, 1875-03-28
What It Costs to Diet a Num-
Der Of Men.
Experiences in the Old and
New BrideWell.
Tho Eherif's Profits.

Cns Of tho reEults Of the quarrel between Mr
Hcslng and Sheriff Agnew, growing out Of the
removal Ct Peter Hand, wes the calling OF public
attention tc the alleged large profits made By
tho Shern ii the feeding Of prisoners confined
In the County Jail. TIE statement Was made in
the German pApa1B tLat Mr.. ACDeN vas making
clc1r profit Of from $40 to SEQ per day of oi
these uufortunA.es. So much wns said about
the matter, that the subject was referred to the
COMMITTEE On Jail and Jail Accounts Of the
County Board. which. eince the 10Th OF Feb
Eusry, now nea11y two months. has
been busied, with apparently very little
result, in investigating the facts preparatory to
submitting q report to the Commissioners. The
Investigation. however, hiss been little better
than Garce. The committeeman hare met and
talked, have heard via: the Sheriff had to Ea;,
and hey hare done nothing In the way Of OBJ
tal=:ng information from experts as to what the
real oxpcnee Of feeding number Of prisoners
would be- They may, perhaps, have consulted
their own experiences. and hare found that it
cost each one Of them individually more than IS
cents atday per head to feed his own family.
Further than that they have not gone. For
tbs purpose Of aiding them in their investigs-
:ions-TnE TRIBUNE has recently taken the
County Board aud the various institutions Of
which it has charge under its special protection
and tatelage-the following statistical informa-
t.on has been collected, and is respectfully sub
uaitted for the1r benefit aud consideration
OTHER DAYS.
Prior to tho adoption Of the new Constitution.
the Sheriff Of Cook County Was allowed 50 cents
Ter day for every p.isouer who was unable to
furnish lus own subsistence; that ia to Say,
In had he uHo
friends had not the money, where~ith to feed
him, applied to the Sheriff for food, and it was
furnished him, tbs expense being paid BY tho
county. While tho number Of prisoners which
used to be confined IN tho old Jail was much
e,asuer than the number now in the new County
Building, yet it has never been denied that the
successive Sheriffs-Alr. Nelson, Mr.. Hesing,
Mr. Bradley, or Mr. Fisher-made far more
money out Of this basine.s than they did from
the regular receipts Of their Office. In fact, it
Enay be safely assumed that person who has to
feed, OF contracts to feed, given
number Of men, will manage to
make money GU. Of the job, no matter
how email tho sum allowed him per man. Such
Is human ingenuity thai, il only 5 cents per day
xaa the sum allowed, tho contractor would suc-
ceci, by feeding the prisoners on corn-meaI, in
UNDER THE NEW LAW
IN relation to ja3s the provision Of the old stat
ute That only those shall be fed by the county
rho cannot feed themselves is left out and the
sher1n gets 35 ceuts day for every prisoner,
whether he be fed BY the county or
not. He,e is, perhaps, where be
may get legitmate profit for the
proportion Of persouR who arc furnished with
food By their friends, who prefer to obtain it
outside, rather than live On the indifferent fare
OF the Jail is quite large. Even ii the Sheriff
were psid only what it actually cost to feed each
man, lie would derive quite q little income from |
this source. At the time attention Was first |
callod to this subject, early in February, Mr. !
4gnew was interviewed On it, aud then atated |
Alat he believed he made profit OF
8 CENTS PER DAT
en- each man, he md e1-SheEiH Bradley esti- |
mating the average number OF prisoners |
through the year at from 80 to 100 3 ]
day. They also stated that DR.. Miller, when |
OF Public Charities, had report |
I'd that the cost Of feeding was n cents per day.
es day.
now LET Us SEE.
L prisoner in the County Jail is entitled to |
three meals day.. His breakfast consists OF |
breed and coffee, his dinner OF meat or soup |
9Th Two potatoes and bread. and his supper OF |
bread and water. Let Us put it IN tsbular form |
Cents.
Bread uhreo 1oay1sj. ..................-..-...9
soup Of meat q very high estiznate) )..........
haIeF
4osA-.... LON t
This estimate ia little high us regards the |
Items Of coffee and meat. cup OF good Java
*f&er~%