Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-07
ROOM FOR REFORMS.
officials of the State Board of Char
tiles Looking Around.
MIR. BIDDLE MAKES A SUGGESTION.
Male and Female Prisoners in Jsils
Should be Separated.
MIR, SCOTT TELLS OF IMPROVEMENTS

Cadwallader Biddle, of Philadelphia,
Secretary of the State Board of Charities,
slipped into the city quietly yesterday, and
hoped to make his tour OF inspection of the
local penal and charitable insti-
| tutions without any forewarning.
In this he failed, and he blames the enter
prise of the newspapers.
James B. Scott and Mr.. Sawyer, the mem
bers of the board for Western Pennsylvania,
and Mr.. BiddIe will do the work alone in
this section of the State. Yesterday they
visited the county Jail, HOMEOPATHIC Hos
pital and Newsboys' Home. The board
will make another visit later on, when the
institutions put in their estimates of State
aid needed.
When seen last evening Mr.. Biddle was
very 10th to talk. He said be was first ex-
pected to report to the board, and then to
the Legislature. 1t frequently happened,
he added, that when any of the institutions
were criticised the managers felt sore, and
were not willing to assist in the reform
suggested. The members yesterday found
the Jail in a crowded condition.
SEPARATION OF THE sexes FAVORED.
Mr.. Biddle would like to see the males
and the females separated. The men should
not know that women are in the Jail, at all.
Warden Berlin admitted the criticism was
a fair one. and the matron said she had always
been anxious to see the women kept in their
own departments.
Mr.. Biddle says the fault is in the construction
of the Jail, and, at the present rate of increase
it won't be long before the cells occupied by the
females will have to be given up to the males
He finds there is large hospital department
that is not used very much, and he thinks part
of it could easily be fitted up to accommodate
the female prisoners. Such a request will
probably be made by the Board of Charities to
were well pleased with the condition of the
Jail.
Mr. Biddle refused to say anything about the
Homeopathic Hospital and the Newsboys
Home, except that in general way he had no
fault to find with them. There were no cases
OF abuse or neglect to look after. All the hos
pitfalls, the various homes, and the Western
Penitentiary will be visited.
Concerning the lunacy commission Mr..
Biddle stated that DR.. Wetherell, of Phila-
delphia, who is at the head of it. is very
work we'll Occasionally he finds isolated cases
where insane people are not sent to the
hospitals and asylums, as required by law, but
there are not many of them, and, as a rule,
they are confined privately. by relatives and
friends, through ignorance and not from
neglect. Some people are deeply prejudiced
against SenQ1ng tnelr insane TO the state lnSCl-
tutions, for fear they Will not be treated WELL.
This feeling is rapidly dying. Cases of cruelty
are too promptly corrected in these days.
MR.. SCOTS IDEAS OF JAILs.
MIR. Scott was seen at his residence, in ALE
gheny. last night. He declined to say anything
specific regarding the future work of the men,
bers in this county, but remarked in a general
way, that they did not anticipate finding things
other than satisfactory. He said that under
the present system of inspection the jails of
the State in particular had undergone wonder
full improvements. So great had it been that
there was no comparison between the present
and ten years ago. He cited an instance of a
jan jail in certain county OF the State. which,
to lie in. The board took the matter
in charge and brought the facts to the attention
of the courts. The result was that a new Jail
is to be built and it will be one Of the finest in
the State. From sanitary standpoint the i'm
provements have been astonishing. Mr.. Scott
said it was not the purpose of the board to ad-
vocate the building or maintaining of prisons
where criminals would live on the top shelf.
The idea was to conduct them in such man
ner that prisoners would leave them better
morally and physically:that work would be more
dificultin this county, as but few prisoners were
sent to Jail for any length of time. In many
jails of the State. however, long term prisoners
were cared for. Mr.. Scott said that in the Del
aware County Jail he saw one desperate char
acter who was serving an eight year term, and
cases of this kind were not uncommon.
GRADING OF PRISONERS FAVORED. !
81 am in favor of grading the prisoners in
proportion to their crimes" continued Mr.
Scott, but 1t will be very diff cult task here
as SO many people are locked up for trivial
offenses that they are going and coming
daily 1t is only question of time |
however. when something of this kind
will be done. Where do we go tomorrow? can
hardly answer that question, as it would be in |
the nature of serving notice on the officials of
the institution, but tor that matter they could |
not do much in the matter of arranging things |
providing that were necessary"
Mr.. Scott expressed himself as well pleased |
with the Homeopathic Hospital, and said that |
when the additions now in course of erection |
were completed it would be splendid institu- |
ton. with probably room enough for every |
emergency.