The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-10-08

TINES reporter interviewed DR..
Leigh Buckner, the city physician, and
Tailor Traynham yesterday, to get at
the bottom facts regarding the unsani-
tary condition of the Jail and the sick
ness among the prisoners. Dr. Buckner
said the report that two prisoners have
typhoid fever is untrue. ''There has
not bcen," said he, "a case Of typhoid
fever in the Jail since have been city
physician. believe the jail is as healthy
as any otherplace in the city, when the
crowded condition is taken into consid-
Grafton. Many of the prisoners are as
degraded as 1t Is possible for them to
be. and often full of disease when com
mitted. The Jail has been very much
crowded during the last few months.
and it is impossible to keep it in a per-
fectly clearly condition. / believe Jail
or Traynham comes as near keeping it
clean as is possible. and that no more
careful and patient man could he Sc
cured.
''Much UNNECESSARY complaint natural
~ arises. visit the Jail every other
day all the time, and every day when it
Is necessary. Prisoners often complain
and want medicine when there is
nothing the matter with them. They
only pretend to be sick, hoping by that
means to get put of Jail
''MoSc Sanders, one of the sick prison
ers. has malaria Sam Stokes. the other
one. only has Il cold. | advised Mr..
Traynham to have them removed from
tho jail, because with the crowds and
noise it is not the place for them to he
kept"
do you think the Jail is adequate for
the needs of the city? ?"
1T is an evident fact that the Jail
should be larger. With more room for
the prisoners the sanitary condition
would be bother
DO you believe that there is any way
to improve the present sanitary condi-
ton of the jail without enlarging?"
Every Jail, should be furnished with
the most improved hygcnic appliances.
In this respect there is room for inn
prOvemont."
Tailor Traynham said: "Thc iail has
been ovcrcrowded for three months. but
is not so full now as it was n few DAYS
ago. OF course it is impossible with the
crowd we have to keep the Jail as clean
as an ordinary dwelling. The floors are
OF stone and cannot be washed easily.
except with q hose, and n hose cannot
he used, as there is no way to drain off
the water. We use lime and other dis
infectants, anil try to keep the sanitary
condition rs good as possible. We are
greatly in need of more room, and |
think, with proper appliances, the sani-
tary condition could be improved
There is Il board of Jail inspectors
appointed by the Husting's Court. | be-
lieve ,"
There has been, but if there is one |
do not know who composes it. am sure
the jail has not been inspected recently.
and do not remember when board of
inspectors last visited it,"
TIE TINES representative visited tho
city jail yesterday afternoon and made
an examination OF its inmates and rem
eral condition. lie found that there
were about thirty confined for various
oifenses, among them being two colored
women. In the lower tier of cells there
were fourteen prisoners and the upper
sixteen, seven of these being in one cell
The men on the upper floor complained
that they had no bed clothing, and they
and the women said they did not have
enough to eat. They did not seem
emaciatcd or to be suffering from lack
of food, but the condition of both floors
is anything but conducive to comfort or
health.
There was an abundance of lime about
the rooms. but there was no glass atany
of the gratings, and, as the weather has
been quito chilly and wet recently.
there must. of necessity, have been
some suffering from cold. In one of
the upper cells, stretched upon two wire
mattresses. were two sick colorcd men
named Moses Sanders and Sam Stokes
Tho former appeared to be suffering
from Il complication of bronchitis and
malaria. and the latter from q very Sc
we're cold, approaching close to pneumo-
mia. These men said they believed their
sickness was brought about in great
measure by the fact that during the re-
cent cold spell they had been compelled
to sleep near the openings in the walls
without any blankets or any kind of
bed-clothing whatever, and such seems
to the reporter reasonable view of the
situation.
These men were sadly in need of COM
forts which they did not have and which
could not be furnished in an institution
of that character. In this connection it
is well to suggest the necessity of pro-
viding some means of caring for sick or
wounded prisoners and the sooner ac-
ton is taken on this matter the better
| it will be for suffering humanity and the
reputation of the city.
In conversation with Mr.. Traynham
the reporter suggested the necessity of
furnishing the prisoners with blankets.
He said the city always did that when
the weather got cold, but that it was
comparatively early in the fall as yet
lie was, however. making prcparations
I To q fin IL Of