The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-05-21
DYER Asn IfAn:HEA.


OVER asD TfaAnER
Important Prose- nsment Of the Grand Jury
The Condition Of The Prisons and Psblic
lDstnDtiOns.
Before Judge Miller.
The Grand Jury appeared before tins yesterday
morning and made the following prcscn tment:--
The Grand Jury BEG leave respectfully TO report
Plat IN addition 10 the discharge or the duties spe-
cially imposed upon them, they have, OF their own
motion, VISITED number OF the public institutions
Investigated their condition and management
fully their limited and pressure or other
engagements would permit Tho conclusions at wh,c b
they have arrived they desire briefly TO submit TO your
Horor and 70 the public
The ESTABLISHMENTS which they have exam ned are the
following under The control Of the Commissioners OF
Public Charities aud Correction, VIZ. The City Prison.
Bellevue Hospital, Nurseries Randall's Island Luna
lie Asylum, the Amshouse, Infants Bureau OF same
reneuiiary. Charity Hospital Worlhonse and The spe-
ctai hospital for para,ytics and epeptcs and the fol-
lowing under the control Of the Police
Wiz House for Detention OF Witnesses Police Head
quarters and n number of station houses.
These several institutions viii be referred in
the order in which thew above enumerated
The City Prison. popu-ariy known as the Tombs, rs a
disgrace TO the metropolis and none
% procmng II than the public authorities charged
with It's administration. Its accommodations for prs
oners are deplcraDly Insufficient The number that
be properly lodged In II as 1907 the average number
actually confined there is $50, and during the
months when The sitting the number is
frequently increased TO 450 FIVE persons are some
times placed IN one CELL varying IN dimensions from
feet by feet inches TO Z feet by 5 feet inches
The moral evils OF condition OF things a.
grea. as The physical and both shocking date
upon and almost TO contemplate We unable TO
Detect want OF attention the of the
ofcc OF the prison IN doing all that be done for
comfort and cleanliness under such unfav0rabe
stances The fault does not lie with them but the
pubic Of city which toeraes the continuance
such inadequate provisions for the accommodation of
mos charged With crime. The building, both from its
and It's location, being built upon piles
the pond of water formerly known as the Collect una
vodably damp
The lower ucr Of cells Is infested with rats which come
m through the soil pipes Their ncursons may not he
numerous as have been represented in sensational
newspaper statements; but have the testimony Of
one Of the Commissioners 70 their existence and
she unsuccessful eorts which have been made by the
o. them And yet we are unable 70 assent that the
Tonbs Is necessarily unhealthy place OF residence.
The vital statistics certainly do not show it, or l262l
persons confined there last year only nnc en- died and
she epidemcs which have swept the city have always
spared this establishment It's medical sdminstra,op
ss represented rs being most excellent
The Jury earnestly recommend the construction OF .
new and adequate prison 10 some other part Of the city
IN place OF the Tombs During the nrst after the
construction Of the Tomos completed, 1885, the
average number OF persons confined within its walls
100000 tin lsAo 3l2,s52. The Five Points IN the
immediate vicinity OF the prison then the centre OF
migratory, and the present centre Of crime in New
York IL remote from where II thirty years ago II
y now probably west Of Broadway. between Canal and
Blocker Streets But II, notwithstanding the views
which Ne have presented, the construction OF .
prison deemed incompetent at this time, insist
that deccncy requires that At least the accommodations
Of the Tombs be extended and improved This
done by removing the Court OF Sessions, &C, else
where and appropraiing the entire building TO prison
purposes.
that Coar. the Police Magistrates OF the Third Dis
trici easily obtained in the neighborhoed, NJ .
