c006'>For some years he has worked in the Tenderloin, giving
his entire attention to all kinds of robberies, including
panel work in which he seems to be expert. He has labored
assiduously for several years with women of the street
and made a large amount of money, only to lose it as fast
as it came to him. How many persons have received his
“drops” and with fatal results God only knows.</p>
<p class='c006'>Wilson is a most interesting character, is intelligent,
wide awake, and has the ability and genuine reserve force
in sufficient quantities to command an army or govern a
republic or quell an insurrection. He is a “crack” criminal
of the twentieth century type and while in the panel
business usually went for big game. He is alert, daring
and muscular and would have been a dangerous character
to meet in a lonely road. He has the brains of a leader and
could handle men. His gray piercing eyes and the facial
expression show that he would allow nothing to stand in
his way if put to the test. His weakness seems to be that
when he has plenty of money and is full of “booze” he becomes
garrulous and says too much.</p>
<p class='c006'>Wilson began crime shortly after he was twenty years
of age; his first sentence was less than a year on the Island
for the robbery of a diamond pin; he claims to have “done
time” on this occasion innocently; he had taken the blame
for Nellie’s sake, his common law wife, who afterwards
went back on him. Away back in the early nineties he
stole a trunk of clothing from Hazel Thorne, the actress.
For this he was sent to Sing Sing for four years.</p>
<p class='c006'>For several years past he has spent his summers at the
races at Gravesend and Saratoga. While in the latter
village he nearly got away with a bag of jewelry valued at
$1,500.00, but as he returned the “stuff” the lady refused
to prosecute him.</p>
<p class='c006'>How many more times this man has been in prison under
old and new aliases we have no means of knowing at the
present moment, but that he has been in prison a number
of times we have no doubt whatever. During all these
years he seems to have had an intense dislike to honest
labor. Like most other “gentlemen” of the crooked profession,
he preferred to live like a “dude” on his ill-gotten
gains rather than be a man and work like other men.</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as Wilson had secured his freedom after serving
his first sentence he made up his mind to be a man and do
the right thing. He says:</p>
<p class='c006'>“I accepted employment with a man uptown for five
dollars a week and board. I was willing to do anything to
outlive my past life—if that could be done.</p>
<p class='c006'>“One day some of my old companions who had known
me in the Penitentiary came to me while at work and
threatened to expose me unless I gave them ten dollars. I
refused at first and was willing to fight them to the bitter
end. I would not be blackmailed. As they kept it up for
several days, I gave them money rather than lose my job.
Then they came again, and told others who made the same
demand on me. After this I refused every appeal and told
them to go and do their worst; as a result I lost my job.
I searched the city for honest work for weeks, but could
find none. Then I became a gambler. I went to the races
all around New York, where I made money easy. I confess
as a gambler I have had a checkered career, and even now
do not wish to tell all the escapades through which I
passed. But they were not of the best quality and many
of them were deeds of darkness.</p>
<p class='c006'>“Some months ago I returned to the city. I wanted
money badly and resorted to crime, as I did not want to
work. This is straight—<i>I did not want to work</i>,” and he
said it with an emphasis.</p>
<p class='c006'>“I located in the Tenderloin and worked in partnership
with a woman of the street. We played the panel game
between us and made lots of money. We succeeded in
robbing men of means who fell into our net. Every week
when I divided the graft, we had a big roll of bills each.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Perhaps I ought to say that panel thievery is the old
game of robbery in which injured innocence takes part. It
is still practised in many parts of the city—especially the
Tenderloin, but not as much as in former years. The
three parties in such a crime are (1) a woman—elegantly
dressed, with plenty of borrowed jewelry, but dissolute, (2)
her so called profligate husband, and (3) her victim. The
woman goes to the street—Fifth Avenue—and inveigles
some young blood, a banker or rich merchant to her apartments.
Then the so-called husband shows up unexpectedly.
Then there is trouble but it is averted by a heavy cash
payment, after which the victim goes free a wiser man.</p>
<p class='c006'>The same thing is continued night after night for years.
Not one victim in a hundred ever squeals—he is willing to
pay any amount of money rather than do so. Sometimes
the so-called husband shows himself to be an adept in the
use of knock-out drops administered in wine. After the
victim becomes senseless he is robbed of all he has and left
on the premises. After a few days rest in Long Branch or
Saratoga they return again to the city where the same thing
is carried on nightly. This is what is called the Panel
Game. Within recent years the Courts have been very
severe with such people and justly so, as they are a most
dangerous class.</p>
<p class='c006'>Wilson continued: “After a while I became reckless
and careless and got caught red-handed. I have found
once more that the way of the transgressor is hard. But
now I am done with that life. Ever since my return to the
city I have been living in hell. I knew I was doing wrong.</p>
<p class='c006'>“I wish they had sent me to the electric chair—I would
be better off in the end.</p>
<p class='c006'>“Just think of it—thirty-three years in prison, and yet it
is all my own fault.</p>
<p class='c006'>“When I come out, if I live out my sentence, I will be an
old man—sixty years of age. Such a sentence is simply a
civil death.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>A Young Man Whose Craze Was In Slashing Ladies’ Dresses</h3>
<p class='c015'>In one of my early experiences with criminals it was my
fortune, or misfortune, to have met a young man named
Max Krebs who was a rank destructionist. He was a German
by birth, and had only been in this country about a
year. He must have been shipped away from the Fatherland
by his own people as a degenerate or the black sheep
of the family. He was a good looking young man, well
dressed, light hair, brown eyes, and a florid complexion.
He was fairly well educated, pleasant in manners and must
have come from a respectable home.</p>
<p class='c006'>I am satisfied now that his people must have been well
to do for they sent him regular monthly allowances to pay
his board and to keep him in clothing. But he was a degenerate
and clearly insane when in a crowd of ladies.
Whenever the opportunity came to him he sought to cut
their dresses with a pen knife or sometimes a small pair
of shears. He knew his business so well that hundreds of
elegant silk and satin dresses were cut and destroyed on the
street but were not discovered till the owners returned
home. In giving their testimony these ladies always remembered
that they saw a young man who looked like a
Teuton “crowd up” against them on the street. And while
they could not identify him positively, the defendant looked
very much like the dress slasher. On several occasions
Max missed imprisonment by the skin of his teeth simply
because he could not be identified.</p>
<p class='c006'>In December, 1898, he was arrested on Fourteenth
Street, near Fifth Avenue, charged with cutting ladies’
dresses; the technical charge was malicious mischief. The
crime was committed around the holidays when the streets
in the shopping district were densely crowded. Many complaints
had been made to the police that such a man was at
large—whose only business was to ruin female attire. He
was the victim of some insane delusion, although he never
showed it in his speech. I questioned Max many times and
tried to look him straight in the eye but he could not stand
that—his eyes were not honest and, alas, like many another
young degenerate he could not be depended on. As
a first-class liar Max would have carried off the prize anywhere,
and this was his main stock in trade in securing
sympathy from Christian people and at the same time deceiving
them. From first to last I entertained grave
doubts respecting this boy as I was not sure what was the
best thing to do in his case. I simply gave him the benefit
of the doubt.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the early part of January, 1899, Max called me to his
cell in the Boys’ Prison and told me confidentially a sad tale
of police persecution as the cause of his incarceration. He
positively affirmed that he was innocent of the charge
placed against him and he had not cut any dresses, oh, not
he. I questioned him several times, but could not shake
his testimony. He maintained his accusers were mistaken.
As the complainant who was a lady, weakened on his identification
I thought she might be mistaken, so I aided him all
I could and became interested in his case. I went to the
German Consulate and pleaded for him and afterwards to
the Legal Aid Society. A kind hearted lawyer named
Granger was assigned as his counsel, who took hold of his
case with a will. He called to see him at the Tombs and
tried to find the trouble, as the charge was a most unusual
one for a boy of nineteen. He afterwards told me that he
thought the boy was guilty but was deranged and his
trouble he thought was caused by self-abuse. But deranged
he was, for every opportunity he had he used in
slashing ladies’ dresses. It was his mania.</p>
<p class='c006'>On January 12th the case went to trial. The main issue
turned on the identity of the prisoner. The ladies that
took the stand could not positively swear that Krebs was
the one that cut their dresses. And as he had such a good
face both judge and prosecuting attorney felt kindly towards
him, and the jury gave him the benefit of the doubt
and he was discharged. But there was really no defence.
He was simply saved by the skin of his teeth.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few days after the trial one of the jurors wrote me
asking for Krebs’ address, saying he took such a deep interest
in him as to believe in his innocence and he was
willing to give him a position. I sent it to him but whether
he gave Krebs a position or not I cannot tell, as I never
heard from him afterwards, but one thing I know, this
young man was a notorious liar and as I understand, had
been exiled from Germany because of his audacious criminality
as a dress slasher.</p>
<p class='c006'>This case shows how easy one may be deceived. All the
labor and sympathy expended on him was wasted. As far
as crookedness was concerned this young degenerate could
(to use a slang phrase) give clubs and spades to men twice
his years and in the end beat them.</p>
<p class='c006'>The worst thing that could have been done for Max
Krebs that day was to save him from prison. He ought to
have been sent to Elmira Reformatory and placed under
the care of Superintendent Brockway and watched and then
made to toe the mark.</p>
<p class='c006'>After a few weeks New York became too hot for him;
then he was compelled to beat a hasty retreat to Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Washington in succession, where he
continued his old insane delusion, viz.: cutting ladies’
dresses for the fun of it! He was finally arrested in Washington,
D. C., caught in the very act!</p>
<p class='c006'>When he was brought to trial there must have been fifty
charges against him. In Washington his offence only called
for a fine and if it amounted to $100 he could plead the
Debtors’ Act and go scot free. What became of Max and
his insane delusions I do not know as I afterwards lost all
track of him.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch11' class='c009'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>NOTED EXPERTS IN FORGERY</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>America has furnished some of the most noted, nervy,
brainy experts in the line of forgery that the annals of
crime have known.</p>
<p class='c006'>Authorities agree that forgery is a crime of the highest
order, that needs patience, a cool head and the skill of a
genius. At the present day it requires several persons to
carry out every well laid scheme of this kind. Most of the
great forgeries of the past forty years were the work of
gangs who owned printing, engraving and lithographic
plants. According to the Pinkertons, who have been running
down forgery-crooks for the American Bankers Association
for half a century, every well laid scheme of forgery,
by which banks and corporations have been robbed of millions
of dollars, was the work of at least four persons.</p>
<p class='c006'>These consist of the following: (1) <i>The forger or
tracer</i>, who is an experienced penman and ready at all times
to carry out the will of the gang; (2) <i>The capitalist</i>, who
advances money to open accounts in the various banks
where business is to be done; (3) <i>The middle man</i> between
the forger and the capitalist; and (4) <i>The business
manager or advance agent of the gang</i>.</p>
<p class='c006'>The bold single forger who passes one or two checks is
discovered as soon as his paper reaches the clearing house
or the bank. But a gang of forgers can work their schemes
for months before they are discovered. By that time they
are able to get to the ends of the earth where they are beyond
the reach of the police, at least for a season.</p>
<div class='figcenter id008'>
<img src='images/i121a.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The roll call at midnight at a New York station house.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id009'>
<img src='images/i121b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Men’s prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id010'>
<img src='images/i121c.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Women’s prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>Some of the brightest and brainiest men that ever lived
belonged to this class. In private life they were kind and
loving and tender and would scorn to do a mean act. And
I have wondered often why such men would commit crime
and bring shame and remorse on themselves and their relatives,
if they were not partly insane.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have tried to study them—to see wherein they differed
from other men—and that is no ordinary task. Whether I
succeeded or not remains to be seen. In some cases, after
many patient interviews I was able to draw them out of the
dark and gloomy past, where I could read their character
in its true light. Although many of this class are exceedingly
interesting as conversationalists and unusually intelligent
on the great questions of the day, I find they are
never willing to disclose their true identity or explain their
inner life. And they wilfully conceal the past and refuse
to come out clearly into the light of day.</p>
<p class='c006'>Henry A. Leonard, a Wall Street messenger boy, single
and alone, was able to forge a check on the Hanover National
Bank, (September, 1905) and have it certified, by
which he secured $359,000 in negotiable bonds. It is very
doubtful if a stranger could have done the same thing.
Leonard was known to the banks as a broker’s messenger
boy and all the paper he brought to the various banks was
received without question.</p>
<p class='c006'>Leonard’s plea afterwards was that he did this work to
show how <i>easy</i> the banks could be swindled. There may
be much truth in the statement that many of the Wall Street
banks do business in a slipshod manner, but whether that
was a good reason why he should attempt to secure such a
large amount of valuable securities for nothing is quite
another question.</p>
<p class='c006'>We believe that Leonard was only a simple minded boy
and had no intention of wronging any person. If he had
been a crook he could have negotiated half the bonds in an
hour and left the city to parts unknown before any one
would have known it.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another noted forger, whose doings have extended over
a quarter of a century, was Ned Stoddard. In manners
Stoddard is a perfect gentleman and his scholarship allows
him to converse with anybody in the land. With a pen in
his hand he becomes a perfect genius and can reproduce
any written name he has ever seen on paper. Stoddard
has performed some wonderful feats in the line of forgery.</p>
<p class='c006'>It was “booze” that brought about this man’s ruin. He
was a typical Yankee, tall and slender, measuring over six
feet in height. A man of more than ordinary intelligence,
a good speaker, a brilliant conversationalist who threw into
his arguments two keen gray eyes that danced with delight
while he told you some interesting anecdote or fairy tale!</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Three of a Kind</h3>
<p class='c015'>One of the most startling forgeries of the last century
took place in 1886. The principals in this deep laid
scheme were William E. Brockway, Luther R. Martin and
Nat. Foster, a trio of the most daring crooks that ever
walked the streets of New York. They were so foxy in
their movements that the police worked upon the case two
months before they were able to trap them. One morning
Detective Langan, (afterwards Inspector, now deceased),
followed Brockway from his lodging house on West
Eleventh Street to rooms on the corner of Division and
Catherine Streets where he found a complete plant for
printing railroad bonds and securities. Detective Cosgrove
paid his attention to Martin who had rented a parlor on the
corner of Lexington Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street.
After his arrest and his rooms searched they found a complete
lay-out of four different plates with a numbering machine.
Nat. Foster lived in great style at the St. James
Hotel on Broadway and Twenty-sixth Street. After his
arrest George W. McClusky searched his rooms and captured
$54,000 worth of forged bonds of the Morris and
Essex Railroad all ready for the market with President
Samuel Sloan’s name forged on them. The case against
them was clear, all having been caught redhanded. Brockway
being an old offender, plead guilty and was sentenced
to ten years in State prison by Recorder Smythe. In the
case of Martin, who was defended by Lawyer Peter
Mitchell, the jury disagreed; he was remanded to the
Tombs where he stayed two years. Then he became almost
blind, and taking a plea to a minor offence he received
a suspended sentence. Nat. Foster was also in the
Tombs even longer than Martin, and, strange to say, he also
became blind and plead to a smaller offence and he also
was given a suspended sentence. How true is that old
Bible passage, “The way of the transgressor is hard.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The King of Forgers</h3>
<p class='c015'>Charles Becker, one of the cleverest forgers of the century,
was born in Germany. He came to this country with
his parents when young. He is known all over the United
States as “The King of check raisers.” It would be impossible
to mention all this man’s deeds of daring, nor do
we believe it to be necessary.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1872 with a number of confederates he robbed the
Third National Bank of Baltimore of something like $150,000
and then fled to Europe. They alternated their residences
between London and Paris, committing some big
forgeries in both cities. For these several of the gang
were arrested and jailed.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the summer of 1876 Gainsborough’s painting of
the Duchess of Devonshire had just been sold in London
on May 25th, for $10,000. In those days this was said to
be a high priced picture. The gang thought that they ought
to have this painting as it meant so much ready cash to
them. Accordingly, one of their number, Adam Worth,
stole the picture from the rooms of the auctioneer, where
it was in storage, by cutting it from its frame. This theft
caused such a sensation in England that Becker and Company
thought it good for their health to return to the United
States, which they did. This painting remained in Chicago
for several years, but was afterwards sent to London where
it was sold to J. P. Morgan for $25,000.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1877 Becker and several others of his fraternity robbed
the Union Trust Company of Brooklyn, N. Y., of
$64,225 by means of raised checks. To save himself from
state prison he “squealed” by turning state’s evidence, and
Becker, the brains of the gang, was discharged.</p>
<p class='c006'>The last crime Becker committed was in 1896 in California.
Here he raised a check of twelve dollars to
twenty-two thousand dollars. It was well planned and with
the money that Becker and his “pal” had on hand to beat
the case, they might have succeeded, but the other fellow
was approached by a Pinkerton gentleman and as a result,
turned state’s evidence. On the 29th of August, 1896,
Becker was tried, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.</p>
<p class='c006'>As a forger and check manipulator Becker is a genius.
With the aid of acids he can erase any writing or figures.
In checks that contain perforated figures and lines he fills
in with fresh pulp and then irons it over in such a manner
that it cannot be detected, even with a magnifying glass.</p>
<p class='c006'>So skilful with the pen was Becker that he could counterfeit
a ten dollar bill which so closely resembled the genuine
that even experts were deceived.</p>
<p class='c006'>While serving a long sentence in a California prison he
made such startling revelations to the Pinkerton Detectives
that one of the superintendents called on him in the interest
of the Government and the Bankers’ Association for verification.
Satisfied that he was able to do all that he
claimed, a favorable report was made to the Association,
and a movement for his release was soon afoot. He was
pardoned October, 1903.</p>
<p class='c006'>Becker is not only a wonderfully clever forger, but has
amazing audacity. While in prison he counterfeited several
bills of large denomination and would have caused
them to be circulated had he found an agent with sufficient
nerve. He approached several keepers on the subject but
found none with the required courage.</p>
<p class='c006'>He circulated several counterfeit bills of large denomination
among the German farmers in Pennsylvania among
whom his knowledge of German and the Fatherland gave
him wide influence and many easy victims. He bought a
number of horses and cows and paid in counterfeit bills;
then he shipped the stock to Philadelphia and disposed of
it.</p>
<p class='c006'>In February, 1888, he purchased a fine residence on one
of the most fashionable streets of Baltimore and paid for
it with a draft on a New Orleans bank which had been
raised from $180 to $18,000. Before the fraud was discovered
he had sold the property for $16,000 cash and left
the city.</p>
<p class='c006'>In March, 1899, he purchased a farm in Talbot County,
Maryland, tendering as payment therefor a draft on a
Philadelphia bank upon which he had raised the figures
from $120 to $12,000. The farm was valued at $8,000.
Hence he received $4,000 in change besides the $7,500 he
was paid for the farm the second day after it was deeded
to him.</p>
<p class='c006'>He is smooth, oily and ingratiating—well-nigh as slick in
speech as he is with his pen. His manner is more that of
a Frenchman than a German. He talks rapidly, and his
gestures are almost Jew-like. He once remarked that if he
had been born dumb he would have been able to make himself
fully understood by his gestures. He cuts the air,
shrugs his shoulders, shakes his head, and assumes all the
airs of a tragedian in order to convince his hearers of his
honesty and earnestness.</p>
<p class='c006'>His home training could not have been better, scion of
high-class German parents who seriously sought to imbue
him with a love for God, and due regard for the property
and rights of his fellow beings. He was sent to the best
school in Germany and graduated at the head of his class.
He was then, by his own choice, apprenticed to an engraver
and early developed marvelous skill at the trade. He was
obliged to leave Germany because of his attempt to too
closely imitate “the coin of the realm.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Another noted American crook is R—— R——, now
living a straight life. The annals of crime do not furnish
another like him.</p>
<p class='c006'>When he began crime he was a man of fine physique,
good address, suave in manner, well educated and an accomplished
writer for the press. What led him to become
a crook is not known.</p>
<p class='c006'>R—— first came into prominence in 1882. At that
time he played a bold game to fleece several Yale College
professors by means of bogus checks which he desired
cashed. He introduced himself to them as an Irish nobleman
named Lord Rossa, who wished to found a college in
the United States and sought their advice in the matter.
He was not only a perfect gentleman in manners but he
was so scholarly that he readily threw them off their guard.
But the scheme fell through when they would not cash his
checks.</p>
<p class='c006'>After this R—— went abroad, visiting Allahabad,
Cairo and Paris and left a trail of gigantic swindles in his
path. In India he is said to have swindled a prince out of
a thousand guineas. Then he visited Cairo, where he was
able to swindle the Khedive of Egypt out of $5,000. He
came directly to Paris dressed like a Persian prince who
could converse in the Arabian language; he had with him
several body servants and a cook. The latter was secured
to prove that he was a Persian of royal blood. In Paris
he had great success and was able to get acquainted with
Sadi Carnot, then President of France. After this he
swindled several French bankers out of $50,000 and decamped.</p>
<p class='c006'>At one time he claimed that he was born in England,
but this he denies, asserting that he was born in Ohio and
that his right name is Powers, and that he was a school
mate and an intimate friend of the late President McKinley.</p>
<p class='c006'>That he is a man of brilliant parts and an able writer
cannot be denied. A number of years since he was on the
editorial staff of a Philadelphia paper, often acting as its
Washington correspondent. During the reign of terror
created by the Klu-Klux Klahn in North and South Carolina,
R—— was sent to those states and faithfully reported
for the paper the status of affairs eventuating from the
lawlessness of this well known society which was organized
to bulldoze the negroes and prevent their voting, and to
drive the carpet-baggers from the South, thereby securing
the domination of a political organization south of Mason
and Dixon’s line.</p>
<p class='c006'>Periodical sprees are the cause of all his trouble. He
runs short of money and then utters worthless checks to
fill his empty purse. In April, 1901, he was sent to Sing
Sing for four years for uttering worthless checks. But for
the clemency of Professor Hadley, of Yale College, he
would have been sent to Wethersfield Prison on the termination
of his sentence in New York.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is his determination to devote the remainder of his life
to journalism and to never again collide with the law to
such an extent as to be deemed worthy of arrest and imprisonment.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch12' class='c009'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>CHANGING THE GRAND JURY INTO A BUREAU OF CRIMINAL EXPERTS</span></h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c017'>
<div>A New Classification of Criminals</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c001'>There has been a growing feeling on the part of judges,
lawyers and others who are directly concerned in the practice
of law in our criminal Courts, not only in this county,
but in many parts of the land, that the grand jury system
has become so antiquated and ineffective in its practical
workings, that it should be abolished and a more modern
system put in its place.</p>
<p class='c006'>In this city at various times during the past few years
several of our General Sessions judges, notably Judges
Foster, Rosalsky and others, when charging grand juries at
the opening of terms, have warned that body against finding
indictments against individuals unless they are grounded
on legal evidence. Such labors simply put the county to a
needless expense and the unfortunate defendants to much
inconvenience. And even the past year almost every Presiding
Judge of General Sessions when charging the grand
jury at the beginning of the term has taken pains to inform
the body that under no circumstances must they find indictments
against persons charged with crime except on legal
evidence. Judge Warren W. Foster, one of the best and
fairest of our criminal judges, is especially outspoken
against this habit of finding indictments against persons
charged with crime on illegal evidence. On a recent occasion
Judge Foster took occasion to thank the grand jury for
the caution they exercised during the month in refusing to
indict persons except on sufficient grounds.</p>
<p class='c006'>In charging another Grand Jury the Judge said in part:</p>
<p class='c006'>“A friend of mine who has served frequently on the
Grand Jury, and who is a prominent business man in this
city, said to me: ‘The more I see of grand juries the more
I think it is an antiquated humbug. It is but clay in the
hands of the District Attorney to indict whomsoever he
wants to and to dismiss any charge he wants to dismiss.’”</p>
<p class='c006'>“A great many people believe that the Grand Jury is a
panacea for all the ills of our body politic. If the Police
Department is short of men go to the Grand Jury. If we
want a new Court House go to the Grand Jury and if we
can’t compel them to build one file a presentment on the
subject. The Grand Jury’s duty is clearly defined, and you
are not to find indictments except on evidence properly
presented to you.”</p>
<p class='c006'>All this shows that there is considerable feeling abroad
against the Grand Jury system and some of our best thinkers
believe it should be abolished and something more modern
put in its place.</p>
<p class='c006'>More than once I have sat in Part I, General Sessions,
and have watched the Grand Jury file into court, and hand
to the Judge on an average from ten to thirty indictments,
which was the work of a morning sitting, consisting of
about two hours.</p>
<p class='c006'>Sometimes the morning has been spent in finding only
five indictments, but as a rule the work is rushed and only a
few minutes given to each case. There is no law as to how
much time the Grand Jury shall spend on each case. While
I have been amazed at the rapidity of their work, I have
been more astonished at the superficial character of the
work. It will be readily seen that the Grand Jury has not
the time in two hours to examine even five complaints and
do justice to each defendant, much less thirty, especially
when we remember that these indictments are to brand
with crime certain ones for life.</p>
<p class='c006'>We have no complaint against the Grand Jury. They
are usually an intelligent and upright body of men. But
when they are in consultation with the District Attorney
they simply do what he tells them, without knowing whether
their acts are just or not.</p>
<p class='c006'>That this reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure may
be productive of much good I would recommend,</p>
<p class='c006'>1. <i>The abolition of the Grand Jury as an antiquated
system.</i></p>
<p class='c006'>I admit that the suggestion is somewhat radical, but for
that matter all reforms are radical that overthrow old systems,
and are as a rule bitterly opposed by conservative
people.</p>
<p class='c006'>The body known as the Grand Jury has come down to
us through many generations. But it may be well to know
that the Grand Jury system is not an absolute necessity.
At the present moment it is nothing less than <i>the appendix
vermiformus</i> of the District Attorney’s office. And as it
needs heroic treatment, it should be abolished without delay.
The remedy is excision.</p>
<p class='c006'>In some countries, for example, like Scotland, there is no
Grand Jury. The work of preparing indictments against
lawbreakers is done by a paid official called the Procurator-Fiscal.
He and his assistants make a thorough investigation
of every person against whom criminal charges are
laid, and if found that there is just cause for such action
the accused is then proceeded against in the criminal courts.
If not, that is the end of it and the county is spared the
expense of further litigation.</p>
<p class='c006'>In various States, grand juries are usually made up of
rich men—owners of real estate and persons of large
means and business interests. Whatever else the Grand Jury
is, it certainly is not a representative body. The poor man,
no matter how good or intelligent he may be, is not allowed
to sit with them, nor has he any say in their deliberations.
They are composed of active or retired but wealthy business
men, and apparently have no real sympathy with the
common people. Some Grand Juries were ready to indict
labor leaders, no doubt at the request of the District Attorney,
but when the case against the ice grafters
came up, Judge Rosalsky had to call special attention
before anything was done. But this should
not be. Independent of the action of the District
Attorney, they might have indicted many of the rich
thieves that stole millions from the street railroads of New
York, and without the aid of the District Attorney they
might have indicted several rich Insurance grafters and
took pains to see that they were sent to jail for stealing the
people’s money. Such action would have commended the
Grand Jury to the people. During the McClellan administration
some of his own probers have shown that many
Tammany office holders have stolen thousands, if not millions
of dollars from the city. But neither Mr. McClellan
nor Mr. Jerome have taken sweet counsel together to send
the grafters to jail. The Grand Jury could have made
an original investigation without the aid of the District Attorney
and indicted them one and all for grand larceny. It
would have looked better if Mr. Jerome had refused to
allow any of his assistants to be made Magistrates by the
Mayor. In all this the people have wondered why the
Public Prosecutor did not send the grafters to jail.</p>
<p class='c006'>That in the interest of justice the Grand Jury should be
abolished and the work it does at present given to a Board
of Criminal Experts with enlarged powers. I also affirm
that the Grand Jury is no more necessary to the administration
of the criminal law in our day than the feudal barons
of ten centuries ago or that a canal boat should take the
place of our Hudson River steamboats.</p>
<p class='c006'>At the present moment the District Attorney stands at
the door of the Grand Jury room. He holds the key and
practically controls it. The Grand Jury spends about two
hours a day attending to whatever public business the District
Attorney lays before them.</p>
<p class='c006'>In some states any one suspected of a crime may go before
the Grand Jury and present his side of the case. In
this state it is not the practice. In a large number of cases
men have been indicted without their knowledge, and were
compelled to fight for their rights in the Courts, so as to be
free from the stain that rested on them. In New York
County if the District Attorney sees fit he may permit a
single Policeman or other person, to go before the Grand
Jury and give a one-sided opinion as to the guilt of some
person charged with crime, although he may not possess
one particle of legal evidence. If the Grand Jury were
abolished, a Board of criminal experts could make a thorough
investigation of all charges brought against people,
and in all likelihood would give them an opportunity to be
heard in their own behalf before they were branded as
felons. And this is only right.</p>
<p class='c006'>Only a few years ago the editor of a small monthly paper
in this city was promptly indicted by the Grand Jury for
libel for exposing the rascality of Insurance grafters, a
work which Governor Hughes has since done legally before
the Assembly Investigating Committee. At the time we
mention when the insurance grafters were cut to the heart
by the trenchant articles that exposed their conduct to public
scorn, they went before the Grand Jury and charged
this Insurance man with libel. They were permitted to tell
a one-sided story to the Grand Jury, so as to silence this
critic. Of course he was not allowed to make any reply
till after he was brought into Court and branded as a felon.
The indictment was afterwards quashed and he received
some damages.</p>
<p class='c006'>And this is but a fair sample of how hundreds of men
have been ruined by such unjust methods. In this case
the Grand Jury simply did what they were told to do by the
District Attorney, he having been wrongly informed by the
insurance grafters.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Board of Criminal Experts</h3>
<p class='c015'>Under a paid Board of Criminal Experts, sitting daily
from 10 a. m. till 5 p. m., and who are there to investigate,
sift and go to the bottom of things generally, the rich and
the poor would have a better chance of receiving justice
meted out to them.</p>
<p class='c006'>A very common opinion, which is gaining ground every
day, and which is in some respects true, is that big criminals
go unpunished, while others who are lawfully convicted
of crime command such influence with the courts or high
political powers that they are able to obtain their freedom
by parole or pardon or get off with a very light sentence.</p>
<p class='c006'>Others, after being lawfully convicted, are able to cheat
the prison, provided they have money to fight their case in
the higher courts and thus obtain a new trial which in the
end means an acquittal. All this tends to bring contempt
on our courts and occasionally invites the people to take
the law into their own hands. We have too many indictments
to-day and too few convictions. Millions of dollars
of the people’s money are often wasted on cases where
there is no chance of conviction. The courts are cumbered
with hundreds of cases of men and women that should
never have been indicted.</p>
<p class='c006'>A study of the statistics of convictions in proportion to
the number of arrests and of convictions in proportion to
defective indictments which have to be set aside, and, finally,
the proportion of the convicted that finally go to prison,
would prove most interesting.</p>
<p class='c006'>When Mr. Jerome became District Attorney of New York
County on the first of January, 1902, there were 640 untried
indictments awaiting action at his hands. During his first
four years in office he laid before the Grand Jury 20,228
complaints, but they granted only 15,937 indictments. As
a result 4,291 complaints were thrown out of Court without
any trial. Then of the 15,937 cases that went to trial, 6,150
were acquitted for lack of evidence and other technical
reasons, making a grand total of 10,641 cases that were
nullified by the Courts for want of legal evidence to convict.</p>
<p class='c006'>Of the 9,787 so-called convictions, only about a third
were convicted after a trial, the other defendants accepted
pleas to lower offences, and given that alternative simply
because the District Attorney feared that if they went to
trial he would be unable to convict them.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the Report of the Chief Clerk of the District Attorney’s
Office, which is brought down to the close of 1908,
there is no mention of the number of indictments secured
by the Grand Jury last year, but it must have been three
times the number of the convictions, which was 7,877 and
then we must remember that by far the larger number of
convictions were secured by giving the prisoner a plea to a
lesser offence. As a rule when the Public Prosecutor permits
a man to take a lower plea it shows that the case
against him is poor.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is no way to ascertain the number of innocent
persons indicted, but if my judgment is correct the total is
not small. How could it be otherwise, when the Grand
Jury goes through its business in such a hurry. It should
be observed also that the Grand Jurors themselves are not
competent authorities in criminal law, and when efficiency
in the work of prosecution is measured rather by the total
number of persons indicted than by the percentage of those
sent to prison, the weakness of the system becomes apparent.</p>
<p class='c006'>The fault does not lie with the Grand Jury or with the
District Attorney; it is with the system. The Grand Jury
simply does as did other grand juries and the District Attorney
does as did his predecessors.</p>
<p class='c006'>To show that the Grand Jury as now constituted is unqualified
to find indictments in a large number of crimes,
I need only mention three cases which must have cost the
County of New York in the neighborhood of millions of
dollars, which if they had come originally before a Board
of Criminal Experts, certainly never would have gone to
trial on the weak indictments that sent all of the three defendants
to the Death House.</p>
<p class='c006'>The first was that of Maria Barberi, who was convicted
of the murder of her sweetheart, Dominico Catalonica,
July, 1895.</p>
<p class='c006'>Catalonica had greatly wronged this woman, and then
refused to marry her. While suffering under great mental
excitement, after she found herself ruined and disgraced,
and forever cast aside, she killed him. Although
insane when she committed the deed, she nevertheless was
tried and convicted and sentenced to the Electric Chair,
but the Court of Appeals gave her a new trial. When all
the facts came out at the second trial, she was justly acquitted.</p>
<p class='c006'>The second case was that of Roland B. Molineux. He
was indicted for the murder of Mrs. Adams in 1899. A
board of trained experts, having two lawyers and physicians
never would have convicted him, as there was no
legal evidence to convict him of such a crime. He was
convicted mainly on the evidence of <i>paid</i> handwriting experts.
Doubtless, a hundred other persons might have
been indicted for the same offense. At the second trial
he was acquitted.</p>
<p class='c006'>The third case was that of Albert T. Patrick, who was
jointly indicted with Jones for the murder of William M.
Rice. This is said to have been one of the strangest criminal
cases that ever was tried in a Court of Justice. Nothing
was done until Jones turned State’s evidence; then he
said that he killed Millionaire Rice at the suggestion of
Patrick, with chloroform. Patrick was convicted of murder
in the first degree, and Jones allowed to go scot free.
Since then, nine hundred reputable physicians have come
forward and said in a petition to Governor Higgins for a
pardon that Rice could not have been killed with chloroform.
After being four years in the Death House, the
Governor commuted Patrick’s sentence to life imprisonment.</p>
<p class='c006'>If Patrick’s case had been carefully examined by a
Board of Criminal Experts, he never would have been indicted,
and the county would have been saved a vast
amount of money, and needless trouble.</p>
<p class='c006'>My plan is that a Board of Criminal Experts be organized
and assume all the present powers of the Grand Jury,
and in addition, classify all criminals; this board to consist
of five persons—two experienced lawyers, two physicians
or alienists and one business man. These five men
should pass upon criminal matters, and when they find an
indictment, give the proper classification to the accused.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>How I Would Classify Criminals</h3>
<p class='c015'>As far as we know, there is no systematic classification
of criminals in any State. For the sake of facilitating the
work of the courts and saving much time, we would recommend
the following classification, which is entirely original,
never having seen anything like it before:</p>
<p class='c006'>It is under four general heads, viz.:</p>
<p class='c006'>(1) The insane, (2) the mental and industrial illiterate,
(3) the born criminal, and (4) the victim of circumstances.
I have not used the word dependent in this classification,
as it is too indefinite. An insane person or a pauper or a
cripple may be dependent according to some classifiers. I
prefer to use my own division under the four heads into
which all criminals may readily be placed.</p>
<p class='c006'>If this Board of Experts finds that the accused is or was
really insane or mentally unbalanced when the crime was
committed, it should recommend to the Court without delay,
so as to save time and expense, that the person be sent
to an asylum or sanitarium for treatment, and kept there
until entirely cured.</p>
<p class='c006'>In case the prisoner recovers his sanity, he should be
returned and re-examined by the Board. They have all
the records before them, and all the facts in his case, and
after considering them carefully, could recommend his
discharge, or, if they think best, put him on trial.</p>
<p class='c006'>Second: If the Board finds that the wrongdoer belongs
to the second class; that he is illiterate and has no
trade, or that he is a lazy and good for nothing idler, preying
upon his fellow men for a living, or that he is tainted
with some physical malady, or is suffering from tubercular
trouble, epilepsy, dipsomania, or indeed, any progressive
disorder, then the Board can recommend to the Court that
such a one is a fit subject for Elmira Reformatory, or
some other institution of a similar character, where he will
receive mental, moral and industrial training, besides medical
treatment, and be discharged only when cured of his
delusions, and fit afterward to live as an honest and law-abiding
citizen. There are hundreds of industrial and mental
illiterates that pass through our courts every year—young
men who never learned a trade, and can hardly
write their own names. The only way to save them from
criminal lives is to educate them, and turn them out of
prison when cured. It is a waste of time and money to
send such persons to State prison or penitentiary, as more
than 50 per cent. return again, after a brief season of liberty,
confirmed criminals. Many of our prisons receive
yearly as high as 82 per cent. of first offenders who have
no trade.</p>
<p class='c006'>Third: It is a well known fact that more than half our
criminal population are recidivists or backsliders in crime.
