The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-01-12
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'TssE STATE PEyIrEsrgAnY.
What tie Goreraor's Recent Inspection
Deceloped-Be7icticiol Eject Of tie
Recent Legislation
From the Frankfort Woman
Gu Thursday last Governor McCrea- +
ry mnde thorough Inspection Of the I
peniteutiary, as is his custom every (
month or two. Having accompanied I
him, We propose to give the result OF
our observations. The fist was 10
TUE NEW CELL HOUSE,
which has just been completed in ac
cordance with an act of The last Gen +
eral Assembly, at a cost of S25 900 I
Il forms an ell to the main cell house /
projecting northward from the eastern /
end The building contains ninety-six (
cells, being four tiers Of twelve cells /
each on each side. The new cells are .
great Improvement on the old one,
aS they have narrow windows opening
10 the outer air, which gives ample /.
! light and ventilation. and are heated /
hy steam pipes. The building Is OF /
stone, in massive blocks and apparent
/ ~ deies all pos~ibility of escape. The
/ new cells are not yet occupied. but will .
be in very short time. a. bur little .
remains 10 be done iathe way Of liking
the bolts on the doors. sc.
From the new cell house we passed
into the old enc h This there are
640 cells, in which tie lessee has had
10 pack as many as $50 prisoners
The last Legislatun provided tor a
system Of ventilation which has made .
the cells more comto'tabte. since each F.
one now has veutisupg shaft lead .
ing to the roof, instad of being re-
sircted to the grating of the iron doors (.
as the sole escape otesnl air.
X tue -s.ests.
From The cell nous We visited the
chair factory, vince We saw chairs
enough to seat county; The cabinet
shop and wagon shop, where we found
the meu bu~ily .ed in their several
calling The progress Of the governor T.
was necessarily slow, as numerous pc
titionera presented themselves TO him
:
tive clemeucy. All had piteous cases,
from the man who was in for killing
/ his mother inlaw to the blind colored /
preacher sentenced for receiving stolen
goods. The letters exhibited by some
from their families at home, pinched
by cold aud hunger IN the absence OF
+ the natural upport, suggested that the .
real sufferers in many cases are not .
the well clad and we'll fed prisoners,
but their innocent wives aud children.
The governor repealed none, but
heard all patiently, milking notes OF .
some OF the cases for special examiua
ton.
AT DINNER
While we were within the walls. the
hour of II o'clock arrived, when ali .
the prisoners repaired to the dining
hall Tor dinner, aud We had the oppor
tunity of seeing them eating and IN
speeding their food. Our visit was
unheraIded, aud we were accompanied .
by any of the prison othcers-two OF .
the Stale prison inspectors, Mr. 4 q .
Robertson aud DR.. Pythiau. being tie .
only parties wifh u. The prisoners .
ate seated from loug, plain wooden .
tables, each with china plate and
tin cup The meal that they were
dispatchiug a. We entered consisted OF
boiled beef, corn bread aud beef soup
They are not imi'ed in quantity. but .
have as much of either as ~ii satisfy .
their appetite Th0 corn bread, which .
we tasted, though c4ekoi without .
-norteuing. Va vey palotable, as was .
the meat; aud the appearance of the
prisoners indicated health aud good .
appetites. For breakfast, we are in ;
formed, they have coffee. bread and
meat, aud the same for supper.
THE Hospital
Our next in~pectoo was in che hos
pitai, which we found in very credita
bic condition a. to eleaniiuess. There
were six or eight pr-ous in bed. one
being a patient vh) lost one arm ana
had the other broken in machinery
several weeks since sud another col
ored convict who had been stabbed IN
murderous assault by white con-
vict-a report Of which we gave at tie
time The would he murderer Is uu
dergOing solitary confinement. The
hospital Of the prison Is we'll managed
but it requires 10 skilled eye TO tell
that the building Is not such as i re
quired for such an Institution. either
in plan or location. From its location
with The dead wall OF the Hain cell
house on one side. and the over-top
ping yard wall few feet of on the
other it can not have the ventilation
and pure air necessary to the treatment
of such diseases as prevail IN prisons.
while its proximity 10 the main cess
pools of the peni eutiary makes it only
a wonder that instead vt being saui-
tarian. il does not make the well sick
1t is to be hoped that the next Legis
Iature will take such action As will
remedy the evils to which we allude
TUE FEMALE DEPARTMENT.
From The hospital we went next
into the female department Here we
found twenty seven prisoners, five
white and twenty two colored Most
of them we're engaged in spinning
hemp. the remainder in washing One t
OF the Rnlit NDutug VI IdI4c iidiut /
aud apparently twenty two years old
is under sentence for life for child
murder. There are, by the by, over
twenty prisoners, who are in tor life,
the change in the law under the Gen ,
eral Statutes, 1873 by which the jury !
were vested with discretion to hang or
imprisou for lite for murder, having
added percepiby to Ibis class OF pris
oners.
DEATH or CoKyoDORE WANDER
Commodore Gorne'ius Wander
bilt, the famous ANGLICAN millionaire,
died at his resideuce 10 Washington
Place. New York, niue MINUTES before
eleven o'clock, Thursday morning, :
Jan /, after long aud painful illness q
aged eighty TWO lie remained per-
fectly conscious to he last; dying al
most without struggle, surrounded
by many friends and all the members
of his family, Including his wife. his
sons, aud all of his daughters 1t j.
Il