The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-04-30


been in the city for some time, wandering
from place to place day and night in a
sick aud somewhat deranged condition
that he was arrested some days ago and
tried for vagrancy, but given stay on con-
dition to leave town; that Mr.. Wells, of the
box factory, Thomas Clark, the levec saloon
keeper and others, had for weeks and in
various ways, contributed to his relief that
DR.. Wood had been duly notified OF the
mans condition, but had refused
to interfere IN his behalf. All
this was established by good
testimony and the verdict Of the jury
formed accordingly. This verdict was, in
substance, as follows; We the jury fnd,af
ter due investigation Of all the cilcum-
stance, that death in this case resulted
from want and exposure and that DR..
Wood has been grossly if not
criminally Negligent in failing to
provide for deceased after he had been
duly notified of his condition, The YER
dict is rather severe on the doctor. While
there is not the care given to sick paupers
in this county that even the commonest hui
mainly would demand, the fault lays in the
law and with the county board as much as
it does with DR.. Wood There should, by
all means, be better provision made for the
care of the county poor, who are physical
ly and mentally unable to keep their bodies
and souls together.
Some months ago Alderman Blake Of
fered resolution instructing the commit
tee on police, Jail and fire department to
consider the advisability OF securing ground
and erecting building for use as Il Jail
yard, Jail, council chamber, city hall and
for offices Of all the city officials. The
committee has so far failed to report to the
council upon this resolution-it has entire
| y ignored it. This the committee ought
not to have done, for it shows lack of in
terest for matters of importance. The
matter to which their attention was called
in the said resolution is not an insignificant
one because it involves questions of public
concern in the settlement of which every
citizen is interested. 1t may he and we
are willing to admit that some attention
must be given to the condition of the city's
treasury and that no improvements must he
promulgated that are liable to exhaust the
credit side of the cash account, but
this would not necessarily be
the result of the committees report.
On the contrary this is exactly one of the
questions that it is to consider in connec-
ton with the whole and it Is to tell the
council what it would be advisable
to do under all the circumstances. The
Improvements in the city have been extern
sive within the last few years and it will
probably take some thousands of dollars to |
finish those not yet finished This, together
with the regular running expenses of the |
city government and what may be needed |
for contingencies, will not permit of the
use Of any large sum Of money for the
erection Of large, handsome and substan-
tial building, such as ought to be erected |
for the purposes mentioned. But
the first step in the direction Of |
providing such building might be taken.
There is no reason why the ground should
not be selected in some convenient part OF
the city, be fenced in and used for various
purposes, but chiefly for Jail yard, where
the city prisoners may be put to work upon
rock pile, or at any other work that the
city may have to do for them. Sheds
might be built within the enclosure, so that
the work could 60 on in any kind Of
weather. Such a yard would pay
for background and all-within
a year or less, if the prisoners sent out from
our police courts to board with the city
were kept constantly at work. 1t would
not require any great ontlay Of money to
secure such yard and if the committee
had taken the subject under consideration
as 1t was asked to do by the council and
reported upon it as it ought to have done,
it is probable that some steps would already
have been taken to provide an
enclosure and our criminals would
perhaps no longer spend the
weary hours of their imprisonment in pain.
ful(O ldleness while being fed by the city.
That the city must in the course Of very
few years build q new Jail everybody who
has examined the old one wi II admit for it is
beginning to rot away rapidly. The yard
attached to it is too small to admit of the |
employment of men in 1t and the building
of sheds to protect the laborer from ex.
IRENE heat and rain Thus |
it comes that the prisoners there-always
c.n t,p, On "a, I.,