Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-11-15
qHR WOaK HOUSE.

A Few Facts In Re- gard 10 II and the
Art" of Maintaining Prisoners in 1t.
In view OF the talk that has BEEN 60
ing on in regard 70 the matter oil aool-
Ishiug the City Prison and combining the
prisoners in the Jail, REGISTER man
v ent up to tire Work House night be-
fore last for the purpose oil making lew
inquiries OF the superintendent, MI
JAMES f. Malloney. In the hrst place
We might right here say that the
work-house, by courtesy so.
called, was never lnteh"'"
by it's projectors rs a thing OF Deaut!'
and the yeaIs that have succeeded the
one in which it was erected have not
improved it's exterior in the least, IL 10
built of boards placed tandem and
the cracks between these boards have
been closed up by pieces oil scantllng
also placed tandem" The interior Of
this house is more inviting than TIE
outside. On the lett as you 90 IN IS
Superintendent Msl0neys ottice,and TO
the right is the kitchen or Glory, IN
which the soup, etc, Tor the inmates -
made. At the other end OF tue nnI"'
ing is the large room used rs jail !o'
the confinement OF the prisoners ms
room is simply furnished. Al each eLu
il a large Burnside stove, which stoves
keep the room warm and comfortable III
the most rigorous weather Each sue
OF the room is thanked by cots or DuhKH,
two or three deep, which are construct
ed Ii steamboats,. These hunks are
we'll furnished with blankets and sulta-
BILE bedding. The ventilation is suit-
cient, the room comfortable, and every
thing as well arranged, and even better,
than one could hope to see IN such
| building.
In regard to the kitchen and its tu-
niture we were simply surprised. The
| tinware, pots, kettles, &c, were all Just
AS clean and bright as one could ind IN
the cuisine of. any private family or
hotel in the city, while the floor was
"painfully white and.clean." This can
also be said OF the floors throughout the
building. The grounds surrounding
this building are kept in as good order
az possible. South OF the prison IS
large shed in which stone are broken
| by the prisoners when the lnclemency
OF the weather precludes the possl0ili'y
of work on the streets. last OF the
| building are the quarrIes from winch
| limestone are obtained. Alter thls
cursory glance around the premises, We
asked Col. Mul.ony how many inmates
he had charge OF at present.
"Unly twelve or thirteen Just now,
but the tramps will soon begin to put
in an appearance, when there Will Ue
many more.
~ hat do YOU do with the men ~
"Work them on the street, every abie
| bodied man OF them. Last summer the
work house hands did work on Chap
| line street, in the Sixth ward, ami on
Fourteenth street, Third ward, which,
| if they were allowed the same wages
that is given to the city !aborers,
would aggregate 81 AS. Last winter they
| broke between 1900 and 400 perches
of stone which were scattered on the
streets. This fall so far they have
broken $50 perches OF stone, which are
now in yon building awaiting the order
| OF the Street Commissioner. These have
been broken since October lst this year,
which you will see is very good work.
These men all work well.
How much does it cost to iced
| themW
"Well, it averages seventeen or eight
cen cents per head each day, Some
| times il runs up to twenty cents day
per head, but the other DAYS it onl y costs
! fifteen, sixteen or seventeen, so that the
average is about seventeen cents.
"What do you feed them
"At breakfast half LOAF of bread and
a quart of coffee; at dinner they get
three-fourths OF pound OF meat each,
quart of soup and a hall lOel OF bread,
while at night they get beans, bread sind
coffee. On Sunday We give them pata'
toes in lieu oil beans
Does it pay tie city to keep them
here?"
well, let me see. A cart can MAKE
seven trips dav from here To McC"'-
loch street, throwing out about
--,yn peICntS VI stO"c. Well, THESE
stones, not including my wages or th0Se
OF Mr.. Fox, cost the city Just
$3.50. This Includes quarrying, powder
Ior ba LEg purposes, breaking, board
| ing OF hands, cartirg, &c. Can the city
| yet stones delivered that cheap from any
| other source. What the city wants TO
| do is 10 put work house up CaidwelIs
| run or in some other convenient local
ity where wagons, carts, &c, can get to
it at all times. l don't care whether
they retain me or not, labor cannot be
obtained so cheaply i'll any other way.
Our reporter also talked to one or two
other persons who have given the mat
ter some attention. Mr.. q. w. Ken
nedy, who was jaiIer at the time OF the
establishment OF the Work House, said
that he had boarded the men for the
city, at an average cost OF sixteen to
seventeen cents per day per head.
At present the coat TO the county,
exclusive of turkeys ices, is consdera-
Div in excess OF these figures. A com
mittee of Council will more than likely
| look into the matter