The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899, March 04, 1898, Image 1

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    m
THE AMERICAN
and !rin-i) Ad
vocated by thin -
THE AMERICANISM-';
I'lunKiiiv'a "rilTY YKAHH IN THK
(Hl'lUll Or ItOMK," "Mil lo V
atl.lr. in th ltmtl Mabi ur ('anfi'l
by m-.ll (or only ft Q Honti CAMU
wiU your vrilvr x9aCa . . . .
fOrtaml to
t your mittscriptittn
AMKK1CAN Inrone
year together Wita a gutx! buuk tf O
ut only
AMERICA FOR AMERICANS." We hold that all nun are Anu-rcian who Swear Allegiance to the United State without a mental re rvat k.ii.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
NUMHKK 9.
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER,
Volume VIII.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, MARCH 4, IMS
Tin
HeadqiMrtc
I, LID COD OF OUR FATHERS,
c
ens
(
I
07-
4
"Art Not Thou God in Heaven? and Rulest Thou
Not Over All the Kingdoms of the Heathen?"
"And in Thine Hand is there Not Power and Might,
so that None is Able to Withstand Thee?"
"ART THOU NOT OUR GOD?"
If Thou Art, Open the Hearts of this People and
Make them See the Iniquities of Romanism:
Make Them See that the Heritage Thou Gavext Thy Chil
ren is lieing Stolen by the Powers of Darkness and Sin
la the District Court, Second Judicial
District
State of Minnesota, County of Ram-
7, 63.
Seltne Clewett, Plaintiff vs. The
House of Good Shepherd, and others.
Defendants.
Tried in the District Court of said
county.
Charles Butts, Attorney for the
plaintiff.
Moses E. Clapp, John D. O'Brien
and C. D. O'Brien, Attorneys tor de
fendants. Mr. Butts having opened the case
to the jury proceeded to the Introduc
tion of evidence as follows:
Mr. Butts: I call Susan Crow for
cross-examination under the statute.
Susan Crow, sworn In behalf of the
plaintiff, testified as follows:
Examined by Mr. Butts.
Q. What is your name? A. Susan
Crow.
Q. What is your age? A. Forty
seven. Q. You are one of the defendants?
A. Yes sir.
Q. You are also an officer of the
defendant, the House of the Good
Shepherd, a corporation? A. Yea sir.
Q. What officer? A President.
Q. Does the corporation own any
property within the city of St Paul?
A. It owns the property of the House
of the Good Shepherd.
Q. Where Is that property situat
ed? A. Victoria and Blair, I think
to the location.
Q. A little louder. A. Victoria
and Blair. It is put in the Directory
ae Victoria and Blair.
She then testified that the House of
the Good Shepherd was a brick struc
ture three stories and a basement
That there were four departments in
the main building: first, the Nuns
department, second, the Magdalene
department, third, the I reserva
tion department and fourth, tl e sew
ing department, and that the Laundry
department was in a two story brick
building attached to the main build
tag by a cloister or covered way.
That the Laundry and Sewing depart
ments were reformatories. That
there were about 35 nuns there con
stantly. Q. The Magdalenes are what- A.
They are reformed girls who wish to
lead a good life.
Q. What do they do there? A.
Sewing.
Q. And about how many of them
are there? A. I think there are
about 32 now 31.
Q. And during the last two years,
about how many have they averaged?
A. About the same average.
Q. Now taking the Magdalenes,
about how many other Inmates are
there there, not Including the sisters?
A. Wrell we have two reformatories
Q. What are they called? A. Re
formatories. Q. Now Jn the first reformatory
what Is there? A. At present It con
tains about 25, I think. Now these
are to the best of my belief, I have
never counted them.
Q. About how many has it usually
held the last two years? A. Well,
between 25 and 35.
Q. Now, what work do they do In
the reformatory? A. They do laund
ry work.
Q. Then, was there any other de
partment there? A. There are a
small class of children, who are not
In the reformatory, who are good glrli
and small, ranging In age from two
7 sari to fourteen or fifteen.
Q. About how many of them? A.
At present I have 18 of these.
Q. Is that the general average? A.
It Is very recently that I have had
that class at all that I was obliged
to have it
Q. Then you have, including the
Nuns and Magdalenes anu the two re
formatories about 130 or 140 there,
all told? A. I should think so, about
that many.
