Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-21
CRIMES EXCURSION.
The County Treats All the Convicts Of
the WorkhouSe to a Ride,
At A COST OF $1,000 EVERY YEAR.
But by an Amicable Arrangement Be-
tween the Two Cities,
THE RAILROAD FARES ARE CHEAPENED

The conveyance of prisoners to the work
house from the cities of Pittsburg and ALLIE
gheny annually costs the county 5000, and
il is estimated by Warden Warner that it
cost two-thIrds as much to pay the fares
back to the city of those who are discharged.
During 1888 the West Penn Railroad Com
pany received probably 81, 200 from the
workhouse passenger traffic, and only about
/ $50 from the traffic to and from the Allie
gheny City Poor Home, which is also To-
Gated at Claremont.
By an amicable arrangement between the
county and city authorities saving of at
least $500 per year has been effected in these
passenger fares. The expense of conveying
prisoners to the workhouse is sustained by
the county. Under the law, an officer was
allowed 80 cents for each prisoner taken to
that institution. As it frequently happens
that one officer conveys half dozen pris-
oners, he would be able to clear a nice sum
every day at the county's expense. When
the workhouse was opened, in 1870, County
Controller Henry Lambert, who was the pre-
decessor of Warden Henry Warner in the
Controllers Office, made an amicable ar
AdnSCh1Cub WIN LhC Va L oAA
Allegheny, BY which the Controller pur-
chased and furnished to the officers Of the
two cities what are called family trip
books" good either way between Allegheny
City and Claremont over the West Penn
road. Each of these books contains coupons
for so rides, and cost So 7O AS the fare one
way is q cents, a saving is made of 81 so on
every so trips. There is an actual saving, as
explained by Warden Warner, even greater
than this.
HOW IT IS SAVED.
For instance, yesterday sixteen prisoners
were taken from the city to the workhouse,
in charge of only three officers. Under the
law these three officers would receive $14 40
from the. county for their prisoners. The
actual expense of the officers, by purchasing
one-way tickets for their prisoners and
round-trip tickets for themselves, would be
only IS "a. Under the system in vogue. %
coupons required for yesterdays trip cost
the county only s. SO, making saving of
$40 81 on yesterday 's.work alone.
In 1888 Pittsburg sent 2, sos prisoners to
the workhouse, Allegheny City 36S and the
county outside of the city sent 139. From
other counties 120 pay prisoners were re-
ceIved. For four years there has been a
constant and decided decrease in the num-
Der of men and women sent to Claremont
from the two cities. For this decrease War
den Warner said that he was wholly unable
to account He considers it to be merely
the ebb and flow discernible in the statistics
Of nearly every penal institution in the
county. The daily average of prisoners
during 1888 was 564. Yesterday there were
61S inmates, of whom IS were women
The Warden pays the fare of all female
prisoners discharged and desiring to return
to the city. The fares of many male
prisoners are paid, according to the dis
cretion of the Warden. If the weather is
i--'ement, or if the prisoner be old. lame or
his fare is paid. During the summer
two-thirds of the male prisoners dis
walk to the city. Sometimes an
-odied prisoner has been good and
taqe worker during his confinement
Ren his fare is paid as a matter of re-
Ward. g.. .,...-, .ss...
Many of the prisoners soon return" Mr..
Warner says. They are untitled for any
other work. and seem to be unable to earn a
living. Not few prefer to live at the
workhouse. They are like fish out of water
when they are away from here. imagine
that you cannot guess how many times some
Of our inmates have been here. One man is
serving his fifty-ifth term
THREE YEARS TRANSPORTATION.
The ticket books for persons sent to the
Allegheny City Poor Home, at Claremont,
are purchased by Major Hunker, of the Al
legheny Board of Charities. The item is
not large one, as only 165 persons were
sent to the Poor House last year. Nearly
the same number of persons were discharged
from the institution, and they were likewise
furnished tickets back to the city.
The following number of prisoners were
g. Fhar a, Al.
years:
1893 1897 1900