Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-02-19
State Work House .

having " lltle spulC tlilt Ill hutllnU OF
a recent visit there we thought it ii goo
opportunity to inspect the new worl;
house; so mine host Cramton Of the
Bardwell, (who knows some other things
besides how to kcepa good hotel) hitched
up the chestnut mare and took us out to
Gen. BaXter's farm to see his Jerseys, aud
returning, took the work house in our
way. There has been considerable said
about the size of the building, its security,
cost of furnishing, etc, etc We have
never had experience in keeping prisoners
and shall express no opinion us to its sccu-
rity.
The building is of brick with 20-inch
walls. The cells are of brick, with 12.nch
walls, except the wall dividing the lines of
cells which is 20 inches. SO one line of
cells is separated from the other by 20.
inch wall, while the cells are separated by
Finch walls. The cells have iron barred
doors, are ventilated by tubes running up
to the roof. These cells are like house
within house, Il corridor running around
them-the outside walls being the wall of
the main building. There arc y cells,
about by feet, in three tiers, 81 in each
tier, II on each side. In addition to these
they were building four iron lined cells to
be used by Rutland county There are
cook and store rooms simply bat subsran-
TALLY furnished. In the Office where the
prisoners are received there is IL bath room
where the prisoner after his bath is fur
dishcl plain iron-gray suit of trowsers,
vest, jacket and cap, and his own clothes
and such effects as he has are nventoripd
and put in paper bag and marked with
his number and are returned to him when
he is discharged. The yard fronting the
street is protected by IL brick wall Is feet
high, an addition of about ) feet having
evidently been put on since it was first
built.
The other side is enclosed by II fence
like the one separating this from the
women's part of the institution. This
fence is of cedar posts with girts nailed on
and on these are nailed upright very C God
ordinary 7-Sths spruce boar,ls lG feet lono
The women's wing has Il cook room
matron $ room, cells, with berlhs in
each, one above the other the door of
hard wood, the upper part with venetian
blinds covered on the inside with nettjnr
OF about No. 6 wire. The windows of
this portion are also barred with iron eX-
cept those Of the cellar which are unpro-
tected even by blinds, and it was throuoh
these that two girls made their escape but
II few days before. The grating on the
door was originally screwed on en- the
inside, but have since been riyeted,
lhere were at our visit AZ inmates, AZ
men and 5 women. The women cook
wash, iron, etc. The men in fine weather
are some of them getting out stone in Il
quarry for wall and some are set to
breaking stones in the yard for macada-
mlzlng the roads, but the keeper said thew
were not usel to it and broke as many
hammer handles as stones. 1t was the
hope of the trustees that the labor of con.
victs might be hired to somebody in some
Kind of manufacturing in which case shops
Tor the business would have to be built
We next took look at the keepers part {
OF the building and furniture, CONCERNING
the cost of which there has been consider
able said. There. was ono sci. black
walnut, marbl-toped, costing $1,000, flrn- /
ished with good hair mattress, COSTING 20 t
cents per pound. One black walnut set '
at $50 and four ash sets ut SO each.
Such is just about how we found tbinos Il
and as we said we will express no opinion t.
now of their fitness Or proprioty, but one II
hing does bother us some, i. c., how is n
The state under the present arrangements h
o get a cent back towards paying for the v
expense CT keeping those AZ people now II
confined at hard labor" in the state IL
work house. 5,