Newspapers / The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, … / Jan. 30, 1930, edition 1 / Page 7
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t titthsPAY, JANUARY 30, 1930 ffilEN AND THEREI Iltsion told as it would be written today j | By IRVIN S. COBB l\ The Angel of the Prisoners * | ii J r Elizabeth Gurney fry was an English Quakeress, a deeply pious, simple, sincere, modest »-cman, devoted to her family duties and shunning notoriety whenever she could. mankind knows her as one of the greatest philanthropists who ever lived She en 'e‘ t in history as an "Angel of Compassion" as a "Genius lor Good.” Seventy-five dl!re ‘ afte , her death the work which srie inaugurated for the administration of penal dilutions still endures throughout most ol the civilized world Because Elizabeth Fry ,nf aS practical in her mind as she was charitable and generous in her soul. *** To those of this generation it seems almost incredible that so lately as the first decades of the Nineteenth century men and women accused ot trivial offences were |^° de d with fetters and crammed into noisome dungeons, there to lie in nakedness and filth and unchecked debauchery and sometimes to starve since no regular provision was m adt for teedin,f them » that for I***? crimes they were hanged in public or transported • In th«w floating hells called convict ships to overseas colonies, where under the lash and ■ a chains they served out their sentences for cruel taskmasters; that the insane were trail'd hhe criminals; and that thousands who had fallen into debt were confined for long year* or even for life in dismal fails. This condition applied to England and notably t 0 Scotland, and H applied practically to every country in Europe and. in a considerably lesser degree it applied to the young republic of the United States. It was due to Elizabeth Fry that these shocking evils were, during her own lifetime, largely corrected, not only in Great Britain but in other lands. The tale of her achieve ment reads like romance, so small and quiet were .its beginnings, so gentle and retiring ita treator, so tremendous its force when humanity had been aroused to a sense of its own callous negligence. The movement which was eventually to arouse popular sentiment everywhere in the civilized world began when Mrs. Fry, then a young matron, paid a visit to London’* notorious prison of Newgate, entering a part of it which even armed wardens hesitated ta Invade for fear of the desperate inmates. It culminated when the British government co operated with her to remedy existing conditions in jails, lock-ups and penitentiaries through put the United Kingdom; and its fruits are manifest today in the conduct of reformatory Institutions throughout the world and especially the English-speaking world. Every man or woman who goes to prison these times owes a debt of gratitude to Elizabeth Fry. Her own journal offers the closest insight into her motives, her aims and her performance. Quotations from it make up a considerable part of the splendid article. AT THE time of Elizabeth Fry’s first visit to Newgate the wom an's division consisted of two wards and two cells embracing a su perficial area of about one hunjred ninety yards. Into these spaces we re crammed three hundred women, the guilty and the innocent, the tried and the untried, the minor offenders and those convicted who were soon to die upon the gallows. Os these las. there must have been a goodly num ber since in Great Britain at the be ginning of the last century there were three hundred separate crimes punish able with death—including petty theft. Indeed, a man or woman might be hanged for robbing hen-roosts, writing threatening letters, or pilfer ing property from the person of an other to the value of five shillings. One old man and his son were the wardens and caretakers for the abominably squalid hole into which these three hundred poor creatures were crammed. Os that initial expen ence of hers Mrs. Fry wrote: “They were destitute of sufficient clothing, for which there was no pro vision; in rags and dirt, without bed ding they slept on the floor, the boards of which were in part raised to sup piv a sort of pillow. In the same room they lived, cooked and washed. With the proceeds of their clamorous begging when any stranger appeared among them the prisoners purchased liquors from a tap in the prison. Spir its were openly drunk and the 'em was assailed by the most terrible language. . . . Although military sentinels were posted on the leads of the prison, such was the lawlessness prevailing that Mr. Newman, the gov ernor, entered this portion of it with reluctance.