The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-21
SATURDAY, APRIL 2l, 1877.
THIMBLERIaGING.

mouse, taken IN COnneCuOn Wltn tne uCt
providing for the building of Jail in Rut-
land county and laying tax therefor, is
about as neat specimen of the game of
thimblerig as often comes under ones OBJ
servation. Take then work house act, and
you see it; and then examine the county
jail act, and you don't see it.
The governor, in his annual message, dis
cussed at some length the subject of prison
discipline and recommended the establish
ment of state work house. The matter
was referred to special committee, and-a
distinguished prison reformer was invited
to, and did address the legislature on the
subject. After more than the usual period
of incubation, the committee hatched out
a bill for the establishment and construc-
ton of work house, which was approved
by the governor, November 29, 1876. This
law authorized the governor to appoint
three commissioners-whic he subsequent
ly did by the appointment of two of the
members of the senate special committee,
and the prison reformer who addressed the
leGislature-to ascertain whether any
county would contribute twenty thousand
dollars towards work house, on the con-
dltion that the county 80 contributing
should use it for Jail and then provid-
ing as follows: "And if any county
shall make such contribution"-that
is thescontrbution Of twenty thousand dol
lars-"within one year from the passage
" of this act'-that is. within one year
from November 2S, 1S76-''the said COM
missioners shall thereupon proceed to
"select a proper site for the location of
" said work house in said county, with pro-
per grounds attached thereto of not more
" than two hundred and fifty acres" An
other section authorized and empowered
the commissioners to purchase land for
the site of work house in any county that
would contribute twenty thousand dollars,
and provided that "aohen any county shall
contribute the sum Of t,oenty thousand dol
" lars aforesaid, and pay ooer the same to
"Me treasurer Of this state, said commits
" sioners shall thereupon locate said work
house as in their judgment shall seem
" best" proceed to purchase land for
site, erect buildings, etc., etc.
The obvious comment on this legislation
is, that the commissioners had no power to
act at all until some county in the state had
expressed its willingness to assist the state
to the amount of twenty thousand dollars
in tho tr,tn 6 IL, D,,t
notwithstanding the fact that no county
has, as yet, expressed such a willingness,
the governor has appointed the commits
sioners contemplated by the act the com
Rutland have made pheasant visit" to
the several work houses and other reforms-
tory institutions in Massachusetts and, as
is now reported, their labors have all ended
in smoke.
There is another difficulty with this law.
Cnder.our system of government, counties
have no power to make contributions"
towards the erection of work houses to
pay twenty thousand dollars, or any other
sum, over to the state treasurer for such a
purpose or any other purpose; or even to
raise tax except for fsmall amount for
defined purposes, without especial author
ity therefor from the legislature. How
then can any county contribute, or agree
to contribute, this sum ? To meet this
difficulty, it was proposed to build a new
Jail in Rutland county, and the members
OF the legislature from this county, as a
special committee, after prolonged and
painful period Of CESSATION on the subject
reported bill ''to provide for the building
" OF Jail in the county of Rutland" which
nnally became law, and was approved by
the governor November 2S, ,1S76-the lap
proval of this bill and the work house bill
being simultaneous acts.
Rutland county being the only county in
the state authorized to contribute twenty
thousand dollars toward the construction
Of a work house, and the two bills having
been Matched out together, like the Siamese
twins they cannot be separated. Redfleld
Proctor, Cyrus Jennings and Lyman Batch
eller were appointed commissioners to act
in behalf of the county, "for the erection
" OF jail, in connection with state work.
house, in the county of Rutland; pro-
0'tted, tie commissioners, hereafter TO be ap-
=" pointed By tie 9Ooernor, shall locate said
&" courthouse in said county,, and, in such
case, they were authorized to sell the old
Jail and lot, and "the new Jail lot, so
" called" and pay the avails over to the |
county treasurer, and to draw.a order on |
the county treasurer, in favor of the state
treasurer, for twenty thousand dollars. |
This twenty thousand dollars order was to |
be met with the avails of the Jail lots and |
tax of nine cents on the dollar of the grand |
list in the several towns of the county, to
be assessed on or before the first day of |
June, 1877, "but said taxes are not
to be assessed unless the state
workhouse is located In said |
" county of Rutland, and in such man
" ner as, in the opinion of said commission
" EZRA, to answer the requirements of the
" county for jail"
Without commenting on the inadeouacv
OF the taxa tax of nine cents on the dol
lar OF the grand list, if it is the same as in
1875, netting only $13,ssO77, provided
that 1t is all collected-the two laws, taken
together, seem to amount to this: No state
work house can be established unless some
county will contribute twenty thousand
dollars towards its.erectIon; no county, ex-
cept the county of Rutland is authorized
to contribute this amount. and Rutland
county cannot contribute unless the work
house is first located in the county. How
are we to have work house at all The
commissioners cannot locate the work
house until twenty thousand dollars is con-
tributed, and no twenty thousand dollars