Turn out of Printing House Square, leaving the City Hall on your left,
and pass up Centre street for about a quarter of a mile, and you will
come to a massive granite edifice in the Egyptian style of architecture.
It occupies an entire square, and is bounded by Centre and Elm, and
Leonard and Franklin streets. The main entrance is on Centre street, and
is approached by a broad flight of granite steps, which lead to a portico
supported by massive Egyptian columns. The proper name of the edifice is
_The Halls of Justice_, but it is popularly known all over the Union as
_The Tombs_, which name was given to it in consequence of its gloomy
appearance. It occupies the site of the old Collect Pond which once
supplied the citizens of New York with drinking water, was begun in 1835
and completed in 1838.
The outer building occupies four sides of a hollow square, and is 253 by
200 feet in size. It was built at a time when New York contained
scarcely half its present population, and has long since ceased to be
equal to the necessities of the city. The site is low and damp, and the
building is badly ventilated. The warden does all in his power to
counteract these evils, and keeps the place remarkably neat, but it is
still a terribly sickly and dreary abode. It was designed to accommodate
about 200 prisoners, but for some years past the number of prisoners
confined here at one time has averaged 400, and has sometimes exceeded
that average. The Grand Jury of the County have recently condemned the
place as a nuisance, and it is believed that the city will ere long
possess a larger, cleaner, and more suitable prison.
[Picture: THE TOMBS.]
When the prison was built the Five Points, on the western verge of which
it lies, was a much worse section than it is now. It is bad enough at
present, but then the Tombs constituted a solitary island in a sea of
crime and suffering. A terrible island it was, too.
Entering through the gloomy portal upon which the sunlight never falls,
the visitor is chilled with the dampness which greets him as soon as he
passes into the shadow of the heavy columns. Upon reaching the inner
side of the enclosure, he finds that the portion of the prison seen from
the street encloses a large courtyard, in the centre of which stands a
second prison, 142 feet long by 45 feet deep, and containing 148 cells.
This is the male prison, and is connected with the outer building by a
bridge known as the _Bridge of Sighs_, since it is by means of it that
condemned criminals pass from their cells to the scaffold at the time of
their execution.
The gallows is taken down and kept in the prison until there is need for
it. Then it is set up in the courtyard near the Bridge of Sighs. All
executions are conducted here in private, that is, they are witnessed
only by such persons as the officers of the law may see fit to admit.
But on such days the neighboring buildings are black with people, seeking
to look down over the prison walls and witness the death agonies of the
poor wretch who is paying the penalty of the law.
[Picture: THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS.]
The interior of the male prison consists of a narrow and lofty hall, upon
which open four tiers of cells, one above another; those above the ground
floor being reached by light iron galleries. Each gallery is guarded by
two keepers. The cells are narrow, and each is lighted by a small
iron-barred window at the farther end. Light and air are also admitted
by the barred door of iron opening upon the corridor. There are eleven
cells of especial strength, in which convicts condemned to death or to
the State Prison are confined. There are six other cells, which are used
for the confinement of persons charged with offences less grave, and six
more, which are used for sick prisoners. The cells are generally full of
criminals. Some of them are well furnished, and are provided with
carpets, chairs, a table, and books and paper, which are bought at the
expense of the prisoner or his friends. Some of the inmates shrink from
the observation of visitors, but others are hardened to crime and shame,
and not unfrequently cause the visitor's ears to tingle with the remarks
they address to them. No lights are allowed in the cells, and the aspect
of the place is very gloomy, the whole prison is kept scrupulously clean,
the sanitary regulations being very strict, but the lack of room
necessitates the crowding of the prisoners to a fearfully demoralizing
extent.
[Picture: INTERIOR OF MALE PRISON.]
The outer building contains the female prison, which lies along the
Leonard street side, the boys' prison, and the halls of justice, or rooms
occupied by the Tombs Police Court and the Court of Special Sessions.
Over the main entrance on the Centre street side, are six comfortable
cells. These are for the use of criminals of the wealthier class, who
can afford to pay for such comforts. Forgers, fraudulent merchants, and
the like, pass the hours of their detention in these rooms, while their
humbler but not more guilty brothers in crime are shut in the close cells
of the male prison. These rooms command a view of the street, so that
their occupants are not entirely cut off from the outer world.
The female prison is in charge of an excellent matron, who has held her
position for more than twenty years. Men are never confined here, and
male visitors are subject to certain restrictions. In this portion is
located the room used as a chapel. Religious services of some kind are
held in the Tombs every day in the week except Saturday, and the effort
is made to give all the denominations an opportunity of doing good.
Sunday morning and Tuesday until noon are devoted to the Roman Catholics;
Sunday and Tuesday afternoons to the Episcopalians; Monday to the
Methodists, and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to the other Protestant
denominations. Some of the Protestant clergy sometimes attempt to hold
religious services in the main hall of the male prison, so that the
prisoners in their cells may hear what is going on. The latter pay
little or no attention to the preacher, and frequently interrupt and
annoy him by their shouts, jeers and imitations in their cells. The
Sisters of Charity are in charge of the female and boys' prisons, and do
a vast amount of good by their quiet ministrations. The boys are kept in
a large room during the day, and are locked up in separate cells at
night.