A great wrong is committed on the community when we
send a criminal away for a definite period, and afterward
turn him loose upon the community. If the offender is
known as a rounder, or habitual criminal, by all means
send him to a prison colony and keep him there for the
remainder of his life, or till cured. Our criminal population
grows yearly, and we are compelled to build new prisons
and reformatories, simply because our penalogical
ideas are impracticable, if not archaic. Not only are we
making no progress, but some kinds of crime are alarmingly
on the increase.</p>
<p class='c006'>I do not regard the habitual criminal as beyond the hope
of reformation. I believe there is a tender chord in his
heart that can be touched, if we go about it in the right
way.</p>
<p class='c006'>But it is an outrage to turn such a man out of prison or
penitentiary, after a limited term of confinement, without
a home to go to, or a place to work. If they know him,
they will not receive him, nor give him employment. And
the police will arrest him on sight as a suspicious character,
and railroad him back to prison. The State should provide
employment, and a home for such a person until he
gets on his feet again, or keep him in jail.</p>
<p class='c006'>The fourth and last mentioned in this classification is
the criminal of circumstances. This man may have
snatched a pocketbook from the hand of a lady, or stolen a
loaf of bread when his wife was sick at home, and his
children crying for food. Such a person should not be
branded as a criminal. He should be paroled on his good
behavior. To send such a person to prison is simply
to make a criminal of him.</p>
<p class='c006'>Our State has been in the business of punishing criminals
for more than a hundred years, during which time
millions of dollars have been wasted. Let us try classification,
then endeavor to cure criminals or restrain them
till they are fit to associate with the law-abiding people of
the Nation. This is real prison reform.</p>
<p class='c006'>I think that such a Board of Criminal Experts as suggested
here would have fewer indictments, but more convictions.
And we would need fewer jails and Courts of
Justice. We would save the taxpayers millions of dollars
yearly, but immeasurably more important than all these,
we would come nearer to doing justice to all men, and the
rights of the people would be more justly safeguarded than
they are to-day.</p>
<p class='c021'>(Since I first recommended the abolition of the Grand Jury
in an article of mine that appeared in the New York Press of
March, 1906, and later in Van Norden’s Magazine, to whom I
give due credit, other reformers have spoken on the same subject,
but have made no mention of the one who first called
attention to the matter, which is manifestly unfair.)</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch13' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>SCHOOLS OF CRIME</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Crime, like many of the diseases that afflict the human
body, is both infectious and contagious, and criminal principles
can be taught to old and young as easy as the alphabet
or any of the profoundest sciences.</p>
<p class='c006'>As the larger part of our population dwell in cities
and these cities are recruited from the immigrants that
come to our shores, it is reasonable to believe that many
of them, if not criminals already, come with criminal instincts,
so that the rising generation who are the offspring
of crooks are sure to be criminal.</p>
<p class='c006'>According to the present statistics, the United States
leads the world in criminality. Hitherto, Italy and Russia
were the leaders, but now the United States surpasses all
others.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems that for every million of inhabitants the United
States furnished 115 <i>known</i> relapsed criminals, Italy 105,
Russia 90, England 27, France 19, Germany 18. Not only
do we make criminals ourselves, but we import them
through our defective immigration laws. Congress could
partly remedy this evil against a free people by closing our
immigration doors for the next twenty years. But our
political party leaders, who rule the people, are afraid to
do this, hence our rapid growth in crime, partly through
immigration.</p>
<p class='c006'>As a matter of fact, when crooks get together, no
matter what their sex or age may be, they are sure
to brag of their criminal accomplishments, and
escapades. It is in such an atmosphere that crime is
taught, and especially among the young. To a beginner
in crime who hears them, all such utterances are exceedingly
interesting, and much of it is sure to make a deep
and lasting impression for evil. As a rule, many criminals
are exceedingly garrulous and talk much, and when they
tell a rosy tale of how to get money or valuables without
working for them, the whole thing seems captivating. Frequently
such a story carries a new beginner in crime off his
feet. It is in this manner that our jails, reformatories and
houses of refuge become schools of crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is the general opinion of the leaders of bench and bar
that crime is carefully and systematically planned and
taught in our prisons. The fact is that more than fifty per
cent. of all our first offenders return to jail a second time,
showing clearly that rather than being weaned from such
a life by the imprisonment, many of them are encouraged
to continue it.</p>
<p class='c006'>When I have asked boys and young men why they returned
to crime a second time, they informed me that
while inmates of different prisons and reform schools, they
learned scientifically how to become pickpockets, thieves,
second-story men, and burglars. That is, they were taught
it.</p>
<p class='c006'>In some of the prisons which I have visited at different
times, such as Sing Sing, Auburn, and Elmira, the inmates
have not the same opportunity of speaking to each other,
as the law is strictly enforced to prevent such communications.</p>
<p class='c006'>But in the City and District Prisons of Greater New
York, Blackwell’s Island Penitenetiary, the House of Refuge,
the reformatories and county jails without number,
where old and young crooks are huddled together, they
are permitted to communicate their ideas as they please.
My opinion is that all such places are simply schools of
crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>My cure for such a condition of affairs is entire isolation,
segregation and classification, and the inculcation of moral
and religious teaching.</p>
<p class='c006'>The old adage, that prevention is better than cure, is as
true to-day as ever. And yet our law-making bodies
and prison authorities seem to forget all about it in this
mad age. Recent statistics show that crime among young
people is alarmingly on the increase, and one of the main
reasons for it is what may be termed “criminal contamination.”
But little or nothing is done to prevent it.</p>
<p class='c006'>Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist mentions the case of
a crafty old Jew, named Fagan, who was known to the
London police as a “fence,” or receiver of stolen property.
Fagan carried on a business much like that of a pawnbroker,
in advancing money on all the “stuff” or stolen
goods that was brought to him. He had a number of confederates
of both sexes in his employment. They were
adepts at the business, and could destroy the identity of all
the stolen property which he purchased daily from his
thievish customers.</p>
<p class='c006'>Fagan always kept on hand a dozen of boys, whom he
called apprentices. These with the aid of dummy figures,
dressed in male and female attire, he carefully taught the
art of pocket-picking. As soon as they had learned the
business, they were sent out in pairs into the thoroughfares
of London, where they “worked” rich men and women
for all they were worth, and often brought back large quantities
of plunder. Fagan was finally captured “with the
goods,” and hanged for his crime. This is the origin of
what is known in criminal parlance as “Faganism.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Within twenty-five years “Faganism” has become a profitable
business in the New World. This is especially true
of New York, where strong evidence of “Faganism” is presented
in our criminal courts from time to time.</p>
<p class='c006'>The work is done by a gang of greedy, diabolical
wretches who teach boys and girls to pick pockets and
when they become experts send them forth to steal in the
street, street cars and large stores. The work is so carefully
and systematically done by our East Side “Fagans”
that they are able to cover their tracks so as to elude detection.
It is a shocking state of affairs to be told by the
District Attorney’s detectives as well as many settlement
workers who live among these people, that many of the
police are in league with the “Fagans” and share their
plunder.</p>
<p class='c006'>Detective Reardon has made a study of “Faganism” on
the East Side the past few years and has been able to “run
down” scores of criminals of this grade. In about two
months Mr. Reardon has been able to make 178 arrests for
pocket-picking, besides breaking up a score of “Fagan
Schools” where boys and girls from ten to seventeen years
of age were taught how to steal. Several well known
thieves named Meyer Lewis, Cockeye Meyer, Joseph
Monkey and Fitch who were proved to be “Fagans” were
sent to jail and their business broken up.</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as a “Fagan” is arrested he at once offers the
police a big bribe not to expose him and in some cases it is
accepted with the result that Fagan still remains in business
and divides the spoils with the police. This was the
experience of Miss Wold and Detective Reardon who made
a thorough investigation of East Side conditions several
months ago.</p>
<p class='c006'>As a rule our modern “Fagans” are very foxy. The
boys and girls sent uptown to the Fifth Avenue stores and
thoroughfares are well dressed while those down town are
dressed like school children and frequently carry a bunch
of books in their arms. The New York police will have to
change their tactics entirely else they will never “run
down” these criminals.</p>
<p class='c006'>In a great city like New York we must expect such criminal
combinations to defeat the ends of justice by teaching
children to steal and then receive the plunder, but when
such persons are caught they should get the extreme limit
of the law and be shown little or no mercy. They are the
worst kind of degenerates.</p>
<p class='c006'>Recently four Central Office detectives found a “Fagan”
headquarters on East Third Street in this city, run by a
notorious “fence” named “Gaunt” whom they arrested
with four others. The revelations came through a Tombs
prisoner named Herman Doritz who made a sworn statement
to the Court that he, with many others, was taught
the art of thieving in Teddy Gaunt’s School of Crime.
There were forty pupils in the school and after their graduation
these lads were scattered over the city in large
stores, where they stole thousands of dollars worth of
goods besides pocket books and jewelry. As soon as the
“fence” received the stolen property he took pains at once
to destroy its identity. Then he sent men out to sell it at
half its real value. In this way the boys said he made big
money at the business.</p>
<p class='c006'>Now, whenever the police arrest a juvenile criminal
they put him through the “third degree” to see whether or
not he was taught in a School of Crime. This is proper.
But the cause of much of this must be laid to our high living,
fevered home life, grasping after the dollar and the
lack of moral training in our homes and schools.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have no hesitation in saying that the Boys’ Prison of
the Tombs is a prolific School of Crime!</p>
<p class='c006'>What would I do about these things? Well, when love
had failed I would treat the teachers and scholars of our
Schools of Crime to a dose of corporal punishment. But
some one says this is degrading. So it is. But what is
more degrading, blighting and damning than crime! Give
them their choice.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch14' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>YOUTHFUL DELINQUENTS AND THE CHILDREN’S COURT</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>The dense population of the lower parts of the city, the
narrow streets, the ubiquitous gin mill and the dirty tenements
all combine to make New York the centre of the
most accessible temptations—temptations that swiftly carry
ruin and demoralization to hundreds of boys and girls
every year.</p>
<p class='c006'>Perhaps it is not generally known that some of the toughest
and most daring of our present-day criminals began
their downward career at a tender age. There is something
blushingly heroic in crime—made so by the dime
novel, which the boy of the tenement reads and then emulates
by personal example.</p>
<p class='c006'>It would be most difficult to assign a reason that would
explain all the conditions that have led young people into
crime, but we are sure that vicious and intemperate homes,
biting poverty and the godless companions of the streets
have had much to do with the criminal records made by
this class during the past quarter of a century.</p>
<p class='c006'>When we think of the multiplication of evil resorts, such
as the saloons, play houses, bawdy houses, gambling hells,
policy shops and other places that harbor young lads for
drinking and carousing purposes, my only wonder is that
so few go astray.</p>
<p class='c006'>These temptations to crime which are presented in every
form to the youth of a modern city are altogether unknown
in rural settlements and country villages.</p>
<div class='figcenter id004'>
<img src='images/i149.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>A Scene in the Children’s Court, corner of Eleventh Street and Third Avenue.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>We are glad to say that only a very small number of the
child criminals are girls. And the reason for their downfall
in almost every case is due to bad homes and profligate
parents.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the things that impress the visitor to the Tombs
prison is the large number of poverty struck faces he
meets, the sallow complexions, the sunken cheeks, hectic
cough, the glassy eyes and stooping frames, all indicating
that the young manhood has been harshly dealt with. Some
of these boys are so diminutive, that they look as if they
were only ten or twelve years of age, when in reality they
are sixteen or eighteen.</p>
<p class='c006'>Here is a sample conversation with a small boy:</p>
<p class='c006'>“Hello Johnny, how are you to-day?”</p>
<p class='c006'>He replies, “I ain’t doing well.”</p>
<p class='c006'>“What brought you here?” He hangs his head and
gives no answer.</p>
<p class='c006'>“How old are you?” “I ain’t only sixteen.”</p>
<p class='c006'>“Are your parents living?” “Mother has been dead
since I was six years old. But pa, he is living. He gets
drunk so often that me runs away from home.” “But how
did you get here?” “Oh, when I was hungry I stole
money to buy food.”</p>
<p class='c006'>This will account in some measure for the boy’s fall.
Think of it—a boy without a mother in a large city like
New York! After I had made an investigation I found out
that his father was an idler and dissipated and took no interest
in his family, and the boy has been under no religious
influence since his mother died. Poor boy! His
only playground was the street with the denizens of the
tenements as his associates, and most of them evil. He
hated his home and was glad to get away from it, because
there he learned to drink, carouse and curse like his father.
That home to him was pandemonium! No wonder he was
a thief and in prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>A great many children of the tenements learn to drink
beer when very young. They are sent by their parents to
the saloon with the “growler” and are sure to drink the
beer out of the pail before they return home. Although it
is illegal to sell to children of this age, saloon keepers take
chances for the money. Thus the child forms an appetite
for strong drink and is preparing to be a drunkard or a
prostitute.</p>
<p class='c006'>One day I found a chubby, honest-faced German boy
behind the bars. He came alone from the Fatherland
when he was twelve years of age. An uncle, a farmer in
a Western state, awaited his arrival and took him to his
new home. Here he made him work like a slave, giving
him no opportunity for either secular or religious education.
Herman stood it a few years, then ran away. He
worked his way East by stealing rides on freight trains.
He would have died of starvation on the way had not the
train hands to whom he told his tale of adventure taken
pity on him and generously shared their food with him and
smuggled him over the different roads till he got to New
York. Here he wandered around the city looking for work,
but found none. Unfortunately he was found one night
in company with two young thieves and was arrested on
suspicion. He lay in prison several weeks. After a thorough
investigation we were able to show that he was an
honest boy. Before going out, I gave him a note to a Y.
M. C. A. worker, who gave him some clothing and food
and lodging for two weeks, and then secured for him a
position. Some months afterwards I found Herman in a
mission settlement as one of the workers. He was clean
and neatly dressed. What a transformation from the
dirty, ragged condition he was in when in prison!</p>
<p class='c006'>The large foreign population of New York and the dense
ignorance of those who come from some of the countries
of Europe is constantly in evidence in the criminal courts.
As near as we can estimate, for we have no accurate information
on the subject, about one-half the number of
persons arrested in this city every year are either foreign
by birth or parentage.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Children’s Court</h3>
<p class='c015'>The Children’s Court for the trial of juvenile offenders
of both sexes under sixteen years of age was opened for
business in this city September, 1902. The law organizing
this branch of the judiciary was passed by the Legislature
the preceding winter. The building where this Court is
conducted is situated at the corner of Eleventh Street and
Third Avenue.</p>
<p class='c006'>Five days in the week from 10 a. m. till 2 p. m., children
of all colors, creeds and nationalities are brought here in
charge of the officers of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children—better known as the Gerry Society.
They are the custodians of all children from seven to sixteen
years of age under arrest for crime. The Penal Code
declares that children under seven years of age are incapable
of committing a crime and are therefore exempt from
the operation of this law.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Origin of the Children’s Court</h3>
<p class='c015'>For several years the Howard Association, of London,
England, has been advocating the establishment of Children’s
Courts in that city for youthful offenders, but for a
long time nothing came of it, as the English mind is slow
to act on all such innovations, especially in a case like this,
where the law which has stood for hundreds of years has
to be changed. The same Association has also recommended
the appointment of special magistrates to deal with
truant children and their parents. But juvenile courts and
probation officers have been in operation in Massachusetts
for nearly a dozen years, longer indeed than in any other
state in the Union, and with marked success. In Chicago
the Children’s Court has been in existence since 1901,
Milwaukee 1901, Philadelphia 1901, St. Louis 1901, and
Washington, D. C., 1901. There has also been a Court for
child offenders in Buffalo, N. Y., since 1901. By an agreement
between the magistrates and the Children’s Society
Judge Murphy has given two afternoons a week to the trial
of juvenile offenders, making a court house out of one of
the Society rooms.</p>
<p class='c006'>The following year the Children’s Court was opened in
New York, and then only as an experiment, as few persons
were found ready to believe that it had a future. Indeed,
many members of the bar discouraged its advent and
thought it a foolish and expensive institution. At best,
this Court was only a venture in the line of trial experiences,
but before many months had passed everybody
competent to judge pronounced it an unqualified success.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the first year of its existence no less than 7,447
youthful offenders were before it, for nearly every crime
on the calendar except homicide. While this Court is in
business, the visitor who is present, is impressed with the
quite orderly behaviour of all present and the kind and
humane treatment of the attendants toward the children.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Special Sessions judges, who sit on the bench by
rotation, take a deep interest in the young offenders and
as each case comes along tries hard to straighten out the
domestic “tangles” which are so common where parents
and children get mixed in their testimony. It is gratifying
to know that this city does not furnish a large number of
the “Wild West” boy toughs and fewer still of the Jesse
Pomeroy class of criminals. While it is true that a large
number are untruthful, depraved and devoid of moral
sense, yet they are not beyond the reach of kindness and
good treatment.</p>
<p class='c006'>Crime among the children of the poor is largely the result
of social conditions. Bad homes, negligent and intemperate
parents, sickness and poverty will account for
most of it. And the fact that we have not ten times more
juvenile offenders than are on record is owing to missions,
chapels and Sunday Schools scattered all over the city.</p>
<p class='c006'>Almost every session of the Court is full of pathetic
scenes and experiences where mothers and children shed
many tears. The object of the Judge is to find out the
truth in each case, and in this he often spends hours of
patient labor.</p>
<p class='c006'>After a thorough investigation we take it for granted
that a child is found guilty. The ruling motto of the Court
is to deal leniently with a first offender. If he has a good
home and parents who will care for him he is paroled, but
if his home is of a vicious character he is sent to an institution
where he will be cared for and learn a trade. The
main object of the Court is to save the child from a degrading
home influence and put him in a place where he
can work out his own salvation either on a farm or in an
institution.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some of the cases brought before this Court are as follows.
We refrain from giving real names.</p>
<p class='c006'>John Smith, who lives on Avenue A near Tenth Street,
is said to be an incorrigible; he is only twelve years old;
he is the terror of the neighborhood; he stays out late at
night, commits petty depredations on the small traders and
otherwise annoys the people of the Avenue. After the
Judge inquired into the merits of the case he finds that the
boy is bad and that both parents are in the habit of getting
drunk. The Judge finally decides to send the boy either
to the farm of the Children’s Aid Society in Westchester
County or to the Juvenile Asylum where he can learn a
trade.</p>
<p class='c006'>Aside from the judicial interest manifested throughout
the proceedings, Mercy weeps tears of sorrow over the
wayward boys and girls and nothing but kind words are
expressed regarding them and every one seeks to do them
good.</p>
<p class='c006'>In former years the work done by this Court was carried
on in the most humane manner by the Children’s Aid Society
under the direction of Charles Loring Brace and,
since his death, by Charles L. and Robert Brace, his worthy
sons. The Children’s Aid Society has done more toward
saving the children of the slums the past fifty years than
all other humanitarian organizations combined.</p>
<p class='c006'>The following lines by Philo S. Child will in a measure
express why children commit crime in this great city:</p>
<div class='lg-container-b c016'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>“Alone in the dreary, pitiless street,</div>
<div class='line in1'>With my torn old clothes and my bare cold feet,</div>
<div class='line in1'>All day I have wandered to and fro,</div>
<div class='line in1'>Hungry and shivering and nowhere to go;</div>
<div class='line in1'>The night coming on, in darkness and dread,</div>
<div class='line in1'>And the chill blast beating upon my head;</div>
<div class='line in1'>Oh, why does the wind blow upon me so wild,</div>
<div class='line in1'>Is it because I am nobody’s child?”</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch15' class='c009'>CHAPTER XV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE ROD AS A REFORMATIVE AGENT IN THE EDUCATION OF YOUTHFUL LAW BREAKERS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>A recent ruling of one of our city judges, after reprimanding
two lads brought before him for a trivial offence,
decided that they should be birched in “the good old way”
prescribed by King Solomon, and he further declared that
children brought before him in future may be punished
by public school teachers just the same as they would be
by their own parents, and he bases his ruling on Section
713 of the Penal Code, which reads as follows:</p>
<p class='c021'>“When a person under the age of sixteen years is convicted
of a crime, he may, in the discretion of the court, instead
of being sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, be
placed in charge of any suitable person or institution willing
to receive him, and may be kept there until reaching
his majority, or for a shorter term, subjected to such discipline
and control of the person or institution receiving
him as a parent or guardian may lawfully exercise over
a minor.”</p>
<p class='c015'>For several years some of our best American prison reformers
have been in favor of the restoration of a mild
infliction of corporal punishment in reformatories and other
institutions where juvenile delinquents are kept. Indeed,
after ten years of experience as Chaplain, I am satisfied
that a sound birching would be a godsend to many a New
York boy in the early stages of crime, and in a large number
of cases might possibly cure him of his foolish delusions.</p>
<p class='c006'>As many persons consider the phrase “corporal punishment”
offensive, I am willing to accept ex-Superintendent
Brockway’s suggestion, and call it “corporal treatment.”
And I am inclined to believe that the word “treatment”
would not militate against it as much as “punishment.”</p>
<p class='c006'>“The object of punishment,” says Horace Mann, “is the
prevention of evil.” If corporal punishment does not inspire
our youth to do good works, it certainly in many cases
deters them from doing evil ones.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is interesting to know that four-fifths of all the school
teachers and principals of Greater New York are in favor
of the revival of corporal punishment for bad boys and
have petitioned the Board of Education for its restoration.
When this matter came before the Board a few months ago
it was lost by only three votes, but it will come up again—and
may possibly become a law next time.</p>
<p class='c006'>A large number of our school principals and teachers of
wide experience believe that something ought to be done
to the boy who calls a teacher a vile name and wilfully
despises his superiors, besides turning him out of school as
an incorrigible. By that one act the Principal who is unable
to punish him for his bad conduct simply puts him on
the street to begin a criminal life. The only thing a bad
boy fears is a spanking. And as there is no discipline in
thousands of homes, the Principals of our City Schools in
their appeal for the restoration of the rod, affirm that used
under certain restrictions it would save yearly a very large
number of our youths from moral shipwreck.</p>
<p class='c006'>Z. R. Brockway while Superintendent of Elmira Reformatory
frequently spanked unruly young men, but then only
as a last resort. Personally I am opposed to the use of the
lash in State prisons as entirely antiquated and out of place
where the appeal should be to reason and the higher nature
of man. But in dealing with malicious, disobedient and
incorrigible boys it is different. They will not listen to
reason and perhaps pay no attention to your warnings and
will rush into crime like a horse to battle unless they fear
the rod. I believe when a boy under sixteen years of age
commits a crime, if he were taken aside and given a sound
birching, as is the custom in many English and German
towns, it would be vastly more beneficial and would make
a deeper impression on him than sending him to prison to
be the associate of thieves and pickpockets.</p>
<p class='c006'>An English town clerk in a borough of 12,000 people
writes, “It has been our rule for more than forty years, not
to permit a boy or girl to go from our town hall to prison.
The substitute, at least for boys, is a birching. In case of
repetition of the offence another birching is given, and in
one instance three whippings were given within a few days.
The result is we have not a juvenile thief in town. Thieving
is unpopular with boys who do not wish to be birched.
But were it not for the birching which is very painful,
many of them would not mind to be heroes in a prison or
reformatory.”</p>
<p class='c006'>In considering the right of parents to inflict corporal punishment
on their children, the common law as interpreted
by the best jurists sanctions it. There is no revenge whatever
in the act—it is entirely eliminated. In a large number
of cases it is a matter of absolute necessity. Although
parental government preceded civil government, it is no
less coercive and often force must be used in the home to
carry out the will of the parents. Again, the parent is
recognized as the natural custodian of the child and is accountable
to God and society for his upbringing. Nor
should we overlook the importance of inflicting corporal
punishment on youthful wrongdoers as a deterrent to commit
other offences. Punishment in itself is of divine
origin and its application has become well nigh universal
and is likely to be continued in the family till the end of
time, and is also supported by Holy Writ. “He that
spareth the rod,” says Solomon, “hateth his son.” “Chasten
thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for
his crying.” “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a
child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past decade crime has increased among the
youth of the city—at least fifty per cent.</p>
<p class='c006'>The cause of all this is found in the criminal and lawless
homes and the foolish prejudice that is abroad against
the corporal punishment of minors. Every year hundreds
of boys from sixteen to twenty years old are locked up in
the Tombs for several weeks and afterwards sent to the
House of Refuge and Elmira Reformatory where they can
be detained all the way from one to twenty years, but they
care not for such detention. In fact, when you speak to
them of prison life they wear a bravado that is astonishing.
But the moment you birch them for their wilful and disobedient
conduct these young men quail and promise to do
better.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is so much foolish and unreasonable leniency exercised
by magistrates and judges when small boys are before
them, that many people begin to feel that parole without
some kind of corporal punishment is a mockery and a
farce. Only recently a city paper took a Special Session
Judge to task for paroling some malicious boys who had
committed vandalism in Central Park. There was no
punishment in the sentence. Nothing to impress them
with the majesty of the law. If these boys had been well
spanked till they promised never to do the like again, the
paroling would be all right, but not otherwise.</p>
<p class='c006'>If it is degrading to punish boys for wrong doing, then
the best men now living were punished in their youth. And
many of the men now believe that it saved them from criminal
lives. Foolish sentimentalists tell us that it is degrading
to spank or birch a boy, but what is more degrading
and damning than crime?</p>
<p class='c006'>A well known Probation Officer of large experience in
the city of Brooklyn, gave me to understand that if he had
his way he would erect in every Police Station a whipping
post where he would treat to a sound birching, <i>a la Solomon</i>,
all the young hoodlums, thieves and law breakers that
come before the courts. Most of these young men come
from bad homes where they had no training whatever, and
where their weak-minded or indulgent parents permitted
them to violate the laws of God and men daily. If these
young ruffians refuse to keep out of crime or be at home at
night by 9:30 o’clock, let them have another dose of the
strap, says this Probation Officer and keep it up till they
come to their senses!</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as they promised faithfully “Never to do it
again” I would give them a chance. A good spanking is
far better for an unruly boy that breaks the law than sending
him to a prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>If young children are taken from homes and placed
in reformative institutions, why should corporal punishment
cease when it is vastly more humane than cellular
confinement, deprivation of food or what is commonly called
“cuffing,” which simply means to be hung up by the
wrists to a cell door sometimes for twelve hours at a time.
All of which I characterize as extremely brutal. And this
is done in many of our reformatories.</p>
<p class='c006'>At the annual meeting of the National Prison Association
in Hartford, Conn., a few years ago the question of
corporal punishment in our prisons was thoroughly discussed.
Clarence B. Hoyt, Warden of the Colorado State
Penitentiary, said that the feeling against corporal punishment
was one of mere sentimentality, and advocated the
use of paddles for spanking unruly prisoners and also the
employment of an electric paddle to secure impartiality
and prevent either partial indulgence or prejudiced severity.
The warden produced a new version of an old proverb,
“Spare the paddle and spoil the con.”</p>
<p class='c006'>It is worthy of note that the whipping post in Delaware
has had an astonishing influence over human brutes in that
commonwealth and as an expeller of criminals from the
State, surpasses any form of punishment known. All
classes, with only few exceptions, are in favor of its maintenance;
and even Chief Justice Lore, naturally of a sympathetic
temperament, has been so convinced of its value
as to commend it heartily and favor its retention.</p>
<p class='c006'>Henry M. Boise, prison reformer and author, says:
“There are found in reformatories, as well as in all other
prisons, those who are so entirely devoid of mental and
moral sensibility when committed, as to be beyond the
reach of any incentive or punishment except physical pain.
Their nature is but little above the animal. For such
persons, the general experience of wardens of prisons,
after trial of bread and water in dungeons, deprivation of
all privileges, showers of water, tying up in a standing
position, and other ingenious methods of inflicting pain and
discomfort humanely, has been found a spanking with a
piece of sole leather, softened by soaking in water, the
most effective, immediate, certain and humane punishment.”</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch16' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>CRIME AMONG WOMEN</span></h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c017'>
<div>(1) The Social Evil in New York</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c001'>The two great causes of crime among girls and women
in general are immorality and strong drink. Many others
might be enumerated, but that would be entirely unnecessary.
Nor is it too much to say that social vice has attained
the proportions of a plague in this and many other of
our American cities, and thousands of girls, native as well
as foreign, whose lives were once promising and full of
hope, have been blasted and blighted by this terrible evil.</p>
<p class='c006'>In a great city like New York there is a reason why this
great evil meets us on all the thoroughfares. Within a
few miles of Manhattan Island may be found naval and
military depots, where large numbers of unmarried men
congregate. Added to this we must count the men employed
in the shipping interests, as New York is perhaps
the greatest sea-faring town on the continent, and besides
the many thousands of immigrants that come here every
year, and, last of all, the yearly arrival of twenty to thirty
thousand young men and women from rural homes, seeking
employment in the great city.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the causes of prostitution or social vice are varied.
In the fall of the year large numbers of young girls come
to the city in search of employment. This is often the
most trying period in their lives. If they happen to find
work, all is well; but if not or even after they have been
thrown out of employment, or when pinched for money to
buy dress or pay living expenses, they go out on the street,
it means their ruin. The temptations in the way of friendless
girls in a great city are so numerous that unless they
are surrounded and even fortified by moral and religious
influences, they readily succumb to the forces of evil within
six months after their arrival. I have been informed on
good authority that certain men are continually on the lookout
for such girls, and after the first or second introduction,
use a ticket to the playhouse and a late supper, or a piece
of money or jewelry to bring about their ruin. Men who
have finally landed in prison have boasted of having
seduced ten to twenty such girls within a few years.</p>
<p class='c006'>The modest amount of salary that ordinary girls receive
in wages does not admit of their saving anything for a dull
season. As a result hundreds of girls yield readily to evil
influences and are soon borne down the swift currents of
temptation into shame and ruin; and when they find themselves
shunned by old friends, many of them end their days
by suicide.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the Tombs and district prisons may be seen almost
daily large numbers of women who have been taken from
the street or from “dives” and other dens of iniquity after
the police have raided such places. After a few years the
prostitute becomes a repulsive, degraded and besotted
specimen of humanity and sometimes a hardened criminal.
Nemesis follows the unfortunate and unhappy female till
she ends her days in the Potter’s Field. It is indeed sad
to chronicle these things, but they are nevertheless true.</p>
<p class='c006'>We must not forget that women are naturally of a finer
temperament than men, and are therefore more susceptible
to the influences of the evil one. Young girls seem
kinder, more gentle, more accessible to appeals made by
the sterner sex, and as a rule, are more easily caught in
the “traps” set for them by human degenerates. Some
women love dress and jewelry passionately. And many of
them will do anything to secure them. If they are employed
in stores, offices or factories, and they appeal to the
foreman for an increase of wages, he may inform them that
Miss So-and-So gets along on the same salary, but he offers
to introduce them to male friends, who will aid them
financially, but who often prove to be their ruin.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Cadet System</h3>
<p class='c015'>In police parlance the “Cadet system” is the application
of modern methods in fostering and promoting the work of
a procurer who secures victims for the brothel. The system
goes back to the days of Greek and Roman degeneracy.
But we are dealing at the present time, not with
European or even Asiatic conditions, but with New York
at the beginning of the twentieth century.</p>
<p class='c006'>How the term “Cadet” originated is hard to tell, as there
seems to be no connection between a young man who is
being educated for the military service and the man who
provides for the sensual gratification of the abandoned
herd.</p>
<p class='c006'>The most guarded estimate of the number of prostitutions
in Greater New York is put down at 70,000, yet there
is no accurate information on the subject.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is the opinion of good authorities that the Raines Law
has done more to make the life of the prostitute and her
male sensualist respectable in New York than any other
ten causes. A large number of the saloons that go under
that name are classed by keen observers as brothels of the
worst kind. The Raines-Law-saloon-hotel gives a cloak of
quasi-respectability to the brothel and makes prostitution
attractive and profitable, and the rumseller for a small fee
condones the crime against the sexes.</p>
<p class='c006'>Frequently the city Cadet goes into another state, like
Pennsylvania or Maryland, and advertising in some local
paper for girls to work in a hotel or factory, he offers good
wages and is willing to pay all expenses to the city. The
result is that he has a dozen applications out of which he
selects five or six of the most attractive ones. After he
reaches the city, they are turned over to human devils and
afterwards sold to brothel keepers at prices varying from
$100 to $200 each.</p>
<p class='c006'>New York has still a large number of these disorderly
houses which contain from five to twenty girls. The proprietors
call them boarding houses, but their right name is
brothel. Under cover of night these women go out on the
street and when they find a victim, take him to the brothel
where he is robbed and then kicked on the sidewalk.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago the city “Cadet” became so bold in his
business that the Legislature increased the penalty attached
to the crime of abduction by making it ten years instead
of five in state prison and a thousand dollars fine. Respectable
girls between the ages of fifteen and twenty were
often induced to leave home and come to New York from
rural settlements, only to find on their arrival that they
were grossly deceived by these lying scoundrels.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some time ago Annie Bolt, a Brooklyn girl, was rescued
from a wretched den on East Thirteenth Street, Manhattan,
by Brooklyn officers. The girl had been lured from her
home weeks before, by a young man who gave his name as
Abe Krinkoe. He gave her to understand that he was
taking her to a braid factory in New York. Krinkoe was
afterwards arrested and indicted on a charge of abduction.</p>
<p class='c006'>Once in this house of prostitution, Annie’s clothing was
taken away, and she was told that if she attempted to escape
she would be killed. She managed, however, to drop
a letter to the sidewalk, addressed to her mother, telling
of her plight. Some one picked it up and mailed it and
her rescue followed.</p>
<p class='c006'>Not long since a woman who labors among these unfortunates
on the West Side informed me that one night
she counted no less than thirty-six girls taken to a large
brown stone house in a fashionable part of the city by a
few procurers or cadets. When they crossed the threshold
of that house, they were actually sold into slavery. Their
clothes was taken from them and they were kept indoors
and almost nude for a whole year. Afterwards they were
turned loose in the cold blasts of winter to make room for
others, such as they were once, pure girls.</p>
<p class='c006'>The only way to rid the city of prostitution is to make it
a criminal offence for both male and female and cease condoning
it as a human infirmity!</p>
<p class='c006'>In a short time these poor creatures are themselves
abandoned, deserted, avoided, and even loathed by those
who once held them in high estimation, and as they are unknown
and friendless in the great city, they have no alternative
left but to become the instruments of immorality to
others or die in despair.</p>
<p class='c006'>After a few years, if these girls are not sent to Auburn
prison for a long term, they become Police Court habitues.
They are frequently arrested for intoxication, disorderly
conduct or soliciting on the street. When they come to
the Tombs they present a shocking appearance—with
bleared eyes, bloated face, disheveled hair and soiled
clothing—having lost the sense of womanly shame.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have often spoken to them—always kindly—and have
seen the tears start in their eyes as I have asked after their
mothers. They appear callous on every other subject, but
here I have always touched a tender chord. Many of
these girls have informed me that they are in the business
for the money and the dress that are in it; and they do not
want to reform.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the corridor of the Women’s prison at the Tombs they
talk and often fight among themselves. How shocking
their obscenity, oaths, imprecations—the very language of
hell. Some of these women have been in prison for short
terms as often as fifty or a hundred times. Many prostitutes
are frequently arrested for robbery, but as a rule
escape, as the degenerate complainant seldom appears
against them. They swing with pendulum regularity from
a brief imprisonment to liberty, till they end their days as
a river suicide.</p>
<p class='c006'>More than once I have gone through Chinatown at midnight
in company with a ward detective where I could see
for myself, under the glare of the electric light, some of
the frightful aspects of prostitution.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is said to be from one thousand to five thousand
Celestials in Chinatown. Nearly every one has a white
girl with whom he lives.</p>
<p class='c006'>They occupy from one to three small rooms, but many of
them have only one room where they live, eat and sleep.
The girls who live with Chinamen seem to have a terrible
fascination for such a life, for no matter how often the
police raid the place and send them to prison, they are soon
back again at the old life.</p>
<p class='c006'>Many of these girls come from respectable families, as I
know from investigations which I have personally made.
After a couple of years of such life, the Chinaman abandons
his paramour and flees to parts unknown. It is most
difficult to locate a Chinaman as it is impossible to identify
him. When he returns again it is with a new—fresh—girl
as a mistress. The abandoned one after a few days
takes to the street, or swallows carbolic acid.</p>
<p class='c006'>Two sisters, once known as respectable girls, but who
always refused to disclose their identity, informed a friend
of mine that their father was a country preacher. They
lived with Chinamen for several years. I knew another
girl who ran away from a respectable Brooklyn home to
lead an immoral life with a Chinaman. Nor is this at all
uncommon. Whatever fascination there is about it, it
invariably ends in disgrace, and finally in the dark waters
of the river or Potter’s Field.</p>
<p class='c006'>Recently Police Captain Galvin, who was appointed to
the command of the Elizabeth Street Station, which is
known in Police parlance as the “Bloody Sixth,” by Commissioner
Bingham, has driven out of Chinatown between
two and three hundred white girls, the mistresses of Chinamen.
This is a feat performed by no other policeman in
the history of the “Bloody Sixth.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>(2) The Women of The Tombs</h3>
<p class='c015'>Naturally women do not figure in crime as much as men,
and for various reasons.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the first place women are more domesticated, work
in the interests of the home where they fight life’s battles,
are more gentle, artless and persuasive in their methods
than the sterner sex.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past quarter of a century New York has furnished
a large number of murderesses, fences, thieves and
women of the street, among her criminal classes.</p>
<p class='c006'>Last year the police arrested no less than 15,000 women
of a dozen nationalities for almost every crime. Only a
very small number were for heinous offences.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the most noted female crooks that New York has
known was Mother Mandelbaum. The annals of crime
do not furnish such a woman as this in her particular line.</p>
<p class='c006'>Her home was on Clinton Street on the East Side of the
city. In police parlance Mrs. Mandelbaum was known as
a “fence” or receiver of stolen property. In a few years
she became very rich. In 1878-9 she had business relations
with thieves, pickpockets and shoplifters all over the
United States, Canada and Mexico and many parts of
Europe. So great was her trade with criminals that she
hired all the cellars in the block where she lived for storing
her goods. She retained one of the best criminal lawyers
of the city to defend criminals and paid him $5,000 a year.
