The Hartford herald., 1875-10-13

many innocent men have been accus-
ed. Has any one a right legally or
morally to shut such a one out from
the light-cause him to breathe foul,
poisonous air, and l,y reason of the in
security of the Jail, to force the jailer
to chain him down like dog, allowing
him no exercise, to suffocate him in
summer and freeze him in winter?
Think of it, and imagine yourself to
be so unfortunate as to be accused and
incarcerated, and then ask yourself if
it is not a shame and a stain upon our
civilization to defer longer the work of
building a new Jail.
We believe our jailor to be kind and
humane to his prisoners, and doing the
best he can for their welfare and COM
fort, but he can not remedy the cruelty
by his action.
A Jail should have plenty of air and
light and room enough for the prison.
ers TO take sufficient exercise. 1t
should have wash basins and water
closets; it should keep its inmates Sc,
cure from escape, and protect the jailer
from their violence while attending to
their wants; it should be capable of
being kept warm in wiuter and well
ventilated in summer. Such ajail our
county should have and that too with
out delay. This matter has been ne
elected too lOngalready. The County
court appointed committee consisting
of Judge w. F. Gregory, John Mid
kiff, Judge A. B. Baird, Captain Sam.
K. Cox and w. c. Chapman to re-
ceive bids and award the contract. We
hope that no member or officer of the
County court will be deferred from
pushing the work through by reason of
the malcontents that are raising such
howl at the expenditure of little
money. We think the court erred in
ordering bonds issued. The sum
ought to have been raised at once by
direct taxation, and saved as much in
terest, fees, commissions, &c, as pos
sible. We understand, however, that
about ten thousand dollars of the court
house bonds fall due in 1876, and pro-
bably that is as much as we can pay in
one year, and meet the current ex-
penses of the county besides; but, five
can pay ten thousand dollars court
house debt next year, we can pay ten
thousand dollars Jail debt the year fol-
lowing, and, as the the $4,000 court
house debt falling due next year is the
last ofthat debt, no Jail bond ought to
run longer than the lst day of October,
1877. We warn the County court,
and all those concerned now, that if
they make an unnecessary expenditure
in the matter, they will be held to a
strict account by the people of the
county. We think a new jail an ac-
tual necessity, and do not believe the
old one could be repaired or remodeled
as some contend; and, if it was so
changed, it could not be done so as to
meet the present wants with less ex-
penditure than it will take to build a
new one. Anything that is worth do
ing, and has to be done, is worth doing
well, and we hope that the commission
ers will spend our money so as to give
US value received in a good, safe, hui
name Jail, that will be a credit to all
concerned, and that the money will be
so expended that there will be no un-
necessary commissions, discounts or
drippings. We have confidence in
them, and believe it will all work out
II I.ht.
We have written more fully of this
matter than we intended, but it is due
the County court. We thought the
people of the county ought to be fully
advised about it, so as to allay all un-