The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-02-13
The Work House.


The chain gang Is not an ornamental In |
stitution; it is not In eonsOBalce with the
higher and better views entertained at the
present time in reference to reiormatOry
punishment, Recognizing this advanced
public sentiment, the City Council has
applied to the State Legislature Tor some
changes in the charter Of the city. The
principal amendment asked for is the
power to inlict heavier penalties in the
way Of fines and imprisonment, the pres
ent authorized limit being tweRtydollars'
tine and thirty days imprisonment,
For the establishment Of work house,
or city prison, Us it is termed in the
charter, the powers vested in the City
Council have always been ample, 80 that
nothing additional Is needed or has
been asked for in that respect. The
class Of ofGnses, however, punish9
ablu under the city ordinances has
been limited, and It il not plain
to us that the application now mude to
the Legislature covers any greater range
than the present provisions Of the city
charter. Under ia charter the city au-
thorites seem to DO limited to the punish
mGnt Of violations only Of the peace and
good order Of tho city, That this is all
that was intended, Is evidenced by the
limited extent Of fine and imprisonment
allowed by the charter which is sought to
be amended. All crimes Of higher
grade than tho violation VI the city Ouli.
nanCes are made amenable to the State
law, and arc punishable by imprisonment
in the county jail or tho State PenitCn-
tiary. A further evidence in support OF
this view is found in the fact that II some
times happens, and not unfrequently, that
parties who have paid the penalty Of a
violation Of the city ordinances have been
brought before The higher COurtS OPd
punished fora violation Of the State laws,
showing conClusively that the city au'
thOritieS had not jurisdiction over the
higher otIense, Herein, too, II strikes us,
is u violation Of the recognized prlnci-
pies Of law, towlt: that mans
life or liberty shall not be put in
jeopardy twice for tic same ofGnsc.
ltwould appear ut least that any oIlGnsc
properly cognizable by the State courts
should at once pass beyond the jnrisdiC'
ton Of the municipal court, and tho Of.
fender b. at once taken in hand by the
State authorities. This limited jurisdic-
ton seems to have been overlooked by
those who have most strOnuOuSly advo.
Gated the erection Of city prison or
work house, but will not, We presume, be
diSregarded by tho City Council.
In contrasting the work house system
Of some Of the larger cities, notably that
Of Allegheny City with tho chain-gang
relic Of barbarism which still fingers in
our midst, II must be borne in mind by
the advocates Of the former that tho Al.
legheny work house Is, In fact, sort Of
pcnitcntiary, in which criminals arc con.
fined for several yOars--a length Of SER
vice which insurcS, for portion OF the
time at least, something approaching to
skilled labor from those inCarCerntCd
therein.
TH system Of labor is based upon the
same plan and measurably upon the same
scale Us that Of the State prison. Tho
catalogue Of crimes punishable by con-
linemcnt therein includes the entire range
OF Ofenses with the exception Of murder,
and, in addition, Il Is tho penal establish.
mCnt Of the county "A we'll Ns the city.
Such m institution Is not possible with
Ua M the present time, nor Ito we suppose
that any such provision comes within the
purview Of the present intentions Of the
City Fathers.
Such an institution would involve not
only an entire change OF legislation, great
ly enlarging the criminal Jurisdiction Of
our municipal law, but an expensive
building, the cost Of which, like our
State penitcntiary, would be without q
practical limit. WcprOsunO the attention
Of tho city authorities will he conllhClto
providing a suitable and comparatively
inexpensive building where the convict
labor Of the city can 10 employed upon
work requiring but little skill, for by the
way, he IL said, to the credit Of our city,
there are but few instances Of my Of our
skilled lubOrOrs being COndemhCdto work
on tho streets. Stone breaking would per-
hups be the principal labor furnished for
our city Convicts, and us It Ia not high
art, could DO made fcmuncrativc to the
city, especially II each prisoner could be
compelled to devote his attention to the
business for from thirty to ninety days.
Our streets need vast amount Of stone,
and will continue to do 80 for years to
come, md the advantage 81 having them
broken somewhere else than on the streets
Ia 60 manifest that wo need not mOrethan
call attention 10 It.
II will I've we'll TINT proper considers.
tion be given to the work hO,ise question
IN order tllat whatever Is done may re-
suit II practical benefit to the city, in re-
ducing tic cost Uf our penal service while
removing from Onr municipal statutes
the stigma Of an Gillette barbarism.
The Conditions or ltrOOItc tOnn.
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the 4. W. e. ny. Railroad
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