She was considered highly respected on the East Side and
was a generous contributor to all charities! She was also
known as a banker, broker and bondsman, and when men
were sent to prison she was known to support their families
till they came out.</p>
<p class='c006'>She was very shrewd in business matters. The police
had suspected her of being a “fence” for several years, but
were unable to secure the necessary evidence that would
indict her.</p>
<p class='c006'>It was said that several times before a raid on her premises,
some person high up in the police department would
“tip her off.” In 1884 Lizzie Higgins, a notorious shoplifter,
was sent to the penitentiary for five years. Mrs.
Mandelbaum had been receiving Lizzie’s stolen property
and had become rich on her plunder.</p>
<p class='c006'>But this time she felt “sore” toward her old friend because
she had not furnished her a good lawyer. When
Lizzie found out that Mother Mandelbaum would do nothing
more for her she “squealed” to the police. She told
where could be found the remains of a great silk robbery
that took place a few months previously. When this became
known Mrs. Mandelbaum fled to Canada, where she
lived in obscurity till her death, which took place a few
years ago.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another female criminal well known in New York was
big Bertha, the Confidence Queen. She was well educated,
had a smart appearance and engaging manners. She
usually traveled between New York and Chicago in big
style. In New York she stayed at the best hotels, such as
the Windsor, Brunswick and Hoffman House. In Chicago
she put up at the Palmer House.</p>
<p class='c006'>On one occasion she told such a smooth story to a palace
car conductor that he turned over to her his entire earnings,
a thousand dollars. Her happy hunting ground, however,
was Wall Street, where she had been able to persuade
bankers and brokers to advance her hundreds of thousands
of dollars on fictitious securities.</p>
<p class='c006'>The last time she was on Wall Street she deceived one
of the shrewdest brokers and has since disappeared from
history.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the fall of 1898 Mrs. F. M., a woman noted for her
beauty and charm of manner, and said to be a belle of old
Kentucky, spent many weeks in the Tombs. She and her
husband were charged with attempting to blackmail a
Broadway hotel keeper. Mrs. M. was known as a most
refined and accomplished woman and well educated. As
she came from a Southern family of respectability, many
people interested themselves in her behalf.</p>
<p class='c006'>Her husband, however, charged with the same crime,
was convicted speedily and sent to prison for nineteen
years. It seems to be an impossible task nowadays to convict
a woman of crime, provided she has plenty of money
and can secure the services of a good lawyer who can play
on the “feelings” of the jury. In nearly every case judge
and jury are more lenient and extend more mercy to them.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another woman who received a good deal of notoriety
in those days was a Mrs. V——, who hailed from Philadelphia.
She was charged with passing forged checks.
She was ably defended on both trials. On her last trial
her accomplishments counted for a good deal. She had
winning ways about her, was well dressed, and to secure
sympathy could drop a tear at the proper time. During
the few weeks they were in the Tombs Mrs. M—— and
Mrs. V—— spent most of their time on the tier or in
the corridor—refusing to mix with the other (naughty)
female prisoners or to have any dealings with them whatever.
Their meals were sent to them from without and
with the select company which they received daily were
seldom lonely or disconsolate.</p>
<p class='c006'>The case of Miss Fanny T——, who spent several
months in the Tombs during the summer of 1903, is indeed
sad and should be a warning to all young girls who at first
are admired for their beauty, then betrayed, seduced and
cast off by the so-called manly sex and finally disgraced.</p>
<p class='c006'>She was confidential clerk in a large corporation. Finally
she was charged with stealing $37,000 belonging to the
firm. This she stoutly denied and showed that it was a
conspiracy to save certain men in the office who were the
guilty ones.</p>
<p class='c006'>Several male scoundrels made her sign checks, cash
them and turn the money over to them. As she had nothing
to show for the money she gave them, she was found
guilty and sent to Auburn Prison for several years. What
mean cowards! To put a poor woman into such a trap and
then gloat over her downfall!</p>
<p class='c006'>Mabel P—— is another woman of this class. She is
what the world calls “smart” and is educated to a certain
extent but not cultured. She was brought up in a convent
in this state, but left it to become the wife of her present
husband, who is a graduate of Elmira Reformatory. She
is said to be an expert forger and is able to imitate any
handwriting. This was proved at her two trials by a Central
Office detective who got into her graces by representing
that he was a “pal” of her husband who was then in the
Tombs.</p>
<p class='c006'>These are the best representatives of their class and are
remarkable for their adroitness and power to ingratiate
themselves into the affections of matrons and missionaries.
Mabel is also a habitue of the Tenderloin, where she knows
all the resorts, in which she has been a frequent visitor for
the past two years. She has refused positively to leave
her husband or to abandon her evil life.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the most dangerous of all women are the panel
thieves. They go in pairs—male and female—two of a
kind. The Courts are very severe on such people, and
give them all the law allows.</p>
<p class='c006'>The woman who attends strictly to the panel or badger
business must have a male side partner, she doing the decoy
work before her make-believe husband appears as offended
innocence.</p>
<p class='c006'>Such people seem to be very successful, as they have
many victims who meekly submit to their losses rather
than “howl” or expose themselves in a Police Court. The
panel woman still walks Broadway and Fifth Avenue as a
“decoy,” dressed in the fashions of the day, in search of
“suckers,” and it is needless to say she finds many of them.</p>
<p class='c006'>She is great on alluring the unsophisticated—especially
rich young men. She has silks and satins, laces, brocades
and fine jewelry, which are sure to attract. And after she
has captured one and secured the “booty” she goes out the
next night with greater boldness than ever.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another woman that more recently obtained a national
reputation while in the Tombs was Miss P——. She
was charged with the murder of a “book-maker” and all
round sporting man. The deed was done in a cab while
he was on his way to the steamer that was to take him to
Europe. This woman had three trials. The first proved to
be a mistrial as one of the jurors became ill and was unable
to hear the rest of the testimony. After the second
trial, in which the jury disagreed, Nan became a “heroine.”
Friends and admirers everywhere sent her baskets of flowers,
candies and frequently a hundred letters a day. Many
of them, it is said, contained offers of marriage, but whether
made seriously or not, no one knows. The prison
authorities permitted her to receive the letters but the
candies and flowers were confiscated. The third trial also
proved to be a disagreement, after which she was discharged
on her own recognizance. Since then she went
on the stage, but did not have the same success as when
she was a Florodora girl.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>(3) The Modern Shoplifter</h3>
<p class='c015'>The modern shoplifter is usually a well-to-do, dressy
woman of the middle class, all the way from twenty to
forty years of age. She visits the large stores like a bold
footpad in search of plunder. When the opportunity presents
itself she steals all she can lay her hands on without
being detected, then sneaks away unobserved.</p>
<p class='c006'>Nearly all of our large dry goods and department stores
offer her unusual opportunities for stealing, provided she
is well dressed and knows her business. The counters of
these establishments are lavish with all kinds of jewelry,
laces, gloves and knick-knacks of various kinds and values.
During the holidays there are dazzling arrays of silks,
satins and velvets of all the colors of the rainbow from
which the shoplifter can make satisfactory selections. And
best of all, these stores are so thronged from morning till
night, that these petty thieves are able to secrete dozens
of small articles on their persons without being detected.</p>
<p class='c006'>Shoplifters as a rule ply their business only in stores
that are crowded, where they can steal unobserved and
afterwards get away with the plunder. These people as a
rule are bold, daring depredators who will scruple at nothing.
The most dangerous of this class are so slippery that
they seldom get caught, but when discovered and their
rooms are searched, the police find a wagon load of stolen
property, the accumulation of years of thievery.</p>
<p class='c006'>Their work is systematic, and carefully planned, and as
a rule they are able to successfully carry off the goods and
get rich on them. When they go out to steal, these women
have pockets in their clothing sufficiently large enough to
carry away a big haul. On this account all the principal
stores are compelled to employ male and female detectives
to watch these thieves and arrest them in the act. Many
of this class of thieves do not belong to New York. They
straggle in from Long Island, Jersey and small towns on
the Hudson.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Christmas holidays are the great harvest for shoplifters
and petty thieves. A gang of four expensively
dressed shoplifters have been known to get away with
thousands of dollars worth of furs, silk waists and laces in
a season.</p>
<p class='c006'>Scores of these women are arrested during the year who
refuse to disclose their identity and many of them are sent
to jail for short terms.</p>
<p class='c006'>A shoplifter of experience was arrested not long since
in a Sixth avenue department store. She was about thirty
years of age and well dressed. When searched in the Tenderloin
Station House, forty-one articles were found in her
umbrella, ranging in value from eighteen cents to three
dollars; according to the marks on the articles the shoplifter
must have visited four different stores on the Avenue.
Among the things found in the umbrella were belts,
collars, pins, garters, laces, handkerchiefs, pocket books,
pencils, combs, brushes, lockets, buttons and several bottles
of cologne.</p>
<p class='c006'>The shoplifters are seldom prosecuted to the full extent
of the law, as friends intercede in their behalf, reimburse
the storekeepers for their losses, after which they are let
go. If the shoplifters are rich they are called kleptomaniacs,
but if they are poor and friendless they are classed
as thieves and have to go to jail.</p>
<p class='c006'>A gentleman in one of the large stores told me that they
sometimes lose as much as a thousand dollars a week by
shoplifters and employes.</p>
<p class='c006'>When the expert shoplifters come to the Tombs they
weep and lament at a great rate. They weep because they
have been caught “red-handed with the goods on,” and not
because they feel sorry for their crime. They are really
crocodile tears shed for the sake of securing sympathy!</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch17' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE STEAL OR STARVE UNFORTUNATES</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Many of our most recent sociological writers commenting
on some of the causes of crime, omit all mention of
poverty. They speak of heredity, environment, intemperance,
and many other things, but of poverty they say
nothing whatever. Even Henry George in his book on
Progress and Poverty is silent on the latter subject as one
of the great producing causes of crime. Any one who
carefully studies the relation between poverty and crime
will see that these two in many cases are vitally connected.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is not necessary in this discussion to enter into all the
ramifications of the subject. Indeed nothing would be
gained by doing so. In the present instance we simply
wish to present to our readers a few cases which will go to
show that the question of “bread and butter” is one of paramount
importance to the average man. And we shall endeavor
to show that poverty is one of the most potent
causes of crime in our day, especially in our large cities.</p>
<p class='c006'>The London police authorities have always maintained,
and are able to prove by statistics, that when the bakers
raise the price of bread only one-half a cent, it means an
increase of crime to the extent of ten per cent. And for
the reason that so many of the poorer classes are so pinched
by poverty, that when the price of food is raised it
means to many of them starve or steal.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is foolish any longer to stultify our minds and argue
against believing that poverty and crime are vitally related.
This is especially true in our large cities, rather than in the
country. Not only do they belong to each other like cause
and effect,—but poverty in many instances fosters crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a well known fact that when thousands of our laboring
classes are out of employment only one week, they
are, to use the language of the street, “dead broke.” In a
few days the whole family become so affected for want of
food that unless the father gets work at once whatever is
of value in the house is either put in pawn or sold for
what it can bring anywhere. When the house ceases to
have anything more to sell, the children are sent out to
steal. A large number of those who are arrested by the
Children’s Society for various crimes and taken to their
rooms before going to Court, eat ravenously of whatever
food is set before them. When they are questioned as to
why they stole, they usually say they were hungry.</p>
<p class='c006'>Diminutive boys and even men with sunken cheeks and
pale faces are taken to the Tombs almost daily charged
with the crime. When you speak to them they freely admit
that they lived for months by stealing. And in a great
many cases they stole to get food for the family. The
same is also true of boys and girls who work in stores and
factories. When sorely tempted to steal they do so but
only when hunger stares them in the face! In nearly all
the places where young people work they pay such small
salaries, that they are unable to save anything. After they
pay their board what is left goes for clothing and carfare.
But there is nothing for the proverbial rainy day.</p>
<p class='c006'>But self preservation is said to be the first law of nature.
“All that a man hath will he give for his life,” is as true to-day
as it ever was. When men steal to preserve life they
simply trample under foot a lower law to maintain a higher
one. And it is the most natural thing in the world to fall
back on the law of self-preservation when driven to the
wall by hunger or other adverse circumstances.</p>
<p class='c006'>The annals of crime in this city will show that the children
of the poor at an early age are turned on the street,
where they are left to steal or starve. I have found by
careful observation that twenty-five per cent. of the boy
criminals of New York started on their wayward careers
when they were hungry. It was the old story, “Steal or
starve.” And they stole and became criminals.</p>
<p class='c006'>As long as you keep men and women busily employed
crime is out of the question, but when they lose their job
and feel the pangs of hunger, the criminal instinct comes
to them with such force that they cannot resist it.</p>
<p class='c006'>An ex-convict whom I have known for a number of
years wrote me a letter of explanation after going back to
the Penitentiary some months ago. “Sir,” said he, “there
is no employment for an ex-convict. * * * * I was
homeless and friendless * * * * * with me it was
steal, starve or beg? I was too proud to beg. And I refused
to starve in this land of plenty. When I could do
nothing else I stole—when I suffered the pangs of hunger.
What else could I do? And when placed in the same
circumstances I will do it again.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Not long since John Williams, sixty years of age, was
arraigned in Centre Street Court, charged with larceny.
He confessed his guilt. “I do not care what you do with
me, Judge,” he said. “I was starving and it was either
steal or die.” “Why don’t I work?” “Well, Judge, if you
will get me a job, you’ll see how hard I’ll work. But nobody
wants an old man like me.”</p>
<p class='c006'>I knew a respectable man who resided in the vicinity of
Tenth Avenue and Fifty-sixth Street; he was out of employment
for about three weeks. By this time his family,
which consisted of wife and five children, were in dire
poverty. The fourth week he found employment at twelve
dollars a week driving a truck. On Saturday the boss paid
the man six dollars out of which he was to pay rent and
feed his family for a whole week. The employer retained
six dollars of his wages as security against loss while in his
employ. In the middle of the week his funds were exhausted.
When he came home Wednesday night his children
were crying for food and he had none to give them.
Then he remembered that he left a box of goods on the
truck when he put his team in the barn. That night he
broke the box open, took some of the goods out and pawned
them and with the money bought food and fuel to make his
family comfortable for several days. It is needless to say
that before the week was out he was arrested charged with
grand larceny.</p>
<p class='c006'>A good Samaritan made an investigation of this man’s
case the following week, found his family in great poverty
and supplied their wants. Not only was it found that the
man was no thief, but everything he said was true. He
was driven to steal by his hard hearted employer who held
back half his week’s pay when his family was in great
need.</p>
<p class='c006'>When all the facts became fully known the Court suspended
sentence and sent him back to his family. The
Monday following he went to work for an old employer
who had always known him as an honest man.</p>
<p class='c006'>When I spoke to this man about what he had done, he
said, “I could not help it. My boss, who retained in his
possession six dollars of my hard earned money, made me
a thief. I did not want to steal but when I heard my children
cry for bread it almost crazed me and I stole to satisfy
their hunger.”</p>
<p class='c006'>An old German, over fifty years of age, who some years
ago was in business in Philadelphia, failed and lost all his
property. He came to New York where he lived from
hand to mouth for a month or two. He was often in the
bread line on the Bowery to get enough to keep him from
starvation. During that winter he went four days without
eating anything. Then in his desperation he broke a window
and stole an opera glass. For this he was arrested
and sent to the Penitentiary for one year.</p>
<p class='c006'>When he came out of prison he was determined not to
commit another crime. He walked the streets for five
days looking for employment, but nobody wanted him, he
was too old. Walking along Second Avenue one evening
he became exhausted, then desperate and broke a plate
glass window that he might be sent to prison where he
would get enough to eat. When he was discharged I met
him at the prison door. I tried to get him employment but
nobody wanted him, then I sent him to Newark on his way
to Philadelphia among his friends who would save him
from further imprisonment. In both cases poverty drove
him to crime to get food. He was not a criminal from
choice but only from circumstances.</p>
<p class='c006'>This last case which I am about to relate was the most
pitiful of all. The man lived with his wife and four children
in the neighborhood of East Fortieth Street near First
Avenue. He was a painter by trade and had been out of
employment four weeks. On the first of March his wife
gave birth to a child. On the third day afterwards his
home was fireless and foodless. On the morning of the
fourth day his children cried for food, then he became
desperate. He tried to borrow money but nobody would
loan him anything, not even a quarter of a dollar. That
morning he stood at the Grand Central Depot ready to
steal if he got the chance, but there were too many policemen
there watching his movements. Then he walked
down to Thirty-eighth Street and Park Avenue where he
stood watching the people. In a few minutes he saw a
lady come along dressed in furs. In her hand was a small
wallet. He followed her down the steps into the tunnel,
snatched the wallet and ran. But he could not run fast
enough as he was weakened from lack of food and was
soon captured. It was proved in Court that the man was
not a thief; that he was driven to do the crime because of
the dire poverty in his home. It was a social rather than
a criminal question, but the judge thought he would make
an example of this unfortunate and gave him ten years’
imprisonment. I asked him in prison why he had taken
such chances; he replied, “I was cold and hungry and my
family were in such desperate circumstances when the
temptation appealed to me, I could not resist it. That’s
all.”</p>
<p class='c006'>In a large number of cases I have found that men and
women were not thieves by choice. They were before the
law guilty only technically for some crime, but were driven
to it by social conditions and man’s inhumanity to man!
When you come to judge all such “criminals” be charitable,
and put yourself in their place and ask, What would
you do under the same circumstances?</p>
<p class='c006'>There is an organization in this city called the Charity
Society. They receive a good deal of money during the
year for charity! Mr. John S. Kennedy gives them free
rent in his building. What charitable work they have ever
done to aid the worthy poor we have never been able to
learn. But some people have not a very high opinion of
them. When I have urged people to seek relief from them
(before I made an investigation for myself and learned
what they are) they replied that they would prefer to jump
into the river. Others in speaking of the society use red
profanity which would not look well in print. Ask a policeman,
priest, rabbi, minister of the gospel, mission worker.
They may be able to tell what charity is given by this
society to the poor of New York. I know the society for
improving the conditions of the poor, the Children’s Aid
Society and others that do a good work. Heaven bless
them and fill their treasuries!</p>
<div class='figcenter id011'>
<img src='images/i182.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><i>Copyright Pack Bros., New York.</i><br />Ex-police Commissioner Bingham, of New York. General<br />Theo. Alfred Bingham, born at Andover, Tolland Co.,<br />Conn., May 14, 1858. Graduated at West Point Military<br />Academy 1879 and Vale University 1896. For several<br />years he has been in charge of Public Buildings and<br />grounds in Washington, D. C. Was appointed Police<br />Commissioner, by Mayor McClellan, January, 1906. He<br />brought the Police up to a higher perfection than ever<br />before.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch18' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>HOW YOUNG MEN BREAK INTO PRISON</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>One of the most startling facts that face the present day
reformer is the great number of strong, healthy and well
educated young men that really break into prison, as that
is the only way you can speak of it. Various reasons are
given for this singular condition of things but which do not
satisfactorily explain the difficult problem. We believe the
question is worthy of the highest consideration which the
State can bestow upon it. It is everywhere demanding a
solution at the hands of Christian philanthropists and
statesmen. When we think of the tens of thousands of
young men in this and other large cities, who are leading
prodigal lives, uncared for by their fellow men, and little
sought after by Christian agencies, unless they are well
dressed and have plenty of money; then the Y. M. C. A.
and the Club will compete for their patronage. But if they
are poor nobody cares for them, and if they happen to
wander into a Christian Reading Room, they will be told
that such a place is only for members, and not for them.</p>
<p class='c006'>Many of these young men come from country homes in
search of employment, and not finding any, after they have
spent their capital, they eke out a precarious living by doing
odd jobs or even panhandling. After a time they become
seedy in appearance; sever all connection with the
loved ones at home; lose all ambition of ever amounting
to anything or securing employment. Then they mingle
with criminals, who present to them some “rosy scheme”
to get ready money without working for it, and when they
seek to carry it out, find themselves in the meshes of the
law. Now they have discovered by experience that “The
way of the transgressor is hard.” If, however, they had
sought steadily to do what was right by shunning the saloon
and the companionship of evildoers, the result of their
brief city life would have been different.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some time ago a young man, twenty-seven years of age,
was in the Jefferson Market Police Court. He had wandered
to New York months ago from a New England home.
Although a graduate of Yale, and a law student, filling
many important and lucrative positions, yet he lost all by
strong drink, cocaine and evil companions. As soon as he
was sobered he found himself to be a moral and physical
wreck.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems that when he had exhausted all his resources
and his clothing became torn and tattered, the only employment
he could find was to play the piano in a Tenderloin
saloon for free “drinks.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Perhaps the reason that so many young men really break
into prison is that they have acquired sinful habits in their
youth which have grown on them with the years. They
refuse any longer the advice of friends and are unwilling
to learn by experience, and like men void of understanding,
they rush into crime, like the horse into battle, only to meet
disaster.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some of the larger Rescue missions of the city do a vast
amount of good in caring for these young men. But many
are “pauperized” and in the end become chronic panhandlers.
And the same “bunch” is found in the missions from
year to year and are no better.</p>
<p class='c006'>Put them to work sawing wood or breaking stones or indeed
anything, and if they are able bodied and refuse let
them alone. Feeding them only prolongs their misery.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a sad fact, though nevertheless true, that many
young men do not learn by experience. As soon as they
are out of one trouble, they seem to rush into another, until
Society is compelled to protect itself by sending them to
prison a second, or a third, or even a fourth time. The
reason doubtless for this is that the young criminal in a
great number of cases gives way to the low instincts of his
morbid nature, or he has acquired sinful habits in youth,
which grow on him through life, and he readily gives way
to them when tempted. The heredity of crime is simply
giving way to natural depravity that has never been curbed.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is safe to say that 70 per cent. to 75 per cent. of all
who get behind prison bars for the first time are young men
between the ages of sixteen and thirty. When the “rounder”
puts in an appearance this percentage is reduced.
Nevertheless, the great mass of all first offenders are
young men.</p>
<p class='c006'>I once wrote to Superintendent Brockway of Elmira Reformatory,
whom I regard as one of the best informed
penologists in the United States; I asked why so many
young men are sent to prison rather than men of maturer
years, and he replied: “Young men between the ages of
sixteen and thirty are the most pushing, vivacious, alert,
wideawake and daring.” But though this reply was not as
satisfactory as I should have liked it, it explained much. I
believe there are times when temptations to commit crime
are greater than at others; for example, when one has been
idle for a long time, young men who live in idleness, or
have no trade, or are out of employment, or during the
time of financial depression, or when under the influence
of liquor, or when one has become improvident; of course,
certain associations promote crime, such as bad company,
bad books, bad amusements and bad homes; still young
men are the first victims on all such occasions.</p>
<p class='c006'>Among the great generators of crime to-day, among
young men, I regard the gin mill, the pool room, the dive,
the play house and the vile literature that gives its readers
a detailed account of the daily murders, robberies and other
crimes as the worst.</p>
<p class='c006'>I am satisfied the Dime Novel and other yellow covered
books are crime producers and generate criminal instincts.
We have seen men who have become criminals in heart
and mind by absorbing criminal ideas in bad books and
papers. After reading the hairbreadth escapes of Jesse
James and other noted desperadoes, or how some stage
coach or express train had been “held up” by Western
bandits, the mind becomes impressed, fear of consequences
is driven away from the conscience, and the individual is
ready to commit any kind of deed.</p>
<p class='c006'>Hundreds of young men who are serving time in Elmira
and Sing Sing to-day, lay the beginning of their downfall
to bad books and papers that demoralized their nature.
Modern journalism takes a hand in ruining young lives;
for example, when a murder or robbery has been committed
every detail is furnished by some of the morning papers.
The ghastly work is gloated over, so that those who
are morbidly minded, are for the time being hypnotized.
The papers usually make a hero out of the criminal and
hold him up before the people as one to be emulated,
rather than shunned. Under such circumstances it is not
to be wondered at that young men become criminals.</p>
<p class='c006'>Thousands of young men work in this City as clerks,
bookkeepers and salesmen in stores and offices. In most
cases the salary is very small—enough barely to live on.
Some of them, however, insist on going to the theatre and
other places of amusement. Then they enter society, not
necessarily what is called the “four hundred,” but society
that is above their own social standing. They have an insane
desire to dress like millionaires, and as they cannot
do this on the small salary they receive, they feel compelled
to steal their employers’ money to keep up a false appearance.</p>
<p class='c006'>Many young men are in prison because they stole money
to “gamble on margins.” For a time they used their own
small salaries, when that gave out they forged a check or
raised the figures on which to secure ready money. They
tried to get rich quick.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is the case of a young man in Jersey City who
was arrested while he was being married, after having
stolen from his employers $6,000. The marriage ceremony
and the entire occasion looked as if he belonged to
a royal family. The young man was a broker’s messenger
on ten dollars a week. His work was to carry the daily
balances to the Clearing House. On his way to that institution
he was able to change the figures on the balance
sheet and pocket the money. In a year he had over six
thousand dollars in his own name. He is now in prison
for his crime and has long since discovered that “The way
of the transgressor is hard.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Another young man who was the assistant teller in an
uptown bank stole $40,000 and the only excuse he gave
was that others were doing the same thing. He afterwards
confessed that he had to do it in order to keep up “style;”
he lived like a millionaire in fine apartments on the upper
west side; his wife dressed in the best furs and jewelry
that his ill-gotten gains could furnish.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another young man stole over ninety thousand dollars
from a city institution and fled to parts unknown. When
an investigation was made it was found that he had lived in
an elegant apartment on the West Side and besides kept a
team of horses and a woman whose diamonds were a marvel
to the community.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another thing that imperils the prospects of the young
men, is bad company. The old saying is still true, “A man
is known by the company he keeps.” “He that walketh
with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools
shall be destroyed.” Every self-respecting young man
should shun the idler, the loafer, and the skeptic. During
the past few years, I have asked hundreds of young men,
whom I have met in prison, what led them into crime, and
they invariably replied, “<i>Bad companions.</i>“ When the
police of New York are asked to look for law breakers,
they usually find them among the gangs of loafers and
hoodlums that hang out around the saloons and other vile
dens in the city.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are five hundred thousand young men in New
York who at present seem to be beyond the pale of the
churches and the Young Men’s Christian Associations. But
they are not hopeless, nor are they beyond the reach of
kindness and the gospel of Jesus Christ. But there seems
to be no particular agency at work trying to reach this class
before they have become tramps and criminals, except the
rescue missions. It is true there is an eternal struggle
going on between good and evil and it is becoming more
intense every year, but the church should take part in it
and seek to save the young before they become law
breakers.</p>
<p class='c006'>Once upon a time the Young Men’s Christian Association
was a moral force in the community and aided young
mechanics and store keepers and clerks to rise to independence,
but not now. They are now working mainly to
reach rich men’s sons. In some Associations rich young
“bloods” go there simply to play pool and when the place
is closed at night retire to some gin mill where they can
finish the game. But what about the tens of thousands of
young chaps who hang around the gin mill, simply because
they have no money to pay the steep price for a membership
ticket in the Y. M. C. A. or respectable church club?</p>
<p class='c006'>Would to God some Andrew Carnegie or Morgan or even
a John D. would put the money up to erect a half a dozen
of such places for poor but honest young men? Make
them like the Cooper Union with a gymnasium attached.
Serve meals at cost, have an employment bureau, throw
out a shingle inviting all young men to come in without
respect to race or creed. If you speak to some of these
young men about the twentieth century church, they will
swear at you. You know the Church is closed as tight as
a clam six days in the week. What some of these young
men want to see is persons that love God and their fellow
men, and then show it by helping them into a better life.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch19' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIX<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>OUR POLICE GUARDIANS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>This is a practical age, and the people demand of their
servants, the Police, practical up-to-date methods in the
prevention and suppression of crime, and no matter what
other virtues our civic guardians may possess, the old
adage that “Prevention is better than cure,” will always
remain the true motto by which our police will be judged
as the real protectors of our city.</p>
<p class='c006'>Under the bi-partisan Commission which controlled the
Department for many years, the practical work of the
force was intrusted to an experienced officer known as the
Superintendent. This man knew every detail of the department
and could not be deceived by any one, as he grew
up with the system.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past fifty years New York has had some of
the brainiest and shrewdest of Superintendents, but they
could not bring about needed reforms because of the controlling
power of politics. They were Superintendents
only in name! The entire inefficiency of the police the
past fifty years must be laid to politics and graft. Rid the
Department of these two excresencies and you have one
of the best police systems in the world.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past year the sickening game of politics has
been played to an excess never before known, so as to
keep in power for four years more a gang of mean grafters.
How long it is going to last no one can tell.</p>
<div class='figcenter id012'>
<img src='images/i191.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>From “Harper’s Weekly.” Copyright. 1909, by Harper & Brothers.<br />Police Commissioner Baker. Appointed July 1, 1909.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>It is an undeniable fact that for forty years or more 300
Mulberry Street has been the “happy hunting ground” for
politicians of every creed. Some went there to exercise
the power of a “pull,” while others had axes to grind.
Here the ward “heeler,” in the language of the Roman
Tacitus, “could exercise the power of a king with the temper
of a slave.” And often removed faithful officers who
would not do his bidding. It is not a great while ago when
if a policeman dared to do his duty by arresting a saloon
keeper, a gambler or a dive keeper he at once became a
marked man. Some politician at once became his Nemesis
and “for the good of the service” had him removed among
the goats in the upper Bronx, or, since the union of the
five boroughs, he might be sent to Far Rockaway or even to
Staten Island. If, on the other hand, he wilfully evaded
his duty as a policeman his superior might prefer charges
against him and if found guilty he would either be fined or
dismissed from the service. The life of the faithful officer,
therefore, has been a hard one. He was like the man
who was between the Devil and the deep sea, when he did
his duty he was persecuted, when he did not, he was
“broke,” provided, of course, he had no “pull.”</p>
<p class='c006'>The Lexow Investigating Committee showed that many
police officials from Commissioners down to patrolmen
were in the business for “graft.” In those days nearly all
promotions cost money. An inspectorship meant a fortune
for some man, a captaincy cost as high as $20,000 and
even higher. But the bi-partisan Commission was mainly
responsible for this shameful corruption. Many high officials
were involved in the scandals, while the rank and file
were more or less affected. It is our firm opinion that if
the police were protected in the line of their daily duty,
freed from the domination of the ward “heeler” and given
to understand that they could be promoted only on the
ground of efficiency and meritorious conduct, no body of
men in the world would be more faithful to the public interest.</p>
<p class='c006'>The result of the Lexow investigation was that nearly
fifty Police Inspectors, Captains and wardmen were indicted
for bribery and other offences against the law, but only
one man suffered imprisonment. All the others fought for
vindication in the Courts and succeeded in having the indictments
in every case dismissed.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a foregone conclusion in the minds of those best
able to judge that the man who is to rightly control the New
York Police must be one of their own number, an experienced
officer, paid a good salary so that he may be honest
in his relations to the City Government, and just to the
men under him. Indeed, the only way to keep the police
situation within proper bounds is to put the entire force
in the hands of a practical, level headed honest man. Give
him a free hand and hold him responsible for keeping the
city clear of crime. Then let this official put the crime of
the city up to the Inspectors, holding each of them responsible
for his own district. In turn let the Inspectors hold
each Captain responsible for the condition of his own precinct.
When the Captain of the Precinct finds that he cannot
shift the responsibility on somebody else he will do his
duty or get out. Only in this way shall we have real police
efficiency.</p>
<p class='c006'>Since January 1900 the police of Greater New York
have been in charge of single-headed Commissioners; each
in turn ruled the department, viz: Ex-Senator Murphy,
Col. Partridge, General Greene, ex-Congressman McAdoo,
General Bingham and Commissioner Baker. They were
all good men in private life but some were sadly deficient
in the experience that pertained to police matters. Each
Commissioner made serious mistakes from start to finish
which would not have taken place had he been familiar
with the routine of the department. And each Commissioner
in his turn complained that he had been grossly deceived
by the higher officials of the Department when he
tried to bring about any lasting reforms. Had these men
been practical policemen it would have been impossible to
have deceived them.</p>
<p class='c006'>If you put an inexperienced man in charge of a railroad
or a large factory in two years it is more than likely that
one or both will be in the hands of a receiver. And every
time you put an inexperienced outsider in charge of the
Police Department he will fail utterly to do the best work.</p>
<p class='c006'>On the first of January, 1909, the Police force of Greater
New York consisted of 1 Commissioner, 4 Deputy Commissioners,
17 Inspectors, 25 Surgeons, 91 Captains, 627
Lieutenants, 585 Sergeants, 8,239 Patrolmen, 70 Matrons,
194 Doormen, together with 10 others who are classed as
telegraph men and boiler inspectors, making a grand total
of over 10,000 in the Department.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past year or two Commissioner Bingham
asked for several hundred men and $50,000 a year for a
Secret Service. It goes without saying that these Secret
Service men would be used not only to watch some of the
men now in the Department, but the blackhanders, anarchists
and other criminal conspirators that hang around
the city. But it is not more policemen the city needs as
much as the system thoroughly reorganized.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Parkhurst Society with a dozen of men has often
been able to do more for the city than a whole platoon of
policemen.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is room in New York for hundreds of plain
clothes men, to deal with certain kinds of crime, like the
Secret Service men of the United States Government. It
is not necessary to keep policemen in uniform patrolling
the city. Much more crime would be discovered if they
went about in citizens’ dress. We would like to suggest
to the Commissioner the propriety of selecting a hundred
strong-minded women detectives with full authority to
make arrests, and putting them in those localities that are
now infested with the worst female characters. We believe
before long they would put such women crooks out
of business.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Policeman and His Work</h3>
<p class='c015'>The work of the New York policeman may be briefly
summed up as follows: He is an enforcer of the law, a
protector of society, a judge and jury to settle scores of
cases that must be decided offhand without a moment’s
hesitation, a preventor and detector of crime and a suppressor
of lawlessness and violence. In his daily duties
he removes obstacles to good order, stands for the liberty,
peace and security of the citizen and in general looks after
the moral welfare of the people.</p>
<p class='c006'>More than that, the policeman should know the character
of every gin-mill in the Precinct, the disorderly houses,
the gambling hells, if any, where the crooks hang out, and
the suspicious characters, who will need continual watching,
to whom he should be a constant terror. All of which
means that it will be necessary for him to patrol his post
faithfully, otherwise he will not know these things.</p>
<p class='c006'>The law gives him vast discretionary powers, which on
the one hand involves personal liberty and guarantees
prompt measures of relief in cases of emergency; yet his
work is two-fold—administrative and judicial—to enforce
the law and if possible prevent crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the main reasons why grafting and other abuses
continued so long in the New York Police Department is
on account of the “pull” that certain ones had. The policeman
with a “pull” has been known to neglect his duty in a
most shameful manner and when called to account could
snap his fingers in the face of his superior. As long as
the District Leader is a power at headquarters, all the
offending policeman has to do is to “make it right with
him” and he in turn sees the man-higher-up of his own
party. Sometimes an officer received a “make-believe
reprimand” but no more. The hard and fast discipline of
the department was only for the man who had no political
friends.</p>
<p class='c006'>The total police appropriations for 1909 is $14,452,028.85
besides $400,000 for pensions, which makes the
sum total expended on the Police of Greater New York for
the present year $14,852,028.85.</p>
<p class='c006'>The sum total of the Police work in this city for the past
year is as follows:</p>
<table class='table1' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='76%' />
<col width='23%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Whole number of arrests in Greater New York</td>
<td class='c013'>244,822</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Convictions</td>
<td class='c013'>140,904</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class='c001'>Of the 104,000 discharges, 84,381 were liberated on the
preliminary examination, which clearly shows that they
were innocent of the charge or charges preferred against
them. These outrages occur all the time in New York
but would not be tolerated in Russia or Central Africa.
According to Commissioner Bingham’s report in my possession
there were 25,209 arrests for felonies, but only
6,099 convictions. This shows that 19,110 crooks got
clear. That is to say, the crimes were committed but the
crooks slipped away. Any one who will carefully examine
the report will see at a glance that by far the larger number
of arrests were for minor offences. Push cart peddlers
are arrested daily for the crime (?) of standing longer
than ten minutes in one place. And a multitude of boys
for playing ball on the street, but the unterrified criminal
remains at large.</p>
<p class='c006'>On account of some differences of opinion between
Mayor McClellan and Commissioner Bingham over the
Duffy case, the Mayor ousted Bingham on the last of June
and put in his place Deputy Commissioner Baker of Brooklyn.
Commissioner Bingham may have some peculiar
ways about him but other than that the common opinion of
the best people in every grade of life is that he was a fearless
official, and more than that he raised the standard of
the police department higher than ever it was before. He
was also an absolutely honest man. In this opinion we believe
we have some of the best men in the city on our side.
And we believe his removal was another example of vicious
politics.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch20' class='c009'>CHAPTER XX<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE DETECTIVE BUREAU</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>The main spoke in the wheel at the Central Office is the
Detective Bureau. Less than sixty years ago this branch
of the service was organized as a separate and independent
Bureau.</p>
<p class='c006'>Sergeant Lefferts was one of the earliest commanders of
the Detective Squad. This was in 1857, and he held it for
one year. Headquarters was then on Broome Street.