moderate expense IL the humane citizens OF New York
ionger permit the present dsgraccui condition OF
their City Prison, the responsibility and the will
be theirs IL II relief 20 turn from the consideration
Of such IN institution 70 that Of one presenting in
every particular agreeable a contrast to does
Bellevue Hospital We doubt II any other capital the
world boast Of such admirably situated arranged and
managed charity hospitals NJ New York possesses Al
Bellevue did not obtain our information exclusively
from commissioners, physicians, wardens employees,
but converssd privately and freely with the inmaea
We informed ourselves carefully As possible about
the food attendance sanitary provisions &c and there
nothing that speak OF In other than those
Of praise The experience Of the late has caused the
introduction OF many improvements in hospital manage
nent and in so Tar as they are applicable 10 civil hos
ptai they have been introduced nj Bellevue. The
her OF beds here thousand and the number OF pa
sients annually treated medically and surgcaiy about
eight thousand The halls, wards Kitchens &C. kept
most scrupuously clean and the atmosphere through
the whole establishment is fresh and pure
abe most fssdious gentlemans private residence and
yet IL fun Of people, Who on their entrance are reek-
tng with every imaginable foulncsA The nurseries
Randals Island are probably better known and apprc
ciafed by citizens than any other Of public inst
tutiops
Everythng connected with them 10 30 admirable that
Abe highest praise The system Of moral educational
and physical training seems 70 be nearly perfect and
S,y than iha; to Randsils isand Be- easily con-
ceivcd and make all the allowance for the fact that
We saw everything IN It's holiday aspect The number
The Lunstc ASYLUM on Blackweli's Island contains
about eight hundred patients The building 10 An Old
one, and inadequate 70 the accommodation Of 20
Complaint Is also made that great difncusy s expert
same time during cold weather We have NO reason TO
believe that the management othsr than humane and
todicious and reasonably successful
hcia Its inmates are mostly old persons incapable OF
work The diet Is lower than a. any Of the other public
~ uf 4 80
the Slst OF March, exclusive Of children IN WIS
called the Infants bureau. attached 70 the Almsi
The fshfal mortality among these children has already
attracted public attention The per ceniage OF death
snoue the foundlings last year. large SO $40
IL was explained 70 that they almost always IN
DYING condition when received that the practice for
nsa,g, unasr hi. sSs,sm we're 40 numsro,. ina, 10
change made Of local nurses employed; thai
KEEP, especially for these nfan,s and that
always fed with the milk Of the COW, but not
wbssandne al that has been done the death
sinuss undminshsd II seemed 10 Us thai most OF The
women employed TO bring up these children on the bot
Gle old ard narm and or these expressed 10
ms the opinion that u more wet employed
the mortality would not great The SUBJECTS
tsiry one 10 which hsmany . 50 deeply con cerned -
90 arrest attention and 10 call for more thorough
tigstion than We have been able 10 make
The Penitcntiary ~ model prison in construction,
We informed tina, their dimensions the same
those OF the state Pracn al Sing Sing The discipline
appears 70 be street but unnecessarily harsh. The
number Of conyicts wss on March 81, $40 The youth
OF tne larger numptf OF Convlcts, potn mere ana IN
other penal institutions IL very observable eircum-
stance Most OF them are under twenty yea OF age
or the Charity Hospital We can speak In the same
terms Of commeadaton. The most captous person
could see nothing 10 nnd fault wth. When consider
abe loashsoms nature Of the diseases OF most Of the
pafsnss the absence OF anything offensive the senses
in any OF The wards or In portion Of the building
very remarkable The zeal and skilfune9 OF the med-
cal stas OF charity hospitals appear 10 b entitled TO
she hehsss commcndailon This institution sheltered,
on the 3lss Of March, sol patients.
what has already been said Of the fsnientary may be
SUBSTANTIALLY reported Of the workhosse Persons
committed here for short terms fos misdemeanors,
principally for drunkenness and dsordery conduct II
nearly double that OF males while the number Of men
Who commit crimes Ia larger than that OF women There
In the workhouse on March 81 eoS persons Of both
The hospitals for paralyics and spspics on RsndAI's
Island have been recently established Ibey seem 70 Be
Mesfmept thai can be reasonably sxpscted 10 the cass