, 1873-04-12

aud furniah official evidence to tho 1allroad and Warc
pol With tho law ID tho caao, md any refusal Or ncs-
so Of anX o of fsqr "a 2 any
eneo ense S"as my q md
0onlrnisHionors, when called upon to do no, shall 10
der 1a s 10 y o
Huoh llconHo lias not hccn procured, aud any Huch
warehosetan sl,s net ehar9a collect, or in any way
Ing sran aiati o Or hoy sha fuy conpy win tlis
act and tho uct. .tn which this Ia On amendment.
roforrod to tho Committee on informal Commerce
and Warehouses. .........
nEronr OF THE pEHiTENT1AhY INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE.
Mr.. Bnrclny presented tho report Of tho Poni-
tontiary Committee, which was road, ns follows:
10 tas hon: Shelly H. cs9Eo", Speaker u Tho HOUSE
Your Comtnittoo on Penitentiary, who wore by
resolution instructed to investigate the ohnrgos
? oas q u te t5e illinois tsts fsSitensafy as 5oist
bog lehvo to report ns follows: !
mot In tho chamber of tho City Council Of Joliet,
on February 30. 1875 mud .proceoded to the .ox-
snnon o. gg - o.
After long, careful, and worry thorough OK
amination of tho late management Of tho Penl-
tontiary no have arrived at tho following con-
olusiona;
One Of tho gravcat charges made againnt tho
prison nutAoritics was in roaton to tho salo Of
property, alleged to be worth about 948 900, to
Morris kosonfleld, Of hIoino, Ills, for tho sum
| OF $4,000. Touching 'this Ba1o your committee
| was conflicting In its character. The property
consisted mostly OF articles doomed unnecessary
for management by tho Investigating committee
Of 1871, among which WAS O largo number Of
wagons, partH of wagons, and wagon material,
and old machinery, etc. Tho salo Of this 81 un-
| necessary for management" material 1emaining
on hand at tho time Of tllis aalo, septembcr1 I,
teo Of 1871, WIS 841 ,0s0.s0. rrhis amount In
cludos al property tranaferred from other do
partmouts Of tho prison to '' unnecessary for
Tho sale Of this property to Morris Rosonfeld
was approved by tho Commissioners July 80,
1879. Tho employees whose duty 1t was to ship
the property woro instructed by tho Warden not
ing was contrary to tho inyariable custom OF tho
prison In making sales Of property previous to
That time. Tho writton contract Of Mr: Roson-
field and tho accompanying memoranda, con
property. No prices were fixed for tho dfroront
ARTICLES, or kinds Of property but tic whole was
sold IN lump FOR ?15, ,o0g at loss Of $25 1877. 40
from tho invoice prloos t appearing IN evidence
that hlr. RoBon1eld had disposed Of but small
portion Of this property, subcommittee, two
| Of whom wore wagon manufacturers OF largo
experience, was appointed to visit Moline and q,
mako q personal examination Of the
matssa Vaaa His Il 0'1S nit ase'ea eonsne
Of Mosars. Bishop, Dalton l. Webber, visited
Moline and made q thorough examination Of
sEgo amount ot HtSr tSd by hoa0n
10 tho Hon. D. ". DEakky, Chairman Penfte"ttarv
COMMITTEES:
SIR: The undersigned, constituting the aub-
Ing tho value Of tho property sold by Maj. A. ".
Edwards, us Wart1on Of tho Ponitentlary, to
Morris Roacnae!d, would respectfully report
ed in said aalo to bo mado very poorly, us gen,
eral thing, and that very poor timber vas used
in some Of them, and, in abort, they could not bo
ono at that. Tho tools woro in very bad contll-
ton and most Of tlom worthleas to mechanic,
aa 1t would cost as much to put them in repair aa
it would to purchase new tools. As for the stock
Of wagon matcrial, it would not pay to work up,
as tho quality Of tho timber was very inferior %
whole. Therefore, Judging from tho property
examined, it Is tho opinion Of your Committee
that the sale for the sum Of pit, GOO. As made by
4 tho aaid Warden, was good one for tho inter
! ests Of the Btatc.
eS's"''' p: + Re'ssss5 Wsssna, sub-oon.
II -. G. W. DALTON.
Tho inferior character OF much OF the proper
ty, and tho fact that considerable part thereof
was secondhand nnd worn machinery, makos It
worry difficult to nrrve at an accurate estimate OF
its real value. Athough the evidence and tho to
sale WAS fair transaction for tho interests
r Of the Btato, yet your Committee cannot
| approyo tho loose and unbuB1noa8- l1ko
: manner in which the sale was made. Notwitf1'
standing the Jumping character Of the sale, IN
invoice should hnye beeu made Of tho property.
with pricos affixed, as per invoice OF l87l, and
tho proper entries made on tho prison books:
/ Your Committee find that the Commissioners
aud Warden, in September last, purchased, al
private salo Gho law cloarly Indicating, thai
largo purchases Of supplies should bo made 'by
public letting Of contraots). q bill Of clothing
sa1s a9s r. hSo etc. ssd1uS e ano
being made out IN the name of Horacnan q
, May, Grand Rapids, Mich. The principal itcmE
in this bill wero 725 auits Of discharge clothing
at SO por suit. $500; 100 pairs Of blankets I et
per pair, ee,eo0; $50 pairs army s6wod boots a
81 por pair, 81, 600; leo dozen woolen shirts Al
, $40 por doz, 81, $40; 450 doz woolen socks a
ss por, pair, 81, $50, tho total amount Of a tue
. and checked from tho bills in tho usual manner
but stored in the old chapel building without q
animation Two hundred of the suasS nto OF o,s m
! voata, while 52b OF tho suits army blousos were
. substituted for coats. After amature oonsidora
tion Of the clothing purchase your COMMITTEE
entiro lot, TINT 85 per suit is fair estimate
. portion OF tho Committee eBtiuaated tho average
. as low as 81, mud otl1esa believing that SO PEI
suit wond ho "a faf r aVesaGe raeo IT. r ou
Iho prices paid for tho shoes, poots, blankets,
and shirta on an average wore proportionately
as dsadyantageoua to tho State as tho ratoa patt
, | for the clothing.
- In the bill above roferrod to, boots and shoes
to tho number off,, GEO pairs wore purchased o.
sopt. Is, 1875 and on Jan. q, 1878 35o Pa,rs q o.
I boots aud shoes we're purohasea Of May Broth
months total purchase Of $3.50 pairs. Of boot'
and shooA. The books Of tho prison ahow tha
for twelve consecutive months, Doc J, 1871, tt
Nov so, 1872 Inclusive, ,20G pairs OF boosa ant
0 Bl,ooB wore iasuod to tho oonvicta. Tho r1r'
chase Of throo years supply Of thoso goods
I eyon at tho lowest market prices, would have
) boon bad management Of tho Penitentiasy finan 7,
COS. The purchase OF these goods wag mad maao ..
commissioners, and tho intcrests Of tho Stat
wero thereby unquestionably grossly neglected
Muo1, Testimony was taken in regard to tut