*’ Ministering to a Doomed Woman. There was yet another distressing feature —the everlasting clanking of fetters upon the limbs of many of these poor wretches. Manacles were in general use for the restraint of prisoners. Nearly all men prisoners in |jiese days wore constantly upon the if ankies heavy chains, and on occasion wrist-irons as well —not the light, al most decorative handcuffs of modern times, but heavy bracelets connected by huge links or by solid iron bars Nor were women spared these igno mimes. In many prisons through out the kingdom practically no pro vision was made for the feeding of the inmates, so that to overcrowding disease, filth, obscenity arid vice were adder] the horrors of starvation. Even so, there had been during Mrs. Frys girlhood some reform in penal conditions—thanks to the et forts of r >n older philanthropist than she, by name John Howard, who finally dir (1 of overexertion, a martyi to his work in behalf of oppressed humanity. Mrs. Fry was a sensibb soul. First she enlisted the members of her own household and her friends in the r;■ >k of providing garments t« cover the nakedness of the Wretched creatures in Newgate. She began making regular visits there: later sin extended her ministrations to loath s °me j;;iis. lunatic, asylums and so called hospitals throughout England and Scotland <s o that when she put her pic-,-; before the government she was \veii fortified with first-hand evi dence. Her journal, which she kept from day to d,- t y. provides heart-moving pictures of degradation and misery. Fer Instance she wrote: "1 have just returned from a mel ancholy visit to Newgate where 1 have t •< n at the request of Elizabeth evious to her execution to * o’clock. 1 found her I distressed and tor nd. Her hands were ■ oil with something like r;.;ioii which precedes death. ; u an universal tremor. "The ; 11 who. .were*' with her said she ■ been so outrageous before our go • a they thought a man must he ' ! to manage her. However ' 1 ! M serious time with her. hei ’’ ■ <i soul became calmed.” * * E ca Ecfore the House of Commons the n ° l! t>n,r * v ( “ isls a light upor , 4 ., I’-’eriot conditions of Newgate: Hiis poor young woman there ,lis< s ‘ s men to be hanged, one of a wife near her confine <ll{ ' a!so condemned, and sever young children. Since the awful re port came down he has become quite mad from horror of mind. A straight waistcoat could not keep him within bounds; he bad just bitten the turn key; I saw the man come out wPh his hand bleeding as I passed the cell. I hear that another who lias been tol erably educated and brought up was doing all lie could to harden himself through unbelief, trying to convince himself that religious truths were idle tales.” In 1 SI7, four years after her first inspection of London’s most notorious prison, she founded a society of worn en under the title. “An Association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate.” Eleven Qual; eresses, herself included, and the wife of a clergyman of another faith com posed the organization. From this small beginning spiang the movement which would in time sweep England with a wave of mercy. As for demure quiet litlL Mrs. Fry. she woke up one morning to find herself famous, to h*- hailed as a benefactress to the race and to he offered the co-operation oi parliamentary leaders ami officials everywhere. Early in the following year—lSlS— a committee of the house of commons was appointed to investigate Hie phys ical state and conduct of prisons in the metropolis. Before this body Mrs Fry in her sober Quaker dress np peared as the chief witness to give evidence. She fold how her reading of the Scriptures had resulted in calm ing turbulent spirits awaiting fran* portation to England's penal colony in Australia; how her group had worked by night ano by day to pro vide garments and food for women in confinement and to reconcile tlmst under sentence and to care for ami reform those who had been released Sheriffs Sometime? Clothed Charges This question was pqt to her: “Do you know anything of-the room and accommodations for the women at Newgate in 1817?’ : “Not nearly room enough. It vvt had room enough to class them 1 think a very great deal more might be accomplished. We labor very much in the day, and we see the fruit of our labor; but if we could separate them ! in the night I do think that we could j not calculate upon the effect which would be^produced.” “At present, those convicted for all offenses pass the day together?” “Very much so; very much inter mixed, old and young, hardened of fenders with those who have commit ted only a minor crime, or the first crime; the very lowest of women with respectable married women and maid servants. It is more injurious than can he described in its effect and in its consequence. One little instance to prove how beneficial it is to take care of the prisoners is afforded h\ the case of a poor woman for whom we have obtained pardon. We- taught her to knit in the prison; site is now living respectably out of if and in part gains her livelihood b.v knitting “One poor woman to whom we lent money comes every week to my house and pays two shillings as honest 1\ and as punctually as we could de sire.” “Do you know whether there is any clothing allowed by-the city?” “Not any. Whenever we have ap plied or mentioned anything about clothing we have always found that there was no other resource but .pin owii, excepting that the sheriffs used to clothe the prisoners occasionally Lately nobody has clothed them bin ourselves.” “Have you ever had prisoners there who have suffered materially for want of clothing?” ■ • “1. could mention .such scenes ns f should hardly think it delicate t<> men tion. We had a woman the other day on Hie point of lying-in. brought to . heii -’ivid many hours after she came in. Site had hardly a covering; n< stockings and only a thin gown.’ “Has it not happened that when gentlemen have come in to see tin prison you have been obliged to static before the u'omen who were in a con ditioU not fit to be seen?” “Yes. I remember one instance in which I wsis obliged to stand befor» THE CHATHAM RECORD, PITTSBORO, N. C. i one of the women to prevent her he- j ing seen.” “What is the average space allowed J to inch woman to lie upon, taking the j average number in the prison?” “I cannot he accurate, not having measured; from eighteen inches to two feet. I should think.” “By six feet?'’ “Yes.” Harrowing Spectacles in Scotland. Perhaps without knowing it Mrs Fry that day sowed the seeds for some of the very forms ol penal ad ministration which are in vogue to this day. She insisted that employ ment should be provided for prison ers. that separate sleeping-quarters should in all instances be arranged; that steps shopld he taken for aiding released convicts to earn honest liv ings: that men prisoners and women prisoners should invariably be kept apart; that for women prisoners, keepers and attendants of their own sex should he hired—all things un dreamed of before she voiced the need for, them. It was in the next year that Mrs. Fry at her own expense undertook a special journey into northern Eng . land and Scotland, there to inquire into jailing conditions. She found a state of things even more awful than those she had observed in London. At Haddington she wrote: “Four cells allotted to prisoners of the tramp and criminal class were very dark, exces sively dirty, had clay floors, no fire places, straw in one corner for a bed. and in each of them a tub. the re . ceptncle for all filth.” Irons connected by iron bars were i employed in such away as to become veritable instruments of torture to ; the men and women upon whose limbs I they were locked or riveted. At For far prisoners customarily were chained : to tDeir bedsteads; at Berwick, to the walls of their cell ; at Newcastle, to i rings set in the stone floors. In Scot land both debtors and lunatics were treated with the utmost cruelty. Mad people suffered the indignities visited upon criminals, and the debtors fared no better. According to Scotch law : at tins period the magistrates who , committed a man for debt and the jailer wl.o held him became responsi hie in case of his escape. Thus it befell that men—and women whose only offenses were that they could not pay what they owed, dragged heavy shackles and denned in foul cells which they were rarely per mitted to leave. Returning home, Mrs. Fry raised the cry that reformation and not revenge was the object of punishment. Alt Britain was by now in a fit frame ot mind to hearken to her appeal. The crimes for which capital punishment might he inflicted were tremendously reduced in number; the custom of shipping felons in chain gangs to Botany bay was abolished; lunatics were given decent treatment; the fet ters fell from the limbs of the jail inmates. Eventually public executions were abolished; finally, hut not until Charles Dickens had stirred the con sciences of his countrymen by his writings, the debtors’ prisons were closed. A century and more after Elizabeth Fry's work was ended, the crusade she inaugurated still guides courts and warders in the discharge of their duties toward offenders against society and the laws set up tn society. ((c) bv the Bc-M Syndicate. Inc.) —■— Set Artist’s Feet on Path of Immortality When Jean Francois Millet, French genre and landscape painter, in the days of his early career, seemed to be stumbling into the pitfall of striving after popular effect it was ids grand mother who led him to the proper path. Louise Jumelin, widow of Nich olas Millet, was living with the family of her son, and with anxiety had be held for some time the youthful art Ist*s willingness to paint that which found the most ready sale. “Follow the example of that man ot your own profession who used to say ‘paint for eternity.’ ” she advised him “and for no cause whatever permit yourself to do evil works.” A few years laler. in 18(17. Millet was so well established in loftier ideals that he is found writing. “I con tinue to desire only this: To live from my work and to bring up my children fittingly: then to express the most pos sible of my impressions; also, and at the same timo-m have the sympathies of those 1 love well. Let all this he granted me and I shall regard myself as having the good portion.” As is weir known, this ambition was realized, and Millet’s life was as sim pie and truly great as any of his im mortal pictures.