After Lefferts, Captain George W. Walling, afterwards
Superintendent, commanded the City Hall Precinct. He
took charge of the Detective Bureau and held it from 1858-60.
Then Chief John Young took charge of the Bureau
from 1860-67. He was assisted by Sergeant Lefferts.
After him came Capt. Jas. J. Kelso, who held it for three
years. He was followed by Capt. James Irving, who was
in charge from 1870-75. After him came Captain Kealy
who held it for four years.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1880 Inspector Byrnes took charge of the Detective
Bureau and held it twelve years. This was longer than
any other man. During this period he completely reorganized
it, putting it on a more scientific basis. Byrnes
was followed by Captain McClusky, Steven O’Brian and
Titus, each of whom held it in turns. In 1901, when Commissioner
Greene was made head of the Police Department
by Mayor Low, Inspector Brooks and Captain Langan were
jointly in charge of the Detective Bureau, but the former
held it only a few months.</p>
<p class='c006'>In an interview with a well known Inspector, who is one
of the best of our city detective experts, I asked him what
were his methods in detecting crime. He replied, “I have
no methods but hard work. Each case must be a law to
itself. We have no cast iron rules for discovering crime.”
Then the Inspector went on to say, “When a crime has
been committed we consider first of all the underlying
motives. If it is a burglary or a ‘hold up,’ it is more than
likely it was done for plunder. If a murder, it was doubtless
done for revenge. If it is a case of much importance
we put a couple of good men upon it. Follow up the clues,
search the pawnshops, watch the haunts of criminals and
work on till the property and crooks are discovered. Careful
work always brings good results.”</p>
<p class='c006'>“The detective methods in vogue fifteen years ago,” said
the Inspector, “would be useless to-day.” “With the
evolution of the criminal there must needs be a change in
the detection of crime. Here is a letter from a fellow in
State Prison,” said the Inspector; “this fellow is willing
to ‘squeal’ on his ‘pals’ who are on the outside, provided he
gets his liberty. Of course we cannot promise him any
such luxury, it is the Governor’s prerogative to pardon, not
ours.”</p>
<p class='c006'>The twentieth century criminal makes a business of
crime. A man of this character made bold to tell me that
he had been a thief for nearly forty years and he meant to
be a thief to the day of his death. He refused to work for
a living. Pickpockets and thieves of the lower order make
a business of following circuses, county fairs, picnics,
races and conventions, and they always make a good haul
at such places. A few days before the Dewey Parade in
this city, September, 1900, which drew together from one
to two hundred thousand strangers, Captain George W.
McClusky, then Chief of the Detectives, captured nearly
four hundred well known crooks in his dragnet and locked
them up till the “show” was over. In this crowd there
were <i>tramps</i>, <i>pickpockets</i>, <i>sneak thieves</i>, <i>second story men</i>,
<i>country thieves</i>, <i>professional criminals</i> of every ilk, including
the irresponsible thief. They were held in prison for
a few days as suspicious characters. After the crowds left
the city they were discharged. While locked up in the
Tombs they were in an ugly mood and abused every one
in sight.</p>
<p class='c006'>If the direct perpetrators of a crime cannot be found in
the ordinary way, then our modern Sherlock Holmes must
fall back upon “clues” and follow them up to their legitimate
end. But if there are no clues, then the brainy detective
must work out a satisfactory solution of the mystery
for himself and solve it. The method of Thomas
F. Byrnes, who had been long and successfully connected
with the New York City Police Department, was to bring
the suspected criminal back to the scene of the crime for
sake of the startling effect. If an atrocious homicide had
been committed Chief Byrnes usually took the murderer
back to the place where the deed was done, and then
watched him. If a burglary, and the property found, it
would be placed before the suspect and be watched.</p>
<p class='c006'>Criminals are made of different classes or types. The
beginner in crime is often a petty offender. He steals
small sums although never arrested. The scale is a descending
one, rather than ascending. Few men leap over
a moral Niagara all at once; they are going down hill
gradually for a long time before the law gets hold of them.
After a few years the man who was once a greenhorn plans
crime like a general who plans a campaign. It is then
that the Department needs an expert Sherlock Holmes to
capture them.</p>
<p class='c006'>The history of a crime is often full of thrilling experiences
and when unraveled by a keen-minded detective and
all the details of the plot laid bare, the final revelations
show it to be the work of a master mind. The great crimes
of the past hundred years were not the work of ignoramuses
but of men capable of commanding an army. They
were brainy criminals.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the Old World many of the best detectives when
searching for criminals disguise themselves as cabmen,
truckmen, and collectors of old clothing. They also work
in factories, foundries, potteries, coal mines, or indeed, any
place where they can secure a clue.</p>
<p class='c006'>Detective McCleevy, of the Edinburgh Police, became a
rag collector in order to catch a murderer. He went along
one thoroughfare for several days crying, “Rags, rags,
rags.” Then he entered a dark alley where the murderer
was hiding, and who offered him a bundle of bloody clothing
to carry away. After this he secured his man.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some years ago the Pinkertons took a tip from the Old
World detectives and put men in the coal mines of Pennsylvania
where they lived with the miners and finally captured
the whole band of Molly Maguires and put them out
of business.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Scotland Yard detectives of London not only work
among various toilers in their efforts to discover crime,
but keep in touch with 30,000 crooks, many of them being
ticket-of-leave men. In this way they know where they
can be found when wanted. The movements of those who
continue in crime are watched night and day. When a
crime is committed an old crook is arrested and unless he
can prove a clear alibi he must stand for the job.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the best and cleverest detectives are said to be the
French, if we may judge from results; and the reason for
this is, they keep a register, not only of all criminals in
France, but also of their plans, aims and movements. A
few years ago the National Chief of Police in France had
the names of 20,000 depraved characters who spent their
lives in crime. At that time there was less crime in
France than in any other part of Europe. If the police
will keep themselves informed of the movements of criminals
they will know where to find them when wanted. This
is the secret of the best police service.</p>
<p class='c006'>The present head of the detective Department is Inspector
James McCafferty. He has risen from the ranks and
owes his present position to Commissioner Bingham, who
had confidence in him by making him chief detective. Mr.
McCafferty calls his Bureau the greatest detective system
in the world. This is certainly not because of the number
of insolvable crimes it has cleared up in the past few years.
The fact is hundreds of murders, hold-ups, atrocious assaults,
robberies, burglaries, larcenies and almost every
crime on the calendar remain unsolved. In all seriousness,
the people have a right to ask, what is the matter with
the best paid police force in the world? Why don’t the
police arrest the criminals and put them in jail? That
is certainly a fair question.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some time ago Coroner Julius Harburger passed some
scathing remarks on the Police department. He said he
was tired of sitting in his office and waiting for the police
to arrest murderers now at large. Then he cited the case
of Elsie Sigel, Samuel Bersin, Joseph Pogano, the unidentified
woman of Thirteenth Street, and Joseph Juliano and
Michael Millelo, who were killed by “Jack” Vigarato, a saloonkeeper
of Harlem. He told also of a woman in whose
home on West 110th Street a girl died after an operation.
Reminded that he had recounted only six murders, the
Coroner remarked:</p>
<p class='c006'>“I can’t think of the other two. They come so fast it’s
hard to keep track of them.”</p>
<p class='c006'>“But have the police no clues in all those murders?” the
Coroner was asked.</p>
<p class='c006'>“Clues?” repeated Mr. Harburger, “No, not even a suspicion.
They ‘haven’t got anywhere,’ as Inspector McCafferty
says.</p>
<p class='c006'>“While I am about it, I might just as well tell you that
there have been 130 murders in the last two years in which
the perpetrators have escaped. Put that down. I say
there have been 130 of them. Doesn’t it seem fine for a
city of this size to have a police department that can’t catch
a murderer unless he handcuffs himself and gives himself
up?”</p>
<p class='c006'>Then the Coroner remarked: “In the last twelve months
more murders have been committed in this city and more
murderers have escaped than in any other place on the face
of the globe. Let the police explain that, if they can.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Stool Pigeon</h3>
<p class='c015'>An important link between the police and the criminal
is found in the stool pigeon. The old saying that “It takes
a thief to catch a thief” was never truer than in its application
to what the ward detective calls “the stool.” When
a uniformed or plain clothes policeman is assigned to a
precinct the first and foremost thing he does is to find out
“What he is up against.” In other words, he sets himself
to study carefully the situation; he finds out who are the
thieves, pickpockets and all round crooks in his bailiwick.
Then he seeks out some one of this class he can trust, and
forthwith makes a confidant of him. Indeed, he enters into
a regular agreement with the “stool” of the district or ward
that in return for “inside information” on crookedness he
will give him full protection and even immunity from
arrest. The work of the stool pigeon is to associate with
criminals as a sort of spy, so as to find out all that is worth
knowing and even assist them in crime, then report to the
ward detective.</p>
<p class='c006'>When a burglary has been committed that baffles the
police, one or more stool pigeons are put on the case and
are paid for their services. If they cannot locate the
crooks or the gang, perhaps they can tell where “the goods”
may be found and by their help the police are able to recover
wagon loads of “loot,” the accumulation of many robberies.
Some time back in the seventies of last century
Thurlow Weed, who exerted a commanding influence in the
counsels of the Republican party second to none in his day,
was riding in a Broadway ‘bus and had his gold watch
stolen. Mr. Weed deeply deplored the loss of his time
piece which had been given to him as a present by some
friends. He communicated his loss to the police. The
pawn shops were searched, but it could not be found. A
score of stool pigeons were implored to find it without delay.
Then one of them found the man that stole it and
requested him to return it at once to the police, which he
did, after which the police were highly commended for
their smartness.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some time ago a noted forger and counterfeiter was sent
up the River for five years. He had been doing “crooked”
work for some years in this city and would doubtless never
have been detected had it not been for a “stool pigeon”
with whom he had been in prison in former years, whom he
had befriended not long before by giving him meals and
lodging when out of employment. The stool pigeon reported
everything to the police and the old man was caught
“red-handed.”</p>
<p class='c006'>As a rule there is no honor among thieves. One old
criminal who is also a well known “stool pigeon” is in great
demand by the police when out of prison, but he is hardly
out before he is back again. He knows the criminal
classes well and is able to furnish the police with first
class information on crookdom. And they in turn see that
he is not sent to State Prison but to the penitentiary for
short terms. He has sent so many men to “do time” by
the information with which he has furnished the police
that if they found him in State Prison they would kill him.
A traitor, a spy and a spotter are always detested by criminals.
It is true, stool-pigeon ethics is not of a high order,
but what else can the police do? In resorting to such expedients
they simply fight the Devil with the Devil’s own
weapons. Without this a large number of the crimes that
are committed would never be detected.</p>
<p class='c006'>Ex-Policeman Bissert who had been sent to Sing Sing by
Recorder Goff in November, 1901, was detested by scores
of crooks whom he had been instrumental in sending there.
After reaching Sing Sing Bissert became a marked man.
Many of the old time crooks knew him well. When the
Appellate Division decided that he should have a new trial
and had returned him to the Tombs, he made the remark
to one of the desk keepers, that he would rather go to <i>hell</i>
than go back to Sing Sing again, as his life was made
miserable all the time he was there. One who was then
serving a sentence afterwards informed me that whenever
Bissert showed himself in the shops, the dining room, or in
the yard his associates took a delight in “jeering” at him
and calling him all kinds of profane names!</p>
<div class='figcenter id013'>
<img src='images/i207.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The Newest, Most Modern and best equipped Police Headquarters in the World. Centre Street, New York City.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch21' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE ROGUES GALLERY AND THE THIRD DEGREE</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>One of the most interesting departments of the Detective
Bureau is the Rogues’ Gallery. This branch contains
the records of nearly a hundred thousand criminals. It
is only within recent years that the police have begun
to realize the importance of this department of the service.
Not only do they photograph and take measurements
of all criminals, but since the time of Sergeant
Thomas Adams they preserve clippings from all the newspapers
which in any way throw light upon the career of a
criminal. These clippings are kept in large envelopes,
fastened together by rubber bands.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Clipping Bureau at Headquarters has for some
years been in charge of two well known lieutenants, Sheridan
and Allen, who seem to have a special talent for this
kind of labor. They seem to be walking cyclopedias of
criminal information as far as the newspapers are concerned.</p>
<p class='c006'>One or the other of these specialists is on hand every
hour of the day, assisting the men of the department in giving
clues, as well as collecting records of beginners in
crime. Frequently these records are loaned to the Judges
of Criminal Courts before sentence is passed on old offenders.
This branch of the Bureau is over thirty years
old, and is of immense importance to the department.</p>
<p class='c006'>Whenever any of the two or three hundred officers of
the Detective Bureau make an arrest, in or out of the city,
the prisoner is forthwith taken to Police Headquarters,
where his measurements and picture are taken for the
Rogues’ Gallery. And all this is done before they have
found out whether he is innocent or guilty. Indeed, it
frequently occurs that the pictures of innocent men remain
in the Gallery for years. Once there, they are not
removed, unless by order of the Supreme Court. But if an
appeal is made to the Commissioner of the Police, he will
remove an offending picture if you can show that you
were innocent of the crime charged against you, and were
never arrested for a crime previously.</p>
<p class='c006'>Up to the first of January, 1909, the total number of pictures
in the Rogues’ Gallery was as follows:</p>
<p class='c006'>New York, 82,363; Brooklyn, 13,264; total, 95,627.</p>
<p class='c006'>This besides over 7,000 finger marks taken from August,
1906, till same date.</p>
<p class='c006'>According to the best judicial authorities, the police
have no right to take the picture of a man accused of crime
and place it in the Rogues’ Gallery till after his conviction.
For “mugging” Banker Jenkins, in defiance of Justice
Burr’s order, Captain Kuhne, of the Brooklyn Detective
Bureau, was sentenced to thirty days in Raymond
street Jail, and fined $500 besides. The case was submitted
to the highest court in the State, and last June the
Court of Appeals decided that the sentence passed on the
Police Captain was just. After a time, “mugging” contrary
to law may become an unprofitable business.</p>
<p class='c006'>The question as to the number of criminals in New York
city is one of the most difficult to answer. The best that
can be said is to offer an unofficial conjecture. We went to
Police Headquarters and presented it to different men,
but nearly all refused to volunteer an answer. One officer
said: “If you mean by criminals those persons who
have been in jail all the way from one to ten times, but
who now enjoy their liberty, then there must be at least
seventy-five thousand of such people in this city.” But
then this is only a conjecture. We have no means of
knowing to an absolute certainty the number of criminals
in New York.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the fall and winter, when there are great social
gatherings in the city, thousands of crooks invade Manhattan,
and live at the best hotels. When they leave, they
usually take with them enough money and valuables to
last for years.</p>
<p class='c006'>The curiosities of crime which may be seen in the museum
of the Rogues’ Gallery are worthy of careful inspection.
These consist of dark lanterns, jimmies galore,
sectional jimmies, and ancient and modern jimmies,
knives, dirks, razors, pistols, guns, gold bricks, burglary
tools, skeleton keys and several hundred other things used
by criminals, all too numerous to mention. Many of these
things are kept in glass cases, and cannot be touched, but
they show the ingenuity of the criminal mind in trying to
overcome the modern barriers for protecting banks, counting
houses, stores and Fifth avenue homes.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Third Degree</h3>
<p class='c015'>After a crook has been arrested and brought to Police
Headquarters, and the authorities believe that he possesses
evidence that will convict himself, or that he belongs
to a “gang” of criminals that should be safely landed
in prison without delay, he is forthwith put through
the “third degree.” The men of the Detective Bureau
make light of this star chamber inquisitorial proceeding
for the discovery of crime, and say that it does not mean
anything, but those who have passed through the experience
have a different tale to tell.</p>
<p class='c006'>When crooks conspire to defeat the ends of justice,
all they have to do is simply to keep “mum.” If there
are three persons in a burglary or safe-breaking job, as is
often the case, and one gets caught, the other two pool their
interests and secure him a lawyer.</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as the police have reason to believe that the
man under arrest is concealing valuable information, he
is taken to Police Headquarters on a short commitment.
Perhaps they may put some wise “guy,” or “stool pigeon”
in the cell with him to get him to make a damaging statement
when he is off his guard. As near as can be learned
from various sources, the “third degree” is in the nature
of a rigid examination, perhaps like the torture which is
still practised on “suspects” in China, Russia and Turkey,
to draw out a confession of guilt, even where none exists.
I asked several crooks to explain to me the nature of the
third degree, all of whom claimed to have gone through
the experience at different times. When I came to compare
notes, I found they all told almost the identical story.</p>
<p class='c006'>A man who spent more than two years in the Tombs on
a murder charge was put through the “third degree” both
in the Fifth Street Station House and at Police Headquarters.
It is not customary to put a man through the third
degree in the station house, but this man claims to have
been an exception. The crook in question spent several
nights in the cells in the Fifth Street House, and spoke
from experience. On the morning of the day when he was
taken to 300 Mulberry street, he said two plain clothes men
took him from a cell in the basement, and forthwith
boxed his ears and cuffed him unmercifully over the face
for five minutes, or until he became greatly excited and
almost insane! After this, he was taken upstairs to a
room, a veritable sweat-box, where he was “piled” with
questions, one after another, for an hour, for the purpose,
if possible, of making him contradict himself. All the answers
he gave during this star-chamber investigation were
taken down, and he was then compelled to sign, or else
have his face and ears boxed a second time. In reality the
signing of this document made him the author of a crime.
In other words, the “third degree” is simply giving to a
crook a most unmerciful cuffing and abusing, till his eyes
are all discolored, and his face is covered with blood, and
he is more silly than sane. This is done that he may confess
all the details of his crime, and become an informer on those
who were in the job with him. This method is the torture
of the Orient, the thumbscrews of the Middle Ages, and is
cruel and diabolical.</p>
<p class='c006'>Central Office men have said that the third degree was
one of Inspector Byrnes’ “hobbies,” as he resorted to it on
all occasions.</p>
<p class='c006'>When it began to leak out in 1884 that Jake Sharp had
bribed the Board of Aldermen to transfer to his company
the Broadway franchise, it was found most difficult to secure
any evidence to connect the guilty ones with the
crime. Inspector Byrnes, who was in the Detective Department
at the time, devised means whereby he was able
with the aid of some of his men, to entice one of the
“boodlers” to a Sixth avenue restaurant, where the flow
of wine unloosed his tongue, and where he admitted that
he had sold his vote to Jake Sharp for five thousand dollars.
Inspector Byrnes, who was on the premises behind
a screen, hidden from view, had all the admissions taken
down, and they were used to convict the “boodler” and
send him to State Prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>After this “boodler’s” arrest, and he was taken to Headquarters,
Byrnes put him through the “third degree”;
when he saw the answers and admissions he had made in
the Sixth avenue restaurant in cold type, he broke down.</p>
<p class='c006'>Whether the police are justified for the various uses
to which they put the “third degree” in ferreting out
crime, I am not in a position to state. When I asked a
“cop” why they hit those fellows who passed through the
“third degree,” he replied: “You know crooks are the
worst kind of liars; unless the police gave them a moderate
cuffing, they would tell them a fake story which it
would be a waste of time to listen to.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Some men do not blame the police for a moderate use
of the “third degree” in order to discover crime, but where
to draw the line is a most difficult thing. Judging from
Professor Munsterburg’s protest against the “third degree”
in his book, “On the Witness Stand,” Germany seems
to have a more diabolical thumbscrew system of the “third
degree” than New York. Says the German professor:</p>
<p class='c006'>“There are no longer any thumbscrews, but the lower
orders of the police have still uncounted means to make
the prisoner’s life uncomfortable and perhaps intolerable,
and to break down his energy. A rat put secretly into a
woman’s cell may exhaust her nervous system and her
inner strength till she is unable to stick to her story. The
dazzling light, and the cold-water hose, and the secret blow
still seem to serve, even if nine-tenths of the newspaper
stories of the ‘third degree’ are exaggrated. Worst of all
are the brutal shocks given with fiendish cruelty to the terrified
imagination of the suspect. Decent public opinion
stands firmly again such barbarism; and this opposition
springs not only from sentimental horror and from
aesthetic disgust; stronger, perhaps, than either of these
is the instinctive conviction that the method is ineffective
in bringing out the real truth. At all times innocent men
have been accused by the tortured ones, crimes which
were never committed have been confessed, infamous lies
have been invented, to satisfy the demands of the torturers.
Under pain and fear, a man may make any admission
which will relieve his suffering, and, still more
misleading, his mind may lose the power to discriminate
between illusion and real memory.”</p>
<div class='figcenter id014'>
<img src='images/i215.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Putting a Crook through the Third Degree at Police Headquarters.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch22' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE CITY GANGS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>For over sixty years the people of New York have been
afflicted with mercenary bands of lawless thieves and
hoodlums who are known to the authorities as “Gangs.”
The only justification for their existence is robbery, murder
and revenge. They fight their murderous battles on
the streets of the city, and during the melee assault and
rob the people, after which they flee with the plunder.
Whenever they get into trouble, the alderman, district
captain or some other ward “heeler” comes to their rescue,
and they in turn do good service for him on election
day as repeaters, stuffing ballot boxes, and assaulting voters.
Each gang is supposed to belong to some political
party, who are able to wield considerable “pull” in time
of trouble.</p>
<p class='c006'>More than once they were responsible for a reign of terror
in many parts of the city. They were known to the
police as “gangs,” perhaps on account of their clannishness,
for whenever they participated in any local fight
or riot, they usually stuck together and fought like tigers
for what they called their own rights. It is more than
likely that some of the gangs were bound together by an
oath which placed each member under pains and penalties
not to reveal their secrets. Whatever these oaths were,
we are unable to say, but we hardly think they were as
rigid as the oaths of the Molly Maguires or the Mafia?</p>
<p class='c006'>The police records of the old New York gangs of fifty
years ago, show them to be mercenary, corrupt and dissipated,
and often revelling in riot and bloodshed; and when
they desired to carry out their evil purposes, they did not
scruple at robbery or murder. For years they have had
full sway in the city on account of politics, but when their
conduct became unbearable, and oppressive, and all irenic
measures failed to break them up, the police were appealed
to, came upon them unexpectedly, clubbed the leaders,
and sent many of them to prison for long and short
terms.</p>
<p class='c006'>The most notorious of these predatory bands was known
as the Whyo Gang. They usually “hung out” in the vicinity
of the Five Points, Baxter, Leonard and Centre streets.
This part of the city was then known in police parlance as
“The Bloody Sixth Precinct.” For nearly a hundred years,
crimes of every description, including a large number of
robberies, burglaries and holdups had been committed
here. For nearly three-quarters of a century, the Sixth
Precinct was known as the hotbed of crime, and the Whyo
Gang found it a profitable field for their labors.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Whyo Gang was made up of young pickpockets and
thieves of the worst character, and many of them, if not
all, spent years in jail. Two leaders of the Whyo Gang,
Dannie Lyons and Dannie Driscoll, were convicted of the
crime of murder, and hanged in the yard of the Tombs
Prison. Lyons was executed August 21st, 1886, and Driscoll
January 23d, 1888. The gang had robbed and murdered
scores of inoffensive people on the streets of the
city, whose untimely end will always remain a mystery.</p>
<p class='c006'>“The Bloody Sixth” no longer carries the same reputation
it did forty years ago. No doubt much that was said
and written of it was not all true; nevertheless, it furnished
more murders than any other five city wards. It
ought to be remembered that the “Sixth” contains the Five
Points, Mulberry Bend, the Criminal Courts Building, and
the Tombs Prison, where so many “tough” characters are
harbored? The population at the present time consists
largely of Italians, Jews, Polaks and Chinese. It has a
great many squalid tenements, low dives, groggeries, gin
mills and several opium dens.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Slaughter House Gang held forth in the Fourth
Ward, and had its headquarters over a squalid gin mill at
the corner of Water street and James Slip. It was run
by a band of desperate characters, who terrorized the
neighboring water fronts. Captain Allaire took energetic
means to break it up, and succeeded only when he landed
the piratical ring leaders in prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Cochran Roost Gang held forth at the corner of
East Thirty-sixth street and First avenue. It is said that
this gang had pledged themselves to kill policemen on
sight. They laid wait for young and inexperienced policemen
on dark nights with bricks and stones in their pockets.
They usually hid themselves in alleyways and flat roofs,
and many sanguinary battles took place between them and
the police, in which they were usually worsted. Their
headquarters were reached by climbing a broken down
staircase or ladder, which they could hoist up with a rope,
which led to an old shanty on the corner of First avenue
and Thirty-sixth street; hence the name, Cochran’s Roost.</p>
<p class='c006'>Handsome Harry Carlton, the last man who had the
“honor” of being hanged in the yard of the Tombs Prison,
December 5th, 1889, prior to the installation of the Electric
Chair in Sing Sing Prison, was known as one of the
brilliant lights of the Cochran’s Roost Gang.</p>
<p class='c006'>The gang known as “The Forty Thieves” held forth at
Forty-second street and Eleventh avenue. They had a
local notoriety.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Hell’s Kitchen Gang had their headquarters on
Thirty-ninth street and Eleventh avenue. They usually
fought negroes with guns, while the negroes in turn fought
them with razors. The negroes and whites are far from
being friendly in this neighborhood, and many battles have
taken place in recent years.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Gas House Gang was on Eighteenth street, near
First avenue.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Poverty Hollow Gang and the Dead Rabbit Gang
were both on the East Side, in the neighborhood of Thirty-fourth
street and Avenue A.</p>
<p class='c006'>The two murderous associations of recent times are the
Paul Kelly and Monk Eastman Gangs. The former held
out on Cherry Hill, while the latter had their clubhouse on
Stanton street, near the Bowery. A noted police official
of experience, in speaking of the many efforts to break
up the Monk Eastman and Paul Kelly Gangs, said that
when these murderous ruffians were arrested by the police
and taken before certain magistrates, the “pull” they exercised
was so great that nothing could be done to them.
As long as these gangs existed, it was impossible to have
an honest election in New York. In later years they belonged
to powerful political organizations, and were used
for the purpose of controlling the city and State elections.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago Monk Eastman and some of his “pals”
were sent to Sing Sing for a term of years for assault and
robbery. The organization is still in existence, but is
quiet.</p>
<p class='c006'>The other leader, Paul Kelly, died some time ago of
wounds received in a street battle. On his death bed he
refused to say who shot him, but he left it with the members
of the gang, when they come out of prison, to avenge
his death.</p>
<p class='c006'>The most recent criminal band that has sprung into
prominence the past few years, is known as the <i>Five Points
Gang</i>. During the hot summer spell they start out at
night, robbing and assaulting East Side storekeepers, and
people who are asleep around their doors. In one night
they were able to get away with more than two thousand
dollars. Several of the gang are now in prison, while
many of the leaders are still at large.</p>
<p class='c006'>Party politics is the one thing that fosters the Gang System
in New York. As soon as the police arrest any of
the gang leaders, they are aided in court by District Captains
and leaders who have a solid pull with the Magistrate
or Judge. After their discharge, they repeat the same lawlessness,
until some person gets killed, when they are sent
to prison.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch23' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>CRIMINAL TRIALS AND THE GLORIOUS UNCERTAINTY OF THE LAW</span></h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c017'>
<div>Celebrated Cases—Speedy Trials for Homicides—Lax</div>
<div>Conditions of Our Courts—Greasing the Machinery</div>
<div>of the Law—Crooks at the Bar—A Noted</div>
<div>Criminal Lawyer—Strange Sentences</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Almost every year, New York witnesses a noted criminal
trial, which frequently becomes a sensation in the
community. For weeks beforehand the newspapers give
an excruciating account of all the horrors of the case—involving
the past history of the defendant; nor do they
fail to drag in his father, mother, uncles and aunts, besides
his business relations. When the day of trial comes,
if the defendant happens to be at the bar for murder or
some other noted crime, all the sickening details are re-hashed
in the evening and morning papers. Sometimes
the trial lasts from one week to three months, dragging
itself slowly along, till everybody in the city becomes disgusted.
All this, of course, is distinctively American, and
as the people call for it, they are sure to get it. The New
York editors are great literary caterers, and seem to know
how to satisfy such depraved tastes. It has come to be an
admitted fact that a criminal trial in New York is a most
exciting experience, and for a time stirs the community,
making it the main topic of interest at meals, clubs and
society gatherings.</p>
<div class='figcenter id015'>
<img src='images/i223.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Criminal Branch of the Supreme Court on Centre Street, where the great murder trials of the past decade took place.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>To watch the selection of the jury, and see panel after
panel of intelligent men excused on the flimsiest grounds,
is enough to make the Goddess of Justice open her eyes
and weep.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past twelve years we have witnessed some of
the most tragic murder trials in the history of the New
York Bar, in which money and brains were used on both
sides. When Roland B. Molineux, Dr. Kennedy, Albert T.
Patrick and Harry K. Thaw were placed on trial, the courts
were thronged daily with gaping crowds of men and women,
breaking their necks to get a look at the defendants,
and using all sorts of “pulls” to secure a seat in the court.</p>
<p class='c006'>And as the jury is called and examined one by one, to
read their real character as depicted on their faces when
they take their seats to decide the fate of some weakling, a
good judge of human nature can readily discern the result
of the trial long before it is finished. Then, listen to
the testimony that is presented; hear the lawyers wrangle
for and against the prisoner, and, finally, watch the
judge as he charges the jury, and then see the prisoner as
he stands at the bar for sentence or acquittal. All this becomes
a fearfully interesting piece of realism.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the glorious uncertainty of the law leaves so many
loopholes for the real criminal to escape punishment, and
the innocent to get a term of imprisonment, that some of
the rulings made in our courts are tragic enough to make
angels weep.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some time ago, a rich murderer was tried in this city.
His defence was one that no Court in the land recognizes,
viz.: the unwritten law. During the trial, one medical expert
said that the defendant suffered from “brain storms.”
In a more recent murder trial, the only defence offered was
“Confusional Insanity,” all of which is simply a foolish
way of trying to “beat” the case.</p>
<p class='c006'>We could name a dozen of well known characters
whose crimes have been heralded all over the land, who
were sent to the death house, but after a couple of years,
when the Court of Appeals decided that they should have
another trial on a mere technicality, returned to the Tombs,
and after a few abortive efforts to convict them a second
time, were liberated, as the important witnesses were dead,
or could not be found. It is difficult to say wherein lies the
trouble. But with our present elective system, we are apt
to get some very poor material as Judges. They lack educational
and experimental qualifications. Nor can we
abolish the right of appeal because some judges make foolish
rulings. With such judicial material on the bench,
the right of appeal is our only safety valve, and must be
retained.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is a widespread feeling in our day that many trials
are only a huge farce, and the “unwritten law,” “benefit of
the doubt,” and “long-drawn-out hypothetical questions” in
a large number of cases are allowed to defeat the ends of
justice.</p>
<p class='c006'>In regard to homicides, nothing would appeal to the good
sense of the community after an atrocious murder has been
committed more than to give the murderer a speedy trial
and summary justice. It is all “humbug” to keep a murderer
shut up in the Tombs from six months to a year before
trying him. When he goes forth to trial, if the witnesses
are not all dead, they have forgotten nearly all of
what was once fresh in their memory. Let there be speedy
trials and quick punishment for all kinds of crime. This
will deter others from following the footsteps of evil doers.
In murder cases it would be well also if capital punishment
were abolished, and life imprisonment substituted.</p>
<p class='c006'>In nearly all the advanced countries of Europe, in criminal
trials, swift justice is the order of the day.</p>
<p class='c006'>In Great Britain there are no long-drawn-out trials. Nor
will the judges allow delays on mere technicalities. Each
case is decided on its own merits.</p>
<p class='c006'>As a rule, the presiding judge exercises full control over
the case, and as a result everything is done with quickness
and dispatch, and the higher courts uphold such rulings.</p>
<p class='c006'>In speaking of the lax conditions of our courts, a recent
writer says: “The machinery of our courts seems to
be passing slowly and inevitably into disrepute. Processes
wrought out by wise and noble-minded men for the protection
of life and property and the dispensation of justice,
have been seized upon again and again by unscrupulous
pettifoggers, and every technicality of the entire legal procedure
has been converted into a loophole through which
some scalawag has escaped. The country swarms with
unhung murderers, and with thieves who walk the streets
at noon unmanacled, who ought to be wearing striped suits
inside of prison walls. When murder trials drag their
weary lengths through the disgusting weeks and months
of the year, only to end at last in a new trial, or in a pardon
issued by some sentimental fool who has reached the
Governor’s chair, is it to be wondered at that hot-headed
men lose respect for statutes and judges and begin to talk
of taking the law into their own hands? It is high time
that our judges and lawyers were awake, and took measures
to reform the present processes of criminal jurisprudence
so as to make the punishment of crime both swift
and certain.”</p>
<p class='c006'>It is a great mistake to shield rich criminals from their
just desserts, as is sometimes done. Punishment should be
meted out to all alike at all hazards, else it will have no
terrors for the wrongdoer. Criminals must be impressed
with the dignity and majesty of the law—no matter what
is their social or commercial standing.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago, Roland B. Molineux had a hard battle
for his liberty. He was always brave and optimistic, and
believed all alone that in the end he would be
vindicated. He must have spent about twenty months in
the Tombs, and the same length of time in the death house
awaiting the decision of the Court of Appeals. As I had
always taken a deep interest in the young man, I called to
see him in the death house. Here he manifested the
same hopeful spirit he had shown all along. During his
long confinement it looked sometimes as if fate was conspiring
against him, but thanks to his gritty father, who
stuck so nobly by him, and the matchless eloquence of
Governor Black, the undisputed Demosthenes of the New
York Bar, he was finally acquitted. In this trial, which
was fairly conducted, Governor Black was master of the
situation, and conquered. From this time, either in civil
or criminal trials, the Governor was the peer of any lawyer
in the land. It must also be said that there was another
gentleman, who filled no inconspicuous part in the vindication
of Molineux, and that was Judge Olcott, who was a
peacemaker and diplomat of the highest order.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Greasing the Machinery of the Law</h3>
<p class='c015'>Frequently the prosecutor in a criminal court, under the
cloak of having a duty to perform, proceeds to do it with
the vengeance of a fiend, and the bias and prejudice of a
persecutor, and perhaps with murder in his heart.</p>
<p class='c006'>Nor are we without numerous instances where the prosecutor
or some of his assistants have been known to “gear”
the machinery of the law so as to convict some unfortunate
of a crime of which there was absolutely no evidence,
except what was manufactured for the occasion. In doing
such work, the police can always be relied upon for a certain
amount of help, which they never fail to give. Then
there is in every community certain degenerates, including
emotional and hysterical men and women, ready to swear
to anything asked of them, and who spring into fame during
a sensational trial, not to mention the professional juror
who draws two dollars a day for sitting around the court
house, who is largely dependent on the public prosecutor
for his sinecure.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are thousands of people who all their lives
have been the victims of cruelty, oppression and malicious
persecution, but real justice they have not known. There
are innocent men in nearly all of our penal institutions,
who have suffered because of false swearers. They may
appeal to an Executive, even a righteous one, who has
so many intolerable conscientious scruples on the question
of pardoning crooks that the poor, friendless prisoner
is allowed to rot in prison, so that the righteous Governor
may make no mistake.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the innocent have this consolation, that their case
has been sent up to Heaven’s Court of Appeals, where in
God’s good time a just verdict will be rendered in their
favor.</p>
<p class='c006'>But what a crime it is to send an unfortunate to the
Electric Chair, or State Prison for life, or even a limited
term in jail, on manufactured evidence or opinions of an
alienist, or a handwriting expert, who are given large fees
for their testimony! Handwriting experts have made so
many mistakes in the past that it is absolutely impossible
to believe them. They may think themselves famous as
interpreters of dots, curves, right angles and horizontal
lines, but they cannot positively tell whether John Doe
or John Jones wrote the document, and human opinions
are not evidence. It is certainly a miscarriage of justice
to convict any man or woman on such absurd testimony. If
you have plenty of money, you can prove anything you
please by the use of such expert testimony, or disprove it.
But without the most absolute corroboration, expert testimony
is worthless.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Crooks at the Bar of Justice</h3>
<p class='c015'>The day of judgment for New York criminals usually
falls on Friday. It not only brings many surprises, but
hidden things long forgotten are brought to light. Between
the day of a man’s conviction and the day when sentence
is passed, the officers of the law have an opportunity to
look up his record, and report him in the true light to the
judge. When he comes to the bar for sentence, the court
has his life mapped out on paper. As soon as the judge
begins to question the prisoner, his character for truthfulness
is put to the test. Crooks who are as a rule notorious
liars have poor memories. No matter how cumulative
their guilt is, they are always innocent!</p>
<p class='c006'>It is interesting to watch the proceedings when some
scamp has come up for sentence. A good deal of stage
work is done in Court for the effect it has on those present.
The female relatives are on hand, weeping like steam engines,
while the prisoner at the bar, who has made many
promises, is as hard as a stone. Some of the men up for
sentence are salesmen, confidential clerks and secretaries,
who, when they lose at the races, steal big sums from
their employers, and then have their friends “pull social
and political wires” to get them out of their troubles;
while the poor mechanic or day laborer who steals eight
or ten dollars to keep the wolf from the door, has not a
friend in the world, and usually gets a “soaking” when he
comes to the bar. Perhaps his wife or mother has been
to see the judge at his home, where she has created a
“scene,” but it has done no good; he has got to go to
prison. Not long since, Judge Cowing, one of the best
of the General Session judges (now retired), said to a
young man who had been before him on two former occasions:
“You have been in Elmira and Sing Sing, and here
you are again. Where are you going to end up? Your
mother came to my house last night. Poor woman, I felt</p>
<div class='figcenter id016'>
<img src='images/i231a.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Hon. JOHN F. McINTYRE.<br />A noted criminal lawyer</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id017'>
<img src='images/i231b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><i>Copyright. I. & M. Stienberg. N. Y.</i><br />Justice J. A. Blanchard</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id018'>
<img src='images/i231c.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Justice J. W. Goff</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>sorry for her; but you show no feeling whatever. What’s
the matter with you? If I should grant the requests of
friends for everyone who has a good mother, the people
would soon ask me to retire from the bench altogether.”
