Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-06
UNEMPLOYED CRIMINALS.


The Barrel Factory Closed Out Mt the Work.
house-Pipe Lines HIVE Ruined the
Cooper Trade.
The regular monthly meeting of the ALE
gheny County Workhouse Managers was
held in the Office of the institution at Clare
mont yesterday afternoon. The condition
of affairs at the works was pretty thoroughly
discussed, but very little business, outside OF
approving monthly bills and pay rolls, was
transacted.
The managers are in sort of quandary
just now over the question of how to find
employment for several hundred inmates.
The barrel factory is practically idle. For
merly 300 to $50 men were employed in the
establishment, and 700 barrels were made
daily. The business has dropped off until
scarcely that many are turned out in a week.
There has not been barrel made this week.
Superintendent Warner said yesterday:
''The change in the manner of transport
ing oil to the East has been hard blow for
us. The Bear Greek refinery formerly took
all the barrels we could turn out. Now oil
is transported in tanks and pipe lines, and
we have scarcely anything to do. We can
find some employment for our short term
people, but we will still have nearly 200
prisoners who will be entirely idle"
els there anything contemplated as sub
stitute for the barrel industry to furnish
work for the men?" was asked.
Nothing particularly. 1t is hard to tell
how long the present dull season will last.
We have been in the same condition before,
but it never lasted so long"
There are GAG prisoners in the workhouse
now and as the winter is here the number
will soon be increased. so that unless some
thing is done to provide substitute for the
barrel factory, hundreds of the inmates viii
put in idle months. Superintendent War
ner is very much pleased with the last meet
ing of the National Prison Association, re-
Gently held in Nashville, Tenn. SIT was an
interesting meeting" said he. "Prison
government was fully discussed. There
were no important changes in the rules for
the government of prisons, and inothing at
all was done that will affect any of the local
Institutions. This was the second meeting
in the South, and 1t was held down there
this year for the purpose of interesting the
Southern managers in the matter of prison
reform"
''How doHthe Southern prisons compare
with those of the North?"
''They are not to be compared at all,
although both meetings OF the national as
sociation have had good effect, and some
good reports may be expected from the
South in the future. Some have already
been received. The death rate in the Ala
bams prison last year was reduced II 2-5 per
cent over the previous year, and that of the
Tennessee institution was reduced 6 per cent.
That is a considerable improvement, and
yet when it is remembered that taking the
10 years that the Allegheny County Work
house has been in existence, in which time
over As, 600 prisoners have been admitted,
the death rate has been less than one-fourth
of per cent, there is still some room for
work among the Southern prisons"
"Wil you account for this difference in
records?"
SIT is very plain The difference in the
condition of the institutions, how they are
managed and cared for tells the story"