—Detroit News. Child Arrives * Early, at Understanding Ag? . How far hark can you rememhor*' Few people ate likely to be able r< emulate the feat of the man who re members details of a fire that oo curred vvhjtn he was a baby of eight months, or;, Hie woman who can ts member w-hat happened a few non utrs after ;her birth. Too mnTiy parents assume that, imbies are ‘‘too young to understand , said a psychologist recently I’abie- Mie allowed to witness disturbim.- sights or sounds from who p child'et a few years oldet sire kept away Al though a baby may be too young '!< understand, it is never too young t. remember, and perhaps he disturber by the memory in later life. In one instance when a person sal tered from asthma in adult 'ife. ii was sttid to he due to a choking fit brought on by too strong a dose <>* vapor when only two and a .half rears ‘ old, and remembered in later life. Isle rosa! g By MIMI | Is There a Chance? <»LJ \VE I got a chance of happi *• * ness with Nat?” asks Isabel pathetically. “He wants me to marry him and it seems to me I love him. hut there are so many drawbacks. He is much older than 1 am. and I’m sure that he won’t want to dance or go out at all in a few years’ time and I’m too young to give up parties. Also isn’t really interested in the things which interest me. And he’s nearing middle age and he isn’t area! success in life. Am I taking too big a chance marrying a man who lias no really brilliant future and who may be old before I’m thirty? I would love to marry him if only I could set my fears at rest.” Well, dearie, your fears are doomed to remain wandering restless spirits, if you want them lulled hy me. • You haven’t the slightest chance of success in marriage with anybody if you go into the proposition in the frame of mind indicated hy your ques tion. Success in marriage as you may have heard some four hundred thou sand times before this—means com promise. And d-o 1 hear a word about compromise from your ruby-red lips? I do not. The only thing makes itself clear to me is this: That Isabel wants to have a good Time even after a few years of settling down—that she re sents Nat's not being interested in her hobbies —that she wants to have enough money to live comfortably and Nat ought to supply the internal rev enue. That's all she wants. Not a word about whether you’re willing to do vour part, child Not. a word about wanting to help Nat to make the success which has eluded him through a rather dismal business career. Just the [(lain statement that yon want cash and a successful husband— and will Nat do? No, he certainly won't do for you nor will any othVr poor mortal man who needs a wife’s comfort and sym pathy and understanding and com panionship—not her imperious de mands for mental and financial satis faction. You've got the best chance in th< world of being happy with a man i you’re willing to take the had breaks with the good. With that spirit ii your heart you could stumble into an; one of half a dozen marriages ami make a success of things. But if you’re the wide-awake young self-safistier. eager hands outstretched I to take everything, eager lips forming the immortal word “Gimme,” you’re bound to hump into a few snags even though you .marry the most perfect specimen in the world. Learn to think about what YOU can do to make your marriage a success ((c) b.v the Bell Svn licate. Inc ) 1 SUE CCSA I | By MIMI g Luxury of Cattiness D REATHES there a damsel with T* soul so dead who has never mur mured to a bosom gossip, “Now for a really good low-down on our friends.” and therewith plunged into a nice cat ty discussion of acquaintances, inti mate and distant? There are very few gals in the world who won’t own up, under pres sure, to a perfectly natural human de sire, ever so often, to criticize what in their friends they find unpleasant— and to do it thoroughly. It doesn’t seem exactly a vicious practice—this little pastime of rak ing all one's neighbors over the coals, but honestly it's tloe most costly lux ury any little maiden can afford. The girl who settles herself down comfortably to tell an interested audi ence exactly why Dorothy isn’t as nice as she's supposed to be —is indulging herself—and at what an expense. For the sake of a few precious mo ments of tongue-wagging over a delect able piece of gossip—she’s endanger ing her own good reputation and friendship with her hearers. * Oh. yes, she is! Not that they’re all silently despising her for gossip ing—as they eagerly listen and press for more details. Not that at all. But somewhere inside them they’re making a mental note: “This girl Anne ('AN bo darned catty if she chooses.- I wonder what she’d say about me if she got half a chance.’’ Os course, that isn’t a really con scious thought with them at all. But the impression sticks, all the same, and it breeds distrust of Ar.ne. There aren't many high-minded ; young things in the crowd today who will actually refuse to listen to the low-down on somebody else. So- that Anne will never receive open and-vio lent rebuff for her story-telling pro clivities. She will always be listened to with flattering interest. But she will not he trusted as a loyal friend and confidante, no matter how well her gossip is received. Even tire Dumbest Dora is bound to get wise to the- fact that if Anne tells such interesting and dirty details about Dorothy, t Anne will he able to furnish just the'same amount of interesting data, on any girl to whom she takes a sudden dislike. Therefore even the- Dumbest Dorn is careful not to give Anne food for conversation. She doesn't exactly avoid the little story teller, but she avoids being conspicuously friendly or uiffrendly. (Cc) by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) SALE OF VALUABLE FARM PROPERTY Under and by virtue of the au thority conferred upon us in a deed of trust executed by W. T. Hurst and wife, Della Hurst, on the 14th day of December, 1925, and re corded in Book A-C, page 29, we will on - SATURDAY, the 22nd DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1930, 12 o’clock noon at the courthouse door in Pitts boro, N. C., Chatham County, sell atpublic auction for cash to the highest bidder the following land, to-vvit: All that certain piece, parcel or tract of land containing 147 acres, more or less, situated, lying and being on the Pittsboro-Graham Road about 10 miles Northwest fx’om the town of Pittsboro in Hadley Town ship, Chatham County, North Caro lina, the same being bounded on the North by lands of J. F. Glosson; on the East by lands of Dr. Mann heirs; on the South by lands of Gay Bucker and on the West by lands of W. T. Hurst, and being a part of the identical land conveyed to W. T. Hurst by E. J. Braxton and others by deed dated April 3, 1917, and recorded in Book of Lee Hardware Co. Headquarters for Farming Tools, Implements, Mill Supplies, Builders’ Supplies, Kitchen and Household Hardware See Us for Roofing and Paints Chatham Folk are invited to make our store headquarters when in Sanford THE LEE HARDWARE CO. Sanford, N. C. """' ' 1 - T — 1 1 THE GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS One of the South’s big daily newspapers, the Greens boro News occupies a unique and enviable position, | serves a large and constantly growing list of subscribers throughout the entire state, and fulfills completely the need and demand for a progressive, independent and virile daily paper, which in every respect is a NEWSpaper. There is something in it every day for every member of the family, from the head of the house right on down to the kiddies. The best of features, always; all the sports, good editorials, complete markets and general news. Carrier delivery service in all the cities and towns at 20c per week; mail subscriptions accepted for three, six and twelve months at the following rates: Daily and Sunday, $9 per year; daily only, $7 per year. GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS GREENSBORO, N. C. Circulation Department • ) X THE COLOR OF YOUR HOUSE DECIDES THE COLOR OF YOUR ROOF Your roof is a part of your house—a very vital part architects say—and the ✓ roofing you put on should be selected so as to harmonize pleasingly with the walls, trim and architectural style. And you can see in advance just how many different effects will look on your particular home. When you are ready to roof or re-roof, ' call Budd-Piper to show you the many combinations available. In all we have 108 effective color schemes from which you may select one best suited to your home. . , THE BUDD-PIPER ROOFING CO. DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA —■■ ■ 1 ■ PAGE SEVEN Deeds F. T., page 178, in the office of the Register of Deeds of Chat ham County, North Carolina. This sale is made by reason of the failure of W. T. Hurst and wife Della Hurst to pay off and dis charge the indebtedness sefcured by said deed of trust. A deposit of 10 per cent will be required of the purchaser at the sale. This the 14th day of January, 1930. FIRST NATIONAL COMPANY OF DURHAM, Inc., TRUSTEE, formerly FIRST NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, DURHAM, N. C. CROSS OF SNOW PROTECTED A presidential proclamation has set aside some 1,329 acres of land in Holy Cross national forest of Colora do to protect the famous cross of snow formed by two snow-filled crevices on the side of the mountain. Holy Cross mountain is a peak ia Colorado which takes its name from a gigantic Greek cross formed by two snow-filled crevices on the side of the mountain. The cross is visible for miles around and is an object of considerable interest. —The Path finder.
The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, N.C.)
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Jan. 30, 1930, edition 1
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