Chapter I: Introduction: By Rev. Madison C. Peters, D. D

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.

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.”

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THANKS.

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.

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.

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.

THE AUTHOR.

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ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE AUTHOR, REV. JOHN J. MUNRO
CHILDREN’S COURT
GENERAL SESSIONS JUDGES
CRIMINAL BRANCH OF SUPREME COURT
EX-POLICE COMMISSIONER THEODORE A. BINGHAM
POLICE COMMISSIONER BAKER AT HIS DESK
NEW TOMBS PRISON
CORRIDOR OF WOMEN’S PRISON
OLD TOMBS ENTRANCE ON LEONARD STREET
DAVIS, WHO PARDONED HIMSELF OUT OF PRISON
SING SING PRISON ENTRANCE
SING SING CHAPEL
THE DEATH CHAMBER AT SING SING
NEW POLICE HEADQUARTERS
SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE IN THE OLD TOMBS
OLD POLICE HEADQUARTERS
JUSTICE BLANCHARD OF SUPREME COURT
JUSTICE GOFF OF THE SUPREME COURT
THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS
HON C. V. COLLINS, SUPERINTENDENT OF PRISONS
HON. JOHN F. MCINTYRE, CRIMINAL LAWYER
SCENE IN THE TENDERLOIN STATION HOUSE
MRS. JOHN A. FOSTER, THE TOMBS ANGEL
PUTTING A CROOK THROUGH THE “THIRD DEGREE” AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS
ROLL CALL IN A STATION HOUSE AT MIDNIGHT
MEN’S PRISON
WOMEN’S PRISON

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CONTENTS.

FOREWORD

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES Page 11

The strange circumstances of a visit
to the Tombs on an errand of
mercy.—Early impressions more than
thirty years ago.—Recollections—Humane
Overseers.

CHAPTER I.

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THE TOMBS Page 17

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.

CHAPTER II.

AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF AMERICA’S MOST Page 29
FAMOUS PRISON

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.

CHAPTER III

MODERN EXCUSES FOR CRIME Page 38

Criminal instincts—Moral
defectives—Inducing men to commit
crime—Examples—The fair sex as
tempters—The irresistible
impulse—Drawing the line.

CHAPTER IV.

HOW CRIMINALS ARE MADE Page 45

Increase in crime—Fierce modern
temptations—Strong drink as a crime
maker—Immigration—Gladstone’s
dictum—Finding the causes—Is there a
remedy?

CHAPTER V.

THE SCIENTIFIC CRIMINAL Page 50

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.

CHAPTER VI.

SOME FAMOUS TOMBS PRISONERS Page 57

The irony of fate—The innocent and
guilty—Monroe Edwards—Murderers’
Row—Scannel, Croker, Erastus Wyman,
Ferdinand Ward, Buchanan, Carlyle
Harris, Patrick and Thaw.

CHAPTER VII

THE DANGEROUS EDUCATED CROOK Page 62

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.

CHAPTER VIII.

LEAVES FROM THE HISTORY OF A CHECKERED Page 67
CAREER

The remarkable confessions of one of
the brightest, brainiest and smartest
crooks of his day.
How He Pardoned Himself Out of Prison
Admits total depravity—His
prayer—Serving time in a Coal
Mine—Impersonating a
clergyman—Feigning to be deaf and
dumb—Bemoaning His sad condition.

CHAPTER IX.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CROOK Page 75
How a Young Life Was Wrecked

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.

CHAPTER X

WANDERING STARS AND BUZZARDS OF THE Page 81
TOMBS
Thrilling Experiences

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.

CHAPTER XI.

BRILLIANT FORGERY CROOKS Page 100

Forgery as a fine art—A skilled
crime—Forgery experts—Becker, the King
of Forgers—His career—Three of a kind.

CHAPTER XII.

CHANGING THE GRAND JURY INTO A BOARD OF Page 108
CRIMINAL EXPERTS
A New Classification of Criminals

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.

CHAPTER XIII

SCHOOLS OF CRIME Page 120
How Young Crooks are Educated

Crime both infectious and
contagious—Importing crooks—New York
prisons, crime breeders—Modern
Fagins—Breaking up Faginism—Best
remedy morality in the public schools.

CHAPTER XIV.

YOUTHFUL DELINQUENTS AND THE CHILDREN’S Page 126
COURT

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.

CHAPTER XV.

THE ROD AS A REFORMATIVE AGENT IN THE Page 133
EDUCATION OF YOUTHFUL LAWBREAKERS

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.

CHAPTER XVI

CRIME AMONG WOMEN Page 139
(1) The Social Evil. (2) Felonies.
(3) The Shoplifter.

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.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE STEAL OR STARVE UNFORTUNATES Page 151

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.

CHAPTER XVIII.

HOW YOUNG MEN BREAK INTO PRISON Page 157

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.

CHAPTER XIX

OUR POLICE GUARDIANS Page 164

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.

CHAPTER XX.

THE DETECTIVE BUREAU Page 171

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.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE ROGUES’ GALLERY AND THE THIRD DEGREE Page 179

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.

CHAPTER XXII

THE CITY GANGS Page 185

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.

CHAPTER XXIII.

CRIMINAL TRIALS AND THE GLORIOUS Page 190
UNCERTAINTY OF THE LAW

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.

CHAPTER XXIV.

CRIMINAL BRANCH OF THE SUPREME COURT Page 202

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.

CHAPTER XXV

SHARKS AND SHYSTERS OF OUR CRIMINAL Page 206
COURTS

Fallen on evil days—Robbing
clients—Examples—Steerers and
policemen—The City and District
prisons—Grafting around Courts.

CHAPTER XXVI.

SCENES IN OUR POLICE COURTS Page 213

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.

CHAPTER XXVII.

CROOKED CROOKS IN PRISONS Page 219
Crime Committed in Penal Institutions

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.

CHAPTER XXVIII

SCENES DURING VISITING HOURS IN THE Page 226
TOMBS

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.

CHAPTER XXIX.

DOES IMPRISONMENT REFORM? Page 236

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.

CHAPTER XXX.

STRONG DRINK AND CRIME Page 243

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.

CHAPTER XXXI

THE ANGELS OF THE TOMBS Page 248

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.

CHAPTER XXXII.

WEDDINGS OF THE TOMBS Page 256

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.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

AFTER SENTENCE, WHAT? Page 261

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.

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE INFLICTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN Page 269
THE TOMBS

John C. Colt—A suicide—Hanging day in
the Tombs—The hanging of Harry
Carlton—Scenes around the
building—Official list of the
executed.

CHAPTER XXXV.

A VISIT TO THE DEATH HOUSE AT SING SING Page 277

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.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

A TRAMP COLONY Page 284

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.

CHAPTER XXXVII

THE COST OF CRIME IN GREATER NEW YORK Page 291

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.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE AGE OF GRAFT. Page 296

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.

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A Sunday morning service in the old Tombs prison.]

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