The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-12-23
GOVERNMENTAL.
What is Going On in the De-
partments.
An Epitome of What Was
Learned at the Capitol
Yesterday.
STATE DEPARTMENT.

STATE DEPARTMENT..
The following charters we're filed in the oA,cn of
secretary of state yesterday:
me Daias q waco Railway company, capital
STOCK SIS 0hM. lncorpuratois: James 4 Baker
KS 4 GoS o. /, w; H. Abrams E; W. Beckwith, W
BILE, Nj. Looscan and L. ii. Rich The object ia 70
bui'd road from Dallas to Waco. through the
counties Of Dallas, Ills, Hill and NcIennao'
Inc oieonrne Gaslight company of leburne,
capital stock 5000. lncorporators s. c. Pad
dleford, >. Greenwald and Bryan I. Barry
coaIPTRolLEE's DEPARTMENT.
Comptroller Swain ye .terday approved the fol-
lowing assessors bonds q. K. Morris, of Liberty
county, h. lllu e, of jackson county, G. g.
Chambers, OF Chambers county.
CAPITAL ECHUEs
All the boys will have holiday tomorrow:
The attorney generals report and the reports of
the secretary of stat and insurance department
are not out
Mr.. Harrison, for thirteen years chief book.
Keeper in the comptrOllers Office, has cent in his
resignation to take effect the first of January. IN
the resignation of Mr. Harrison the state loses
one of her most faithful ana efficient officers. 1t
| is reported that Mr.. Henry ID. dye, now second
bookkeeper will be appointed to Mr. Harris ms
place.
PENTENTIARIEs.
Below will be found some recommendations
from the report OF the superintendent of the peai
tentiaries not published yesterday:
| Inere are several recommendations heretofore
made ind not acted upon by the previous legisla
lures, which deem of su licent Importance TO re-.
peat, az follows:
First-there should be an amendment to the code
OF criminal procedure, regulating how and where
convict serving term in the penitentiary NAV
b. taken away to be tried for come other offense
They are now taken out On bench warrants from
district Judges and frequently returned under
| shorter convictions than they had, and the new
sentences not cumulative There was one in
| stance of where a convict serving life sentence
| Tor murder, was taken out, tried for assault to
murder, and sentenced for a term of two years.
| second-The law Furnishing bigamy should be
| changed, so either to make it misdemeanOr, or
make the minimum term in the pententiary longer
Men have been received on this charge for day.
| Not only costing the state transportation to and
from place of sentence, but also discharge money
of S..
Third-The criminal code in regard to negligent
escapes, and aiding prisoners to escape should be
SO amended as to cause it to apply more directly to
convicts than now. Upon close reading of the
present law, there would seem to ne many grave
doubts as to whether it applies to releasing of con-
| victs.
Fourth-Several recommendations have been
made in accompanying reports OF Assistant Super
intendents McCullOch and O'Brien, Chaplans Ken.
| nedy and Wooam, and Financial Agent Braham,
which are deserving of favorable consideration
PBNITENTIARY ORGANIZATION,
AS the question has been in some localities All
tated in regard to change in penitentiary organi
cation, deem II not improper to have something
to say in regard thereto. The desire seems to be
| to have separate management for each peniten-
tiary. Could all the convicts be confined within
the walls, or close by each penitentiary, and the
conVicts to be sent from certain counties assigned
to certain penitentiary, the separate management
| idea might be practicable. Before the present
ganization was adopted it was known that there
would soon be two organized penitentiaries, with
| the possibility of one or more Others in the not
distant future The clnvicts were then, as now,
scattered all over the state. The committees of
! the two houses very carefully considered the di
ferent plans of organization in different states, and
unanimously agreed that the present plan (Which
| is similar to the New York organiza-
tor, where there are several state
prscns) was the best. Gov. Roberts thor
oughly investigated the question, and
CURED in their views. Their idea was to adopt
penitentiary system and have an executive head, to
| whom the assistant superintendent, the inspec-
! tors, and officers in charge of outside camps,
should report, and who should have general
supervision and CONTROL this officer to regulate the
| disposition of coDvicts, and assign them where
most needed. Ii will readily be seen that with
convict camps on the outside, and each peniten-
| tiary under separate, Independent management
conflicts and confusion would be the result. can
really see no good to result at present from sepa-
rate management, but can see that 1t is liable to
result in confusion
If convinced that it would be for the best inter-
est of the state to have different organization,
one will more heartily concur in 1t than myself
WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH THE coNvIoTs.
The convict QueStlOn lS IN lne lHOSJ uubeIlleu
condition and is the most difficult OF solution of
any pertaining to political economy:
When one system prevails, there is camor for
its adjustment and the substitution of some other
eystem In New York they first had the state ac-
count system Then it was changed to the con
tract system, and recently that has been abolished
and the whole question s in a state of confusion
! and uncertainty. There is similar agitation III
nearly all the other states, and the question OF
what to do with the convicts is further from solu-
ton than ever.
oar stale, tni all of the political parties have deem
ed it neCess ary to make some declaratoh Vi poncy
in their platforms.
The popular idea seems to be to confne the con-
ycts within the walls of the penientiaries, IN order
to prevent competition with honest laOor; ana !he
late democratic convention adopted declaration
fayoring the confinement within the walls, and de-
msRding of the legislature to provide additional
penitentaries to the end eat they may be so con
fined. ~. A., ,;
0f convicts outside the walls il an
evil, because of the mortality, and escapes atten
dant on the system. For this reason prisons
should be provided and all the cohYlcts conineC
therein that can be made self sustaining. :,
: Orr present law provides as follows; ut shall
ba the duty of the penitenary board to conhne all
8 cenvicts within the walls OF the pehlten'iaries'
as soon as suitable prisons can De pro
yidad for their CO fnement and employment IN =
such manner tuat vney will be sen SUPPORTING
. However much any pentientiaIy MANAGEMENT may
q dasra to work lNlCtS WltnlH tho haiiri
to lie governed by the requi ements Oh tne law
, while in force .,;u, dana hi,
|, There will undoubtedly be something done by
tbe next legislature in the way of legislation on
= This eubiect, and there are many phases OF t4e
nnestion which should be carefully considered. II
Il is determined to confne them all wllhin s1 Ts
walls. shall it be done at once or gradually ~
mnst be taken into consideration that we now nave
call accommodation at the two prisons Ior low
l. conyicts only when have nearly 3VI con a5
: on hand. with net increase yearly OF l2O; anu
that even now if we we're to fill the prisons 10 tnen
!. fnII capacity, il would be impossible 70 ma enl
nloymept to render them self supporting; ;.o
II has been the experience of nearly al p TiSIhn
managers that not exceeding 600 convcts sno9i9 Ue
confined in one prison. and that to build ana iul
g niah prison and shops for this NUMBER WIN ~
niiances for their employment, will require az, eA
pandiure of from $3.50 10 81 Oh per convict OF a.
ieast Is 5000 for each prison. To CONNIE, !nen u
tbe pTesent prison population would require a
u last two If not three additional pe1ltentarie
J nd NV the time they we're built and equippeu
sn;th The present rate of increase there wouo ge
! ~onrIation for still another. OF course, considel
u ptipu viii be had as to how the money shall
raseu cc U 70 me that If any additional pententia
as are bui that it should be done with eonH ~
Q re- o civ making sufficient appropriation ior ID
tba