Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-07-15

Inc sixth sitting OF the State Prison lnvesti-
cation Committee did not open this morning
until II o'clock, waiting the arrival of two Of
the Commissioners from San Rlfael. Pres
ent-Commissioners Mills, Gibbs and Watt.
Directors Shell, Everson and Neff. Warden
Ames and ]. j. Owen, were in attendance.
The Commission being called to order, the
minutes of the preceding meeting were read.
ABSENT WITNESSES.
Mr.. Mills handed the Secretary a letter
from A. d. Whitney, in which the writer
stated that being no longer Director of the
prison, he did not think his evidence would
be of much value to the Commission.
Mr.. Mills, the Chairman, stated that it
would be determined hereafter whether Mr..
Whitney's attendance before the Commits.
sion was necessary or not.
1t being stated that Sheriff Meany had
just been married, his absence was considered
excusable.
JUDGE J. MN. sHAFTER
Was called and sworn, in regard to the
value Of the land purchased by the State
Prison Directors DO not place much conf
dence on the assessment values; they are
generally one-third or one.half the actual
value of the property; near Saucelito there
are extensive brick lands do not know at
what they are valued at; never heard of any
sales of them l think $500 an acre was an
exorbitant price to pay for the land pur.
chased by the Prison Directors l have lands
at $40 an acre, but they aye not suitable for
brickmaking purposes Go rot think that
$500 would have been awarded had the mat.
ter been referred for confirmation to higher
authorities; do not know any of the prison
officials; have seen Judge Ames, but have
never been introduced to him sold beef and
other things to the former administration but
nothing to the present one have had CONVEX
sations with my son, p X. Shafter, about
the wood be sold to the prison.
To Mr.. Watt-The condition imposed of
slaushtering beef within the prison limits
prevents any competing for the prison sup
ply; it is advantageous to those in the neigh
borhood; if persons could slaughter the beef
at their own place there would be a greater
number of bidders, and would probably re-
suit in a greater benefit to the State; condi.
tions being imposed as to where the beef shall
be slaughtered means beef at higher price
the bidder could give the beef cheaper be-
cause the hide, head and offal would he kept
by him, and which he could sell these are
now the perquisites of the prison.
IN Mr. Mills ,oIl
prison contractors knew them to be con-
tractors; the cattle I sold them were gener-
ally not 50 good as would be required by
wholesale butchers in the city; they were
often lean the contractors, l believe. would
fatten them up before delivering them to the
prison; many of them were what we call
stays; have sold many of them in the city
for canned meat; thoy are uot frst.class
beef; cannot say that the stays were deliv-
cred at the prison, but think so, as have
received weights OF them purporti1g to come
from the prison; was generally paid from
$50 to $50 head; some of them will weigh
500 pounds the difference in price between
stags' beef and first-class beef is in the pro-
portion Of three to FIVE; stag beef is worth
about three -fifths the price Of the best beef.
To Judge Ames-Some of the stags had
been worked; when they are worked they
make better beef than if they had not
been worked; have been selling to Others
beside the prison contractors; have sold as
much as $4,000 worth of steers in year.
To Mr.. Mills-TLe wood delivered by my
SON to the prison was what he might have on
hand, mostly pine might be called fair aver
age wood; my son has repeated to me the
conversations he had about the wood with
the prison authorities have sold wood from
81 cord for poor wood to So cord for the
best; think the freight down to here was
81 90 cord; know from my sons testimony
that he has been trying to get a settlement of
three cars of wood, but have always under
stood that the officers refused to acknowledge
had settled for half the quantity; learned from
Mr.. Warden that there had been some talk
on the part of Mr. Ellis, of the prison, that
in these wood contracts there was nothing in
them for him Mr.. Warden told me that MIR.
Ellis said this, and I reported the statement
to the Governor.
Mr.. Mills-The Commission would like to
know, MIR. Shafter, whether, in your opinion,
the sum of 500 month paid to the Prison
Directors for their expenses is fixed salary
or not?
Director Shell-Do you ask the witness,
Mr.. Mills, to state whether law duly passed
and sanctioned by the Governor is constitu-
tional or not? It seems to me witness on
the stand before this Commission has nothing
to do with the constitutionality of existing
laws. That is matter for the Supreme
Court to decide.
Mr.. Mills-One of the charges placed be-
fore this Commission to investigate was in
regard to the sum received by the State
Prison Directors for expenses and mileage.
We are simply endeavoring to elicit an in
tellgent opinion whether these moneys are
paid in accordance with the provision of the
Constitution. Now, Judge Shafter, will you
give us your opinion?
Witness-In Imy opinion it is an assump-
ton of the Legislature and controvention
of the Constitution.
DAVID PORTER
Testified that he had owned the land which
had been purchased by the Directors ten
years ago; sold the land to the State adj ,in
ing this at 1920 per acre; the lands had i'm.
proved in value since that time clay lands
for making brick were nearly exhausted in
that vicinity; excavations made for clay de-
troyed the landscape and impaired the value
of other lands owned by witness got all the
money himself; paid no commission to any
Directors, officer or agent of the Directors
or officers of the prison.
A recess was then taken.
AFTERNOON sEssIoN-ouT OF ORDER WIT
NEssEs.
On reassembling in the afternoon Judge
Ames introduced two witnesses out of the
regular order, in contradiction of matters tes-
titled to by the prosecution. The first of these
,,-;tnesoes yvas CIert Ellie who testifnd that