The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1877-04-05
Letter from the State Capital.
COLUMBUS, March 81, 1877.

COLUMBUS, March II, 1877.
STATES PRISON.
Amopghhe Reports from the 81
perintendents of the various institl
tons founded and supported by til
State, none has more interest to you
correspondent than that of the officer
OF the States Prison. Being some
what delayed by the dilatoriness c
the printer, it has at this late day mad
lts appearance. AS 10 its
FINANCES,
The income of the institution durin,
its last fiscal year amounts to NOR
that two hundred and twelve thousan,
dollars. After paying all the expense
there is left to the credit of the Stat
| almost twenty-three thousand dollars
Besides this, work has been done b,
the convicts on the new cell house
which, at the rates of convict labor
amounts to more than twelve Thousand
dollars more. For the ten years tn,
prison has not only paid expenses bu,
yielded quite revenue to the State
The cell house referred to, when com.
pleted will be cOmmendable advance
in the tendency of the times to look
upon convicts as having "rights" above
the brutes. These new cells are really
quite an advance upon the old tombs
built forty years since, in which suffo-
cation seems far more probable than
sleep. The profits of the institution
TO the State would have been very
much increased during the year but
for two causes, the stringency of the
times did not invite contracts for con-
yict labor, and the old hoe and fork
shop had become SO dilapidated as to
require new one, which stopped
work for some weeks. The feeding
arrangements for the increasing num-
Der of men was necessarily increased
by additional dining room and kitchen
facilities.
WARDENs REPORT.
Seven hundred and eighty-five pris-
oners haye been received during the
year, on an average more than two
each day. During this time five hum
dred and twenty went out. The av-
erage increase over the previous year
was more than two hundred. The
average cost of keeping prisoners per
day has been one mill less than six
teen cents, including food, clothing,
bedding and tobacco. The whole cost
per man ior a year is S5S 03. 1t can.
not be denied that prison lie is All
one,
sCHAPLAIN S REPORT.
More of the individual heart history
Of the convicts is known to this officer
han to any one else. lie is gentle
nan OF large charity, ready and will
ng TO hear any complaint, to answer
my question and to sympathize in any
rouble. OF the more than seven
who have come in during the
'ear, which his report covers, Que
twenty one are under twenty
cars of age, four hundred and eleven
between the ages OF twenty and thir-
y years. Here is start in life for
more than five hundred young men OF
'ur State on the high road to moral
uln. Two of these are between the
ges of seventy and seven.y.five. |
'hese old men are generally L" old res
denters~who seem to be uneasy
While out forced to be contented if
ot happy, while within. Nine of
hese are sentenced for life. OF their
arental church relations, a matter
7hich the Chaplain was careful or
urious TO inquire, the Methodist
Episcopal takes the lead, Tor the un-
oubted reason that they are the most
nmerous religious body in our State.
he Roman Catholic follow very
osely, which it would seem from the
sligious statistics they ought not to
o. We will make no comments upon
lis, to us, something of an anomoly,
he Baptists are the next on the "rolf
honoI(?. Eighteen denominations
'e represented, beyond which is the
lrrellgious' as they are classified,
presented by less number than the
lree religious denominations named.
Ie never could wrestle with statistics
any line. but it is suggested to us by
lese figures that parental religion is
eak IN its moral influence, or else it
not "transmissable." We will add.
st we be accused of hetrodoxy, that
all probability these represent more
''name' than spirit.
PHYSICIANS REPORT.
Considerable sickness has marked ,
e history of the year, mostly of a
.rcnic character, several of which
ere diseased when brought there.
ne died of consumption within one
onth after his arrival. Averaging
e number of convicts and there has
en one death to every sixty.six in
ates, the heaviest since the cholera
idemic of 1873. The most startling
aiure of this report, to the benevo-
Mt. is the tendency to insanity in
iced by long incarceration, as the =
lmber of insane average one to less
an twenty-siN persons. Twenty
II cent. of these are life prisoners,
hile more than this per cent. were
mmitted for homicide. This last
ct would point to a problem for the
ldents of ''social science" as it is
rmed. There is a thought in it for t
ose who always sneer at the plea of n
sanity in connection with the crime h
murder. Ofthe eighty-one now in "
rcerated for life one is insane 10 less "
an eight OF the number, The dull +
und OF daily life and often disap 2
al