This is true. The judge must send the young prodigal to
prison to deter others.</p>
<p class='c006'>Here is what another judge said of a young man who
stole $15,000 from an employer. The firm had only
charged him with stealing a much smaller sum, but when
they examined their books, they found it a small fortune.
It was spent mostly on the races. His wife and three small
children were in court, asking for clemency: “I have been
on the bench,” said His Honor, “many years, and have had
many a sad case, but there is none sadder than the one I
am now called upon to dispose of. The great trouble in
such cases is that you are compelled to inflict punishment
upon people who do not deserve it—I mean the wives and
children of men charged with crime.”</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Noted Criminal Lawyers</h3>
<p class='c015'>One of the most noted criminal lawyers of the New York
bar for thirty or forty years was the late William F. Howe,
better known as “Bill” Howe. I have often heard him
plead eloquently at the bar, and with great success. Howe
was a typical advocate, and put his soul into his client’s defence.
He was humorous, pathetic and magnetic before
a jury. When he understood the case thoroughly he became
a powerful pleader. It is said that he frequently
was moved to tears by his own eloquence, and was always
able to draw tears from the most unsympathetic jury. He
was called by a certain District Attorney “The Weeping Bill
Howe.”</p>
<p class='c006'>A story is told of Howe’s tears in connection with a case
in which he appeared for the defendant, before Recorder-Hackett.
Mr. Howe had just succeeded by his eloquence,
aided by his tears, in obtaining in rapid succession the acquittal
of several men charged with homicide. The Recorder
was somewhat disgruntled. Howe entered upon the
defence of a woman charged with homicide. She was
seated with her child on her knees. While Howe was pleading
for her acquittal, he was seen to scowl at his client.
She gazed at him in blank amazement. Howe moved up
closer to her and the baby. Suddenly the baby began to
cry. Howe wept as the baby’s screams suddenly ceased.
Recorder Hackett looked up with a smile and remarked:
“Mr. Howe, you had better give the baby another jab with
a pin.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Stories are told around the Criminal Courts Building of
lawyers who received retainers from well known crooks in
the shape of stolen jewelry. A lawyer who used to be a
frequent visitor at the Tombs defended a crook in return
for a diamond pin which he had received for his services.
After he had convinced the jury that his client was innocent,
he wore the stolen pin in his necktie.</p>
<p class='c006'>John F. McIntyre is one of the best of our criminal lawyers.
He always puts up a strong fight for his client.
This is the one thing that appeals to a jury. An intelligent
juror can easily tell if a lawyer is simply a “hired attorney”
or a real advocate. Moore, who defended “Doc” Kennedy,
is another of that kind. When a lawyer appeals to a
jury as if he meant it, good results are sure to follow.
Among a score of noted New York criminal lawyers might
be mentioned Abraham Levy and James W. Osborne.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Strange Sentences</h3>
<p class='c015'>During many years of careful observation, I have seen
some strange sentences. If you are poor and have
a mean enemy, with the aid of the police, he can inflict
great injury on you!</p>
<p class='c006'>I knew the case of a young man, who found some worthless
junk wire outside a factory, and was sent away for a
year. In the next cell was a crook with a “record” who
was aided by a cop, and a crooked lawyer. He stole a thousand
dollars. His “bit” was only six months.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another fellow who swindled several dry goods stores
out of $17,000, was allowed to plead to petty larceny. He
got off cheap—only six months.</p>
<p class='c006'>Such travesties of justice have often been witnessed in
New York. Indeed, men and women have been known to
conspire with lawyers and others to send innocent persons
to prison, and they have succeeded!</p>
<p class='c006'>I knew well the case of John H. While he was in
prison, his wife suddenly became the friend of a certain
police official. After he had secured his liberty he was
informed that he must keep away from his old home. Soon
after he was arrested, charged with a crime of which he
was entirely innocent. When he went to Part I, General
Sessions, to plead, a legal pettifogger who was sent there
by this man’s wife stepped up and informed him that he
would take his case. He did so, and without consulting
him entered a plea of guilty. He was then sentenced to
six years’ imprisonment. He found out afterwards that
it was a conspiracy to get him out of the way. It was a
success.</p>
<p class='c006'>I recall the case of an Italian who was charged with the
murder of his wife. He was caught “red-handed,” and two
of his children told the coroner that they saw him do the
deed. John F. McIntyre ably represented the people, and
Judge Fursman presided in the Criminal Branch of the
Supreme Court. When the case came to trial, the Italian
children had evidently been tipped off to forget all about
it. As they had manifested entire ignorance and forgetfulness
of the crime, and could not remember a word of
what they told the police and the coroner, the murderer
was allowed to go scot free!</p>
<p class='c006'>We knew a man who stole $40,000, and yet received a
suspended sentence. But this should be said, that the
money was taken to save another man, and not himself,
and the deficiency was made good. Perhaps it was only
fair that the sentence be suspended. We know two young
men who were in the Boys’ Prison at the same time. One
stole $10,000, the other just one dollar. The lad that stole
the ten thousand dollars had his friends make restitution,
then the complainant recommended extreme leniency. In
view of his former good character, the court gave him a suspended
sentence. The boy who stole one dollar had been
in prison and was out on parole. For this new crime he
was sent to the House of Refuge.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is the case of a young man named Sullivan, who
stole a tray of valuable jewelry from a Columbus avenue
house. A morning paper commented freely on the “pull”
that gave the prisoner a suspended sentence. The owner
of the store did not relish the thief getting off so easy.
In speaking of the affair he said: “The next time a thief
visits my place, I will make no effort to bring him to justice.
What is the use, if he is let go after his guilt has
been clearly established? The robbery was carefully
planned, and was well carried out. The Court should have
given the thief a medal. Why not?”</p>
<p class='c006'>While chaplain, I was sent for by an unfortunate girl,
an inmate of the Women’s Prison. She had the usual tale
of disappointment and misplaced confidence to tell, which
was full of sadness. Most girls, strangers in New York,
and far from home, have usually a hard road to travel.
After I heard her story, I remembered that there was a
prominent lawyer in the city that came from the same
place of which she was a native. The gentleman was an
ex-Assistant District Attorney. I felt if I could only get
him interested in the case, she would have a better chance
of securing her liberty. I made a personal call on the gentleman.
He had spacious offices in the vicinity of Wall
Street. As soon as I had mentioned this young woman’s
name, he at once recognized it. Indeed, he had been intimate
with the family for years, and was willing to do anything
for her. All of which was very encouraging. I then
asked him to make a note of the date when she came up
for sentence. At my suggestion he called one of the
stenographers to make a memorandum. “Mary Ann,” said
my legal friend, “make a note of this,” and looking very
pious, he said, “I do this for the love of God; yes, I do this
for the love of God.” By this time the clerks and typewriters
began to snicker and laugh. Just as I had expected,
all this pious talk did not amount to anything. The poor
girl was finally sent away to one of our institutions.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch24' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>CRIMINAL BRANCH OF THE SUPREME COURT</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>When on January 1st, 1896, the present Constitution of
the State of New York took effect, there went out of existence
the Court of Oyer and Terminer—a court whose
quaint name accorded well with its interesting history and
associations.</p>
<p class='c006'>It was an exclusively criminal court, closely allied to
the Supreme Court, and although unlike the “Circuit
Court” not strictly a part of it, its judges were Supreme
Court Justices assigned to hold it and interlocutory proceedings
in actions pending therein were taken in the Supreme
Court.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Supreme Court is now the highest court in this
State having original jurisdiction—that is, having the power
to hear the evidence in and determine actions commenced
therein or removed thereto from an inferior court,
as distinguished from the right to review on appeal. It
may take cognizance of all manner of civil and criminal
actions and proceedings triable in a State Court, except
the impeachment of public officials, of which a quasi-criminal
court—the Court for the Trial of Impeachments—alone
has jurisdiction.</p>
<p class='c006'>In New York County, one part of the Supreme Court is
usually devoted to the trial of criminal actions, and that
part ordinarily sits each month in the year, except July, August
and September.</p>
<p class='c006'>Cases that, because of the nature or circumstances of the
crime charged or the prominence of the persons involved,
are of particular public interest or importance are
usually tried in the Supreme Court.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are material advantages to the accused in being
tried in this court. The proceedings are apt to be more
deliberate. The justices are experts in Civil Law, and have
the advantage of the training which results from contact
with the best legal minds and the consideration of the many
difficult and important questions that arise in civil practice.</p>
<p class='c006'>The range of the criminal law as compared with the civil,
is very narrow. The experience of the practitioner at the
criminal bar tends to develop forensic rather than reasoning
faculties; to narrow the mind and sharpen the wits, rather
than broaden and deepen the intellect; to make alert, cunning,
effective cross-examiners and wielders of technicalities,
rather than strong logicians, quick in the discernment
of fundamental principles, and ready in their application
to the case in hand.</p>
<p class='c006'>Constant contact with the criminal classes, either as an
advocate or in the exercise of judicial functions, has a
tendency to deaden the sympathies, to lead to a complaisant
view of the criminal as something inevitable, and to an
indifference to the suffering that flows from his punishment.
It results in an intuition and a preception of criminality
in acts and persons where it frequently does not
exist—in an unconscious predisposition to discover something
sinister and evil in what may be innocent or merely
injudicious.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is not a slur on the gentlemen who, with marked ability,
untiring industry and sincere conscientiousness dispense
justice in other criminal courts to say that the Supreme
Court justices who hold criminal terms of that court
are their superiors in the qualities that make a good judge,
because of their wider experience and consequently better
judicial qualification, and because of their freedom from
bias against the accused, except such as may be temperamental.</p>
<p class='c006'>Variety in thinking is essential to the best mental effort.
Contact with many minds develops the mentality. A judge
of a court exclusively criminal meets but few members
of the legal profession, and confines his attention to a very
small range of subjects. If he grows intellectually, it is because
he wanders outside of the four walls of his judicial
duties. How much better it would be if his field of effort
were enlarged, so that his work would increase rather than
contract his capacities. It is not for us to suggest a remedy,
although one could readily be found, so far as the
higher courts are concerned, in the merging of the Court of
General Sessions in the Supreme Court, and the holding of
a greater number of parts of that court for the trial of criminal
cases.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>The Court of General Sessions</h3>
<p class='c015'>The Court of General Sessions of the Peace of New
York County devotes its entire time to criminal matters.
It is English in origin, and was established by them after
they became masters of the colonies in the latter part of
the seventeenth century. The prototype of the Court of
General Sessions is found in all the counties of England,
and is known as the Court of Quarter Sessions. Since this
court was established in New York County, it has undergone
many changes. At first, like its prototype, its sessions
were held quarterly, but with the immense growth of criminal
business in New York, its sessions are now held daily,
with the exception of Saturday.</p>
<div class='figcenter id019'>
<img src='images/i241.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Beginning on the left, Judges Rosalsky, Foster and Crane, of the Court of General Sessions, New York.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>At present there are five parts of this Court that are
in session nine months in the year. During the summer
months two of the Courts close, which permits each judge
to take a vacation. In each Court the District Attorney
keeps two assistants, who prosecute all cases in the name
of the people.</p>
<p class='c006'>The General Session Judges at present are as follows:
Judges Foster, Rosalsky, O’Sullivan, Mulqueen, Crain and
Swann.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch25' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>SCENES IN OUR POLICE COURTS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>As is well known, the Police Court is the sorting Criminal
Bureau of the city, where the murderer, highwayman,
thief and burglar come to be classified. It is here that the
criminal is confronted with the visible forms of law, and
where the evidences of his guilt become so convincing as
to be conclusive. All over the five Boroughs of Greater
New York, the Magistrates sit in rotation in the various
courts.</p>
<p class='c006'>Every morning the police gather their prisoners into the
court “pens,” where the Magistrate presides. After this,
the prisoner is placed at the bar, where he is compelled to
answer the question whether he is guilty or not guilty? In
all of these courts, the wheels of justice move swiftly
against wrongdoers, and frequently so fast that the innocent
has a chance of being locked up for several days,
without redress.</p>
<p class='c006'>No one can be a spectator of what transpires in these
petty courts during a morning session, without being deeply
impressed, not only with the character of the business done,
but the variety of the persons that come before the court.
That the proceedings are genuinely realistic goes without
saying. The work done in the Tombs Police Court may be
taken as a fair example of what is done elsewhere, although
it usually does twice as much business as is done in any
other court in Greater New York.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Magistrate’s Courts are supposed to be open for business
as early as nine a. m. and continue in session till four
p. m. Sundays and holidays are excepted, when there is
only a morning session. Through the earnest work of
Judge Whitman, a Night Court has been established in
Manhattan, for the purpose of putting the professional
bondsman out of business!</p>
<p class='c006'>Lawyers are not necessary on either side in the Police
Court, as the dignity of His Honor can be maintained and
the interests of both sides conserved without a paid attorney.
In some courts, a big crook with a crowd of ward
politicians around him, has a splendid chance of getting
clear, while the innocent moneyless unfortunate gets
scarcely any consideration.</p>
<p class='c006'>Powerful moneyed interests and political gamblers when
brought to court and backed by an array of counsel known
to the judge are sure to get some consideration. But this
is what might be expected, and often strange things take
place in the Police Court.</p>
<div class='lg-container-b c016'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>“The law condemns the man or woman</div>
<div class='line in2'>Who steals the goose from off the Common;</div>
<div class='line'>But lets the greater felon loose,</div>
<div class='line in2'>Who steals the Common from the goose.”</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c015'>The political “pull” has always been a power when exercised
either by a Tammany judge or a “reformer,” as
the supporters of both classes do their best to help their
friends and spite their enemies! A few years ago I succeeded
in closing a notorious gin mill in the lower part of
the city, but not till I laid the matter before the Police
Commissioner. Finally the law breaker was arrested and
taken to the Tombs Court, where he pleaded not guilty.
After a brief examination, the Tammany Magistrate discharged
him, when he learned that the police went to the
saloon on Sunday morning, and were admitted as sailors,
with oilskins over their heads. Both Commissioners McAdoo
and Bingham have criticised the Magistrates for discharging
guilty crooks who ought to have been sent to
prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>Not a great while ago, a religious editor went to a reform
Magistrate whom he had known in connection with
charity work, and secured the discharge of an old crook
that ought to have been sent to Sing Sing. The preacher
told me afterwards that the work had to be done not in
open court, but in the inner sanctum. If the reporters
knew what had taken place, said this man, both of us would
have been “roasted.” Investigator Mitchell has been able
to unearth many things that would not stand the light of
day. But they are done with the best intentions.</p>
<p class='c006'>Here is a sample of Police Court realism:</p>
<p class='c006'>“Patrick McShane,” said the Magistrate to a Hibernian
defendant; “Patrick, what have you to say for yourself?”
“I was not drunk, Your Honor,” said Paddy; “I was only
sick.” “Loan the city two dollars, and go in peace,” said
the Magistrate.</p>
<p class='c006'>“Mickey Maguire, what have you to say for yourself?”
“The officer found you trying to converse with a lamp post
at one a. m. What was the matter with you?” Mickey replied,
“Well, Your Honor, I am a fireman on the City of
Rome and me ship goes out to-morrow.” “Discharged,”
said the Judge. But Maguire was an old time liar. He had
only been liberated from the Tombs the day before by the
help of a missionary, who put him on a Pennsylvania ferry
boat with the intention of going to see a “fake” brother-in-law
in Trenton, N. J., but Maguire returned the same night
and became helplessly drunk on West Street and was then
“run in” by a cop. Keeper John Smith was in court at the
time and saw the whole transaction and almost fell over in
a faint when he heard Maguire tell so many lies to gain his
liberty.</p>
<p class='c006'>The common drunk and disorderly cases are frequently
disposed of with lightning rapidity in most of police courts.
Sometimes fifty and even seventy-five cases come before
the Magistrate at a morning sitting, besides a dozen of felony
cases that must receive a large amount of attention before
he is able to arrive at the truth and decide whether he
can send the prisoner to the grand jury or discharge him.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is a woman with a child in her arms who charges
her husband with non-support. Both use strong drink and
are to blame for making the home a pandemonium. The
magistrate tries to have them go home and stop drinking,
for if the husband is sent to prison, what will become of the
children? They return home to do better.</p>
<p class='c006'>Here is a boy, sixteen years old, charged with stealing two
pounds of old lead, worth about seven cents. The magistrate
tries to settle the case with honor to both parties. The
complainant refuses. He insists on “Shylock” justice. Finally
the lad is sent to the Boys’ Prison in the Tombs. Poor
boy, his career is blasted for two pounds of old lead, all because
the hard hearted complainant shows no mercy!</p>
<p class='c006'>Frequently there are lined up in the magistrate’s court
thirty to forty bleared-eyed, disheveled hair, filthy, tipsy
men and women, the offscourings of the city—made so by
the city gin mill! I have often asked why the wise sages
that run our Legislature do not put the whiskey and beer
shops out of business, which would end most of the wretched
scenes found in our police courts.</p>
<p class='c006'>A frequent matter of injustice in our police courts is the
treatment accorded the Italian, Greek and Jewish peddlers
and push cart men. Although they are licensed by the city
and compelled to carry a badge, hardly a day goes by without
a score of them being hauled to court on the most flimsy
charge. Indeed, every obstacle is put in their way to
prevent them from earning an honest dollar. The city ordinance
prevents them from standing more than ten minutes
in one place. Often they are arrested before they are
five minutes in a place. If you stand around Park Row you
can see a dozen of these men picked up daily, while the notorious
pool rooms and gambling hells of the city are in full
blast.</p>
<p class='c006'>Intoxication and disorderly conduct cases receive the
least consideration. And then everything depends on what
the policeman says against the defendant, but the presumption
is that he is guilty. What we object to is that the magistrate
allows the officer to whisper something into his ear,
that the defendant knows nothing whatever about and is not
related to the case, but that thing is usually the basis of the
sentence. I hope that the day will come when the officer
that makes the arrest will place the rum-seller at the bar
with the “drunk” and make him responsible for the “output”
of his own saloon. Indeed, whenever a policeman
finds a “drunk” within a hundred feet of a saloon, it should
be his duty to arrest the saloon-keeper who sold the liquor.
Why not? As the officer on post gets all his “drinks” free
at the saloon, which is only bribery in a mild form, it would
be manifestly improper for him to give any other testimony
in the proceedings other than favorable to the rum-seller,
and this makes his relation to the case nothing short of a
scandal! Almost every day some persons are robbed and
flim-flammed in scores of city saloons. If they offer any
protest or even ask for the return of their money they are
forthwith “fired” to the street. Sometimes the victim is
beaten into insensibility and left bleeding on the sidewalk.
Soon a policeman comes along. He arrests the victim and
makes a charge of intoxication or disorderly conduct
against him. But, strange to say, nothing is done to the
saloon-keeper and his assassins. The bloated gin-mill keeper
is allowed to continue his business unmolested, and he
waits for more victims. Good hearted people, and even
ministers of the gospel, waste a lot of “gush” on the poor,
persecuted saloon keeper, all of which is entirely uncalled
for.</p>
<p class='c006'>Strong drink is the cause of more than two-thirds of all
the business transacted in the police courts. If we could
only do away with this curse there would be little work left
for the magistrates.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some of our magistrates show wretched judgment in
handling the “down and out” unfortunates that frequent
the police courts. Indeed, several sages of the “reform
brand” act strange in dealing with beginners as well as
habituals. With one or two magistrates almost every victim
is sure of six months on the island and there is little or no
discrimination. If this is what New York’s famous District
Attorney had in mind when he said: “To h—— with reform,”
it seems to me he was justified in using the expression.
It is nothing short of a parody on justice to send a
poor laboring man or mechanic, the victim of the ubiquitous
gin-mill, to prison for six months for simple intoxication.
For, as a rule, while he is in prison, getting three
square meals a day such as they are, his wife and children
are starving to death by slow process at home.</p>
<p class='c006'>Judge Rosalsky recently discharged two men in General
Sessions and scored the magistrate for such a foolish sentence.
There are, however, honorable exceptions. Some
of our magistrates are very humane and show excellent
judgment in dealing with such persons. It seems to me
that several Tammany magistrates who have come up from
the common people and live in touch with them, show remarkable
good sense in dealing with the “drunk and disorderly”
cases that come before them.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems to me that Magistrates Finn and Breen, and for
that matter several others, show good sense in dealing with
unfortunates. Instead of sending every man “up” for six
months, as some reform judges do, they fine them a dollar
and after they are sobered, let them go. To stay a night in
the stifling cell of a station house is punishment enough
for any man. Such magistrates are certainly merciful, and
do much to help the man fallen by the way!</p>
<p class='c006'>One other magistrate who seems to possess the judicial
mind, always careful, painstaking and just toward the unfortunate,
is Judge Mayo, when he was a City Magistrate.
He is now a Special Session Judge, and as I watched the
proceedings in the Children’s Court, some time ago, where
he presided, I saw that he still holds his good qualities!</p>
<p class='c006'>Another gentleman for whom I always entertained the
highest regard was Magistrate Poole. I liked him for his
open and sterling qualities and often wished that more of
his kind might adorn the magistrate’s bench. I never knew
him to turn down a genuine case of mercy in the hour of
need.</p>
<div class='figcenter id020'>
<img src='images/i251a.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>Old Police Headquarters, 300 Mulberry Street, N. Y. City.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id021'>
<img src='images/i251b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The Bridge of Sighs, which connects the Tombs<br />with the criminal court building.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch26' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>SHARKS AND SHYSTERS OF OUR CRIMINAL COURTS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Within recent years there seems to be a bad odor in all of
our Criminal Courts because of the sharp practices carried
out by the “shyster” and “harpies” of the law. Most of these
men, if they are not inferior in calibre to the other members
of the bar, are intemperate in their habits. And they
are severely criticised by friends and foes for their unjust
dealings toward their clients. It is true, the modern lawyer
is brought into fierce conflict with some of the sharpest
temptations of the times, and are frequently drawn into the
maelstrom from which they seek to extricate other men
less fortunate than themselves. Since William Travers
Jerome became District Attorney, he has sent more than a
score of lawyers to prison for various acts of dishonesty,
and some of them were men of prominence in the profession.</p>
<p class='c006'>In almost every walk of life, if professional men received
money for services which they promise to render and
then do nothing, they are liable to prosecution for false
pretenses. When lawyers treat their clients this way, they
have much harsh criticism hurled at them, and deservedly.</p>
<p class='c006'>It would be hard to estimate the number of persons who
are continually robbed of money and valuables by legal
sharks and shysters around the various courts of the city.
Although complaints are made from time to time against
these thieves, nothing is done to stop it. It is a well known
fact that many of the lawyers that hang around these courts
are of the poorest quality, and are often glad to get whatever
comes their way. At any rate, these harpies of the
law soon become adepts at “bleeding,” every victim that
falls into their hands, including the prisoner, his family and
friends.</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as a “shyster” secures a victim the first thing he
does is to find out how much money he has on him. Then
he demands a fee for his services which must be paid on
the spot. If the prisoner has no money but has a gold
watch, chain, ring or other jewelry it must be surrendered
and sent to the pawn shop and the money given to the
lawyer.</p>
<p class='c006'>But if the prisoner has neither money nor jewelry, then
he must give the names and addresses of his friends or relatives
who are requested to furnish money for his defense.
The shyster usually alarms the friends of the prisoner by
telling them it is a hard case and expressing the opinion
that he may be sent away for a long term of years. All
this is done to deceive and make sure of a large fee.</p>
<p class='c006'>In a great many cases the dishonest shyster intimates
that he has a “pull” with the Judge or the District Attorney,
to turn the prisoner on the street as soon as he gets a goodly
fee, which may be a hundred dollars or five hundred dollars;
not only do his promises to the prisoner prove to be
absolutely false, but as soon as the shyster has entirely
fleeced his victim he abandons the case, leaving the poor
defenceless prisoner to the mercy of some other legal shark
like himself.</p>
<p class='c006'>A shyster who practices at Jefferson Market secured
$75.00 from a prisoner on the strength of a promise to get
him out of prison in two days. After he received the money
he never came near him again. This is very common police
court ethics.</p>
<p class='c006'>When this same prisoner came to the Tombs he fell into
the hands of another legal shark, who on the strength of a
solemn promise to get him free within forty-eight hours,
or at the furthest in a few days, made him sign over $80
cash which he had in the savings bank. When this last
lawyer secured all his money he left him in the lurch like
shyster No. 1. I know all about this case and am of the
opinion that both of these lawyers should have been sent
to prison and the defendant set free.</p>
<p class='c006'>A man charged with murder and afterwards sent to the
death house was given a lawyer through a “steering policeman.”
The prisoner had just come out of the coroner’s
office when the cop informed him that a lawyer would be
sent to him by one of his friends, although he did not have
a friend in the country. In less than an hour a young East
Side “shyster” came to the Tombs, had him sign a paper
retaining him as his attorney, and in this way secured the
State’s allowance of five hundred dollars for the prisoner’s
defense. This was the man’s ruin. The policeman doubtless
shared the profits of iniquity with the lawyer when he
fastened him on his victim. When the case came to trial
the poor fellow was convicted by his own lawyer.</p>
<p class='c006'>A poor Sicilian named Antonio fell into the clutches of
a young Italian “shyster.” It was a homicide case, but the
prisoner was only guilty of assault or at most manslaughter
in the second degree. “For a hundred dollars,” said the
“shyster,” “I will get you clear.” Antonio paid the money—all
he had in the world. In a few weeks his lawyer
brought him to court and made him plead guilty to murder
in the second degree, so as to get rid of the case, and he
was then and there sentenced to imprisonment for life.
Then the lawyer disappeared. Such frauds ought to be
disbarred and also jailed.</p>
<p class='c006'>Another prisoner now in Sing Sing gave a hundred dollars
to a lawyer with an unsavory reputation who frequently
does business in Yorkville Court. The money was all
the man was able to raise among his friends, and it was
given with the full understanding that it would pay for his
examination in the police court and his trial in General Sessions.
That was the last the prisoner ever saw of that shyster.
The prisoner wrote to him a number of times, asking
him to fulfill his promise and defend him, but he paid no
attention to his letters. Finally the prisoner in his desperation
was compelled to ask a charity lawyer to defend him.
The shyster got his money and that was all he cared for.
If anybody else had swindled a man in such a manner he
would be sent to the penitentiary for a year, but lawyers
are allowed to rob people at will and nothing is done to
them.</p>
<p class='c006'>I personally knew the case of a German lad charged with
a very serious offence. A lawyer, now dead, called him
from his cell in the old Tombs to the counsel room and offered
to get him discharged for one hundred dollars. He informed
his married sisters (who were very poor) of the
offer made him. They in turn sold their wedding rings
and borrowed money to secure this lawyer his fee. Two
days after receiving the money he sent word to the sisters
that unless they raised $300 more he would not undertake
the case. Of course they could not, and as a result they
lost the $100 given this legal thief and had to secure a
charity lawyer. During the trial of the young man this
inhuman brute worked with the prosecution and did all he
could to send him to prison. Just then Mr. Louis Stuyvesant
Chanler, the poor man’s friend—God bless him for
the thousands of acts of kindness he has shown to friendless
prisoners—came to his rescue and aided the young man
greatly.</p>
<p class='c006'>We knew the case of a couple of Broadway lawyers who
swindled a so-called “Count” of $1,000 cash and then
abandoned him for some reason, which was manifestly
unfair no matter what excuse they had.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are hundreds of honest and upright lawyers in this
city who would loathe to do the mean and dishonorable
things done by the police court “shysters;” but there are
others who are doing mean and dishonest things all the
time, who bring disgrace to an honorable profession, but
few try to bring them to justice.</p>
<p class='c006'>Around all the district prisons and courts of the city may
be found an army of unworthy vultures that prey upon the
carcasses of the “down and out” unfortunates of all nationalities
who are compelled to seek justice in such places.
Not only do these “sharks” rob them of whatever they may
have on them, but they send their “steerers” to the homes
of the prisoners and compel them to pawn what they may
have of value in the house to give them as fees. And when
they have bled their victims almost to death they abandon
them to their fate.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is well known to the authorities of all the courts that
the disreputable lawyers who practice there have the cases
against their clients adjourned from week to week for no
other reason than to bleed them of all the money in their
possession. At one of the district prisons in the upper part
of the city a poor man was kept there two months by a
“shyster,” for the purpose of getting the last dollar out of
him. As soon as the Magistrate knew the facts he was
forthwith sent to the Tombs to await the action of the
grand jury.</p>
<p class='c006'>A Jefferson Market Police Court lawyer was severely
reprimanded in Special Sessions because he took a fee of
$20.00 from a poor girl and gave her no service in return.
He was afterwards compelled to return the money before
he was allowed to leave the court. And furthermore the
judges promised to have him disbarred for the wrong
done. But this man is only one out of hundreds that do
the same thing continually.</p>
<p class='c006'>A lawyer whom I personally knew, who was afterwards
made a judge, took a thousand dollar fee from a crook who
stole two thousand dollars from a woman, but refused to do
anything more for him till he gave the other thousand dollars.
This the crook refused to do. The result was he had
to fall back on friends to get him a charity lawyer to defend
him in General Sessions.</p>
<p class='c006'>Bold brazen shysters hang around the Courts of General
and Special Sessions, who, with the aid of “cunning” steerers,
probation officers and frequently with the help of policemen
are able to rob their clients of all they have in the
world, and render little or no service in return. The wonder
is that the judges do not combine to put such men out
of business.</p>
<p class='c006'>The city magistrates and judges of the criminal courts
have known the situation for several years, but apparently
refuse to do anything to stop the abuses. The evil at present
has assumed the proportion of a plague—crushing out
the very life of the poor unfortunates and their friends,
who are compelled to come to terms with the shyster.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some of our city magistrates go into spasms over the iniquities
of the professional bondsmen, but they do nothing
to put down the professional shyster and harpies who are allowed
to rob and ruin the unfortunates daily.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch27' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>CROOKED CROOKS IN PRISON</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>What brilliant minds are sometimes confined within prison
walls! And how they work and fret and stew from
morning till night and frequently from night till morning in
an effort to “beat the prison.” Such men soon put certain
kinds of machinery in operation which might aid their freedom,
but when the authorities find it out they clip their
wings, and their good conduct marks disappear.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago an old crook tried to get out of the old
Tombs by digging through the wall of his cell. After he had
made the “hole” he found to his surprise that it would
land him in the warden’s office. A man named Smith escaped
from Blackwell’s Island in the summer of 1905 by
swimming across the East River. He did not make the attempt
till he saw a schooner coming his way, then he pretended
that he had cramps and must be rescued. It would
fill a very large book to tell one-half of the crooked deeds
done in an ordinary prison in one year.</p>
<p class='c006'>In 1900 a young man was arrested in this city named
George E. Shep. In due time he was indicted for the
crime of grand larceny in the second degree, and sent to
Elmira.</p>
<p class='c006'>Dr. F. W. Robertson was then superintendent of that
institution, and was able after a few interviews to “size
up” his boarder. It could not be denied that Shep was a
young fellow of considerable ability, but all who knew him
believed that he needed “watching.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Dr. Robertson saw that he was an expert bookkeeper
and could handle both the pen and typewriter with amazing
agility. As he showed unusual brightness and precocity
he was made assistant bookkeeper in the Clothing Department
under Officer Weinberg. In the summer of 1901
Shep came to the conclusion that he had better abandon the
seclusive privileges of Elmira and seek “fresh fields and
pastures new” in some more congenial climate where the
restraints of prison life were not so oppressive and where
he would have room for the development and display of his
mental powers.</p>
<p class='c006'>When Shep found that he would be compelled to live in
the Reformatory longer than he thought necessary, he very
cautiously put out “feelers” to see if money could help him
to freedom. As we read over the ramifications of his correspondence
and follow the unraveling of his deeply laid
schemes, we are forced to believe that some person or persons
in the institution must have given him encouragement.
From this time on, Shep, who possessed the luxury of a
cool, calculating head, set himself to work by a well laid
scheme to secure his liberty.</p>
<p class='c006'>Shep must have had a fertile brain. Whether the information
was sent him or not we do not know, at any rate he
knew that there was a large corporation in Baltimore,
known as the Shep Knitting Mill Company. As he had access
to the Prison Printing Office he had letter heads struck
off with the name and address of the mill. After this he
wrote typewritten letters to the chairman of the Board of
Trade, of Spencer, Mass., offering to build a knitting mill
in that New England city, on which he proposed to spend
$14,000, provided the citizens would give a site and a bonus
of $2,500. The correspondence between Shep and Spencer
Board of Trade was voluminous.</p>
<p class='c006'>Shep had also written to a Philadelphia firm who promised
to furnish the machinery and he was able to have an
architect and a representative of the machinery firm meet
in Spencer and look over the site for the new mill—all of
which impressed the citizens of Spencer with the “realism”
of the scheme. By December, 1901, the Spencer Board of
Trade had raised the necessary bonus of $2,500 to send to
Shep, as soon as the details were arranged, but alas,
the whole project had no foundation whatever except in the
fertile brain of Shep, the Elmira convict!</p>
<p class='c006'>About this time Dr. Robertson, the superintendent, was
making herculean efforts to stop the importation of tobacco
into the Reformatory. Some person was smuggling the
contraband, and the authorities set themselves to find out
who it was. One of the first to be suspected was Officer Weinberg,
who was instructor in the tailoring department. One
evening after Weinberg had gone for the day, Dr. Robertson
and some of his associates raided Weinberg’s rooms
and captured some tobacco and many letters that came
through the mails addressed to Shep. The correspondence
between Shep and the Spencer Board of Trade showed
clearly that for months this convict had been “dickering”
to secure from them by fraud the sum of $2,500. During
all this time Shep’s mail had been clandestinely brought into
the Reformatory without the knowledge of the Superintendent
and in violation of the rules. Officer Weinberg was
at once suspected and a watch put upon his movements.
Weinberg’s letter box in the Elmira post office was also
watched by detectives, for mail addressed to Shep. On
January 2nd, 1902, a letter reached Elmira by the morning
mail addressed to George E. Shep, Esq., Elmira, N. Y. In
the afternoon Officer Weinberg came to the post office, looked
all around to see that no one was looking, secured the
letter from the clerk, put it carefully in his inside pocket and
departed. At that time, Dr. Robertson, the superintendent,
had a detective in the post office concealed from public
view, who saw all of Weinberg’s movements from the time
he came into the office till he carried the letter away. That
afternoon he reported the matter to Dr. Robertson, who
awaited further developments.</p>
<p class='c006'>Next morning at exactly six o’clock Officer Weinberg reported
at the Reformatory, as was his usual custom, signed
the register, and then went to breakfast. Afterwards Weinberg
was called into the front office, where he was closeted
with Dr. Robertson and several of the officers for two
hours; he was asked if he had been in the habit of carrying
tobacco and mail matter into the Reformatory against the
rules, all of which he denied. Then he was asked to surrender
the letter he had received the day before in the Elmira
post office addressed to Shep, which had the postmark
of Spencer, Mass., and which he had then in his pocket.
Weinberg finally broke down and surrendered the letter.
This letter was from the chairman of the Board of Trade of
Spencer, Mass., asking for final instructions as to how the
bonus money should be sent to Shep and closing the bargain
for the bogus knitting mill.</p>
<p class='c006'>While Weinberg was undergoing a rigid examination at
the Reformatory the police searched his rooms in Elmira
and found more letters and a suit of clothes belonging to
the Reformatory. He was then placed under arrest charged
with petit larceny. Further investigation revealed the fact
that no less than two hundred letters for Shep had been
brought into the Reformatory in the course of six months.
Some of the letters showed that Shep had secured a firm of
architects in Worcester, Massachusetts, to prepare plans for
the new $14,000 building and that Weinberg was to be general
manager. Arrangements were also made with a Machine
Company, of Philadelphia, to furnish the plant with
several thousand dollars worth of new machinery.</p>
<p class='c006'>About the same time a long article appeared in the Spencer
Herald, on the new Shep Knitting Mills, so soon to be
operated in that city, and congratulating the city fathers on
the success of their negotiations, and promising that the
city would build new sewers and some of their enterprising
citizens would erect a row of houses and possibly a street
for the mill hands.</p>
<p class='c006'>After several weeks of investigation the authorities came
to the conclusion that all that convict Shep wanted was the
money to bribe some of the Reformatory guards so as to
make good his escape. In working up his scheme, Shep
showed himself to be an expert forger, as he involved several
other persons in his plans by forging their names to his
papers, although they denied all knowledge of it. Great
credit is due to Dr. Robertson, who nipped the scheme just
in the nick of time and before the Spencer people had paid
over the money to the noted crook.</p>
<p class='c006'>Soon afterwards Shep was transferred to Auburn Prison
to serve out his maximum sentence of five years.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Bold Counterfeiters in Auburn Prison</h3>
<p class='c015'>A few years ago the authorities of Auburn Prison were
startled by the discovery that two of their convicts were
engaged in the work of counterfeiting, which is a crime
against the United States Government.</p>
<p class='c006'>The two prisoners who were caught red-handed were
Louis Julien and Adelbert Chapin. They are good mechanics
and know how to handle tools. The curse of our prison
system is that those who are sentenced to a term for hard
labor have only child’s play for work, hence it is that many
convicts find that time often hangs heavily on their hands.</p>
<p class='c006'>Julien and Chapin, the Auburn counterfeiters, were indicted
by the United States Grand Jury at Syracuse, in
June, 1904, but were left to fill out their unexpired sentence
before being put on trial for the crime of counterfeiting.</p>
<p class='c006'>On June 14th, 1905, Julien and Chapin, after they had
finished their imprisonment in Auburn, were placed on trial
in the United States District Court for the crime of counterfeiting
while in prison. As both were caught “red-handed,”
or as they say “dead to rights,” and with the goods on them,
they, on advice of counsel, pleaded guilty and were sentenced,
Chapin to two years in Clinton Prison, and Julien
to one year in the same place.</p>
<p class='c006'>It may be of interest to know that these convicts worked
in the same shop in Auburn. Their benches joined each
other. In their idle moments they conceived the idea of
coining money. It was not difficult to carry out this plan, even
under the eyes of the prison guards. They succeeded in
making a mould for silver dollars and one for nickels; one
of the two men was engaged in work that required the use
of molten metal. At the proper time Chapin had the moulds
all ready and Julien at intervals would carry over the metal
in ladles and fill the moulds, until they had made several
hundred dollars worth of money, the guard supposing all
the time that they were doing their regular prison work.
