Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-09-01
THE STATE PRISON.

THE IMPROVEMENTS LATELY CoMpLETED-NEw
wonKsHoP-THE SUPERINTENDENT HOUSE
SANITARY ARRANGENrENTs-TH PRISONERS.
Concerning the present condition Of the
Vermont state prison and It's inmates, and
the improvements lately completed in con-
nection Herewith, the Boston Journals cor
respondent, Forbes" says
In 1880 the General Assembly appropriated
S20,O00 to construct a new workshop, to re-
build the connection of the old and new pris-
ons, and to build new quarters for the super
intendent, officers and female convicts also
to improve the drainage of the prison. The
work of reconstruction was begun last April,
under the supervision of Messrs. W. II. II.
Bingham, j. @. Parker and Charles Thatch-
er, the able board of directors, Superintend.
ent Rice having the immediate charge of af-
fairs. The south wall was moved back fifty
feet and much additional room thereby Sc
cured in the yard. The old workshop was
demolished and a new brick one erected 1iO
by 40 feet, two stories high. This is now
fitted up with the best machinery for the
manufacture of ladies' boots and shoes, and
here the labor Of the convcts is utilized by
the contractors, w. d. Bracket & Co. of
Boston, the state receiving 80 cents per day
for each man and furnishing the necessary
power and machinery.
The new central building connects the old
and new prisons, and is 40x43 feet, three
stories above the basement 1t is substan-
TALLY built, and is occupied by the officers
rooms, reading room, sleeping rooms, etc.
IL. 4 4
been completed and furnished. 1t stands
directly in front of the new central building
and fronts on State street. The house is 3Sx
AZ feet ON the ground, two stories high, with
an English cottage roof having five dormer
windows. II has two bay windows, and is
connected with the prison guard room in the
rear by an archway in the second story. The
entire house is furnished in excellent taste
One of the best improvements has been
the construction of ~ inch cement pipe
sewer from the prison direct 10 the Connect
icut river, some 5000 feet distant. The work
was all done by convict labor. The sanitary
improvement of the prison is very marked
| The cells have excellent ventilation, and the
hospital has not had an occupant for long
time. The new buildings present handsome
and imposing appearance, and are crcditable
to the state. by means Of the improvements
made, the services of four men have been
dispensed with by the superintendent, there
by saving some $500 annually to the state
The management of Superintendent Rice
during the last four years has been very sat
isfactory to the directors and others inter-
ested in the institution. The affairs of the
prison are conducted on strict business prin-
ciples The discipline exercised over the
prisoners is firm and answering in its char
acter, and yet not harsh. The prisoners are
treated as men, and good behavior receives
due encouragement and reward. For every
year of perfect department one month of a
convicts sentence is remitted, and one dollar
is set down to the credit of the prisoner for
each month of such department, to be paid
him on the expiration of his sentence.
There are 81 convicts now in prison, of
whom only one is a woman. This is Mrs.
Meaker, the Waterbury murderess. She is
Sc ntenced to be hanged next spring, and on
account of her savage and ugly disposition
has been kept locked up in cell in the new
wing Of the prison. This section has no 9TH
er occupants, the rest of the prisoners having
quarters in the old wing This removal of
Mrs. Meaker to her solitary abode was neces-
STATED by her habit of making night hideous
with yells and screams when in her former
quarters She is a dangerous character. Her
son, Almon Meaker, is well-behayed and indus
trous. He is sentenced to be executed one
month after his mother for the same crime.
George Miles, the Barre bank robber, is an
adept at cutting and sorting shoe heels He
has about 8 years more at his trade. Five
men are in the prison for life. The convicts
are given good food and plenty of it. They
are supplied with excellent reading matter
and are allowed to have lights in their cells
until P. M. Everything about the institu-
ton is clean and neat The marked change
and improvements in the prison buildings,
and the fact that so much has been done fol
the money expended, and within the appro
priAtion, is a matter of surprise.