The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1890-04-02

tEH supported Ofi Eleven
Cents a Day-.a MOdel PEN
ftentinry.
Wheeling Register.
MouNDsvILLE, w. va, March 26.
The last meeting of the Board of
Directors of the State Penitentiary.
as at present constituted, was held
here to- day 1t is understood that
Gov Fleming will make appoint-
ments to succeed the present di-
rectors, whose terms will have ex-
pred Within the next few weeks,
and as the majority of the Board do
not desire TO continue their present
duties, ii is probable that Il number
of new faces will appear at tile next
regular meeting. After transacting
the routine business. accumulated
during the month, the Board
adopted resolution Of thanks to
Superintendent Johnson, Secretary
Burly, and other officials of the PEN
itentiary, for the uniform Kindness
and courtesy, which they-had ex-
tended; and adjourned sine die.
The penitentiary board as now
constituted has existed almost with.
out change for nearly i've years.
a review OF the which has been
done under them is appropriate.
Probably no State institution has
been attacked with greater violence
and with less justice than has the
penitentiary. When party organs
of a certain stripe exhausted all
other materials of warfare, they
turned their batteries on it aud con-
tinued series of assaults, which
time has long since proven TO be
groundless. The abusive attacks.
on the management under Super
intendent Peck, in which that gem
tleniap was accused of gross cruelty,
and the remarkable' attack on SUI,
perintendent Robertson in which
undue laxity of discipline was
charged are samples of the efforts
that have been made to bring the
institution into disrepute. Inves-
LEGATION in botn cases amply sns-
tanned the authorities and to-day
the West Virginia penitentiary
stands without a superior
of its kind in the land. 1t is safely
and economically conducted. The
convicts are comfortably fed and
clothed. They are required to give
a fair days work for their support,
and discipline is firmly but not
harshly enforced. The action of
the contractors, whose success de-
ponds on the health, obedience and
discipline of the convicts, in renew
ing their contracts, is the best evi-
dence of u we'll managed institution.
RECORD OF THE BOARD.
Hon. Hiram Howard, President
of the Board, said TO a representa-
tive of the REGISTER, to. day: "When
we took hold of the penitentiary il
was with the idea that il should. be
a reformatory as we'll as a penal
institution, and have attempted to
conduct it on that line. The con-
yicts have been treated as men
should be, and harsh and cruel pun
ishm9nts have never been inflicted
Penitentiary authorities of other
States have told me that our disci-
pline was as perfect as any theyever
saw.
'tTwo rules have been followed in;
disposing of convict labor: First to
prevent the convict goods from
coming into competition with hon
est labor in our own State, and sec:
ond to do away with machinery in
the shops as much as possible.
Both of these rules have been close
ly followed, and while there are now
nearly 300 convicts in the building,
scarcely an article which they man
ufacture is sold in West Virginia, or
in competition with
WEST VIRGINIA INDusTRY.
a large amount of machinery has
been removed from the shops, aud
while it has made the convict labor
slightly less remunerative, it has
operated to protect legitimate labor,
while keeping all the convicts en-
ployed. When this board was APP
pointed five years ago, there was a
strong agitation against convict
labor all over the country. AT one
time 600 prisoners were kept idle
for weeks in the Ohio penitentiary.
Nearly every ware house in this
place was stocked with goods that
could not be sold. 1t was almost
impossible to let conyicts at any
reasonable rate, and the State suffer
ed considerable loss. Since then
there has been slight weakening
of sentiment, and by careful man
agement we have been able to keep
the prisoners almost steadily ON
ployed. To day the penitentiary is
practically self-supporting. The
appropriation for deficiency in rev
enucs in 1889 was 5000. Ten
thousand dollars of this remains. in
the State treasury. Twenty three
thousand was also appropriated for
this year and not a cent of it has
yet been touched. We have now
900 in our treasury, and $4,000
more is due, from contractors for
work done. The total is sum of
S43, 900, which is available for the
pcnitentiary's uses, with all debts
paid. The States appropriations
for two years have been only S46,-
600, so we are not far from even. !"
AN ECONOMIC ADMINISTRATION.
The representative of the REsrs-
,noAo N q