The counterfeit money is said to have been well made and
before long much of it placed in circulation.</p>
<p class='c006'>Two female friends of the convicts came at intervals to
visit them during each month and carried away pockets
full of the spurious coin and exchanged the same for commodities,
which they sent to Julien and Chapin. When one
of the women was arrested for passing bad money she confessed
everything and then a watch was put upon the men
in prison, who were afterwards caught “red-handed.” The
astonishing thing is not how they made counterfeit money,
before the eyes of the keepers and guards, but how they
were able to carry pockets full of the “stuff” to the women
in the waiting room.</p>
<p class='c006'>This is not the first time, however, that counterfeit money
was made in a prison. A few years ago a full set of dies,
moulds, etc., were discovered accidentally by secret service
officers of the Government in the Eastern Prison of Pennsylvania,
near Philadelphia.</p>
<p class='c006'>This was one of the biggest finds ever discovered in a
prison and it made a sensation at the time.</p>
<p class='c006'>Four “cons” were involved in that crime, Hoffman,
Smith, Hall and Ashton. Before they had served their time
they were indicted and afterwards put on trial in Philadelphia
for counterfeiting. Smith and Ashton pleaded guilty
and received a suspended sentence and have been living
straight ever since. Hoffman and Hall were released on
their own recognizance, but having broken their promise
to keep out of crime, were re-arrested and are now serving
time for the crime of counterfeiting.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch28' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVIII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>SCENES DURING VISITING HOURS IN THE TOMBS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>The Tombs Prison is in the nature of a detention
barracks, where persons awaiting trial are kept for a
season, and where one-half are discharged for lack of evidence
and other legal loopholes through which men and
women slip to freedom. Here prisoners are permitted to
see their friends every day of the week, except Sundays and
legal holidays. At the present time when the Tombs contains
about 400-500 state and federal prisoners, it can be
readily seen that one-half of the inmates are visited daily,
which would average a thousand visitors a week.</p>
<p class='c006'>What a Babel of tongues operate here from every part of
the world! What scenes may be witnessed during the visiting
hours! Here may be found wives and mothers, fathers,
brothers, children and friends all in tears!</p>
<p class='c006'>Sometimes as many as eight to ten different nationalities
are found speaking their own peculiar language on one
tier of forty prisoners,—English, German, French, Spanish,
Russ, Bohemian, Scandinavian, Polish and even Chinese.</p>
<p class='c006'>With their arms stretched out through the bars, taking
hold of each other in the anguish of a death bed scene, they
kiss each other, weep and groan over one another and frequently
become hysterical. And these scenes continue during
the entire visiting hour, and when the gong rings for
the recess, they are so loath to depart that often the keepers
have to drag them from each other. As the wives,
mothers, children and friends pass along the corridors toward
the gate, you can see their eyes still full of tears and
red with weeping.</p>
<p class='c006'>These scenes, which are unspeakably pathetic, are almost
daily witnessed in the New York Tombs. Here, for example,
is an aged mother at a cell door, whose heart is wrung
with anguish over the downfall of a son. She holds his
hand while the tears trickle down her kindly, motherly face.
Oh, how sad that the innocent have to suffer because of the
wrong doing of others, that human love and sympathy are
so interwoven that the crime of one individual causes many
to sorrow, and renders life burdensome! At the cell of a
man charged with murder stands his sorrowing wife and
three children. Their plain and faded garments indicate
poverty. The pinched and careworn face of the wife tells
of the terrible struggle for a livelihood she is making because
deprived of her husband’s help. The chances are
that both she and her children will become inmates of the
almshouse or some charitable institution. The prisoner
apparently fully realizes the gravity of his position and
seeks to comfort his wife and caress into cheerfulness his
unfortunate children. The evidence against the prisoner,
however, is so positive and convincing that he will be electrocuted.
He realizes this but conceals from his wife his
feelings, and assures her that he will be acquitted. She
becomes hopeful and with a kiss and a smile on her tearful
face, departs. Picture if you can the scene in the home of
this murderer when the news of his conviction is received,
the wringing of hands, the moans of anguish, the appeals
to God, and the frenzied outcry of inconsolable grief! The
innocent suffering because of the guilt of another. Home
broken up, mother and children separated, the looks
askance of the neighbors, the world’s frown, and a heritage
of shame and woe for mother and children!</p>
<p class='c006'>At another cell door stands a father silently weeping,
while the guilty son tries to comfort him with asservations
of innocence, but the father does not believe him; he knows
his boy is guilty; he knows that for years he has been dishonest
and intemperate, and has at last reached the end of
his wayward career. The father reminds the son of the
earnest warnings, the wise advice, the prayers and the tears
of his dear mother. The son pleads for forgiveness and renewed
efforts in his behalf. The father gently, lovingly, yet
firmly says, “My son, you are guilty. My respect for the
law is so powerful that I must uphold it, though it means
the imprisonment of my only son. Had this been your only
offence to my knowledge, I would do my utmost to secure
your release. I have shielded you several times to my sorrow.
Had you been imprisoned for your first offence, you
would not perhaps be where you are to-day; you might
have reformed and been a great comfort to your good
mother and myself.” To some extent this father was right,
even if he did take a stand contrary to that taken by most
men whose sons have violated the law. I do not believe in
sending any man to prison who demonstrates his fitness for
freedom. If prisons reclaimed and uplifted men and
women I would say otherwise, but they do not. I believe
that seventy-five out of every hundred leave prison worse
than when they entered.</p>
<p class='c006'>One day my attention was called to a young woman who
was silently weeping by a cell door. She was richly attired,
and very much of a lady in appearance, and could not be
more than twenty years of age. I became interested and
on inquiring learned that she was a bride of only a few
weeks. She had been wooed and won by a handsome, talented,
clever rascal under false pretensions. He had spent
a number of months in a Massachusetts town, where his
faithful attendance at church and earnest prayers and eloquent
exhortations had gained him the confidence of the
leading people of the place. At a sociable he had formed
the young lady’s acquaintance and by his ingratiating ways,
scholarly address and earnest protestations of affection,
soon induced her to consent to marry him. Her parents at
first stoutly protested, but yielded to the importunities of
the much loved daughter. A brilliant wedding was the result,
with guests from New York and all parts of New England.
To the bride the father gave $10,000 as a wedding
gift. A trip to Montreal, where the wily rascal obtained
control of the money, terminated her dream of a happy
married life. In three days he had gambled away the entire
sum. To New York city they then journeyed, where at
one of the leading hotels the rascal passed a worthless
check, which led to his apprehension and confinement in
the Tombs to await the action of the grand jury. Earnest
petitions to the bride’s father were stubbornly and wisely
denied. A careful investigation established the fact that
the rascal who had so cruelly and unpardonably deceived
the estimable young lady, had been an inmate of four prisons,
and was one of the most notorious criminals in the
country. It furthermore became known that at the time he
was in Massachusetts, he was wanted in St. Louis for defrauding
an Insurance Company to the extent of five thousand
dollars. He was hiding in a quiet Massachusetts town
and improved the time in winning for a bride the daughter
of one of the most influential and aristocratic families in
old New England. He was sent to Sing Sing Prison for
several years, and the wife well nigh brokenhearted and
bowed to the dust in humiliation, returned to her parents a
sadder and a wiser woman. A divorce was the result.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have seen mothers and wives kneeling at cell doors and
pleading with God for the deliverance and reclamation of
sons and husbands. I have seen prisoners so conscience
stricken and so moved by the tears and sufferings of dear
ones, that they wept in their agony and firmly resolved to
lead moral lives, and they kept the resolve.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have said nothing about the poor and their sufferings,
and more especially the children of the poor when for some
unknown reason they came within the meshes of the law.
Some years ago I had occasion to meet a German lad in the
Boys’ Prison. He was what the boys call a “tenderfoot.”
He cried night and day. I felt very sorry for him. He was
indeed inconsolable and it seemed nothing could be said
which would make him dry his tears or infuse new hope into
his discouraged heart. He cried continually for his
mother and although word was sent to her, no mother came.
His sufferings became so acute that I would have done anything
in my power for the boy. After waiting ten days and
no mother came, at the urgent request of one of the keepers
I went in search for her. She lived on the East side,
near Station Street, about five blocks from the Bowery. She
was bloated, coarse, unmotherly, without any natural affection,
and I saw at once that she cared more for her vile
business than her own child. I could do nothing with her.</p>
<p class='c006'>I do not think I shall ever forget the case of the newsboy,
who was arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge entrance for selling
papers. Complaints had been made to the police of
some ruffian boys who took pleasure in insulting people
who would not buy papers. The officers had received orders
to arrest the first offender and make him an example.
Frank Smith was then at the desk in the old prison. He
had just taken a boy to the ten day house, and asked me to
go and see him. I did so. I found the poor boy inside the
big iron gate crying his life out. No one could comfort him.
I tried to find out his offence, but he would not stop his crying
long enough to tell me. I went over to the police court,
but as there was a large calendar that day, I could get no
information. I returned to the Tombs. As I came near the
boy I found that his two little sisters had come to see him.
They had heard of his misfortune and had sought him out
as soon as possible. It was one of the most pathetic sights
that I ever witnessed. The boy lived with his mother and
sisters on East Broadway. They were Jews and very poor.
The mother was ill at home, suffering from an incurable
disease, and was then on her death bed. Reuben, the diminutive
newsboy, was trying to support the family by selling
papers. The sentence of the court was thirty days in
the city prison or a hundred dollars bond. But this was out
of question for the family. When I returned from court I
found the two sisters crying bitterly at the gate and begging
Rubie to come home. Their cry was, “O Rubie, come
home, won’t you? Mamma is sick and ready to die. Won’t
you come home with us, Rubie?” All this time they were
weeping bitterly and everybody was affected, even the
tiermen. I could not stand it any longer. I saw the magistrate
at once and told him the situation. He would not discharge
him under any circumstances. When I saw that I
could make no further impression I offered myself as Rubie’s
bondsman, and the Judge accepted me and the boy
was at once discharged and went home with his sisters. I
saw one of the Bridge policemen and asked that Rubie be
not arrested on account of his poverty and the fact that he
had a dying mother at home, and he kindly spoke to the
others at the Bridge and Rubie was never molested after
that day.</p>
<p class='c006'>The scene which had the most powerful effect on me
and which has stayed by me the longest, moving me to tears
even to this day, was the beholding two little girls, sisters,
conversing with their brother who was accused of burglary.
The oldest sister was about thirteen years of age, the youngest
about three. All were crying bitterly, with the little one
sobbing out, “Oh brother Willie, come home, please come
home, we have had nothing to eat all day, and we had no
supper last night. Why don’t the naughty man (the keeper)
let you come home?”</p>
<p class='c006'>What were the facts about this little sorrowing group?
Three orphans, the boy about nineteen had cared for his
sisters faithfully and tenderly. His record was good, had
been employed by one firm for more than nine years, and
had given general satisfaction. One evening while passing
along Second Avenue, a thief rushed by pursued by a policeman;
as he passed Daly (so we will call him) he thrust
into his pocket a gold watch and chain, which the policeman
observed. Daly was arrested as a confederate of the thief
and turned over to the police. After learning these facts
and fully verifying them, I succeeded in securing the release
of the prisoner, who to-day is one of the best and most prosperous
carpenters in the city. The pathetic face of the baby
sister I have never forgotten, nor her innocent pleading for
the return home of her dearly and deservedly loved brother.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have stood opposite “Murderers’ Row” and counted
more than twenty-five visitors eagerly talking with men
whose brutal appearance and awful crimes rendered them
repulsive even to their fellow men. Some of these twenty-five
visitors did not even so much as know the prisoners,
and had merely read of their crimes in the papers and
prompted by curiosity, and a mawkish sentimentality, had
called to express sympathy and tender their help. Some of
the visitors were richly gowned and daintily gloved men
and women. They brought hampers of food and large bouquets.
One would think that these murderers were heroes
and martyrs, from the treatment accorded them by these
women whose conduct seemed to me almost inexplicable.
The man whose crime was most awful and grewsome in its
details received the most attention. What is there about a
murderer to attract refined women I cannot understand, and
I have given the subject considerable thought. To see a
cultured woman almost caressing a brutal murderer who is
an entire stranger to her is a sight sufficient to cause any
sane man to wonder. It seemed to me it would be more
consistent if they called on the family of the victim and offered
them help and sympathy.</p>
<p class='c006'>To the student of human nature, visiting hours at the
Tombs afford a good opportunity to study phases of life not
found elsewhere. Let him pass from cell to cell, carefully
observing the visitors at each, the expression of their features,
their gestures, their attitudes. On some faces sits
hope, radiant, beautiful and very encouraging to the prisoner.
On another face the stamp of fear, doubt and uncertainty
is clear. The son or husband is in danger. The evidence
points to guilt and conviction, too much indeed to encourage
even the shadow of hope. Another face bears sorrow
and tears, and discouragement has left its unmistakable
impress. One finds on few faces the stamp of resignation.
Hard it is for a mother or a wife to become reconciled to
the thought of a son or a husband, serving a term in prison,
however guilty he may be.</p>
<p class='c006'>Negro criminals have the most cheerful and encouraging
visitors. The Black race is blessed with a disposition to
view the bright side of all situations and experiences. It is
a cheerful race. The Negro is a foe to gloomy thoughts.
It is hard to depress him. He will dance, sing and make
merry at the foot of the gallows. The Negro visitors enter
smiling and so depart. They talk with prisoners just as
though they were free and comfortably ensconced in pleasant
homes. They cheer instead of depressing the prisoner.</p>
<p class='c006'>The Italians are really distressing in their efforts to comfort
friends in prison. They jabber, whine, cry, caress
and condemn and reproach until they have the prisoner in
a state bordering on insanity. They leave him in a condition
truly pitiful. Instead of cheering him, he has been rendered
far more miserable by his visitors. He dreams of
electric chairs, prisons, policemen and handcuffs. The
bananas his visitors bring he could well do without, as he
could the visits of friends who so greatly depress him.</p>
<p class='c006'>Fritz appears and says to Hans, “I think you go by the
prison alretty, ain’t it?” “Naw, I thinks I go by the shudge
bimeby, pretty quick, and he lets me go home to mine
Louisa. I am not guilty alretty,” responds the hopeful
Hans. German visitors as a general thing conduct themselves
sensibly. They are not emotional, but hardheaded
and sensible. They smoke with the prisoner, laugh and
joke, and leave him in a cheerful frame of mind. The German
is sociable and not easily rendered gloomy or depressed.
The German visitors try to imbue prisoners with the
idea that their trouble will soon end, and in a few days they
will be sitting in Hoffmans’ beer garden with a glass of
lager, and a plate of sauerkraut before them. So believing,
the prisoner lies down to pleasant dreams.</p>
<p class='c006'>The privilege of seeing and conversing with friends, all
things considered, is a great boon to prisoners and should
never be denied them, especially those awaiting trial. Many
a man naturally inclined to take a dark view of his trouble
has been kept sane and sound from self-murder by the daily
appearance of some loved one. The human heart when filled
with fear and foreboding yearns for sympathy, encouragement
and comfort. If these influences be withheld, the
sufferings are so terrible as to pass human understanding.
To an imprisoned man who is friendless, the coming of
sympathy and kindly helpful interest is like a visit from
God’s Holy Angels.</p>
<p class='c006'>No wonder the prisoner cries out in the night in the
agony of soul. No wonder he offers a plaint that is sad and
sorrowful. The following lines from the pen of an unfortunate
show the harshness of even our modern prison life:</p>
<div class='lg-container-b c016'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>“I know not whether the law be right,</div>
<div class='line in2'>Or whether the law be wrong;</div>
<div class='line'>All that we know who lie in jail</div>
<div class='line in2'>Is that the bars are strong;</div>
<div class='line'>And that each day is like a year—</div>
<div class='line in2'>A year whose days are wrong!</div>
</div>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>And this I know that every law,</div>
<div class='line in2'>That men have made for man,</div>
<div class='line'>Since man first took his brother’s life,</div>
<div class='line in2'>And the wretched world began,</div>
<div class='line'>But scatters the wheat and saves the chaff</div>
<div class='line in2'>With a most unlucky fan!</div>
</div>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>This too I know and wise it were</div>
<div class='line in2'>If each could know the same</div>
<div class='line'>That every prison that men have built,</div>
<div class='line in2'>Is built of bricks of shame,</div>
<div class='line'>And bound with bars lest Christ should see</div>
<div class='line in2'>How men their brothers maim.”</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch29' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIX<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>DOES IMPRISONMENT REFORM?</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>This is a hard question to answer, although it has been
asked extensively down through the ages. The answer
will turn mainly on what you mean by reform. It is interesting
to know that students of criminology have wrestled
with the question, but cannot agree on the answer. As
an abstract question it is very clear to us that imprisonment
of itself cannot reform. Force cannot change a life,
nor restore the image of God in the soul. When a lawbreaker
is placed inside the walls of a prison, force uses
the machinery of the institution to compel him to pay the
penalty of the law. But it cannot reform him, nor make
him a better man, nor change his nature. That work must
be done by a higher Power.</p>
<p class='c006'>Not only can it be truthfully said that imprisonment
does not reform the law-breaker, but in most of our prisons
the culprit has only to serve a brief sentence, to come
out a worse man than when he went in. This is a sad
statement to make, when we think of all our boasted liberties
and advanced civilization, but it is nevertheless true.
For the explanation of this condition of affairs it is not
necessary to look far. The fact is, the unfortunate lack of
proper classification in all of our prisons makes the companionship
of thieves and cutthroats so demoralizing, the
fellowship so infectious, the language and habits so debasing,
that out of thousands of persons who mingle together
in a modern prison, few escape the contaminating influences.</p>
<p class='c006'>When a man has been charged with a crime, the first
thing that is done by society is to arrest him and lock him
up in a little dark dungeon, 4x6 feet, with hardly enough
cubic space of air coming in through the small iron grating
to make it sanitary. Here he is kept weeks and sometimes
months before a trial is given him, breathing the fetid atmosphere
of the institution, which after a time poisons his
entire system, and paints his face with the prison pallor.</p>
<p class='c006'>Here it is that many a man who has brooded over the
past to such an extent that when he has atoned for his
crime, and he finds himself a free man once more, has
made up his mind to fight society to a finish! From this
time on his hand is against every man, and every man is
against him. The imprisonment has aroused in him the
darkest passions of an unregenerate life, and made him a
moral anarchist for the fancied wrongs he has suffered.
Said a man to me who had spent nearly twenty-four years
in prison, having been convicted of crime eight or ten
different times, when I asked him why he did not go to
work when he came out of Caldwell Prison, N. J., “Me
work! I will never work. When I was sent to prison for
the first time, I received a good deal of harsh treatment.
I then vowed vengeance for the wrongs done me. No! I
will steal as long as I live, but I will never work.” Whenever
I touched on prison life, the subject awoke bitterness
in his soul, and for the time being he spoke like a maniac.
The fact is, over fifty per cent. of all first offenders come
from our penal institutions, and after a brief period return
to crime again, unreformed and uncured.</p>
<p class='c006'>The prison authorities should always bear in mind that
no matter how deep-dyed in crime the inmates may be,
they are moral beings, made in the image of God, and
are therefore worth saving, and may be saved if the proper
methods and influences are brought to bear the right
way on their minds and lives. While there is life there
is hope.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is true, the men in prison, no matter how intelligent,
have little influence over the authorities in bringing about
needed reforms. They are regarded as having no right
to complain, nor even to ask for favors. If they are
to receive favors, others must speak in their behalf.
Even the suggestions of criminals are usually ignored
by the prison authorities, as they are supposed to be
moved by sentiment, or often by mercenary reasons.</p>
<p class='c006'>In dealing with crime, it should be the settled policy
of the State to use every means possible, although sometimes
expensive, to bring about the reformation of the
prisoner. It is a well known fact that when a thief is
sent to prison, absolutely nothing is done to teach him
the why and wherefore of the Eighth Commandment,
“Thou shalt not steal.” Out of 168 hours in seven days,
one, or possibly two, hours are devoted to religious training.
If the thief, the perjurer, the gambler, the swindler
and others of that ilk are to be reformed, why not use
means for the accomplishment? Why not have moral
and ethical teaching, or addresses of some kind daily?
Every one saved from a life of wrongdoing will necessarily
reduce the cost of crime!</p>
<p class='c006'>Although all cruel and inhuman methods of punishment
are forbidden in nearly all of our prisons, and the
punishment for crimes that is meted out to criminals was
never so free from malice and revenge as it is to-day, yet
we are free to say that as far as prison reform is concerned,
we have not yet reached the ideal.</p>
<p class='c006'>Capital punishment as it is practised at the present
time is in our opinion simply a relic of barbarous times.
No one on this planet is authorized to take away life.
God gave it, and He is the only One that can take it
away. And no matter what kind of punishment may be
meted out to the homicide, the worst and most foolish
thing that can be done to him is to put him to death. It matters
little what a man’s crime is, if he is to be reformed, he
should have a future hope held out to him, and he should
realize it, provided he can show by his life that he is
worthy of it.</p>
<p class='c006'>While it is true civilization has been in the forward
march the past three hundred years, crime has been slowly
and perceptibly on the increase; that is to say, crime
has been growing faster than the population. The fact
that so many jails and reformatories are being
erected in all the States and Territories is evidence
enough to substantiate that statement. Statistics
show that the growth of population in this country
has maintained a steady increase since 1850,
with an average perhaps of about thirty per cent.
each decade, while the criminal increase during these
same periods will average eighty per cent., or nearly
three times as large as the increase in population.</p>
<p class='c006'>In former years the methods in vogue for reforming
men and women behind the bars were the stocks, the
dark cell or dungeon, the whipping-post and the tread-mill,
nearly all of which have been abolished during the
past century, and more humane methods have been used,
we are glad to say, which is a cause for rejoicing among
Christian people everywhere.</p>
<p class='c006'>Perhaps one of the greatest needs of the prisons of
this country is their complete divorce from politics and
their reorganization on business principles of merit and
capability. While it is true that the civil service law,
which operates in nearly every State, has raised the standard
of merit among the prison officiary, notwithstanding
inferior men, entirely unfitted for such work, creep into
these institutions as a reward for political services.</p>
<p class='c006'>But it is also true that the prisons of the twentieth
century are as far advanced from those of the middle
ages as those of the middle ages are ahead of the prisons
that existed at the beginning of the Christian era. In those
days jails were little better than hog pens, perhaps much
like the old cistern into which they thrust Jeremiah the
prophet, when they let him down with cords, and where
his feet sank in the mire. Such prisons were places of
pestilential horror, cold and damp, from which the sunlight
was entirely excluded, and where the chains often
rusted on the hands and feet of the prisoners.</p>
<p class='c006'>The evolution of the prison has been a long, dark,
cruel process, as it did not excite the interest and sympathy
of the church till within recent times. It is admitted
now that prison reform began with Jesus Christ,
who, when He had conquered death and hell on the
Cross, went up to glory with the blood-washed soul of
a repentant prisoner in His arms, leading captivity captive.
From this time on, the era of seeking to save and
help the prisoner began. But it did not make the advances
it should have made till the days of John Howard,
who is called the morning star of prison reform.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is greatly to be regretted that no efforts are put forth
to raise the moral tone of our prison management. In
Great Britain and the Continent of Europe, there are
schools for the proper training of prison officials. In
these schools are taught the military spirit, alertness,
courteous behavior, and quick movements in case of
emergency. But it is doubtful if in any of the schools
they teach the officers to appeal to the better nature of the
prisoners for any permanent reform. The work of a modern
prison is largely one of punishment and repression.
There are no lectures on hygiene and sanitation, nor on
manliness or how to resist temptations, nor is anything
done to incite them to live a new life, except what comes
through the Chaplain, and that only once a week.</p>
<p class='c006'>In studying the early stages of lawlessness from the
rudest times to the present day, I am satisfied that crime
grows on the mind by insensible degrees, and shows itself
only at the propitious time when the overt act brings
the individual into prominence.</p>
<p class='c006'>I also believe that a certain class of delinquents are
made more vicious by prison life, simply, because their
moral instincts are already perverted, and by the lives
they have led in the past. Such hopeless people should
be sent to lunatic asylums, rather than to prisons, as we
believe they are more in need of medical treatment than
punishment.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the most needed reforms of the present century
is the necessity of putting forth more efforts to save beginners
in crime. In many of our prisons, criminals are
huddled together like sheep, and as a result the young
offender learns more evil in one week from old crooks
than ever he knew before. There is nobody to blame
for this but the old methods that are still in vogue.
Often criminals are driven to crime by motives generated
in a vicious nature, and as they are too weak to
resist the high pressure of modern temptations, they soon
become law-breakers. It is foolish to talk of the criminal
classes, but criminal individuals. Criminality is simply
the darkened side of a human life, showing itself in
deeds of wickedness and rebellion. Anybody under the
dominion and power of the Evil One will dare to commit
the most atrocious crime on record, and will not
think of the consequences at the time.</p>
<p class='c006'>I am satisfied that the reclamation of the criminal,
and his restoration to society, a saved man, should be
the first duty of every well organized prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is to be regretted that the greatest barrier in the
way of reforming and saving the prisoner is found in our
antiquated methods of dealing with him. Whatever else
imprisonment is to-day, it certainly does not reform the
unfortunates who are sent there. Hundreds and thousands
of lives have been blasted forever by prison life,
that might have been saved if proper efforts had been
made at the right time to place them on parole before being
sent to prison. All first offenders should get a chance
by being paroled.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch30' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXX<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>STRONG DRINK AND CRIME</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>From actual observation as a Prison Chaplain, and a
careful study of this subject extending over several years,
together with repeated interrogations and conversations
with thousands of prison inmates, committed thereto for
every crime on the calendar; and, further, from personal
inquiry among experienced prison officials in various
parts of the country, I say frankly without any hesitation
or equivocation that strong drink is the most prolific
cause of crime in the United States. I further affirm that
after thousands of personal conversations with men and
women charged with murder, robbery, assault and every
form of larceny, and from interviews with criminal judges
and magistrates, I firmly believe that from seventy to
eighty per cent. of all the crimes of the day can be traced
directly or indirectly to strong drink. I have said more
than once in public addresses, in the past twelve years,
that if the saloons of this city were outlawed for two
years, the prisons of Greater New York would be almost
tenantless.</p>
<p class='c006'>I believe the only way to reduce crime is to stop the manufacture
and sale of intoxicating liquors, which in the
end will close the gin-mills that swarm our cities and villages,
and which are the real generators of crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>We deeply regret that many of our well meaning people
are poorly informed on this question. They look with
longing eyes for help from our State and National political
partisans for the overthrow of this traffic, but these fond
idols of the people care nothing whatever for moral reforms.
They are in politics only for what they can make
out of it, and not for the reformation of the people, and
are indulgent toward the saloon vote.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some time ago, a New York paper gave a list of persons
who were confined in the City Prison charged with
the crime of homicide. In this list the names of thirty
men, two women and a boy were given. They were then
awaiting trial for murder. All of them have since been
tried, with the result that several have been sent to the
death house at Sing Sing, a large number to prison for
long and short terms, and a few discharged for
lack of evidence. In an analysis which we personally
made at that time we counted twenty-five persons who admitted
that they were under the influence of strong drink
when they committed the crime of murder.</p>
<p class='c006'>At that time, Dr. Robert S. Newton, a New York physician
and specialist in mental disorders, presented a
carefully prepared paper on the causes that led to murder
in each case, but, strange to say, he does not mention
strong drink, although that was the principal direct cause
of twenty-five out of the thirty-three cases. Dr. Newton
never met any of these persons mentioned in this article,
charged with the crime of murder, nor had he any conversation
with them before or after their imprisonment,
but simply from the standpoint of an alienist, he presents
a speculative analysis of what he considered the causes
that led to their crimes.</p>
<p class='c006'>I met all of these people face to face, conversed with
them, and watched their trials in the Criminal Courts till
finally disposed of. Most of them made voluntary statements
in relation to their crime, and I was painfully struck
with almost the identical words from the lips of each, and
all of these men, who closed the narrative by saying: “I
was drunk at the time, and did not know what I was doing.”
They did not say this for the purpose of securing
sympathy, or apologizing for their crime, but simply admitted
that strong drink made them half-insane, and in
that state they committed the crime of murder.</p>
<p class='c006'>With only the names of the actors and victims before
him, and a brief statement of each crime given by a New
York paper, Dr. Newton proceeds to give reasons for the
homicides in detail. This is what he says by way of explanation:</p>
<p class='c006'>“New York is one of the hardest places in the world in
which to analyze crime. One of the chief motives of crime
is the publicity given to it. It allows every criminal to
keep thoroughly posted as to what is done with his own
class, what is the character of the punishment, and the
number accused who escape punishment. The relations
between the criminals and the police are well known. The
police certainly have no deterrent effect upon the criminal,
for there are numerous cases in which they acted as
intermediaries.” And further he says: “I believe that
this great wave of crime which has suddenly come upon
New York within the last few months is due solely to the
opportunities which the evil-disposed, but not yet criminal,
have of mixing with this dangerous element. In foreign
countries crime is restricted, and the criminal readily
found, for the reason that he is compelled to associate
with people of his own class, and the only public places
he goes to are known as thieves’ dens. In no city in the
world but New York are men whose pictures are in the
Rogues’ Gallery and known to every police official, allowed
to enter reputable hotels, restaurants, theatres, etc. There
is not only less crime in the large continental cities than
here, but crime is surely punished. When the reputable
citizen is robbed or assaulted, he knows or suspects where
the criminal came from, but here criminals go everywhere,
and the person has really no protection from them.”</p>
<p class='c006'>In regard to suicides, the Medical News says:</p>
<p class='c006'>“New York City is not the worst of the cities of the
United States in the matter of its suicide statistics. By
actual comparison it is only fifth on the list, St. Louis having
the unenviable distinction of being first in this regard.
It is a curious reflection that St. Louis, with its German
population and the reputation the city has acquired for
the manufacture, if not the consumption, of a large amount
of high-grade beer, should occupy the same place in suicide
statistics that was held for a long time by Munich, in
Bavaria, which enjoys the distinction of supremacy in
the same line of business.”</p>
<p class='c006'>In General Bingham’s report for 1907, it is recorded that
the New York police arrested 204,119 for the year. Out
of this number no less than 92,045 persons were arrested
for intoxication, disorderly conduct, and the violation of
the Liquor Tax Law. As can be readily seen, all of these
arrests were the direct result of the licensed saloon. In
other words, if there were no saloons or intoxicants in this
city, more than 92,000 persons would have been immune
from arrest and imprisonment. These facts speak for
themselves, and need not the impassioned eloquence of
the orator to make them clear.</p>
<p class='c006'>In his report for 1908, the Commissioner omits all mention
of the arrests for intoxication and disorderly conduct,
but places these offences under the head of misdemeanors.
This was done, no doubt, to ease the consciences of the
rum and beer interests, who do not want to see in cold
type the number of persons who are daily ruined by this
damnable business.</p>
<p class='c006'>Last year there were 244,000 arrests in Greater New
York. Judging from the figures of other years, one half
must be laid at the door of the saloon.</p>
<p class='c006'>The following table, which we received from the State
Department of Excise, shows the number of liquor tax
certificates in force, and the money received therefor.
This table covers what are known as the five boroughs of
Greater New York:</p>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c005'>
<div>LIQUOR TAX CERTIFICATES AND MONEY RECEIVED.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table2' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='42%' />
<col width='25%' />
<col width='31%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<th class='c022'><br /><i>Boroughs</i></th>
<th class='c023'><i>No. Ctfs. in Force.</i></th>
<th class='c013'><i>Money Received.</i></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Manhattan and the Bronx</td>
<td class='c023'>7,015</td>
<td class='c013'>$7,876,561 09</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Brooklyn</td>
<td class='c023'>3,836</td>
<td class='c013'>3,632,191 91</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Queens</td>
<td class='c023'>1,344</td>
<td class='c013'>513,095 65</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Richmond</td>
<td class='c023'>479</td>
<td class='c013'>181,523 75</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'> </td>
<td class='c023'>─────</td>
<td class='c013'>──────────</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Total</td>
<td class='c023'>12,674</td>
<td class='c013'>$12,203,372 40</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class='c001'>From these figures it will be seen that the license tax
paid the State for the privilege of selling rum, which
damns our fellow men, amounted in 1907 to $12,203,372.40.</p>
<p class='c006'>In an article of mine which appeared in Harper’s
Weekly for March, 1907, I computed the cost of crime in
Greater New York, in a tabulated statement, at $35,552,134.34,
which is about a third of the entire expense appropriated
by the Board of Apportionment for running the city
for the year.</p>
<p class='c006'>It ought to be known that the churches, chapels and mission
halls of Greater New York, of all denominations, Protestant,
Catholic and Jewish, number 1,200. The number
of licensed saloons, on the other hand, in these boroughs,
is 12,674. That is to say, the Devil has more than
ten saloons in Greater New York for every church. This
is a sad reflection on our Christian civilization. But it is
true.</p>
<p class='c006'>The cost of the congregational and charitable work of
the 1,200 churches and chapels of Greater New York is
not more than $8,000,000 a year—possibly less.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the gross receipts of the 12,674 New York gin mills
are not far from $250,000,000 a year!</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch31' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE ANGELS OF THE TOMBS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>To a score at least of ladies of every nationality, creed
and culture was the term Tombs Angel given the past
seventy years. But out of this number only two ladies by
their good deeds had obtained a distinct and permanent
claim to the title. These were Mrs. Ernestine Schaffner
and Mrs. John A. Foster. The first of these ladies was a
native of Hesse-Cassel, Germany. She began her labors
in the city prison more than thirty years ago, and became
noted for her generous and valorous deeds. Being a widow
and in good circumstances, she was able to contribute time
and money to aid the unfortunate, so that her services were
in great demand. As she was the owner of some real estate
in this county, she was able to furnish bonds to hundreds
of prisoners, many of whom after they had secured
their liberty skipped the country.</p>
<p class='c006'>To facilitate matters in her chosen work, Mrs. Schaffner
opened a law office on Centre street, where friends and relatives
of prisoners could call and consult her on all legal
matters, without money or price. On many occasions,
the late Recorder Smyth, for the sake of protecting her
from lying crooks, refused to take her on a bail bond.
Although her work was entirely of a humanitarian character,
she helped all persons without regard to creed, race
or nationality. It might be interesting to know that the
first case that attracted Mrs. Schaffner’s attention to prison
work was the attempted suicide in the East River of a
young German. After he was fished out of the water, he
was committed to the Tombs Prison, where Mrs. Schaffner
sought him out, took a deep interest in his case, greatly
encouraged him, went on his bail bond, furnished him with
a lawyer, and finaly secured his discharge. Mrs. Schaffner
was a very charitable lady, and did many acts of kindness
from time to time, for the inmates of the Tombs.</p>
<p class='c006'>About ten years ago I had the pleasure of meeting her,
and talking over her early labors in the City Prison. She
seemed to be a very interesting woman, and intelligent. If
she had written a book on her experiences with crooks and
how they had disappointed and deceived her after she had
expended on them $50,000, she would have chronicled
lies big enough to make your hair stand. It is said she died
in poor circumstances, about six years ago.</p>
<p class='c006'>The second Tombs “Angel” was Mrs. Rebecca Salome
Foster, the widow of Gen. John A. Foster, a veteran of the
Civil War. She began her philanthropic work as a “Prison
Angel” about the year 1886-7. She was a woman of much
ability and considerable force of character. She was quick
in her movements, generous to a fault, and ready to help
everyone in time of need, regardless of creed, color or
race, and, of course, was often greatly imposed upon by
people who used her for selfish purposes.</p>
<p class='c006'>As her husband was a well known lawyer in his
day, and had been a general in the Civil War, this fact
gave Mrs. Foster at the start a great amount of influence
with judges and magistrates, which would have taken
others of lesser note many years to acquire.</p>
<p class='c006'>At first she confined her labors to the Police Courts and
District Prisons, where she gave help to women and girls
who had been locked up for petty offences. But for the
last ten years of her life she confined her labors to the
Tombs Prison almost exclusively.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is interesting to know how Mrs. Foster began what
proved to be her life work as an angel of mercy among prisoners.
