Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-03-04
Report Q. the Penitentiary.


the present management OF the
Irenitentiary, the people OF TIN
State are being just rs systema''
cslly swindled, snd ~ sliamele'sl'
robbed now, as they ever were l.
the worst days oi carpet bag ruiz
Ii will be remembere,lI that, undr
the present lease, the lesse.so OF tn
penitentiary, are to pay tho STATE
the sum OF s39, oiO u year. from TIT
date Of the lease TO its expiration III
1857. Instead paying this sum in
cash, as the law contemplated, IL
the year 1884, TIE lrssees paid s2',
1889 in improvements, which
they claimed to be legal, under sec
ton No. 8, of al act Of the legisla'
;urs, passed Jan. 3lst, 1877. The
Governor in his message to the
legislature of 1884, said al earn
estly recommend that this section
he Immediately repealed" and on
the 18th Of March, 1884, the legis-
lature repealed said section, and
made it the duty Of the Attorney
General, in the event the lessccs
failed TO pay into the State treasu'
~, ON the LIST day of each succeed
ing January, the sum of s39, 10000,
to bring suit OH their bond. The
subject OF this legislation was to
force the lessees to pay the State in
money, and not in work at their
own prices, and for their own con.
venience, as evidenced 10y section
seven Of the act, which is as fol
lows:
SIC. :. BE il further enacted,
That in case Of an accident, 10 the
Peniteutiary buildings or any nee
essary repairs or improvements act
ually needed, the Superintendent
OF the penitentiary may contract
for such repairs with the approval
of the Governor. Upon the present.
alton OF al itemued account OF
such expenditure, approved by the
Governor, TO the Auditor Of Public
Accounts, il shall be his duty TO
draw his pay warrant Upon the
Treasurer tor the same, Which shall
he paid out Of the funds derived
from the lease of tho Penitcntia;y.
Notwithstanding the plain letter
OF tie law, tue superintendent Of
the penitentiary ag'sin, in 1885,
made another contract with the
lessees, by which, they were allow
ed To pay the State the sum OF
27,il9,i in inn rovement instead
OF cash aud the legislature, seeing
this palpable violation Of law, in
s;ructed the committee on Prisons
and Penitentiaries, 10 investigate
aud report to tho senate, the
amount due the State, on the LIST
day of January, 1856, by said les
sees, aud whether the same las
been paid in the Treasury, as re.
quired 10y law.
.. What contracts have been
made during the year lSsiand 1885,
by the Superintendent of the Pen
itentiary with said lessees, aud un-
der what authority Of law.
3. What work has been done un'
der such contracts, and whether
said contracts were for repairs, or
/. Under what direction was the
work done, aud who determined
the necessity for such work.
q. And further, what conditions
and stipulations the Gulf and Ship
Island Railroad demand, on the
trasivr of the lease.
We give below q few extracts
from the report:
As to the amount due the State
by the lessecs Oh the let day OF
January, 1886, your committees can.
not state accurately. From esti'
mates, submitted for your consider
alton, il will be seen that for q
shop the lessccs re-.
ceiyed credit for Sl2.54S,53, and
it should have cost the State the
sum of s5.5OS, 80, aD::overcharge oil
81, 039.7l.
For center tower and wall the
State is charged el70j.3O, making
an overc large of 1887 30.
For the dining room they receive
o credit OF 79l7.4t, and it should
have cost t24i402 making IN over.
charge Of s52O3.42.
They got credit for the y. Z. tow.
or and wall amounting to SG333.l3.
The same should have cost 1850.
90, which is an oyercharge OF s21S2
02.
They received another credit OF
1859 81 for a job upon which not
a lick has yet been struck. 30 that
~ all overcbarce.
For the center tower and wall
there is an overcharge of &l937.7O,
which makes OH the items just men.
tiopcd an overcharge of ga, 1909,
and your committee believe that
many other charges for improve
ments are equally outrageous. For
instance s2ll0.J0 is charged for
sewers, all Of which have not yet
been completed, and II completed
should not have cost more than one
third than than that amount.
Ii will thus be seen that the les
sees of the penitentiary under the
OF the present super
intendent of the pcnitentiary have
improved the State cut Of about
s75, 900, and yet the committee say,
'the half has never been told"
How such as this Is to be tolerated,