Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-01-30
PIL6RIMS PENITEyT.
The Labor Required tO shut out inc
 Worlds Sinfulness from them.
A Partial Review of the Work of the Past
 and Prospects for the Future.

| The resignation of majority of fine Prison Commissioners and the appoint. ment of their successors to the respops. ible duties thereof, affords a proper op- poriunlty for review, even thougb hastily and imperfectly made. of the Vast achievements of the retiring board.
 Upon assuming charge of the affairs of the penltentisry at Yuma, in March. 1883, the two commissioners who recent- ly resigned-Messrs. ". C. Davis and t. B. GGge-fouDd the structure still Tar from completion. probably from want of sufficient time and means bv former boards. There were s,ytaa1 cells complete; the pumps, boilers. en- glue ana such otber machinery, pur- chased at second hand for expedlencv were well nigh worn out and dangerous. The capacity of the prison was inadequate to the demand made upon It through the judgment of the courts and 1t was evident that the utmost energy would be required to put
  for which IL WAS intended.
 After the first month the boari dis pensed with all employed labor for the construction of the prison, and utilized the labor Of the convIcts. Large ouan- ltles or material were procured and the work went steadily forward, with results that have been made public from time to time through the press and the offi l,s. ed over to the new board there will have been completed a total of thIrty-four substantial cells, with Iron prepared for elght more; the old pump and boiler have been supplied with new ones of the best manufacture and a new $500 en- zine furnishes the motive power.
 A building, about 30xl40 feet in size has been erected for industrial purpos es. 1t IS divided into four apartments "a blacksmith shop, tailor and shoe shop, wood working shos and engine and dynamo room. Tue buildings are nll covered with sub stsntlal Iron roofing. The electric hght IS supplied with Q six light dynamo and Is a vast improvement both in point of safety and illumination over the for mer kerosene lamps. The dining room
  size. An office and store room for SUD- plles have been built, separate from the prison and a residence for the super Iniendent, the two last with shlngle roofs.
 4 vast amount of labor has been ex. pended upon the walls of the prison yard, and they are now nearly complete. On portion of this work it was neces- = r.-f fn aNn sTgN across a dssp arroyo, beginning on the bed rock. This wall Is twenty-five feet thick at the bottom and Is now forty feet high, at winch point 1t Is one hundred feet Tn length. It Is built Of rock. laid in cement and lime and the diff culties to be met can be more readily seen when tis known that the stone must be procured by a search among the adjacent hIlls--a very slow. tedious and lsoOrious process-and then hauled to the prison. About six fee, more of the rock wall IS necessary to be built, when 1t will be ready for the adobe wall which Is to De eight feet thick ht the base, sixteen feet high, and SIX feet thick at the top. IhI- wall will be fully completed within the ueLt three months. at winch time five of the prison guards. receiving SlOO per month each will be dis pensed william item ot considerable magnitude.
 At the last meeting cf the board the ] total sum of the bills audited, including | salaries, provisions, clothing and railroad | fare for discharged coHvIc's, hospital | supplies, bedding, wood, forage, cCntIn- | gent supplies, and every article of ex- Dense. was but Sl3, SO s0-an average | of dollar per day for each prisoner. There are SIX United States prisoners | included in the l6J convicts, for the | care of whom the Territory re ceives one dollar per day each. This | Is @ remarkably good sho wing and | exhibits an economical management. Indeed 1t IS remarkable that SO much work of a permanent character has been and the prison so well at an expense of only one dollar per day per convict. The Terri tory nov pays nearly that sum per day for its insane patients at stockton, whose care is not so well provided for as the convicts at Yuma, and whose labor ID the gardens and fields of the institu ton does not add R penny to the re- sources of the Territory.
 With the saving from the five guards to be discharged, the completion Of the work of construction, and the facilities given the prisoners to render them self there Is no reason why the average daily expense per head of main- taining the territorial prison should not be decreased by very appreciable sum.