The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-01-25
Tho Washington CITY Jail and Marshal
kamOn.

xn0 Waenln8tOn CITY jail and MAMMAL
kamOn.
A few days since the telegraph gave US q
meagrc synopsis of Senator Grimes expose of
the condition Of the Washington Jail and of the
doings Of Ward II. Lamon, United States Mar
shal for the District of Columbia. The expose
Is damaging one, showing that Laman is .
very improper man for -. Important position
he holds if not for any position. The following
are the remarks of Senator Grimes in full, made
on the 14th:
Mr.. CRIMES. have only very few words
to say in addition to what said when thie bill
was before under consideration. Its provisions
are quite simple and ought to be, entirely free
from objection. The simple purpose is, first, to
courts, namely, to make general jail delivery
Of all persons confined in Jail at the commence.
ment Of term Of the criminal court, and against
whom no indictment shall be found by the grand
jury; and second, to prevent the Jail, which was
built by the Government maintained at Gov
ernmcnt expense, and under Government con-
troll, from being used as place of confinement
FOR every person who, with q dark skin, is sus.
pected Of not owning himself l instanced,
when addressed tho Senate before on this
subject, many individual cases Of great wrong.
II is proper to say that the evils that have
existed at the Jail have proceeded from three
causes First, from the construction of the jail
itself. 1t is Of quite limited cspacity-not de.
signed to properly accommodate more than fifty
persons upon any humane principle Of classif-
cation. Yet / have seen two hundred and eigh.
teen confined there. Az an evidence Of this,
will say that at one Of my visits to the Jail saw
two young women confined as witnesses in the
same room with woman OF the most notori.
ously bad character, who was confined upon q
charge of wilful murder. The jail is so con-
structed az to permit Of no ventilation. The
whole atmosphere of the place is damp and fe-
It'd, and how human beings can endure it for
twelvemonth, IS some of them do, is wholly be-
yonl my comprehension. There are no proper
facilities for cooking, washing, drains, water
closets, and other important if not necessary
attachments to such an institution.
The second evil proceeds from the laws Of the
District, which encourage the apprehension Of
every colored man who can be found, upon the
charge Of being runaway slave. TIE fees that
are paid to constables and justices Of the peace
furnish q sufficient inducement to many men to
embark in this disgusting and humiliating basi-
ness, and the fees and board bills to be paid to
the jailors In such cases are sufficient induce.
ment to them to retain such alleged runaways as
long as possible.
The third difficulty proceeds from the manner
in which the Jail is kept It is but just to say
that there 10 really no comparison between its
condition now aud its condition ak weeks ago
There has been q wonderful Improvement in
| that time. How long it will last after Congress
adjourns, or now that members Of Congress are
prohibited from visiting it, no one can say. But
app!auding, as do, this recent improvement In
its condition, I by no means say that it is mol
susceptible Of and ought MOTTO be still further
greatly improved.
Perhaps, NJ. President, 1 ought not to allud,
to the manner in which the jail i, and has beer
kept Perhaps the Senate itself is somewhat Il
blame for Il, for trace great many Of th,
evils existing there, and the fsilure to remove
them, to the appointment Of . person as th
marshal Of the District Of Columbia, who va
made such by the advice and consent of thi
body.
The President Of the United States saw ct, il
the plenitude of bis wisdom, to import to thi
District from the State Of Illinois NJ. Ward q
Lamon, and to appoint him the marshal. II
not for me to say Why one Of the seventy thou
sand people Of this District was not selected 70
this responsible position; simply know Ii
fact that man was brought here from abroa
who had no interest in the District; WHO had n
community of feeling or sympathy with th
: people of the District; who was and is who'll
unfamiliar with the duties Of the position, an
| With the advice and consent of the Senate q
!, pointed marshal. Among other important dI
: ties intrusted by Law to the masshal is the col
troll Of the jail A hsmens and Christian ma
Q might make II Bethesda. NJ. Lamon has pal
= NO attention to il until of late, and now on
70 make an order prohibiting the admission to
Of all persons for ASpurposs Of inspection
otAervise, including members Of Congress u
l. - ne . ~