Just north of Grand Street, and in the shadow of the Essex Market, from which it is separated by a narrow alley, is a gloomy looking brick edifice, fronting on Ludlow street, and extending back to Essex street. This is Ludlow Street Jail, the prison of the county of New York. It is sometimes called "The Sheriff's Prison." All persons arrested under process issued by the Sheriff of the county of New York are imprisoned here.

The majority of the prisoners are arrested for debt. Although imprisonment for debt is forbidden by the Constitution of the State, it is easy for a creditor to consign a debtor to the cells of this prison. He has only to appear before the proper Court and make oath that his debtor is about leaving the State without paying him the amount due him.

An order of arrest is at once issued by the Court, and the unfortunate debtor is arrested by the Sheriff, or by one of his deputies, and consigned to Ludlow Street Jail. Members of the National Guard arrested for violations of the laws governing that organization are also confined here, and these constitute a large class of the inmates. The United States Courts also send their prisoners here, the general Government paying the county a certain sum per day for the accommodations furnished such persons. The prison contains a number of excellent rooms, which prisoners who are willing to pay liberally for such comforts are allowed to occupy.

The charges are extortionate, but the ordinary accommodations provided by the county are so wretched, that those who have the means will pay any price to obtain better quarters. Perhaps no class of prisoners in New York are subject to such extortions as the unhappy persons confined in Ludlow Street Jail. Before reaching the prison they are obliged to pass through the hands of the Sheriff's deputies, who receive no salaries, and are dependent for support upon the sums they can extort from their victims. No favor will be granted unless liberally paid for, and persons unacquainted with the lawful charges of the establishment are fleeced unmercifully.

When a man is arrested by a deputy sheriff and desires to give bail, he is taken to the Sheriff's office, and his friends who are likely to become his sureties are sent for. The law requires that a reasonable time shall be allowed him in which to find bail. If, however, he wishes to leave the Sheriff's office, he can do so only by feeing a deputy, and the amount demanded is in proportion to the prisoner's probable means. A man of wealth, if his bail be fixed at a large amount, not infrequently pays several hundred dollars a day for the privilege of being at large in the company of a deputy Sheriff. When the bondsmen appear, a charge of $11.75 is made for giving a bond.

The law fixing the Sheriff's fees says that the charge for giving a bail bond shall be 37 cents; but this is interpreted to mean simply for signing the bond, and by making charges for drawing the bond, for a searcher's work in ascertaining the standing of the bondsmen, and for several notary fees, the above amount is reached. Lawyers assert that as high as $21.75 has been charged, deputies making any charge they think will be paid, failing to pay which the defendant is incarcerated in Ludlow Street Jail. In many cases it is expected that the defendant's attorney, if he has one, will make no objection to the extortionate charge, and will not enlighten his client as to the legal fee.

It is also alleged that the Sheriff's deputies refrain from serving an order of arrest if $10 to $20 is forthcoming, and if the defendant shows a willingness to submit, the deputy repeats the process, until finally the plaintiff in the action compels the arrest to be made. Another common practice is to delay serving an order of arrest until after four o'clock, at which hour the Sheriff's office is closed. The arrested man is then willing to pay a considerable sum to have the order withheld until the next day, or to have his bonds taken at the deputy's house. Lawyers also say that no bail bond will be accepted at the Sheriff's office except one drawn there, the reason given being that the bond must be "satisfactory to the Sheriff." This is understood to mean that no bond will be considered "satisfactory" unless it is drawn in the Sheriff's office and can be charged for. Efforts have been made by the Bar Association to put a stop to these abuses, but so far without success.