New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-02-05

n. lac, that almost any abuse VIII be sooner toes
aied than deficiency IN tue receips OF the prison,
,b hnauces Is almost the only suDJecs that engages
~. attention. II exec t the appointment OF oi-
Gers Instead OF visiting the prisons nurnedly once
a month. be should spend weeks at umo IN the
r,ison walls gain the commence OF tne conV;ts sec
III, ahns,s are not pYactced suffered 10 go unre-
oress.a and see that the heath and improvement OF
the convcts not sacrificed 10 the OF tae
contractor, the ease aud PASSIONS OF tns
nae oficers We are convinced that ms Is the only
lire Of duty that can be pursued win success, anu
that II has as yet been but imoefiectly performer
one of the Inspectors Mr. Angeul was examined
wear he had twice visited the prisons winch were
not under his peculiar charge once ne had Oseh e1
cused from meeting by his associaIes, anu naI VS.
ed his ov Prison once month, Tor le" I'd, AZ d
time. 80, ... ...,
Apy one in the least acquainted with prison m,N
tsrs must be aware that II is impossible ior an Ia
specior to do his duty to the State at large or 70 'he
prisoners, by such 2 moce o, olsceMshg ~,
striking illustration Of this truth Is shoNn IN one Oh
his answers to the inquiries Of the COMMITTEE seq
tons "A and As of the act Of sis direct inc erection
each prison Of separate cells for the PURPOSES ..
punishment and when this Inspector MAS as6ed ~
us IL such cells had been erected IN the prison unos
his particular charge, he answered, 81 am no' a0ie
to say" -,
ties or disorders At his prison which others defcroeh
and for a very good reason. tie had never ttuyl.
the prisoners that they had IN him protector against
the exacuOns of contractors and the abuses OF the
Z.
was any one 10 curb or regulate their cupdity, or
the officers that they had jealous master careiu1ly
guarding against their oppression or tyranny. Anu
while other persons were able 10 give us accounts
of various violations OF the law in HIS prison. ne
seemed to be utterly unconscious OF their existence.
The interest of the contractors is IN dlrec, CONFLICT
with that OF the Ssae and the welfare OF ine prison
eTs The contract ste n tnough II is OehehcltI III
regard to The iGancss is IN every ohey peek IN
furious and lis operation must be watched WIN the
utmost vigilance, 20 prevent very disastrous conse
oueuces Their interest Is 20 get as much LABOR ous
OF the possible, and at as low price as
po,sihs, and TO ON the officers rs many sratu-
tous privileges as tney an Aht l. appeais ma. s
which each convict shail perform; that complaints
are made By the prisoners aas they are oyer"oseu,
sometimes to an injurious extent, tnat these com
plants have been sometimes attended 10 oy the SUP
ordinate officers but By the Inspectors nerer IL also
appears, IN two cases, one az Auburn ana one as
Sing Sing, that contractors have been allowed 70
have the labor at less than the contract price, ana IN
one of the cases, under circumstances when crede
disfuSt as 10 the integrity OF some OF tne QUIZ
GERS. II also appears that the contractors are allow
ed to have many of what are called ltpay men,
uEder the pretense Of their being disabled. In sing
Sing that has been carried 50 far that onetWeHta OF
the men let TO contractors are hali-pay men Az
Auburn il is vet worse for ont OF 63e let 20 cOntrac.
tors Isl aIe charged at halfpay, Is at pay, az
given as inyats for whom charge is made, and III
reduction of cents from 40, the contract price,
than !ard of the Ichole number gircns0 ne
contractors at pTceS less than they hare agreed u 6!vs
for ntn.
Six OF seven years ago, as we are informed, this
contriyance was detected at Slng.Sng, and The con-
vets who were put down as half pay men, on the
ground OF being Inyaids, ard had been rated such
for months surprised az H. they dong full work.
and being rated lnvaids mereyior the purpose Of
benehttng the contractors, but without cOa'eHng
upon them any exemption from labor
Hence probably it's shat there is so great dis
party between The number OF half pay men at Au-
DuTn aud Slng-siug at the present time Els work
al tlme TO get the number very large Az Slng-Sing
IL has been the work Of Elk seven years only How
long 1t has been going on at Auburn we do not
know.
THIS aust be the explanation OF this matter, the
Auburn prison must be very unhealthy as compared
with SiBg Sing fer at AuOuIn, out OF 636 men lei "
contractors, 2i9 are rated as lnvaIis while at sing
SHg, oUt Of 500 on contract, A. only are so rated.
IL Sing Sing IN leii there 935 prisoners, and
the monthly cost OF support $2.33S IL, or So 80
q u.OLth Tor each pa isOner. Ia 1880 the NUMBER OF
pTsoners wss 76j aGd the monthly cost OF support
Vas $2,SS4 o.. or SO 80 month for each prisoner.
Are the Inspectors aware of this, or can they give
any good reason for this increase of near 60 per cent
III the cost Of supporting the pris9nersl
To carry the inquiry step further, 10 SHOW the
II suficiency Of such an inspection, the Com nittee
call attention to the total expenditures OF that prison
fer those years.
In lsi4 the number of prisoners was g35. The ex.
Bufcugs.--. SlOl7 81 oher disbursem'ss 81 100 60
CoDvic, support ----28 058 O8
,2l3 OS
Or $te IL per year for each prisoner
III 1850 tue hughes of prisoners was 7G5. The ex-
penses were as follows:
Fr building pur- lConvict support. 369li II
IA oelOthef puI poses.--. $3.50 II
iotal------ -------.------S95,0 90 g.
Or $t23 90 per year for each prisoner; or an in
crease OF ABOUT 80 per cent.
BY descending t. particulars, II will be seen in
arisen. For salaries Of officers
In l84i -: si59Si IS la 1850 s2 900 SO
For pay OF guard:
Ia l'fi-.-,; $3.50 so In .sii 800 IS
Thus while the number Of prisoners has diminished
some Is per cent, the expense of guarding them has
hcreated some 25 per cent. And IN the same man.
Der, tee total expenses
or provisions. have increased "a
OF Hospital S,o IS rcreassd--------..---- 929 81
Az the rate at @hlch the Prison was supported in
1874, he sum total Of lis expenses in 1850 ought to
nave been S525G3 49, whereas 1t was sos ,s2s 81
ano then the dfat upon the State Treasury which
was made in 1850, for Sil 5s7 so, might have been
dispensed with.
The Committee condemn the frequent changes
OF officers, and their appointments on political
grounds; the salaries of keepers Isl 37l daily
are pronounced too small At Sing Sing they
found an officer not provided by law, called the
receiving a salary of $1,000 The
Committee recommend that the law of May o,
1885, providing for an annual inspection of the
Prisons by members OF the Prison Association,
under the direction of the Chancellor, or a Judge
Of the Supreme Court or Circuit Judge be re-
'ived. This law has not been repealed but has
been rendered nugatory by the Inspectors.
The Committee testify to a general improve.
ment in the discipline of the various prisons
within the past five years, by rendering it hu-
naner, and corresponding Improvement in the
character and conduct Of the convicts. Better
pay and more attentive and competent men are
recommended to be appointed for the important
offices OF chaplains, physicians and teachers
As it is, they are sometimes filed by proper per-
sons, but not uniformly. They condemn the