Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-04-06
Mako the Prison so.-supporting.

There was time when it would not pay oul
people to attempt to make the county prison self
supporting. Not very many years ago the Jail al
New Castle, at the stated sittings of the Courts
conteined but few prisoners. AT that time it wa.
put in machinery, and employ overseers and in.
structors in order to make prisoners work and
earn the cost OF their own boarding. But even
then it would have been better to have had some
system Of labor at which prisoners could have
been kept employed.
Now, all doubt OF the necessity of resorting &c
general system by which prisoners will be made
to work has disappeared, and so numerous are the
prisoners that It seems necessary that the county
should teke some action in the matter. At the
beginning of the last term there were, We believe
about lis men and women in the prison.
The county is required 10 pay some tive I've ol
fifteen thousand dollars year for the boarding o,
prisoners zone. And ere'y year the number OF
prisoners is incrce sinG. Al the late of increase
for the last three yea e, IN five years ON this
time we will be required to pay from $4,000 TO
$4,000 year for bof d'ng r .soners Ihe Court
charges must Of course mere. c, cld so the ply
sciars 5, tailors' anG ether b Is. By the cxpendi-
ture OF forty or fifty Thousand dollars, perhaps
less, Ell Il money II glt be lvcd by making
each prisoner labor al some trade or occupati on.
1t is found TO be better Tor the go III OF prison.
ers, and tho 70 who have no trades when they en-
ter often leave the worAlouse very good work
men. The fact Of the r.goners being made to
to labor would doubt also scive to make the
number less.
In Virgin ia the pcnii Dtiary is made source
Of some profit, and in MaI yland it has been self.
supporting, End some' mes We think dividend
has been found on the side OF the State. Such is
the case in the Alba ~ prison also There is need
that New Castle county Shot protect her people
from the absorbing tax which the influx of me-
groes and criminals from abroad eau ,e } annur y.
1t Is needles to urge til matter upon the intelli
gent gentlemen who compose or lie, J Court
Nor is 1t worth while for them TO wait to sec
what action the State will take in the matter.--
For several years pc It the jails of Kent and Sus-
sex COZ ltics have been almost empty during
whole years, eud of course those counties do not
feel the expense that ouv Levy Coui. is called
upon 10 get rid of by the int reduction of a more
complete aud general syst u of p son labor
Again, it becomes necessary , cor der wheth-
I it would not be wei lior some provision to be
made, whereby those al :ested in our own city for
vagrancy and Tor crimes of a miner character,
could not / made to work upon f'lc streets, and
thus pay th' co.. a1d fines
If some such pro, sion were made we believe
there would be fewer of this class of cases to re-
port. 1t must be obst Scd that they are rapidly
increa'ing. And rrl IS something is done our
city wiz be irtested by large cla Of bummers,
OF whom we tall be greatly ashamed.
Next SUNNI work will like y > commenced
on the new BASH end weie it Understood that al
bummers, yagrants, End petty T. cvos arrested,
would be made 20 hendc the pick aud shovel for
several days pr 'sbmen or TO pay costs OF
arrest aud fine > vei ! few OF such r lows would
be found in the hands OF the po'ice