Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-02-18
Report onJails.

The Annual K oar of the State
Board Of Charities for 1879 treats
ma My ofthe Management of the pen
Il and CHARITABLE institutionssof our
State and is al int resting aud valu.
.ble document. Speaking IF county
ia is in general the report says:
COUNTY JAILs.
THE jails OF the state gener,ls
re in about the same condition u,
ney were year ago. Ia some in
tances they were found somewha
ieaner and the beds and bedding il,
aelter or6er, and in two or tire.
.ases they were found in q worse
tate than they were when first Wis
led as a general rule, 20 real i'm
,rovement can be made. The great
difficulty is with the system upo,
which { ur jails are built and ma nag
ID. II is not susceptible of any
great improvement what is needed
Is an entire and radical change. The
'hanRe is something that must b.
brought about. There is no evading
I. 1t is only matter of time. Th.
Whole Jail system is disgrace To
he civilization of the nineteenth
| century, and cannot much longer re
''st the enlightening and reforming
Influences of the age in (which We
i've. There can be no difference OF
opinion in relation 10 this matter
among those who will examine into
into il. The subject is under dis
:ussion all over tho civilized world,
and everywhere the same conclusion
s reached, and that is, that the sys-
EN- is radically wrong, and that al
sntire change is needed
We copy also what is said in re-
| gard to the
GRANT COUNTY JAIL.
"a new Jail has been built 10 thi-
county the past year, and it is with.
ut question, one of the best in the
state. 1t is built very much after
he style OF the Green county Jail,
though it ia claimed that il har
several improvements over that ono
So far as the matter of the security
IF the inmates is concerned. this jsIi
seems TO be very complete. The
prisoners will be completely enclos-
ed in iron, with no chance to get
through without detection The cells
are in the centre Of the building,
with no chance to get to the out
or walls, without working through
strong iron guards The jailor can
enter the building and go all through
it without coming in contact with
any of the inmates, and it is so con-
5tructed that if he is On bis guard,
he can never be taken unawares by ii
prisoner and injured. The Jail con
tains twelve cells, five by seven feet,
and so arranged as to accommodate
two in each cell in case of necessity
Great attention has been paid Ia
ventilation and the impression is
that tn. system adopted will prove
successful. The Jail ia ahundantly
supplied with water for washing
purposes, and it is hoped arrange
mrnts will be made for bathing. The
supply of water will be sufficient
ADD there is good place for locat.
ing bath tub. There is separate
apartment for the women. entirely
away from the apartment ofthe men.
The jail seems TO have one defect. in
tina. there is no comfortable place for
the inmates to occupy when out OF
their cells. The cells open into q
narrow corridor or passage way in
the center of the building, and away
from the windows. To be out or
this corridor would be better than to
be in the cells, yet to keep the per-
son confned there is gre alter hard
ship than realty seems necessary.