Litchfield enquirer., 1872-06-20

This may seem almost incredibls, built is rather nnderrased than. sexaggerated. The storm on Thursday was not accom- panied by such severe thunder and light ming. but the quantity ofrain that fell was unprecedented. Hail, too, fell in great quantities, and the stonss seemed as large as hazelnuts Considerable dam age was done, and a great many trees were blown down by the furious wind.
 The roads are in very, bad condition.
 = The Village Improvement Associa- ton will hold grand Fair and Festival l on the evening of the third, and during the day and evening of the fourth of July.
 The ladies have been unremitting in their endeayors to ensure success, and very elaborate preparations have been made forit. A mammoth tent will be erected on the green, and visitors will find that the entertainment will well repay them for their attendance. INo.
 - GOSHEN, June 14th, 1872.
 MR. EDrToR:-A new State Prison in place of the one at Wethersfeld has been recommended tos the Legislature and people of this State from a source entitled to high consideration. Let us examine some of the reasons upon which the State Prison Commission, appointed few months ago by Gov. Jewell, base their recommendation 'Sl 1' :' -
 1st. They say that the Prison building at Wethersfeld ''is in, a decayed and bad condition. Do they mean the walls oi the building? or the floors, or roof ?-we do not know, but we do know from re- peated observation that the walls of the main building, and of the shops, have not l in the 45 years since their erection varied one-fourth of an inch from, their original l perpendicular, and have suffered only as l all buildings suffer from the gradual 1 1ac- as l tioa ofstime; in fact, may be said to be in good state of preservation; and shesarne may be said of all the important parts oi the Prison buildings proper What the Commissioners say later in their report about the barns and out buildings, the quarters of the Warden and his family and the dormitories of the Officers, cores ponds with the report of the Directors, except in this particular; the Directors would make some alterations and and utilize spare room so as to make that part of the Institution comfortable and pleas \ ant is -..'t .s.-' - ..
 Ed. Another reason of the Commission CTS why new Prison should be built is the want of adaptation in the present buildings to sa reformatory system ot rnanagements implying, j. invariably, in their, report that the present system of management is only penal; this is incor- rect. sl Let us see. The means by which l the reformation of bad men is sought are l the presentation of moral and religious motiyess How is it at Wethersfeld? then then is preaching in the Chapel on Sun day, attendance compulsory, and also Sunday School or Bible class, after the preaching service, attendance optional with the prisoners; short appropriate re- ligious services daily, in the main corri- dor at which nearly all the prisoners are present, good books within easy reach, a spiritual teacher and adviser constantly at hand; in addition to this, though not strictly moral or religious in its nature, is the probationary principle applied by Statute to the term of commitment by which it is ] shortened one sixth for good department. So much for what is done in the present building, and done, conveniently, for the reformation of the unfortunate men con 1 fined there ,sf -fs-r'-r[,r. .l. ...,f,,.,.s ..
 2d. The next obiection of the commis- sioners to the present Prison is the small ness and insufficient ventilation of the cells. live were to build new Prison it would be well, pehaps, to make them a little larger, but not for the sake. of ven- tilation. That is about as good as it can be in a prison. The corridor extending around that block of cells is IA feet wide and 35 or 40ifeet high and communicating with the world outside by IS or 20 large windows and pr 10 large ventilators in the ceiling The cells open into the cor ridor by grated door whose rods are so far apart that nearly the whole size of the deorwayis open to the corridor Now, if the air outside the prison is good it is easy through those 20 windows to have the air in the corridors and cells as. good as is possible in a prison That little orifce in the back end of the cells don't amount to anything anyway except to disturb the equanimity of the N Y. Tribune. If the oriice were thrice as large, tine ventilation would hardly be better, because it is so ample through the door As might have been expected the sanitary condition of the Prison has been remarkably good for years. The Commissioners further object to the Prison because ''its aspect is cheer less and forbidding. If this is, true of Wethersfsld it is also true of other Pris- ons and jails; it is true because crime is cheerless, forbidding, degrading and dis graceful, and because the very idea of a Prison implies.the deprivation of natural liberty and a seryitude that is penal as well as reformatory 5.tis -.,.. M ,,5 -, -' @ r There, are other points in the gCommis- sioners report that are calculated to mis- lead public sentiment, but which cannot now be noticed for want of space .e 1 In conclusion: if the State needs a new Prison it is not because the present one is too small, old or poor; it is not because the reformation of the prisoners, so far as it is attainable in any Prison is unattaina- ble here; it is not because the arrange ments are such that proper ventilation l cannot ha aacurad. if ia mt heca11aa of the