As I received it directly from her own lips, I feel
sure that I have the true account of what is generally believed
to be the beginning of a most useful life. The
whole thing seems to be providential, and clearly shows
how the channels of a life may be changed for good by an
insignificant event.</p>
<p class='c006'>When General Foster was yet alive, Mrs. Foster was
called upon to go hurriedly to a police court to intercede
on behalf of a boy twelve years of age, the son of a washer
woman, who worked occasionally around the Foster home.
The boy had been arrested for a petty offence, and General
Foster had agreed to defend him in the Police Court, as he
was innocent of any crime, but on the day when his case
was to be called, the General was too ill to leave his room.
He accordingly sent Mrs. Foster with a note to Magistrate
Hogan, who was then sitting at Jefferson Market Police
Court, asking for an adjournment of the case. When Mrs.
Foster reached the court, the case was then on, and when
the opportunity came she made such a powerful plea that
the Magistrate discharged the boy. He then thanked Mrs.
Foster for the interest she took in the case, and as she was
about to leave, the Court called her attention to the case
of a young, homeless girl, who had been arrested that day
for soliciting on the street. The Magistrate asked Mrs.
Foster to investigate the girl’s story before he took final
action, as he did not wish to send her to the Island, where
she would be ruined by association with the depraved
inmates of the work house. Mrs. Foster made the investigation,
had her paroled in her own custody, and then sent
her home to another part of the country. By these acts
of kindness, the girl was saved.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the most celebrated cases of the day, that brought
Mrs. Foster’s name prominently before the public, was the
trial and conviction of Maria Barberi, for the murder of
Dominico Catalonia, in July, 1895. Miss Barberi was a
woman of considerable intelligence. She had been greatly
wronged by her lover, who refused to marry her. While
suffering mental agony brought on by remorse of conscience,
when she saw herself ruined and disgraced as she
then was, she killed Catalonia.</p>
<p class='c006'>While she lay in the Tombs Prison, Mrs. Foster took a
deep interest in the case of this Italian woman, and aided
her in every way possible. During her trial in the Criminal
Court Building, she stood by her side as her best friend.
The jury found her guilty. On the day she was
sentenced to the electric chair, she swooned when
brought to the bar. As she lay in the arms
of Mrs. Foster, the Recorder passed sentence of death on
her. The same day she was taken to the State Prison.
Being in a state of nervous collapse, Mrs. Foster accompanied
her to Sing Sing, and was locked in the same cell
with her from 5:30 p. m. until 8:00 next morning. That
was a sad and dreary night to Mrs. Foster, and seemed long
enough to be a year! In that cell Maria Barberi, utterly
exhausted, slept and moaned alternately all night, oblivious
of her dismal surroundings. During the entire period
Mrs. Foster ministered to her needs. There was a solemn
stillness everywhere in that sepulchre of the living during
those fifteen hours. And the only sounds that could be
heard were the tramp, tramp, tramp of the keepers and
guards as they patrolled the yards and corridors of the great
prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the morning, Miss Barberi was so far recovered that
she could be left alone, and Mrs. Foster returned to New
York.</p>
<p class='c006'>After that night, prison life was no longer a theory
to the Tombs Angel, but a stern reality.</p>
<p class='c006'>Mrs. Foster could enter into the fullest sympathy with
such people, and give them encouragement. The following
year, the Court of Appeals granted Miss Barberi a
new trial, and she was in the end acquitted, and is said to
be living in this city at present.</p>
<p class='c006'>Mrs. Foster was killed at the Park Avenue Hotel fire,
in March, 1901, and her untimely death has been deeply
regretted.</p>
<p class='c006'>Prison Angels are born—not made. Many persons have
tried to be an “Angel to the Prisoners,” but have failed,
as no amount of training can make one.</p>
<p class='c006'>Mrs. Foster during her long and useful life, was a very
charitable lady, and in course of a year gave away much
money, clothing, shoes and railroad tickets and meals, to
hundreds of men and women as they came out of prison.
That she had been deceived scores of times by worthless
“fakirs” cannot be denied, yet she continued in this thankless
work down till her untimely death. In early life, she
had the means to give away, and she gave it with a lavish
hand. But much of the money, clothing and railroad tickets
which she so generously gave to “panhandlers” and
crooks just out of prison was worse than wasted, as a great
deal of it went for drink, and before long all those “bums”
which she had helped were back in the Tombs again. I
can recall at the present moment a person of this character,
receiving money from Mrs. Foster on a Sunday afternoon
to go, as he said, to his home in Connecticut, where
he said his friends would give him employment. She was
careful when she gave him the railroad fare to hand him
a postal card, requesting him to write a few lines when
he arrived at his destination. For weeks afterwards,
whenever I met her, I asked her if she had heard from the
fellow whose fare she had paid to Connecticut. But she
always replied in the negative. That worthless fellow was
a sample of hundreds of others who had been befriended,
but who used the money for drink. My own impression was
that he never left the city. When I afterwards came to
place him, I found that his name was Murray. I then
remembered that he was a chronic “dead beat,” and always
took a special delight in swindling tender-hearted humanitarians.</p>
<p class='c006'>One of the last cases that Mrs. Foster took an interest in
before her death was that of Florence Burns, who was
charged with the murder of a young man named Brooks.
The examination took place in the Court of Special Sessions,
before Justice Meyers, who acted the part of a sitting
magistrate. The District Attorney was represented by
one of his assistants, and ex-District Attorney Backus, of
Brooklyn, represented the defendant. Justice Meyers, who
is the personification of fairness in his rulings, satisfied
both sides. During the hearing, which lasted several days,
Mrs. Foster stood by the young woman as her best friend,
when all others had apparently forsaken her. But
this is just the kind of work Mrs. Foster had been doing—of
the most unselfish and loving character to prison
unfortunates for nearly twenty years. A year or two before
her death, a couple of lying officials of the Tombs told her
an untruthful story about one of the missionaries. As soon
as she learned how these officials had deceived her, she
shunned them forever afterwards.</p>
<p class='c006'>As is well known, some of the habitues of “Bummers’”
Hall become very religious after their own way, and are
ready to believe in any or all the creeds of Christendom,
provided they can make a few dollars out of the credulous.</p>
<p class='c006'>I have found that when these fellows try to sell you
a “gold brick” or borrow money from you, the best thing
to do is to “drop them.” Nearly all of them possess unlimited
cheek, more especially as borrowers and beggars.
After they have duped you, they chuckle over their smartness.</p>
<p class='c006'>A Tombs keeper asked one of these chronic “panhandlers”
why he did not buy his own tobacco. He replied:
“What’s the use, when you have so many ‘suckers’
around here?” A maiden lady, the daughter of a city clergyman,
was in the habit of doing missionary work in the
prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>In those days, there was a tall, slick gentleman, who had
a remarkable oily tongue. He occupied a cell in the old
prison, immediately behind the desk. This crook was able
to ingratiate himself into the affections of this young lady,
so that he was able to secure from her no less than seventy
to one hundred dollars, together with a good deal of warm
clothing, and two or three meals prepared at her own home
weekly. With the money received, he had one of Begg’s
men fetch a pint of “booze” daily. When it was discovered
he was immediately shipped to the “Annex,” and all his
privileges cut off. Soon after this he was sent to Sing
Sing, where he served about five full years.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is the commonest thing in the world for a crook to
ask the assistance of a lady missionary to get him out
of prison, and present a “gold brick” story that is nothing
but deception and fabrication from first to last. After
hearing hundreds of these stories made out of “whole
cloth,” I have come to the conclusion that criminals, with
rare exceptions, are born liars, and they seldom tell the
truth, although it would do them far more good in the end.
I have found by careful observation that anyone who has
started in to cover up his guilt with lies is in a hopeless
state of depravity, and remains beyond the reach of even
the Gospel. But it is not alone missionaries and Tombs
Angels that are deceived by such characters, but all who
give credence to what they say.</p>
<p class='c006'>Crooks as a rule read the missionary’s character, and
soon find out who are the “easy marks” in the prison.
As soon as they find a person—usually a woman who is
sympathetic—they pour into her ear a tale of woe in which
the crook presents a real case of injured innocence and
persecution.</p>
<p class='c006'>Oftentimes people living at a distance write to the authorities
asking that something be done to save heinous
offenders who are not entitled to any sympathy whatever.
And many times young ladies of good breeding and respectability
come to the Tombs and ask to see old crooks whose
pictures they had perhaps seen in the morning papers.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch32' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>WEDDINGS IN THE TOMBS PRISON</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Marriages have been performed in the Tombs Prison
since it was first opened in 1838, by clergymen of all denominations,
Protestant, Catholic and Jewish, without the
least objection. During its long and eventful history it
may be said truthfully that Cupid’s arrows have penetrated
the gloomy old walls of this dark prison scores of times,
where in such cases the love-making ended in a marriage
ceremony in which two hearts were made one.</p>
<p class='c006'>It ought further to be said that these Tombs weddings are
of two kinds: Voluntary and involuntary. The latter kind
is performed at the request of the Judges of Special Sessions.
When a woman goes to the Superintendent of Outdoor
Relief in this city, and swears that she and her babe
are liable to be a town charge because John Doe, the father
of her illegitimate child refuses to give them a support, he
is forthwith arrested. If convicted after a fair trial, he is
given the alternative of going to prison for a year, marrying
the girl, or paying her a weekly allowance. As a rule,
if poor, he marries her, as the easiest way out of his troubles.
As soon as the knot is tied, “they go on their way
rejoicing,” provided everything is all right, and the case
against him falls to the ground.</p>
<p class='c006'>We regret to say that many of these marriages are a
failure, simply because the male end of the contract gets
mad at being forced into matrimony against his will,
even though he knows that he has ruined that girl. As
there is seldom any love in such a match, we find in
a great many cases after the ceremony is performed, the
man runs away. The only redeeming thing about the marriage
is that it has saved the name of the mother and
child from lasting disgrace. And from henceforth she has
a claim upon him for legal support, no matter where he
may go. Of course, I always explain the nature of such
a marriage to the bridal candidate. If she is willing to
take her chances in the lottery of life, and is satisfied, I
am always willing to do my part to help her with my services,
and for this reason, if he refuses to live with her, she
can compel him to pay her alimony in any part of the
United States.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the marriages that attracted the most attention during
these years were of persons who really wished to be
man and wife, from choice. Of course, their wish is not
always granted, for reasons best known to the authorities.
The first marriage of this character which excited the people
of the city was that of John C. Colt, who was convicted
of the murder of Samuel Adams. This marriage took place
November 18th, 1842. During the time that Colt lay in
the Tombs he was repeatedly visited by one Caroline Henshaw,
who had been his common-law wife. As they had
never been legally married, Colt expressed a wish that
they should be made husband and wife before his execution.
The authorities at first refused to give the necessary
consent, but afterwards gave permission and agreed that
it should take place on the day of his execution, which
was fixed for November 18th, 1842. At 11:30 on the fatal
day, the bride appeared at the condemned cell, neatly
attired in a straw bonnet, green shawl, claret colored cloak
trimmed with red cord, and a muff.</p>
<p class='c006'>Colt was remarkably cheerful for a man who was to
die four hours afterwards, but it was his wedding day, and
when should a man be cheerful if not that day? The ceremony,
which took place in the condemned cell, was witnessed
by Judge Merritt, the Sheriff of the County, Colt’s
brother, John Howard Payne, the author of “Home, Sweet
Home,” and several others. The bride and groom were
allowed to be alone for one hour, after which he must prepare
for death.</p>
<p class='c006'>Two hours after she left him to change orange blossoms
for sombre weeds, the sheriff and his deputies went to his
cell to escort him to the scaffold, which was all ready, when
to their amazement, they found that Colt was dead. The
gallows had been cheated of its victim. The honeymoon of
an hour was past, and he was cold in death.</p>
<p class='c006'>Protestant chaplains more than once have been severely
criticised for performing marriages in the Tombs Prison at
the request of the authorities, but when marriages were performed
by Catholic priests in the same place, there was no
publicity given, nor were they in the least criticised.</p>
<p class='c006'>On June 29th, 1897, a man named Max H. was married
to an actress on the train between New York and Sing Sing.
Max had just received a sentence of four years and six
months in State Prison. He had asked the authorities to
allow him to be married in the Tombs several days before,
but they positively refused. At the Grand Central Depot
his lady love boarded the same train on which he was,
with an Episcopal minister named Lindsay, who was a
Tombs missionary. They were bound to be married. Dave
Burke was deputy sheriff in charge of the prisoners going
to Sing Sing that day. He consented to the marriage of
Max and his lady love on the train, and they were married.
Cupid could not be put off under any circumstances. The
marriage would not have been known, but when the commitment
papers were carefully examined at State Prison
after the prisoner’s pedigree was given, it was found that
when Max was sentenced he was single, but when he
reached Sing Sing he was married. This marriage on the
railroad train created a great furore in New York, and as a
result, the deputy sheriff was dismissed, and the minister
soon afterwards left the city.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago, Lawyer Patrick, who was convicted of
the murder of Millionaire Rice, wished to be married before
he was sent to Sing Sing, where he has been ever since.
Mr. Patrick took pains to sound the feelings of the authorities
on the subject, with the result that objections were
made against any such ceremony taking place in the prison.
But Cupid in this case was smarter than the authorities.
On the Sunday previous to his receiving the death sentence,
three persons came to the prison, a lawyer, a friend and
Patrick’s lady love. The lawyer requested permission from
the Warden to see the condemned man, which was granted
in the Women’s Prison, where a civil contract was signed,
which made them husband and wife, according to the new
law. The following day Patrick was taken to Sing Sing.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the past six years a number of convicted men
awaiting trial have begged to be married before going to
prison, but I have positively refused, as I found on inquiry
that the object in view was solely to secure clemency for
some miserable scoundrel on the day of sentence. A recent
case was that of a girl named Stella Hamilton, a native of
Connecticut. She called at the Tombs more than a dozen
of times, and begged to be married to a convict named
Williams or Willinsky. This man was a convicted pickpocket,
and had served three or four terms in prison
already. She told a romantic story that moved many hearts.
Her story was that more than a year ago she had been saved
from drowning by this man, and now she wished to marry
him in return for saving her life on that occasion. Since
then it has turned out that the whole romance was a scheme
to get clemency for Williams.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago, a crook asked the Chaplain to marry
him to a woman he had wronged, and with whom he had
lived as husband and wife. I refused, as I knew him to
have a criminal record. The woman had not known this,
but should have made an inquiry into his character before
entering into such an alliance. He wished the marriage
to take place so as to secure sympathy, and save her
name. After he had gone to prison, the woman followed
him, and asked the Warden to permit the ceremony to take
place, as soon as possible, to save her good name and that
of the child, but he refused. Then she called on a Supreme
Court Justice, who resided in the neighborhood, and stated
her case to him. The Judge gave her an order which was
served on the warden of the Prison, compelling him to permit
the marriage to take place, which was performed by a
minister of the Gospel the following day.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems the law is very clear on these things. If a man
has wronged a woman under a promise of marriage, the
fact that the man is in prison does not deprive her of her
rights before the law. If they are both willing, she can
marry him in spite of busy-bodies, judges and prison authorities.</p>
<div class='figcenter id022'>
<img src='images/i301a.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>A scene in the Tenderloin Station House at midnight.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id023'>
<img src='images/i301b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>MRS. JOHN A. FOSTER, The Tombs Angel.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id024'>
<img src='images/i301c.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>CORNELIUS V. COLLINS,<br />Superintendent of State Prisons.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch33' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXIII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>AFTER SENTENCE, WHAT?</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>After a person has been convicted of a felony in New
York County, either in the Criminal Branch of the Supreme
Court, or in the Court of General Sessions, if the sentence
is a year in prison, or less, he is sent to the New York Penitentiary
on Blackwell’s Island. But if he is sent away for
more than a year, he is taken to Sing Sing, or Bear Mountain,
the new prison on the west bank of the Hudson, where
if he is a first offender, he is detained till he has finished his
time.</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as he leaves Court, he is taken in charge by the
Sheriff, or one of his deputies, who hurries him off soon
after to the prison destined for the fulfillment of the sentence.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the case of those who have been sentenced to the electric
chair, they are taken the same day to the place where
the sentence is to be carried out. The reason for this is
obvious. While in the Tombs or Raymond Street jail,
Brooklyn, he is visited by his friends, who might aid in his
escape or death by suicide. As the Sheriff knows from
experience that it is best to take no chances, he hurries
him to prison at once. After he reaches the death house,
he is never again allowed to shake hands with any of his
friends, lest they might communicate to him poison or a
knife.</p>
<p class='c006'>After reaching prison, the prisoner is practically dead to
the world, except that his friends may visit him monthly.
Some will return to citizenship again as honest men; others
will never pass through the gate till they are carried out to
a bed of lime in the little cemetery on the hill-side.</p>
<p class='c006'>During the transition from court to prison, kaleidoscopic
scenes pass through the brain of the prisoner, and are continued
indefinitely in his little 3×7 cell, where he spends
his first sleepless night.</p>
<p class='c006'>In England all persons sentenced to penal servitude for
a period of two years and over, are sent to what is called
the Central Prison for six months for the purpose of observation.
This is done that the authorities may be able to
put the prisoner to some work best suited to his nature.
The Central Prison is the Experimental Station of the English
system. The inmate’s physical, mental and moral nature
are carefully inquired into, and observations made.
This reform was begun about a third of a century ago, and
has met with success.</p>
<p class='c006'>After the newly arrived prisoner enters the Sing Sing or
Bear Mountain Prison reception room, he is interviewed by
an official, who forthwith takes his pedigree. If the prisoner
happens to have any money or valuables, he is relieved
of the same, and a receipt given him. They are returned
when he leaves the prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>As soon as the reception is over, he is taken by a keeper
to the State Shop. This is the storehouse for clothing.
Here he receives a suit of clothes, including underwear,
shoes, stockings and cap. The next place is the bath house,
where the prisoner has the privilege of staying fifteen or
twenty minutes, after which he dons his prison garments,
and is sent to his cell for the night. “Some men have a
natural aversion to water, and refuse to take a bath when
they come here,” said the principal keeper of a large
State institution, as he showed me around his establishment.
Being anxious to know what they did in such a
case, I asked: “What then?” “Oh,” said the P. K., with
a twinkle in his eye, “we fix ‘em all right.” I said, “How
do you do it?” “Well,” he said, pointing to a corner of
the large stone bath-house, “We set ‘em up there, and
turn the hose on them. The fact is,” said the P. K., “we
give the kickers a good soaking, and then tear the clothes
off their back, and they never rebel against a bath afterwards.
It cures ‘em, sure.”</p>
<p class='c006'>This is the first step in the transformation of the prisoner.
Next day he is taken before the P. K., who carefully
interviews him, to know just what particular work he is best
fitted for. The P. K. may interview him daily for three
weeks or even a month before sending him to one of the
shops. If his health is not good, the prison doctor may be
called in, and if suffering from some contagious disease, he
is sent to the hospital, or if it is found that he has incipient
or chronic tuberculosis, he is sent to Napanoch, in the
Ulster Mountains, or Clinton Prison, in the Adirondacks.</p>
<p class='c006'>These steps in the reformation of the criminal are little
known to the outside world. But they are all necessary
and important, and carefully observed by our State prison
authorities.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>Prison Classification</h3>
<p class='c015'>The proper classification of the inmates of our prisons is
a most important part of their treatment, looking to their
reformation. This is something that has been sadly neglected
in the past by nearly all of our prisons and reformatories.
Elmira Reformatory is the exception, as it comes
the nearest to the proper classification of prisoners of any
institution in the country. It is nothing less than a crime
to allow novices to associate with hardened offenders, either
in shops or yards, where they can freely converse together.
Such an association soon changes the first offender into a
real criminal who goes forth when his time is finished with
his brain all aflame to commit crime.</p>
<h3 class='c014'>A Real Prison Reformer</h3>
<p class='c015'>One of the best of our modern prison reformers is Mr.
Cornelius V. Collins, of Troy, N. Y. Since 1898 he has
been Superintendent of State Prisons, and has given excellent
satisfaction, not only to many of our leading reformers,
but to the men in prison. He is a man of energy and ability
and knows how a prison should be conducted, and is
intensely practical in everything he does. Since he has had
charge of our State prisons, he has inaugurated many valuable
reforms which have been a blessing to the inmates,
which easily leaves him in the front rank of prison reformers.
It was through Mr. Collins’ enterprising efforts and
practical foresight that the Star of Hope was first started
soon after he became Superintendent of Prisons. He saw
the great need of such an educational helper, as well as
the importance of utilizing the intellectual strength of the
men and women behind the bars, and having a splendid
printing plant then lying idle at Sing Sing, he felt the success
of his new enterprise was assured.</p>
<p class='c006'>Since then many of the other prisons outside of the
State have monthly publications, but none of them can be
compared to the Star of Hope for enterprise, dash and intellectual
vigor.</p>
<p class='c006'>Mr. Collins has made so many successful reforms in the
penal institutions of this State since he became Superintendent
of Prisons, as to commend him favorably everywhere.
Many of our prison wardens and reformatory superintendents
are good practical men, but they have not
been able to carry out the reforms which were necessary
even in their own institutions. Mr. Collins having had the
courage of his convictions and the support of the State
Prison Commission behind him, saw to it that his own reforms
were strictly carried out.</p>
<p class='c006'>In regard to the Parole Law, if Mr. Collins is not the
author of it in its entirety he certainly suggested most of
it, and worked harder for its passage than any man living,
and it would have been vastly more comprehensive, if it
had not been for some men who objected to it being applied
to first offenders charged with more serious offences. If
Mr. Collins had done nothing but champion this one law
he would have deserved the lasting gratitude of good men
everywhere.</p>
<p class='c006'>Before we can rightly understand the advances in prison
reform that have taken place the past hundred years, we
ought to be familiar with the treatment accorded prisoners
in the early centuries of the Christian era and for hundreds
of years afterwards. The prisons we read of in the ancient
world were places of pestilential horror. They were dark,
damp, and unsanitary dungeons, from which the sunlight
was entirely excluded, where the chains rusted on the arms
and feet of the prisoners, and where they were frequently
left to die of starvation.</p>
<p class='c006'>The ancient method of dealing with criminals was threefold,
namely, death, exile and physical punishment or torture.
Some of these methods prevail in some parts of Europe
to the present time. But the Christian ideal of prison
management is several steps higher. It has not yet reached
it, but it has been forcing itself upon the world for many
years. We believe a prison ought to be a place where the
offender against human law is to be reformed or Christianized,
and afterwards restored to society an industrious and
useful man.</p>
<p class='c006'>The prevailing idea in some of our criminal courts is
that the average prisoner is not only a dangerous character,
but also a hopeless moral and social defective and must be
restrained and punished permanently. After the criminal
has been sent to a penal institution, the authorities there,
as a rule, seem not to care whether he is reformed or not.
Indeed, the prisons of to-day, with few exceptions, cannot
reform the unfortunates therein, as they are not conducted
on Christian principles nor by Christian men. Our legislators
have not yet learned that the only positive reclaiming
force in the world for criminals is the religion of the Lord
Jesus. Not only is this true, but many of the persons who
manage our prisons do not believe in religion themselves
and certainly have little faith in it for others.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is so much indefiniteness of idea as to what prison
reform is, that it would be well at the outset to say what we
mean by it. We would define prison reform not only as the
reformation of the prisoner, but the more efficient management
of our prisons by men of fitness and experience in the
interest of humanity and economy.</p>
<p class='c006'>Among the other reforms inaugurated by Mr. Collins
since he took charge of our prisons of this State was the
abolition of the lock-step. All men that are now sent to our
prisons are drilled by a regular military instructor and
march no longer to the mess hall or the shops in the lock-step,
but as soldiers. This gives them a manly bearing and
helps their general health.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some of Mr. Collins’ other reforms consist of the abolition
of the convict striped suit for first offenders, and no
longer cutting the convict’s hair short, except for sanitary
reasons. Abolition of tin plates and tin cups used at meals
and crockery substituted. The numbering of each one’s
laundry and permission given to first offenders to wear
“honor bars” on their sleeves for good conduct, which gives
them special privileges. Mr. Collins has raised the moral
tone of our prisons in other ways, all of which shows him
to be a man of energy and of a practical turn of mind.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is one other place where reform can be carried out
to good effect. In nearly all of our State prisons and penitentiaries
there are suppressed murmurings over the prison
food. Coarse food that is not eaten is dearer in the end
than palatable food that is consumed with a relish. For the
purpose of having good discipline in our large prisons I
would suggest the following: Put every inmate on his
good behavior and give the men a chance to earn three
good meals a day.</p>
<p class='c006'>If they are well behaved, let them eat at the Warden’s
table. This plan is no longer an experiment, for it has
been tried, it is said, in some of our Pacific prisons, and
works like a charm. The old saying that the best way to
reach a man’s heart is by his stomach has been found true.</p>
<p class='c006'>Let there be three tables in each prison.</p>
<p class='c006'>1. The first table is for men against whom there is no
mark for rudeness or breaking the rules for one whole
month and who do their work well. The board is first class
at this table and each convict is entitled to a napkin. They
are allowed to converse with each other and have waiters.
Call it the Warden’s table.</p>
<p class='c006'>2. The second table contains the regular prison fare. It
is for those who rebel against doing their work or wilfully
disregard some of the rules of the institution. The table is
made of plain pine boards. Here they eat their food in silence,
without table cloth or napkin.</p>
<p class='c006'>3. The third table is called “Bread and Water.” For
their meals three times a day they receive plenty of dry
bread and an unlimited quantity of water. When they are
confined to their cells for bad conduct the bread and water
is brought to them.</p>
<p class='c006'>When this course was first tried on the Pacific Coast, it
was found that at the end of three months, one-half of the
men were able by their good conduct marks to secure a
seat at the best table. At the end of six months two-thirds of
the men sat at the first table. After a year’s experience nine
men out of every ten were able to keep the law and behave
like gentlemen, so as to sit at the best table. This change
has wrought wonders in some of the prisons of California.</p>
<p class='c006'>I do not believe the criminal is the victim of an unavoidable
destiny, or that there is any inexorable necessity for
his continuing the life which makes him a social anarchist,
or that he is beyond the reach of reform. I believe if you
treat him kindly his better nature will respond to it and he
will show himself a man. That crime is a moral disease that
is transmitted, the same as depravity, I believe to be true. I
believe further that early training, environments and cross-grained
individuality will account for nearly all of our
present day criminality.</p>
<p class='c006'>Some one has said: “The soul of all reformation is the
reformation of the soul.” If such were the aim of the
prison authorities, the prisoner’s transformation would only
be a question of time. But this is not the case, and such an
object is far from their mind. Yet the religion of Jesus
Christ is the only thing that gives permanency to character.
At the present moment the reformation of the criminal
and his return to freedom again as a man among men, never
enters the mind of the majority of our prison officials.
All they care for is simply to hold their charges in safety
until their term expires, then turn them loose again no better
than they were before. The one great reason for this
is that the heads of departments are politicians and are
given office simply because they are a controlling power in
their ward or county. They well know when they take
office that their tenure is exceedingly brief, and they must
make hay while the sun shines, by disappointing their enemies
and rewarding their friends.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch34' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXIV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE TOMBS</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Friday has always been known as hanging day at the
Tombs. It was the day set apart from time immemorial
and the New World continued it in deference to Old World
customs. Friday with few exceptions had been adhered to
in New York County for over fifty years, and the spectacle
brought together a large concourse of people, largely of the
noisy class. In the early history of New York criminals
were executed in vacant lots north of Canal Street and also
on Blackwells Island.</p>
<p class='c006'>After the opening of the Tombs in 1838 it was ordered
by the authorities that all hangings should take place within
the prison enclosure. As the walls of the prison were
from ten to twelve feet high, the people that owned property
around the Tombs took advantage of the occasion and
charged from one to five dollars for seats on the roof of the
houses for people who cared to see the hangings.</p>
<p class='c006'>As we have intimated, the city on such occasions presented
a holiday appearance and brought together a large
number of people from the surrounding villages. They
remained within sight of the building from early morning
till they saw the black flag hoisted, which announced that
the victim had been launched into eternity.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the whole scene was such a gruesome spectacle that
no refined person cared to see it, and a large number of
people considered it a godsend when the hangman’s job
was given to the State Electrician and the work transferred
to the death house at Sing Sing.</p>
<p class='c006'>The first and earliest Tombs homicide that attracted much
attention and excited the people of this city, was that of
John C. Colt, charged with the murder of Samuel Adams.
Colt was a professional penman and teacher of bookkeeping;
he had an office on the second floor of a building on the
corner of Broadway and Chambers Street. Samuel Adams,
a printer, was in the same building. Colt had written a
work on bookkeeping and Adams had printed it.</p>
<p class='c006'>On September 17th, 1841, Adams came into Colt’s office,
where the two men had a heated discussion over the printing
bill which Adams was trying to collect. Several hard
words passed between the men, such as liar, cheat and so
forth. Then Colt up with a hammer which lay on the table
and rained several blows on Adams’ head. There was a brief
struggle after which the printer lay on the floor in a pool of
blood.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the next room a man named Wheeler was busy at
work. He had heard the loud words between the two men
and the struggle; he was curious to know what it all meant.
In a few minutes he went to Colt’s door in the hall, peeped
through the key hole, and was startled with what he saw;
he returned to his room, but said nothing to any one. After
a few days Wheeler reported what he saw to the authorities
and became an important witness for the State. Next
day Colt put Adams’ body in a box and shipped it to New
Orleans.</p>
<p class='c006'>The vessel was delayed for a week by storms. Before
the ship reached its destination, passengers and crew were
overcome by a terrible stench that came from the hold of
the vessel. After a thorough investigation, Adams’ body
was found in a box among the freight. The authorities were
notified and the box traced back to where it came from. As
a result Colt was arrested and indicted for murder in the
first degree. Colt, after he had been in the Tombs for a
few weeks, made a confession, saying the crime was done
in self defence. The trial lasted ten days. The jury
brought in a verdict of murder in the first degree, and Colt
was sentenced to be hanged November 18th, 1842.</p>
<p class='c006'>On the day of his execution, when the Sheriff went to
Colt’s cell to prepare him for the last struggle, he was
startled to find him dead. Just then the cry of fire was
raised, which caused intense excitement among the officials
and prisoners in their cells.</p>
<p class='c006'>The lurid glare which came from the burning cupola and
which cast a shadow on all sides, attracted wide attention
and a great crowd of people. After the fire was extinguished
and order once more restored, Colt was found in
his cell in a pool of blood. Many persons in the city believed
that the burning of the cupola was a well designed
scheme to save Colt from the gallows, and in the midst of
the excitement Colt escaped through one of the side doors
by the aid of powerful friends and a dead body from one
of the hospitals was substituted in his place. A few years
ago Charles Wesley Smith, a resident of New York, informed
the writer that he was present at the burning of the
Tombs cupola, November 18th, 1842. A great crowd came
to witness the raising of the black flag which was to be
the final act in the hanging of Colt and which announced
to those on the outside that the sentence of the law had
been carried out, but it failed and the general opinion was
that Colt escaped.</p>
<p class='c006'>Mr. Smith says that he stood in front of a blacksmith’s
shop, opposite the prison, in Centre Street, with many
others, when he saw dense smoke coming from the Tombs
cupola. In a few minutes there was great excitement in
and outside of the building. In the prison yard it is said
pandemonium reigned supreme, the shrieks and yells of the
prisoners begging to be taken out of the building could
be heard a block away. Soon after the firemen reached
the prison they played a small stream of water on the fire,
which quickly extinguished the flames, and it was all over
in half an hour. The general prevailing opinion among
the people of the city at the time was that a scheme had
been carried out successfully which permitted Colt to go
scot free. And that the cupola fire, which was a put-up
job, aided him greatly in his flight.</p>
<p class='c006'>During all of these years the regular hangings took
place in the Tombs yard, and usually occurred between
six a. m. and twelve noon. Hundreds and sometimes thousands
of people waited on the street, or squatted on the
roofs of buildings to see the sights, which were accompanied
by drunkenness and disorderly conduct. On the site
of the present Criminal Court Building, on Centre Street,
was the Freight House of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad Company, on the roof of which were often
gathered a hundred persons waiting to see the black
flag rise as soon as one was executed.</p>
<p class='c006'>On August 21st, 1888, Dannie Lyons was executed. He
had been a member of the “Whyo Gang,” who hung out
around Leonard and Centre Streets. They had put up a
strong fight to save their comrade, Dannie, but it failed.
The gang numbered about thirty or forty persons and was
made up of some of the worst desperadoes in
the city. And when all their efforts failed they
had threatened to make trouble in the “Bloody
Sixth Ward.” On the night of August 20th, they
spent the time in a low dive on Mulberry Street
near the Bend. They were in front of the Tombs
early on the morning of August 21st. Most of them had
booze and were in a sullen frame of mind and were ready
for trouble. The presence of the Elizabeth Street Police
overawed them and everything passed off quietly. Dannie
Lyons’ father was at the prison and appealed to the Warden
for the privilege of seeing his son executed, but his appeal
was denied.</p>
<p class='c006'>On August 23rd, 1889, four men paid the death penalty,
the largest number ever hanged on one occasion. They
were executed one after the other in rapid succession.
Their names were Ferdinand Caroline, Patrick Packingham,
James Nolan and Jack Lewis. Hangman Atkinson
was on hand, and it is said performed his duties with neatness
and dispatch!</p>
<p class='c006'>These Tombs hangings furnished a favorite pastime for
the rougher element of the lower East Side, including Mulberry
Bend and Chinatown. “How did the bloke take it?”
was a common expression from one who had not the pleasure
of being a spectator. The reply usually given was, “It
was tame,” or “He was game,” or “I could do much better
myself.”</p>
<p class='c006'>The execution of these men was the talk of the city for
weeks beforehand. And although desperate efforts were
made to save them, they failed, as the Governor refused
to interfere with the sentence of the law.</p>
<p class='c006'>The four men after being taken from their cells on “Murderer’s
Row,” were lined up in the Prison yard beside their
spiritual advisers. The first toward the gallows was Ferd.
Caroline. As he was pinioned by the sheriff’s men one
could hear from the adjacent building crumbs of comfort
for poor Ferd, who was rather sad that morning. As he
stood on the scaffold some one cried, “Brace up Ferd, be a
man.” After him came Patrick Packingham, who was of
a rather melancholy disposition and who had to be helped
on the scaffold. “Paddy,” said one of his companions,
“Cheer up, we’re coming after you.” Then came “Jimmie”
Nolan and Jack Lewis, jollying each other in the course of
their preparation for death.</p>
<p class='c006'>The last man who had the “honor” of being hanged in
the yard of the Tombs Prison was Harry Carlton, better
known as “Handsome Harry,” which took place December
5th, 1889. Carlton was said to be a daring criminal, and
had an exceedingly unsavory and nervy record for fifteen
years previous to his death. He was convicted of the murder
of Policeman James Brennan, whom he shot on the
night of October 26th, 1888, in Fifty-ninth Street near
Second Avenue. On the morning of his execution, when
they awoke him out of a sound sleep, he asked the time
of day. When they informed him it was five o’clock, he
replied, “Great Scott, my time is getting short.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Carlton’s father came to the Tombs that morning and
begged Warden Osborne to permit him to see his son pay
the penalty of the law, but the Warden denied his request.
Shortly after seven, Carlton heard the Death Warrant read.