Q. Now the Magdalenes do they
receive any compensation for their
work? A. Only their board, lodg
ing, clothes and care when sick.
Q. Care when sick? The walls of
this building are made of what? A.
You mean the structure itself?
Q. Yes? A. Of brick.
Q. Of brick? A. Yes.
Q. Is there any yard to the build
ing? A. Several yards.
Q. - Well, where are those yards, in
the court? A. There is no court,
properly speaking, that is designate
that, there is a wing and a main build
ing, then the yards out from each
department has it's yard.
Q. ARE THESE WARDS EN
CLOSED WITH A FENCE? A. WITH
A BOARD FENCE.
Q. HOW HIGH? A. WThERE THE
FORMER CITY PRISONERS WERE
KEPT, WHICH IS THE WASH DE
PARTMENT, AS WE CALL IT, THE
WALLS ARE HIGH. I dent know
its measurement. The juvenile re
formatory, where the younger girls
are, the wall is not so high. I think
it is over five feet
Q. Well, Sellne Clewett, the plain
tin in this case, was in the waBh
house, you say? A. First she was
in the sewing department; and at her
own request
Q. Well, now, don't I just asked
you where she was. A. In the sew
ing department first.
Q. How long? A. About two
weeks I think, or eleven days, I think.
Q. Wfcere then was she put? A. As
I said at her own request
Mr. Butts: I move to strike out
that la not responsive "At her own
request"
The Court: Stricken out.
Q. I just want to know which de
partment she was put in? A. Well,
she was removed to the wash-house
department.
Q. There is where the high wall
is, you say? A. Yes.
Q. Now does that wash-house are
there outside windows to that depart
ment? A. Why, yes sir.
Q. What kind of a department is
that? Just describe it to the Jury.
A. It consists of two floors.
,Q. Two floors? A. It Is not the
main building, not the main reforma
tory; it is another building apart from
main reformatory, connected to the
main reformatory by a cloister. That
consists of two floors, dormitory over
head and the class-room and refect
ory on the ground floor.
Q. And then the building you say
two or three stories? A. That is not
the same building, that is the annex.
Q. Well, Is there any basement to
this wash department? A. Just for
the wash-house.
Q. Then there Is a basement, then
a first-floor and then a second floor;
is that right? A. We consider that
building only having two floors; the
basement is not strictly speaking, a
basement, it is simply used for the
furnaces and for washing.
Q. A wash department, and then
the other ones are the main floors? A.
Are the main floors.
Q. In other words, the basement
you put your furnaces in and do the
washing? A. Yes, then there Is only
two floors after that
Q. Then give us the next floor
what do you do there? A. That is
the clans-room and refectory, scd
above that li the dormitory.
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enttrtd he House Mom sftc leir ii.
Q. Then the second room, what
do they do there? A. That is where
they iron. The ironing room is an
annex to their building. You have to
see the building to understand how it
is located.
Q. Well, now then, thle department
where you kept these in this depart
ment you have just described, that is
separated entirely from the other part
of the building? A. It 13 joined to
it by a cloister. Q. Yes, but is that
door or communication between the
two kept closed? A. The door, one
door, is kept closed, but the cloister is
not
Q. What I want to got at Is, that
communication between that and the
other part of the building is shut oft,
except for the use of yourself and the
sisters? A. Not closed for our
selves and sisters, for the use of any
one going in and out
Q. But do the inmates of this par
ticular ward have access all over the
building, or are they kept in this de
partment? A. Each class keeps Its
own department
Q. I am talking now particularly
with reference to the wash depart
ment? A. Yes.
Q. NOW ARE THE WINDOWS
AROUND THIS DEPARTMENT
BARRED? A. THERE ARE BARS
ON THEM. CERTAINLY.
Q. What kind of bars? A. These
are kind of not exactly bars, more
grating than bars. As I said before,
that department was used for city
prisoners.
Q. And It was kept as a prison?
A. It was then a prison.
Q. And the bars are on there the
same since? A. They are not bars.
Q. This open grating? A. It is t
wire grating.
Q. How large are the wires? A.
Ob, I have never measured them.
Q. Just give us an idea? A. I
have no idea.
