The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1870-02-10
The JOhnst0yTn Tribune. the Co,
COm'neis and the Rew Jatl.

clnzens epteTtain toWsros the people OF tne
northern portion of the county, and especial
ly towards the citizens Of Ebensburg, feel
ing Of bitter and uudisguised hatred. We
can only say. with the utmost sincerity and
truthfulpess, that such spirit of uncharita-
bleness lie notreciprocated in this community.
The last number Of the Tribune contained
Q labSred, iuconcusivs and abusive article,
which the editor submitted TO the candid
aud disPassionate consideration of his read
ers, on the subject of "Our County Commis-
sioners and the New Jail" The editor
frankly admits that "it ,rould 0ppear that.
in accordance scih an Act Of Assembly on the
sut5ect. our county jail tcas condemned by ttoo
sUccessire Grand JuTies as being UNFIT for
the purpose for sch,ch it ,cas erected. and tcih
their appreciation and that of the Court. the
Commissioners Were empowered to build a
ncto Jail" The Act cf Assembly TO which
the editor refers wes passed on the 18th of
April, 1894. aud when be acknowledges its
binding force, he suri eI ceIS tie whole areu-
ment aud bis mouth ought to be closed
The initiative. over ;he erection Of a new Jail
begins with the Grand Jury. The first pre-
sentiment made to the Court by that tribunal
was at March Sessions, 1899. The Foreman
Of that Grand Jury was Francis O'Friel,
EsQ., Of Loretto, one of the most intelligent
and upright citizens of the county, and
amorg the t,renty members Of that body
wbo..were sworn, there were ten jurors from
the southern portion Of the county. TIE
ext preLentmtnt, as required By law, was
made by the Grand Jury at June Sessions,
1869. The Foreman of that Grand Inquest
was Msj John Thompson, of Ebensburg, q
gentleman well known to the citizens of the
whole county and to the people of Johns
town especially. On that Grand Jury. siz-
teen being sworn. there were nine gentlemen
who reside in the southern section Of the
county. At the sane Court at which this
second presentment was made, Judge Tay-
lor made the following endorsement on the
back of it:
18th June. 1859. approved and ordered to
'' he fled. and il is hereby recommended to the
- Commissioners of Cambria county that this
pI esentmsnt and the like presentment of the
Grand Jury at March Sessions, 1869, BE
"cARRnD INTO EVFTcr BY THE FRICTION OF a
NEW AND suFF GENT JAIL
This order of the Court was signed by
Eon George Taylor, President Judge, and
bg Eor. Ge..ge w. EasIy snd Hon. James
4uvrsy. Associate Judges of the Court.
We have now stated the action of two
successive Grand Juries, under the Act Of
Assembly, aud the order Of the Court in re-
ference thereto. We therefore say to the
editor Of the Tribune, in view o the law and
the facts. that the County Commissioners
were legally bound to put the Jail under
contract. They had no discretionary power
over the subject.
Three weeks after this order Of the Court,
June 1869, the Commissioners. through their
counsel, presented petition to the Court.
asking the Court toapprove Of Q loan, on the
credit Of the county, Of 0,000, to be ap-
piled to the erection of the proposed new
building. and to authorize them to issue the
bonds of the county, 10 amounts not less
than $50, bearing not more than per cent.
interest, aud payable not more than ten
years from their date. On the same day
the Court granted to the Commissioners the
authority prayed for. If the Commissioners
thought, at the time they presented this pc
titon to the Court, that $4,000 would be
sufficient to erect a substantial Jail for
county which is increasing as rapidly in
~
last for generations, they discovered their
error when the architect submitted to them
his estimate of the actual cost. Blair county
contains about the same population as Cam
bris. The contract price for building the
new Jail in the former county is $64, 900 and
yet the contractor, mGn Of long experience
in the business, after having honestly ex-
pended the whole SEA ,OC0. is about to be
generously relieved from his undertaking by
the Commissioners of that countv-thev
themselves completing the structure at
sn additional cost of $40 ,OOO. making $74,-
600 in all, which is $1,000 more than the
amount for which Mr.. Callan agreed and
bound himself to complete the Cambria
county Jail.
If new Jail must be erected, and no man,
even in Johustown or within the jurisdiction
of the District Court" will say that it
ought not to be. then it is the part of true
economy to build one that will be amply
sufficient for all the purposes of tie future.
We know that it is somewhat burdensome
on the people. but such things have hereto
fore happened in many of the counties Of
Others iu the future.
Now. what did the Commissioners do
They first consulted a skillful and expe-
rienced architect, Mr.. Havi!and (who came
here from Hollidaysburg. where he was then
and still is superintending the erection of the
tn g..