[Picture: THE PRISON CHAPEL.]
One of the principal rooms in the Tombs is "The Bummers' Cell." It is a
large apartment, shut off from one of the main halls by an iron railing.
It is always tolerably well filled, and on Saturday nights it is
overflowing. Here are confined those against whom there is no serious
charge; persons arrested for drunkenness, or for simple disorder on the
streets. On Sunday morning the visitor will sometimes find a large crowd
of men collected in it, not all of whom are unfortunates or criminals.
Some are well-dressed, well-to-do persons, who have had the misfortune to
be drunk and noisy on Saturday night. Some are strangers, residents of
other cities, who have started out from their hotels to see the sights
and have a merry time, and who have fallen at length--and fortunately for
them--into the hands of the police. A few are persons who have been
wrongfully or maliciously accused of crime.
From sunset until long after midnight on Saturday, the police are busy
with ridding the streets of drunken and disorderly persons. As soon as a
person is arrested, he is taken to the Tombs or to one of the
station-houses. It is the duty of the officer in charge of the precinct
to lock up every one against whom a definite charge is brought. Even
though satisfied that the person is wrongfully accused, or is simply
unfortunate, he has no discretion. He must hold for trial all charged
with offences, and at the Tombs the officer is obliged to throw persons
who command his sympathy into the company of the most abandoned wretches
for an entire night. Drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and fighting, are
the principal charges brought against the occupants of the Bummers' Cell.
The noise, profanity, and obscenity are fearful. All classes and ages
are represented there.
During the year 1870, 49,423 persons were confined for various periods of
time in the Tombs.
The Tombs Police Court offers some interesting and instructive
spectacles. It is opened at six o'clock on Sunday morning. It is
presided over by Justice Joseph Dowling, a short, thickset man, with a
handsome face, and a full, well-shaped head, indicating both ability and
determination. Judge Dowling is still a young man, and is one of the
most efficient magistrates in the city. His decisions are quickly
rendered, and are usually just. His long experience with criminals has
given him an intimate knowledge of the men with whom he has to deal, and
their ways. This often helps him to a conclusion which is really true,
although the evidence in the case does not confirm it, and he frequently
startles criminals by boldly declaring that they did thus and so at such
a time. The criminal overwhelmed with astonishment and confusion
generally admits the charge, and is sentenced accordingly. A stranger is
at once struck with the quick and penetrating power of Judge Dowling's
glance. He seems to look right through a criminal, and persons brought
before him generally find it impossible to deceive him. This has made
him the terror of criminals, who have come to regard an arraignment
before him as equivalent to a conviction, which is generally the case.
At the same time he is kind and considerate to those who are simply
unfortunate. As a man, he is kind-hearted, and inclined to lean toward
the side of mercy.
As soon as the court is opened, the prisoners are called up in the order
of their arrival during the previous night. Drunkenness and disorder,
and first offences of a minor character, are punished with a reprimand,
and the prisoner is dismissed. These cases constitute a majority of the
charges, and the judge disposes of them with a rapidity which astonishes
a stranger. The more serious cases are held for further examination, or
are sent on for trial before the Court of Special Sessions.
All classes of people come to the Justice with complaints of every
description. Women come to complain of their husbands, and men of their
wives. Judge Dowling listens to them all, and if a remedy is needed,
applies the proper one without delay. In most instances he dismisses the
parties with good advice, as their cases are not provided for by the law.
The Court of Special Sessions sits in a large hall on the right of the
main entrance to the prison. It is strictly a criminal court, and is for
the trial of charges which are too serious to be disposed of in the
Police Court. Two judges are supposed to sit during the sessions of this
court, but Judge Dowling frequently conducts its business alone. The
prisoner is allowed to employ counsel and introduce witnesses in his own
behalf.
The following is an example of the way in which Judge Dowling transacts
business in this court:
"The first case of importance was that of the People vs. James Day,
_alias_ 'Big-mouthed Scotty,' and William Jones, _alias_ 'Billy Clews,'
on the complaint of Captain Ira S. Garland, of the Twelfth precinct.
Probably there are not two other men in this city who could fairly be
compared with these. They are both of the most dissolute, desperate
habits, and have been what they now are, thieves, since the date of their
entry into this city. The first, who is truthfully styled
'big-mouthed'--that hole in his face being almost large enough to run in
one of the cars on the elevated railroad in Greenwich street--was born in
the Hielands o' Bonnie Scotland; but, be it said, he appears not to have
become inoculated with the same spirit of honesty and perseverance that
characterizes the greater portion of his countrymen. He arrived here
nearly twenty years ago, and since that time he has been a lazy,
contemptible thief, a shocking contrast with Caledonians in general.
[Picture: COURT OF SPECIAL SESSIONS.]