Q. WELL. THEY ARE INTEND
ED I SUPPOSE (WERE INTENDED)
AND PUT THERE FOR THE PUR
POSE OF PREVENTING ESCAPES?
A. YES SIR.
Q. AND THEY ANSWERED
THEIR PURPOSE? A. CERTAIN
LY. Q. Now that is true of all the
windows and apertures leading out
of, opening out of, this department?
A. The upper floor of the laundry
department has no grating at all on
tt
Q. That is practically the third
story of the building. A. Yes,
practically.
Q. And that building as you say,
detached from all others? A. It is
attached to the wash-house.
Q. Yes, it is attached to the wash
house at the end, but you say it is
kept closed? A. There is no closing
there.
Q. Well, bars would be useless on
the dormatory, anyway? A. No, that
Is a very low building.
Q. Well, did you keep the city pris
oners in the dormatories? When you
had them? A. Yes, in the dorma
tories. Q. Well then you claim it was safe
to prevent escapes? A. I am not
speaking of the dormatory now, I am
speaking of the part of the wash de
partment which belongs to the same
class: you asked me if bars were on
all the windows. As I am saying. I
pay there are no bars on this upper
building where the ironing is done.
That Is not barred.
Q. BUT THE BCIUHNO IS PRAC
TICALLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY
IN THE SAME CONDITION IT WAS
WHEN YOU KEPT THE CITY PRIS
ONERS THERE? A. YES.
Q. AND YOU CALCULATED AND
INTENDED THAT THE BUILDING
WAS PRACTICALLY SAFE TO PRE
VENT ESCAPES IN THE CONDI
TION AND SHAPE IT WAS IN? A.
YES.
Q. And is now, and that condition
has existed for many years? A. Well,
I told you, yesterday I was only there
five years. I am there five years.
Q. Well, then, since you were
there? A. Since I came, yes. That
Is, In charge five years.
Q. Now do you sell the work of this
department? A. They are sold for
a firm in the city do their sewing.
They furnish the work and we do the
sewing.
Q. That is the other department?
A. Of both departments.
Q. Well In this department where
the laundry work is done, that is
done for whom generally? A. We
don't generally sell the laundry work.
We generally do laundry work and
get pay for it
Q. I DON'T MEAN THE MANU
FACTURED WORK, BUT YOU SELL
THE PRODUCTS? A, WE DO
LAUNDRY WORK FOR PEOPLE IN
THE CITY. KEEP A LAUNDRY IN
OTHER WORDS.
Q. And that work, the girls are
kept at. Now have you any rules or
regulations for your establishment
out there? A. Why, certaia'.T.
Q. Well now, just give me have
you those printed, or are they A.
We have no printed rules.
Q. Well, where are the rules? A.
What do you mean?
Q. For the government of the in
mates there? A. That is rather a
broad question. I do not exactly un
derstand it
Q. liaren't you a eet of rules there?
A. Simply told what they are re
quired to do.
She then tatd u. ln-1 dun:.' of.
the place.
o Now. who bsd charge rl
when she left? A. Sister Zephrlne
had charge of it when she left.
Q. Will you plase spell that for
me? A. Z-e-p-h-r-l-n-e. Of this
wash department.
Q. Who had complete charge and
control of the whole institution? A.
I have.
Q. Was everything there that was
done lhat Is, were all the sisters that
were there in that building, under
your control? A. Certainly.
Q. Were the inmates under your
control? A. Yes.
Q. Could anybody come in and go
out without your permission? A.
No, sir.
Q. Either I say "anybody," I
mean. A. Well, you mean the in
mates I presaroa.
Q. Yes or others on the outside?
No body can come or go out without
your permission? -A. Without my
permission.
Q. Now th entrance to the house
is on what side of it. the main en
trance? A. H is on the south side.
Q. Now as you go into the build
ing, what is the first room that you
go into? A. You go into a vestibule
first
Q. Now is the door to that vesti
bule kept locked? A. Almost always.
Q. Is there anyone kept there iff
th room adjoining the vestibule, or
in the vestibule? To receive visitors
or guests? A. There is a sister there
who answers the door-bell.
O. And what are her duties? A.
To bring the messages, report whe
calls, etc.
G. And when callers come
into the vestibule, cj
enter into the mam
they are admitted
not
Q. Now
stand?