The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-08-13
THE ALBAEY PENITENTIARY.
Treatment of the Ku-KIux Prisoners
from South Caro1inx-ImPrison ent
at Hard Labor, and on the Silent
Sy stem.

| a reporter OF lno new 1Ork WOTlQ HIS Ossu
paying visit TO the Albany Penitentiary,
where the prisoners from South Carolina con-
| victed OF violations Of the enforcement act
are confined, and he describes at great length
10 that paper the condition of that institution,
the mode OF treatment of the prisoners, and
the conversations that he had with several OF
| the prisoners, mong whom was Mr.. Samuel
G. Brown, of Yorkvllle, venerable and re.
spected citizen, aged about sixty years, who,
1t may be remembered, was sentenced last
winter, upon the tllmsiest possible evidence,
to five years imprisonment and one Thousand
dollars ine. The penitenttary appears to be 0
wel-arranged and excellent institution Of its
kind, and the prisoners from South Carolina
| appear TO be treated as we'll as is TO be ex-
pected, excepting, OF course, that, by being
confined in penitentary, they are made to
| endure "lmprlsonment with hard labor" in-
| stead of 'mprlsonment" alone, which Is the
| limit of the punishment prescribed by the act.
The correspondent went all through The
| prison and visited the various shops where
| the coRvicts were at work. There are four
| large shops, In which shoemaking In all its
| branches is carried on; and this is the only
| manufacture; except that the women and very
| oil men are employed In making cane-bot-
L
| dred and twenty-five prisoners, oil whom
ninety are women. The institution belongs
to the county, but they receive State prison
ers from certain counties Of the State when
the sentence Is five years or over-as q
prisoner sentenced for 80 long term Is q
source of profit to the institution, his
labor being. more than an equivalent
States prisoners from Washington, Yir-
glDla and West Virginia, North and South
Carolina and Alabama. The prison costs
| nothing either to county or State, being en-
trely self.supportlng, with q surplus to spare
at the end of each year. I: Is conducted on
being allowed TO converse eiLner while at
work or In their cells. There is fine school
room attached TO the building, where all who
wish can 20 for two evenings out OF the week,
the only requisite for admission being the
good conduct of the applicant. There are at
present slxty-fve regular attendants at the
school, OF all ages up to ei1ty yoars Tho oim
is to take the most ignorant and teach them
to read, write and cipher, SO that ON leaving
the Institution they may be able to get
living honestly. They are allowed to write
letters 10 friends every four weeks and to re-
celve all letters which may be Sent
to them. These are distributed every
Sabbath morning, aud every tour weeks
their friends may see them If they 30 de-
sire. Their friends are allowed 10 send them
any little delicacies they may wish to, aud a
great many do send to them canned fruits or
other fruit III their season, &c. Once ln a
year they get roast turkey dinner, and on
the Fourth Of July and on Thanksgiving Day
grand blow out is given them. Coffee every
morning, with bread and tmush, comprises
their breakfast. For dinner, three days in the
week. they have fresh meat, soup ana yegeta-
blea, with bread. One day In the week pork
and beans, and two days salt beef and vegeta-
bles. On Saturdays they luxuriate on fish
chowder, The component parts of which are,
hundred and fifty pounds OF pork and three
barrels of potatoes peeled and sliced. Food
for the mind Is provided rs well as for the
body, and from large and well stocked library
the prisoners are allowed 10 draw book each
Sunday, returning and exchanging 1t on the
next Sabbath. the only newspaper allowed to
be seen by the convicts Is the New York
Ledger, as there Is never any news 10 1t, and
the stories are considered harmless. In
charge OF the library and of the hospital Is
Major Hodge, one of Grants detaulting pay
masters, who is serving out sentence of ten
years, and which employment was considered
more suitable for him than making shoes.
There is q fine chapel In the upper story of the
main building, and here on each Sabbath
the spiritual wants of The conVlcls are minis
tered to by the chaplain Of the Institution, who
also has charge of the school, assisted by tour
or FIVE volunteers among the officers. There
are FIVE Of the women cOhfned for long SEN
tences, those here being regular attendants,
going out for few weeks to be rearrested and
sent back for short terms, the prison recelv-
Ing prisoners of the county for terms as low as
| sixty days, and the terms Of the Inmates range
| from this low term to life. The health Of the
prisoners is uniformly good, and but few OF
the beds OF the hospital were tenanted yester-
day. and every par; of the institution was O
model of neatness and cleanliness, from the
kitchen to the attic. The view from the super
intendenl's Office is o peculiarly fine one, and
| except the fact that the inmates cannot visit
| their friends and acquaintapces as often as
they might desire, 1t would seem 10 be most
delightful place of residence.
Detective Whitely's Report.
WASHINGTON, August IL.
Colonel Whitley, the chief of the government
detectives, who. under the Instructions Of the
attorney general, visited the alleged Ku-Klux
prisoners at Albany, has made an elaborate
report. The encouragement Will confer with
the President on the subject as soon as the lat
ter returns to Washington.
THOSE MURDEROUS MEXICANS.
BROWNSVILLE. Tex, August IL.
Mr. Alexander, prominent frontier mer-
chant, has been assassinated forty miles above