Soon after he was led to the scaffold, where Hangman Atkinson
adjusted the rope and put the black cape over his
face, and at seven twenty-nine a. m. the drop fell and he
was launched into eternity. In five minutes afterwards his
lifeless body dangled on the scaffold. At nine-thirty a
hearse drove into the yard and his body was put in a casket
and taken to the cemetery, followed by another carriage,
in which were Carlton’s wife and child.</p>
<p class='c006'>Up till last hanging in 1889, murder, riot and rowdyism
were never more common, showing clearly that the
Tombs’ execution had no deterrent effect whatever on the
criminal classes of the city, but the opposite. Murder went
on just the same. From the time when Colt killed Adams
in August, 1841, till the present, the Tombs has not been
without a score of homicidal inmates and many of them of
good standing in the comunity. Carlyle Harris, Dr. Buchanan,
Dr. Kennedy, Dr. Meyer, Albert T. Patrick, Harry
K. Thaw and many others came from good families.</p>
<p class='c006'>The following list of criminals executed from 1838 to
1889 is taken from the official records of the Tombs:</p>
<table class='table3' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='50%' />
<col width='50%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Patrick Russell</td>
<td class='c013'>December 8th, 1841</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>James Eger</td>
<td class='c013'>May 9th, 1845</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Charles Thomas</td>
<td class='c013'>November 20th, 1846</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Matthew Wood</td>
<td class='c013'>June 2nd, 1849</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Benson & Douglass</td>
<td class='c013'>July 25th, 1851</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Aaron Stokey</td>
<td class='c013'>September 19th, 1851</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Otto Grunsig</td>
<td class='c013'>February 27th, 1852</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Patrick Fitzgerald</td>
<td class='c013'>April 19th, 1853</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>William Saul</td>
<td class='c013'>January 28th, 1853</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Nicholas Howlett</td>
<td class='c013'>January 28th, 1853</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Joseph Clark</td>
<td class='c013'>February 11th, 1853</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>James L. Hoarr</td>
<td class='c013'>January 27th, 1854</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>John Dorsey</td>
<td class='c013'>July 17th, 1857</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>James Rodgers</td>
<td class='c013'>November 12th, 1858</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>James Stevens</td>
<td class='c013'>February 6th, 1860</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>John Crimmens</td>
<td class='c013'>March 30th, 1860</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Albert Hicks, alias Johnson</td>
<td class='c013'>July 30th, 1860</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Nathan Gordon</td>
<td class='c013'>February 21st, 1862</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>William Hawkins</td>
<td class='c013'>June 27th, 1862</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Bernard Friery</td>
<td class='c013'>August 17th, 1866</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Frank Ferris</td>
<td class='c013'>October 19th, 1866</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>George Wagner</td>
<td class='c013'>March 1st, 1867</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Jerry O’Brien</td>
<td class='c013'>August 2nd, 1867</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>John Reynolds</td>
<td class='c013'>April 8th, 1870</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>John Real</td>
<td class='c013'>August 5th, 1870</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>John Thomas</td>
<td class='c013'>March 10th, 1871</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>William Foster</td>
<td class='c013'>March 21st, 1873</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Michael Nixon</td>
<td class='c013'>May 16th, 1873</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>William Thompson</td>
<td class='c013'>December 17th, 1875</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>William Ellis</td>
<td class='c013'>December 17th, 1875</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Charles Weston</td>
<td class='c013'>December 17th, 1875</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>John R. Dolan</td>
<td class='c013'>April 21st, 1876</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Chastian Cox</td>
<td class='c013'>July 16th, 1880</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Pietro Balbo</td>
<td class='c013'>August 6th, 1880</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>William Sindrain</td>
<td class='c013'>April 21st, 1882</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>August D. Leighton</td>
<td class='c013'>May 19th, 1882</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Michael McGloin</td>
<td class='c013'>March 9th, 1883</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Pasquale Majone</td>
<td class='c013'>March 9th, 1883</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Edward Hovey</td>
<td class='c013'>October 19th, 1883</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Miguiel Chacon</td>
<td class='c013'>July 9th, 1886</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Peter Smith</td>
<td class='c013'>May 5th, 1887</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Daniel Driscoll</td>
<td class='c013'>January 23rd, 1888</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Daniel Lyons</td>
<td class='c013'>August 21st, 1888</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Ferdinand Caroline</td>
<td class='c013'>August 23rd, 1889</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Patrick Packingham</td>
<td class='c013'>August 23rd, 1889</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>James Nolan</td>
<td class='c013'>August 23rd, 1889</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Jack Lewis</td>
<td class='c013'>August 23rd, 1889</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c022'>Harry Carlton</td>
<td class='c013'>December 5th, 1889</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='figcenter id025'>
<img src='images/i319a.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The front entrance to Sing Sing Prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id006'>
<img src='images/i319b.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The Protestant chapel. Sing Sing prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id026'>
<img src='images/i319c.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p>The electric chair in Sing Sing prison.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch35' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXV<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>A VISIT TO THE DEATH HOUSE AT SING SING</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>One of the never-to-be-forgotten visits of my life was
the one I paid to the Death Chamber at Sing Sing on October
11th, 1900.</p>
<p class='c006'>The visit in question was at the request of an inmate in
whom I was deeply interested, and who was finally awarded
a new trial by the Court of Appeals.</p>
<p class='c006'>The edifice known as the Death House is built of solid
stone and is oblong in shape. Its dimensions are 66×30. It
has no windows on the sides. The only place the light
comes in is through the skylight. At night the electric
glare fills every part of it. The door is approached through
a long corridor, which is locked at night so as to make the
place doubly safe. When the Death House was first built,
it contained eight cells of solid stone and steel. Since
then two more have been added, making ten cells altogether.</p>
<p class='c006'>Armed with an order from a Supreme Court Judge, which
I presented to Warden Johnson, I was led along corridors
and passageways till I came to the office of the principal
keeper, who then took me in charge. After a brief delay
we came to the inner door which is made of steel. A dull
heavy thud from my guide, the principal keeper, brought
the inside guard to the bull’s eye. He then saw who were
at the entrance without opening the door. In a few seconds
I was inside the death chamber and the steel door was closed
on me. I was then in a place the law calls a living
tomb. It was as still as the grave. Not a word was spoken
in the room above a whisper. As the shoes worn by the
condemned men and keepers are made of felt, no sound
came from their movements. These felt shoes are called
“sneakers.” The law says that all persons sent to the
electric chair must be kept in solitary confinement and in
silence till the sentence of the Court is carried out.</p>
<p class='c006'>Perhaps I ought to say that the mode of changing the
death penalty from hanging to electricity went into effect
in the three State prisons of New York in January, 1890.
The electric chair was set up in Sing Sing in the latter part
of 1889, so as to be all ready the following year. On account
of the uncertainty of the law, no electrocution took
place in this prison until July 7th, 1891; then four men
were electrocuted on the same day, one after the other.
The names of these men are as follows: James J. Slocum,
Harris A. Smiler, Joseph Wood and Schihiok Jugigo.</p>
<p class='c006'>Nearly two years after the first electrocution, when the
death house had five inmates awaiting the death sentence,
Osmond, George Megan, Carlyle Harris, Thomas Pallister
and Frederick W. Roche, the two latter prisoners made
good their escape from the death chambers on the night
of April 20th, 1893, and have never been seen or heard of
since. These escapes caused a great sensation at the time,
as they were the most daring that ever took place, and they
seemed to be so well planned and successfully carried out
that the general belief was that a dozen of people must
have had a hand in it.</p>
<p class='c006'>The manner of their escape from the doomed quarters
was as follows: It had always been customary since the
death house was first opened for the inmates to have food
warmed at night on one of the stoves. Nor was it uncommon
for the keeper in charge to let the prisoners come
out of their cell and brew tea or coffee at midnight
on a stove which stood in the centre of the room.
On the night in question, Frederick W. Roche, one of the
condemned men, requested Keeper Hulse to permit him
to leave his cell so that he might warm some tea, as he had
eaten no supper. The keeper readily acceded to his request
as he had done so many times before, not thinking that
anything was wrong. Just then Roche threw a handful of
pepper into the keeper’s eyes, which almost blinded him.
Then Roche took away the keeper’s pistol and keys, and
locked him in the cell which he had just vacated and threatened
to kill him if he made the slightest disturbance.</p>
<p class='c006'>After he had opened Pallister’s cell, he invited the other
prisoners in the chamber to accompany him, but they all
declined. When he requested Carlyle W. Harris to come
with him, he politely refused, saying that as he was innocent,
he preferred to wait till the Courts gave him a vindication.
But the vindication never came, as Harris was afterwards
electrocuted, the highest Court having denied his
appeal. Pallister and Roche left the death house by way of
the skylight window, then dropped into the yard, a distance
of fifteen feet. Strange to say, the yard keeper could not
be found—where was he? And stealing a boat, which was
afterwards found, they made for the river and disappeared.
This looks like a put up job!</p>
<p class='c006'>Strange to say, these jail breakers were gone nine hours
before the authorities knew what had taken place. As soon
as Warden Brown took in the situation, he dispatched
searching parties on both sides of the river, but without
the least success. He also suspended Keepers Hulse and
Murphy, and Yard Watchman Maher, and then started a
searching investigation to find out how it was possible for
these criminals to get away as they did. After the investigation,
the Warden exonerated the keepers and restored
them to their positions.</p>
<p class='c006'>Where they went to after leaving the prison, no one has
ever been able to learn. A common opinion is that they
may have been drowned in the river, as two bodies were
afterwards found, but this is not sure. Most people seem
to think that a schooner was awaiting them in the middle
of the river and took them to South America, and the graft
in the job amounted to $5,000.</p>
<p class='c006'>On the day of our visit to Sing Sing there were nine men
in this doomed building, all under sentence of death. A
week before the Court of Appeals had decided that one of
the inmates, a Greek, should have a new trial, which left
a vacancy. The persons then present in the death chamber
were all well known to me except the two men from Brooklyn,
who were Italians.</p>
<p class='c006'>The whole scene presented to my mind a grewsome spectacle.
I was then in the place for the first time, which Mr.
Roland B. Molineux describes in his book as “The Room
with the Little Door.”</p>
<p class='c006'>The eight original cells are ranged in a row side by side
against the south wall. The thick horizontal steel bars
make you think of a cage of wild beasts. In front of each
cell,—perhaps a foot from the steel bars, there is a closely
woven steel wire netting which prevents a visitor from passing
anything to the condemned man, or even shaking hands
with him. All conversations must be carried on in whispers.
A few doors away there is a little room which contains the
death chair. All around it there are straps, belts and
wires, which are used for fastening around the body and
legs of the condemned man when the sentence of law is
about to be carried into effect. As you again look over
the audience in the death chamber, unconsciously your
blood chills and the cold sweat drops in beads from your
brow. It is a dreadful place. Human beings waiting for
the slaughter!</p>
<p class='c006'>Here are the names of the inmates I saw that day: Roland
Burham Molineux, Dr. Kennedy, Eddie Wise, Jim
Mullen, Fritz Meyer, William Newfeldt and Druggist Priora.</p>
<p class='c006'>The two condemned men from Brooklyn, Ferraro and
Zigwers, I did not know and had no particular interest in
them except one of pity.</p>
<p class='c006'>I came that day to see Mr. Molineux, whom I had known
in the Tombs as a courteous gentleman and one that everybody
liked. It seems almost unnecessary to say that he
received me with his usual blandness. As I came up to the
steel woven screen he smiled at me. I remember he looked
pale and worried! And his eyes were dull and heavy.
I tried to give him a little comfort as best I could under the
circumstances.</p>
<p class='c006'>I knew that in time Mr. Molineux would secure another
trial and it came, thank God, and I was one of the first to
congratulate him after the jury had filed into Court and
said, “Not guilty.”</p>
<p class='c006'>While I was speaking to Roland, Dr. Kennedy was having
a visit from his wife. I saw her on the train coming up
but I reached the prison some time before her as I came
by way of the railroad track.</p>
<p class='c006'>I had only a few words with Dr. Kennedy. I could see
that he was in a state of great nervous excitement bordering
on collapse, and no wonder, for his case was that day
before the Court of Appeals. It was in the balance. The
judges were then considering the circumference of the
lead pipe which was the one thing in his case that led to a
new trial. A sixteenth part of an inch decided his fate! I
looked at Kennedy again and again; he was a study! His
eyes were like balls of fire, his hair stood upright, his
hands held on to the steel bars of his cage and braced him
while he spoke to his wife. The strain was telling on him!
His face was pallid and he looked as if he had not slept in
a month. Not only did he look dejected and worried on
account of the ordeal through which he was then passing,
but he looked like a man almost beside himself. The
Court of Appeals gave him a chance for his life, and after
three trials failed to convict him, he was liberated. Since
then the old indictment against him has been quashed.</p>
<p class='c006'>There was another young man in the death house that
morning. He was a New Englander—only a few feet away!
It was Eddie Wise—an intelligent, wide-awake and bright
young man. For several years he had led a wild life as
the companion of criminals. What brought him here? Under
the influence of cursed rum he took part in a “highway”
in which the victim was killed in defending his watch and
money. The other two “crooks” got away, and have never
been found. This young man who simply looked on was
held as a principal and convicted of murder in the first degree.</p>
<p class='c006'>There is another man present who killed a companion at
a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon. They had all been
drinking; after a quarrel he went for a gun and shot his
friend to death. He has a wife and five small children.
Poor Priora!</p>
<p class='c006'>The others in the cells are Jim Mullen, an ex-English
soldier, Newfeldt, the Jew, and Fritz Meyer—all of them
passed through the little iron door and paid the penalty of
the law for their crime!</p>
<p class='c006'>Some of the inmates call the death house a “Modern
Inferno,” but I could not read Dante’s inscription, written
over the portals, “None return that enter here.” Indeed,
some who had spent from one to two years in those chambers
of death have afterwards gone forth to liberty, and
are now living in freedom. I have often thought that the
awful monotony, the solitary silence, the deprivations of
papers, letters and friends were enough to drive men in
such a place crazy. But when one of the inmates came
back to the Tombs to stand a new trial, I asked him regarding
these things, and he informed me that they can only
stand that awful silence and suspense a few days, when
they break out and for hours make the place hideous with
their yells.</p>
<p class='c006'>An Italian named Raeffello Casconea returned to New
York for another trial in July, 1906, after having spent
thirty-one months and twenty-three days in the death
house. During this time he saw twelve men go into the
“Room with the Little Door,” who never returned again.
Casconea occupied cell No. 1, and as the men passed into
the death chamber he was permitted to shake them by the
hand and wish them good cheer. At the second trial in this
city, Casconea was liberated and since has kept a coffee
house on Mulberry street. On August 10th, 1909, he was
shot by the seventeen year old brother of the man that he
was alleged to have killed. Casconea has since died.</p>
<p class='c006'>The whole number of persons electrocuted in Sing Sing
from January 1st, 1890, till July 1st, 1909, according to
the prison records, was between fifty and sixty.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch36' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXVI<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>A TRAMP COLONY</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>Every year our City Magistrates send to the Workhouse
on Blackwell’s Island no less than twenty thousand persons.
This is entirely independent of the number sent from Kings
County by the Magistrates of Brooklyn, Richmond and
Queens.</p>
<p class='c006'>By far the largest number of this contingent are the residuum
of dregs of society. As soon as they have their
liberty they prey upon society. And when they are in the
toils again the ubiquitous gin-mill will account for it. But
there are other reasons, and some of the responsibility will
have to be laid at the door of our present social conditions,
which need considerable re-adjusting.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is needless to conceal the fact that a large percentage
of this class is made up of thieves, drunkards, incorrigibles
and homeless tramps. As they cannot find employment
readily, they eke out a precarious living for a time as panhandlers
and deadbeats and then return to prison, only to
continue the same experience several times a year. As
their imprisonment does them no good and as they are a
great expense to the city and county, it becomes a serious
problem what shall be done with them. At the present time
the cost of crime in Greater New York is no less than twenty-five
per cent. of the entire taxation.</p>
<p class='c006'>We must therefore consider this subject intelligently
with a view to its solution. But whether these social conditions
can be explained fully to one’s satisfaction matters
very little. We question the right of the authorities to
maintain any longer this army of idlers without making
them work to pay the cost of their own living.</p>
<p class='c006'>For some years past we have observed that hundreds—possibly
thousands of unskilled laborers, many of whom are
in the building trades, reach the dead-line about forty years
of age. If they have lived intemperate lives and happen
to be single or widowers, when winter sets in and they
find themselves out of employment the only thing they can
do is to apply to the Magistrate and ask to be committed
to the workhouse as vagrants for three or six months. And
many of them, after they have finished their time and secured
their liberty are no better off, and painfully return to
the Police Court for the twentieth time perhaps, to be the
city’s ward in the workhouse. What else can they do, or
die on the street from sheer starvation?</p>
<p class='c006'>This raises the question, what shall be done with our army
of “tramp rounders” and incorrigibles? To continue to
send them back to prison or workhouse for a few months
is simply to prolong the evil and their own misery. Criminals
are jailed and released in this county every year by
the thousand, only to oscillate between prison and a brief
season of liberty. When they leave the place of their
confinement they seldom bid their keepers good-bye, only
“au revoir.” When they come among their fellow men
again they are not better. They have spent months or years
in prison in idleness, and surrounded by vile companions,
and they are no better. But why should they be allowed to
endanger the life and liberty of society any longer after
the experiences of the past? How long we can maintain
such a system it is difficult to say. At any rate, the cost of
maintaining our prisons is becoming enormous and the
problem of what shall be done with “rounders” and hardened
criminals, that prey upon society as soon as they get out
of prison should be solved from a business and moral standpoint.</p>
<p class='c006'>We believe the time has come for this whole matter to
be thoroughly sifted and a remedy found that will be commensurate
with the present needs. The aim should be the
moral reformation of the criminal; nor do we think any
remedy will be adequate that falls short of this object. But
in working for this end we must not exalt criminals into objects
of popular pity.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago a committee of the National Prison Association
examined this whole subject and reported that
every habitual criminal at large cost the State by robbery
and spoilation no less than sixteen hundred dollars annually,
and if in this State alone the taxpayers could be
relieved of this burden it would be a saving of six million
dollars a year.</p>
<p class='c006'>Unfortunately New York and vicinity have a large army
of unemployed at all seasons of the year—even when we
are blessed with what is called “good times.” This is especially
true of multitudes who are employed in the building
trades. As a rule, contractors who are excavating and
blasting for new buildings can always find twenty times as
many laborers as they usually need.</p>
<p class='c006'>But the wealth of the country is so great and the opportunities
for employment so vast that the hustler can always
find employment in some part of the country. Often large
numbers of men and women are unable to find employment
at any occupation, even when we have prosperous times.
Nor are they to blame entirely for this. Many large corporations,
such as railroads, will only give employment to the
young and vigorous who are able to produce the largest
amount of work, which means that the weak and infirm are
soon driven to the wall, and at the first opportunity dropped
from the pay roll and after a certain age are unable to find
employment at anything.</p>
<p class='c006'>At an expenditure of say $100,000, several cheap plants
could be erected on Riker’s Island, on Long Island Sound,
where domestic articles could be manufactured at merely
the cost of the raw material, and this army of tramps that
infest the boroughs of Greater New York summer and winter
could be made to pay the cost of their own living expenses.
For example, ten or a dozen small shops could
be erected that would give employment to 2,000 men and
women who would produce things that would in no wise
compete with the great labor industries of the country.</p>
<p class='c006'>The following are some of the industries that could be
carried on by the wards of the city of New York:</p>
<div class='lg-container-l c024'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line'>Broom making,</div>
<div class='line'>Brush making,</div>
<div class='line'>Chair caning,</div>
<div class='line'>Laundry work,</div>
<div class='line'>Shoe making,</div>
<div class='line'>Tailoring,</div>
<div class='line'>And in summer Agriculture and Horticulture.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c006'>The city could rent a thousand acres of land in Westchester
County on which garden produce could be raised
and sold to the poor at low figures, which would give employment
to from 500 to 1,000 persons. From the middle
of April till the middle of October they could live in tents,
which in many cases would greatly improve their health.</p>
<p class='c006'>The cultivation of the soil under proper restrictions is a
most healthful labor and cannot fail to show good results if
properly carried out. French penologists and reformers
speak of the system in the highest terms and recommend
its adoption all over the world. If necessary these convicts
could be used in works of irrigation or canals for the Federal
Government, or indeed, the carrying on of public works
in any part of the country.</p>
<p class='c006'>M. Demetz, a French philosopher and founder of the
Mettray Reformatory in France, has, for many years, advocated
the cultivation of large tracts of land by criminals.
His motto has been, “Reclaim the land by the man, and the
man by the land.” Since 1850 France has had agricultural
colonies for young offenders in crime, where they are compelled
to stay from six months to two years. They cultivate
the soil on a paying basis, and the success and management
of the farm colonies has been eminently successful, as only
seven per cent. of their numbers return again to crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>French economists think that money has never been more
wisely spent than for such institutions, as the returns show
that ninety-three per cent. of the inmates after their liberation
become useful members of society.</p>
<p class='c006'>It seems to us that no country in the world would carry
out penal colonization schemes with greater advantage and
better results than the United States.</p>
<p class='c006'>The peaceful conquest of large tracts of lands in this
State, means the acquisition of more domain within our
own borders, in which there may be homes and farms for
hundreds of our surplus population.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are several thousand criminal and vagrant idlers
who at the beginning of winter go before Justices of the
Peace in the country towns and are committed to the county
jails for several months, where they live in idleness on
the fat of the land. Such people ought to be in some colony
and kept there till cured of their delusions.</p>
<p class='c006'>Section 690 of the Penal Code lays down the statute
very clearly on this subject: “Where a person is hereafter
convicted of a felony, who has been before that conviction,
convicted in this State, of any other crime, or where a person
is hereafter convicted of a misdemeanor, who has been
already five times convicted in this State of a misdemeanor,
he may be adjudged by the Court, in addition to any other
punishment that may be inflicted upon him, to be an habitual
criminal.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Section 691 says, “The person of an habitual criminal
shall be at all times subject to the supervision of every judicial
magistrate of the county, and of the Supervisors and
Overseers of the Poor of the town where the criminal may
be found, to the same extent that a minor is subject to the
control of his parent or guardian.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Another large class of persons who are totally unfit to
be at large are kleptomaniacs, dipsomaniacs, pyromaniacs,
epileptics and incendiaries. They should be placed permanently
in an asylum. If necessary they could be deported
to some island, where many of them could be put to work
to cultivate the soil.</p>
<p class='c006'>What we shall do with our unemployed criminals who
roam the country in search of plunder is becoming a very
serious problem. It is said that New York has from forty
to fifty thousand ex-criminals. This is a low estimate.
Whether it is true or not I am not prepared to say. At any
rate, there are enough to keep over ten thousand policemen
busy watching for this fraternity night and day.</p>
<p class='c006'>It is safe to say that New York alone has a floating population
of twenty thousand habitual criminals, who are ready
at any moment to commit crime, without a moment’s warning,
and then sail under a new name or leave for parts unknown.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are also at least forty thousand men and women
habitual misdemeanants in New York, who have been in
prison for small offences, such as drunkenness, disorderly
conduct, assault and petit larceny, from one to fifty times,
and even more. What is going to be done with these?</p>
<p class='c006'>The only remedy for the twentieth century tramp and
habitual criminal is either to cure them, exile them or kill
them. What shall it be? Perhaps the better and more humane
method would be to colonize them until permanently
reformed and cured. But while locked up they should be
compelled to work for their living.</p>
<p class='c006'>The obstinate criminal is a dangerous character. He
lives on crime; his hand is against every man, and naturally
in the interest of self protection every man is against him.
It can be said of the unreformed criminal what the frontier
man says of the Indian—”dead Injun, good Injun.”</p>
<p class='c006'>Nor should petty thieves, paupers or tramps be allowed
to go at large under any circumstances. They are social
parasites and the State and city authorities should place
them where they can be cured of their insane, lazy notions
and made to work for a living or be permanently locked up.
They have no more right to be at large than lepers or yellow
fever patients, as they defile all with whom they come in
contact.</p>
<p class='c006'>A well known prison authority told me a short time ago
that hundreds of men and women in this city go and return
from prison like the swinging of a pendulum, and they are
hardly out of prison before they are back in the toils again.
What shall be done with them? That is the question which
our authorities are called upon to answer.</p>
<p class='c006'>The cost of crime in this city is enormous and, sad to say,
is on the increase, and nothing is done to make our prison
population share the expenses of their own keep; although
it is well known that in deference to our Labor Leaders
more than half the prisoners in the country are idle most of
the time.</p>
<p class='c006'>We would suggest that the inmates of this colony be
classified in the following manner.</p>
<p class='c006'>1. The diseased. Segregate them by themselves in a
charity hospital until cured.</p>
<p class='c006'>2. The aged and infirm. Send them to the Almshouse.</p>
<p class='c006'>3. The able-bodied criminal rounder. Lock him up till
cured. It is dangerous to keep him at large. But make him
work for his living.</p>
<p class='c006'>4. The chronic tramp and idler. Lock him up and make
him work for his living.</p>
<p class='c006'>5. The habitual drunkard. This man should be confined
in a hospital till cured, and afterwards put to work.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch37' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXVII<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE COST OF CRIME IN GREATER NEW YORK</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>The cost of crime in the city of New York is a question of
such vast importance to the taxpayers as to seem bewildering.
It is a most difficult thing to follow crime into its various
ramifications. If this could be done satisfactorily, it
would show that crime enters a larger area than we think
it does. The figures given below do not include the building
of a new prison on Riker’s Island, which is a needless waste
of $4,000,000. This, with many other steals, can be laid to
Tammany politics. Kings County Penitentiary, situated on
Crown Street, Brooklyn, was sufficient for all the needs of
Greater New York for many years to come, but schemers
desired the land on which the prison was built, and after
some time, had it condemned and the plant and the real
estate sold for a song!</p>
<p class='c006'>Next to the liquor traffic, crime is our greatest National
waste for which there seems to be no adequate remedy.
Crime burns the candle at both ends as it affects old and
young of both sexes in its ceaseless undermining of human
character, aiming at the moral and social demoralization of
the human race.</p>
<p class='c006'>If the police were to arrest the hundreds of criminals
that remain at large every year in this city, the correction
and suppression of crime would cost vastly more than at
the present. In all likelihood the expense would not be less
than one-fourth of the entire cost of carrying on the Government
of Greater New York.</p>
<p class='c006'>We have made a careful study of the cost of crime in
Greater New York, and find that the amount of money appropriated
by the civil authorities, according to the figures
of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, since consolidation
in 1898, has increased every year. Since the boroughs
went into partnership, and took the name of
Greater New York, crime has increased from fifty to
seventy-five per cent. Last year the number of arrests in
this city exceeded that of the previous year by more than
forty thousand, not to speak of hundreds of the most atrocious
crimes on record, such as murder, arson, assault, highway
robbery, burglary and larceny, that have baffled the
detective bureau to discover the perpetrators.</p>
<p class='c006'>Crime shows a larger increase in New York than elsewhere,
because of the large foreign population, although it
is a well established fact that crime is not the result of our
foreign-born people as much as of their children, who are
classed as native Americans.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the following table the sums mentioned were appropriated
by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment for
1909.</p>
<p class='c006'>Perhaps I ought to say when we come to deal with the
various departments of the city government that are only
indirectly connected with crime, we find it more difficult to
arrive at correct conclusions. Take for example the sheriff’s
office. This official’s work is both civil and criminal.
He has charge of the county jail and pays for the support
of the inmates. He takes full charge of indicted prisoners
for felonies, and after they are sentenced sees that they
are safely landed in State prison or penitentiary. But he
also deals with many civil processes besides. After making
careful allowance, we set aside three-fourths of the
sheriff’s entire appropriation for crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>In the first statement below it will be seen that all the
moneys appropriated to the various departments and institutions
are spent on the correction and repression of
crime alone. Here are the official figures:</p>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='70%' />
<col width='30%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Department of Police of Greater New York</td>
<td class='c013'>$15,195,331 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Department of Correction</td>
<td class='c013'>1,274,957 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>District Attorney, New York</td>
<td class='c013'>371,860 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>District Attorney, Kings</td>
<td class='c013'>106,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>District Attorney, Queens</td>
<td class='c013'>35,500 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>District Attorney, Richmond</td>
<td class='c013'>12,900 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>City Magistrates, 1st Division</td>
<td class='c013'>355,800 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>City Magistrates, 2nd Division</td>
<td class='c013'>328,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Special Sessions and Children’s Court, 1st Division</td>
<td class='c013'>134,420 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Special Sessions and Children’s Court, 2nd Division</td>
<td class='c013'>94,800 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>General Sessions, New York</td>
<td class='c013'>291,500 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Juvenile Asylum</td>
<td class='c013'>55,005 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>New York Catholic Protectory</td>
<td class='c013'>326,500 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Brooklyn Catholic Protectory</td>
<td class='c013'>17,500 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Jewish Protectory</td>
<td class='c013'>50,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Brooklyn Court Rents, etc.</td>
<td class='c013'>40,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Miscellaneous Criminal Expenses</td>
<td class='c013'>75,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c013'>───────</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c013'>$18,765,073 00</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class='c001'>In the second table the various departments of the city
government that are indirectly connected with the repression
of crime are mentioned and only a certain percentage
allowed for criminal matters.</p>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='70%' />
<col width='30%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Sheriffs of Greater New York, 75 per cent.</td>
<td class='c013'>$236,301 50</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Department of Health, 10 per cent. for Crime</td>
<td class='c013'>248,485 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Department of Charities, 25 per cent. for Crime</td>
<td class='c013'>275,696 21</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Fire Department, calls for an appropriation of $8,039,565.50. I find after careful inquiry that half of the fires in this city are caused either by wilful or criminal carelessness. Fifty per cent. of that appropriation is spent on crime</td>
<td class='c013'>4,019,782 75</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Twenty-five per cent. may safely be allowed for the Criminal Expense of the City Law Department, Appellate Division, Supreme Court and Miscellaneous Expenses</td>
<td class='c013'>600,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Commissioners of Jurors’ office, 50 per cent. for Crime</td>
<td class='c013'>53,550 00</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class='c025' colspan='2'>Coroners’ Office, 50 per cent. for Crime 79,850 00</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Miscellaneous Criminal Expenses in the Courts of Greater New York</td>
<td class='c013'>220,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Private Penal Institutions that receive petty offenders</td>
<td class='c013'>250,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c013'>───────</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c013'>$24,748,738 46</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class='table4' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='33%' />
<col width='41%' />
<col width='25%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>The Cost of Crime to business men and corporations in Greater New York for Private Police, Detective Agencies and Watchmen</td>
<td class='c023'>$6,000,000 00</td>
<td class='c026'> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Property stolen and not recovered</td>
<td class='c023'>$5,000,000 00</td>
<td class='c026'> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Bank losses by fraud</td>
<td class='c023'>1,500,000 00</td>
<td class='c026'> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c023'>───────</td>
<td class='c026'> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<colgroup>
<col width='70%' />
<col width='30%' />
</colgroup>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c013'>$12,500,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Loss in Wages to Families of Men Sent to Prison</td>
<td class='c013'>5,000,000 00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'> </td>
<td class='c013'>───────</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>Total Amount spent yearly on Correction and Repression of Crime</td>
<td class='c013'>$42,248,738 46</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class='c001'>The budget for the present year calls for the expenditure
of $156,545,148.14 to carry on the city government. A
little more than one sixth of the money appropriated by
the city government for the year is spent on crime.</p>
<p class='c006'>Admitting then that the expense of crime touches almost
every avenue of domestic and civic life, the only question
is how long our national, state and city governments can
continue to pay such enormous sums for the maintenance
of police, courts of justice and the costliest and most expensive
kind of prisons and penal institutions that money
can build and furnish, without landing the country in irretrievable
bankruptcy.</p>
<p class='c006'>With all the loopholes in the law which favor the murderer,
it costs the city at least $10,000 on an average to
send him to the electric chair, or even to State prison for
life.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are 200,000 criminals in the land to-day, who are
a burden on the taxpayers to the extent of more than a
billion dollars a year. But this loss to the country, as we
have already intimated, is incomparable with the greater
loss sustained by the kingdom of God. The work of reaching
these brothers in stripes belongs to the Church, and
she should prosecute it continually till she has brought
them to Christ for healing and saving power.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 id='ch38' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c010'>THE AGE OF GRAFT.</span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c001'>We have had our stone age, our iron age and our steel
age, now we have our graft age. This is the age of the
political highwayman who makes the city and her people
pay him tribute. This graft comes in the nature of perquisites,
commissions and assessments for the good of the
machine and those that run it. The graft disease first attacked
the men in Congress. The government paid good
salaries to all of its servants and even their mileage. But
the railroads wishing large slices of the public domain sent
the members of both houses free passes. After this other
big corporations desiring special privileges were compelled
to graft the legislators or receive no favors. Then the disease
attacked our State law-makers, which in turn made
everybody pay tribute to them, especially rich corporations.
To-day, graft is the bane of our Municipal Government.
And Tammany Hall has become the horse leach that cries,
“Give, Give,” and is never Satisfied! Nor is there any need
of denying the fact that we are reaching a period in American
history greatly to be deplored. Whatever may be
said of our extravagance and high living, it cannot be denied
that New York is drifting on the Rocks of Municipal
bankruptcy. And the cause of it all is an insatiable desire
for money, for which honest labor is not given.</p>
<p class='c006'>With New York’s phenomenal increase in population and
material prosperity, since the close of the Civil War, the
temptations for money making have become so numerous,
that a Tammany contractor can find more wealth in paving
one of the streets of the city than in a Klondyke gold mine.
As a result the city Government is now in the hands of a
gang of political-grafters, who are able to systematize the
business affairs in the interest of the House of Grafters
on Fourteenth Street, and are able to cover their tracks
and “hoodwink” the people.</p>
<p class='c006'>The amount of money appropriated by the Board of Estimate
and Apportionment as the running expense of the city
for the year 1909 is $156,545,148.14, which is $13,722,089.91
more than was spent last year. It may be fairly estimated
that one-half of this amount is used to pay salaries
of all city employees and the other half the yearly supplies,
such as coal, books, stationery, printing, wagons, fire engines,
rents, etc., etc. From all of the supplies furnished to
the various departments, a commission of from twenty per
cent. to twenty-five per cent. reaches the men higher up,
taking a circuitous route to do so, but it gets there beyond
the shadow of a doubt. This money is never given as a
commission, but as a gift to the organization, so as to keep
within the law. In round numbers these commissions
will amount to not less than $12,000,000 a year. No one will
deny that nearly all the Tammany employees of the city
government pay into the organization yearly not less than
twenty per cent. of their salaries. Sometimes they are assessed
from five dollars and five thousand dollars, and if
they refuse to pay, they are black-listed and afterwards
“bounced.” Twenty per cent. of graft from the wages of
city employees would amount to not far from $12,000,000 a
year.</p>
<p class='c006'>Then there is enormous graft from the purchase of real
estate, school houses and other buildings for the city,
bridges, paving of streets, sewers, public improvements,
etc, etc., $12,000,000 of which will eventually reach the
house of grafters on Fourteenth Street.</p>
<p class='c006'>We have said nothing about the police graft, which, to
use the most conservative figures, will amount to at least
$20,000,000 a year. The larger part of this reaches the
house of grafters and is used for the purpose of buying
elections and paying idle retainers who work for the organization
around a November election. In the collection
of this graft, brewers, malsters, saloon keepers, merchants,
builders, contractors, the great shipping interests of the
city, dives, pool-rooms and baudy-houses all pay tribute.
Even bootblacks, cabmen and push cart men have all to
contribute to save themselves from petty annoyances.
Using the most careful figures, from sixty to seventy million
dollars a year is spent in graft.</p>
<p class='c006'>Gen. Bingham, in a newspaper article, estimates the city
graft at a $100,000,000 a year. Our figures are less as we
wish to keep on the safe side!</p>
<p class='c006'>Everybody knows that street railroads, gas companies and
big corporations of every name can tear up our streets and
leave them in a dangerous condition for months, but that
could not be done without paying “graft” to some persons!</p>
<p class='c006'>Nearly forty years ago Boss Tweed got away with something
like four million dollars from the city of New York.
This startled the entire country. But when Mr. Croker
went to Europe a few years ago, he is said by the “Boys”
to have taken with him a fortune of fifteen millions cash!
Tweed’s roll looks more like thirty cents alongside of
Croker’s, and his successor, Charley Murphy, shows no
signs of poverty thus far. If there is a bigger grafting institution
in the country than this place on Fourteenth
Street, we would like to know where it is.</p>
<p class='c006'>There are many ways whereby money can be used to
advantage in enriching and bribing city officials in return
for favors that the temptations to use graft are very great.
Ordinarily, when we speak of graft, we mean the payment
of money or its equivalent, to some public official or even a
member of his family who is willing in return to perform
a dishonest act or wink at the violation of law. A considerable
amount of graft is received in the form of gifts and tips
for favors given indirectly in one way or another, that cannot
be considered criminal. Still no business man is willing
to tip an employee of the city government without expecting
some favors in return.</p>
<p class='c006'>What the average city official receives as gifts and gratuities
are insignificant compared to what the “big grafters”
receive who are the leaders of our political organizations,
from rich corporations and railroads and for fat contracts,
franchises and special privileges which are worth millions
of dollars.</p>
<p class='c006'>A few years ago the Lexow and Mazet investigators, who
exposed this graft plague in the city government, showed
that many persons in the police department, from the highest
officials down to patrolmen, were in the business for
“Graft” and all favors and promotions cost money. It also
became known that a captaincy cost as high as $17,000 to
$20,000, and sometimes much higher. But the bi-partisan
political character of the Board was mainly responsible for
this shameful corruption. Under Gen. Bingham all this
was done away, and merit ruled the department.</p>
<p class='c006'>For several years police officials have been involved in
“Graft Scandals,” and after their retirement from the
department were found to be immensely rich, besides
having large real estate interests. This condition of affairs
has gone on so many years that the rank and file of the
force are not satisfied now with their regular salary, and
demand graft for protecting the “gin mill,” the “immoral
house,” the pool room and the “gambling hell,” all of
which brings an enormous revenue. In some cases everybody
in the block is called upon to pay tribute, and woe be
to the one that refuses.</p>
<p class='c006'>A man named G........, from Chicago, who was arrested
in the lower part of the city for intoxication, told me,
when he was in the station house, he could remember distinctly
the cop going through his pockets; when he came to
himself next morning he found he was minus a diamond
ring and some bills. The police had relieved him of all his
money. When he called for his money he had his face
punched.</p>
<p class='c006'>There have been times when by the free use of graft, inside
information including secrets that are supposed to be
carefully guarded by the officials in the controller’s office,
tax office, corporation counsel’s office, board of education,
office of the coroner and other departments, have been given
away by grafters to men who reaped thousands of dollars
thereby.</p>
<p class='c006'>A grafting contractor can afford to pay a dishonest municipal
employe a thousand dollars, or even five thousand
dollars, for the information that will enable him to secure
the job to build sewers or pave streets, erect a school house
or build a bridge or a reservoir. Often “fake” bids are
made so as to secure the work to a ring of speculators who
in the end reap millions.</p>
<p class='c006'>The new water works for this city will cost at least $250,000,000.
Tammany Commissioners make fifty dollars a
day. If they work twenty-four days in a month they get
$1,200. That is big money to men who are only laborers in
intellect!</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c005' />
</div>
<p class='c006'> </p>
<div class='tnbox'>
<ul class='ul_1 c005'>
<li>Transcriber’s Note:
<ul class='ul_2'>
<li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
</li>
<li>Typographical errors were silently corrected.
</li>
<li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant
form was found in this book.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class='c006'> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63641 ***</div>
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