"His companion, 'Billy Clews,' has been known in different circles of the
same profession, and could usually be found in the neighborhood of Five
Points. On Thursday there was what is usually termed a 'large' funeral,
from a church at the corner of One-hundred-and-twenty-sixth street and
Fourth avenue. Outside was a long line of coaches, and inside the church
was full of mourners and the friends of the departed, whose remains were
about to be consigned to that 'bourn whence no traveller returns.' The
crowd inside was so great that the police were called in to put the
people in the seats, as far as could be done, and remained there during
the service to keep order. While Captain Garland was standing at the top
of the centre aisle he saw 'Big-Mouth' elbowing his way from the altar
towards the door, and making various efforts to pick pockets as he came
along. Presently he came close up behind a lady who was standing with
her face to the altar, and, reaching his hands in the folds of her dress,
quietly withdrew her pocket-book from its hiding place. The pocket-book
vanished very quickly, however, so that the captain could not see which
way it went or what, for the time, had become of it. At first the
thieves did not observe the captain, but the instant Day caught a glance
of him he turned quietly to his accomplice and said 'Look out, Billy;
there's a big cop.' Billy took the 'cue,' began to move off, and
attempted to get out of the church. But as they were both in the
doorway, and seeing the captain making for them, they made a rush out
from the sacred edifice, passed the carriages and ran down the avenue as
fast as 'shank's pony' could carry them. The captain gave chase, and,
with the aid of an officer on duty at the church, succeeded in arresting
the individuals who were thus trading on the mourners over a dead body.
On returning to the church Garland was informed of the loss of the lady's
pocketbook, but he failed to discover her among the crowd, and
consequently could not produce her in evidence against the prisoners at
the bar. He had seen them previously walking towards the church, and
knowing Day to be a general thief, he gave orders to look out for them,
but somehow for a long time the thieves escaped the vigilance of the
officers. They allowed it was 'all wrong' to be in the church at the
time, but they told the captain he ought to allow them to go, for he knew
'how it was' with them.
"'What have you to say, Scotty?' asked the Judge.
"'Oh, well,' replied Big-Mouth, 'I don't thenk a've got much to say, only
to ask your Honor to deal mercifully with us. The captain at the police
station didn't say he was to breng this prosecution agen us noo; he only
told us he wud tak us out o' harum's way, and didn't make no charge.'
"Judge Dowling.--'It is no use my saying anything to you, Day; in fact,
all that could be said is that you have never been anything else than
what you are now, a thief, and that, too, of a most contemptible type.
You go about to the various graveyards and rob the poor persons who are
too absorbed in interring the dead and in grieving for their lost friends
to notice that you are there for the purpose of plunder; you also visit
the churches wherever there is a crowd of this sort paying their last
respects to the remains of a friend, and never leave without robbing some
poor persons of their money or jewelry. Scotchy, you have done that
business for the past eighteen years to my own knowledge. I do not know
so much about your accomplice, or how long he has been travelling with
you. I will, however, rid the people of your presence, and do my best to
stay your heartless proceedings for some time to come. One year each in
the Penitentiary and a fine of $200 each, and both to stand committed
until the amounts be paid.'
"'I told you how it 'oud be, Scotty,' yelled his partner, and with a
deplorable attitude the pair were marched over the 'Bridge of Sighs.'"
The Tombs is merely a prison of detention, and as soon as prisoners are
sentenced to the institutions on Blackwell's Island, or the State Prison,
they are conveyed to those establishments with as little delay as
possible. The vehicle used for transporting them through the city is a
close wagon, with wooden blinds for light and ventilation, around the
upper part of the sides. This is known as "Black Maria," and may be
daily seen rumbling through the city on its way from the Police Courts to
the ferry to Blackwell's Island.
Closely connected with the penal system of the city is the "Prison
Association of New York." This society was organized in 1844. Its
constitution declares that its objects are: "I. A humane attention to
persons arrested and held for examination or trial, including inquiry
into the circumstances of their arrest, and the crimes charged against
them; securing to the friendless an impartial trial, and protection from
the depredations of unprincipled persons, whether professional sharpers
or fellow-prisoners. II. Encouragement and aid to discharged convicts
in their efforts to reform and earn an honest living. This is done by
assisting them to situations, providing them with tools, and otherwise
counselling them and helping them to business. III. To study the
question of prison discipline generally, the government of the State,
County, and City prisons, to obtain statistics of crime, to disseminate
information on this subject, to evolve the true principles of science,
and impress a more reformatory character on our penitentiary system."
[Picture: "BLACK MARIA."]
Between 1844 and 1869, the members and agents of the Association visited
in the prisons of New York and Brooklyn 93,560 persons confined there.
These were poor and friendless prisoners, and they received from the
Association such advice and aid as their cases demanded. During the same
period, 25,290 additional cases were examined by the officers of the
Society. They succeeded in obtaining the withdrawal of 6148 complaints,
as being trivial, or based upon prejudice or passion. Upon their
recommendation, the courts discharged 7922 persons guilty of first
offences, and who were penitent, or who had committed the offence under
mitigating circumstances. They also provided 4130 discharged convicts
with permanent situations, and furnished 18,307 other discharged convicts
with board, money, railroad tickets, or clothing, to help them to better
their condition. In the twenty-five years embraced in the above period,
they thus extended their good offices to 156,368 persons. A noble
record, truly.