Arizona weekly citizen., 1891-08-29
PRISON LIFE. The Territorial Penitentiary
 st Yuma STATISTIGABINFORMATION What is Being Done by the
 Natives at Yuma. Facts snd Figures-Frogross at .hs Indian schooI- Indians Learning
 the Use of Tools.

ed upon the law breaker, the more speedy aud effsctusl the cure of tho evil, but in the light of modern progress and experience this oncs popular view hss undergone considerable modification, until today the prlsons of our country, be they county, territoritorlal, or state, show gradual tendency toward i'm provement of the methods of manage ment. whereby the health and comfort of the unfortunate inmates are promot- ed. The reverse of this constitutes the exception. It was to learn which of these policies, the sncient or the mod ern, governs in this territory, that fig. ursd among the motives which induced me to pay visit of inspection to the territorial prison yesterday. On first call, Capt. McInernay, the superinten. dent, being temporarily absent, Capt. H. Hale, assistant superintendent, kind ly escorted me through the several apartments, and explained many points concerning the prison, aud its manage mont since May last when Capt. Mo lnsrnay and himself received their com mission. During the first month under the present control there was an aver age of 134 inmates, June 139, July 10, and present month to date 40. The prisoners perform all tbe labor required ln the various departments within the prison; twelve guards, the superinten- dent and hia assistant and secretary being all the sslaried persons about the premises. The industrial features are a carpenter shop, shoe shop, tailor shop and laundry. Every apartment includ- ing cells, inirmary, dining room, etc., appeared faultlessly neat and clean. In connection with the library there are no restrictions regarding the introduce tion of any books and papers that may be furnished by the friends of prisoners; but the superintendent observed that the primer was the most popular of all, and in this connection, he took further occasion to say that fruitful field for a good instructor was open at the Yum a prison.
 The prisoners do considerable amount Of work outside of the walls. A number are engage1 in constructing a levy from the prison grounds parallel with the Colorado river; some are build
 ing houses, and others are doing odd jobs about town.
 The prison contains thirty-six cells with capacity for six persons in each. but it is thought mistake to put more than one in each. Certainly Captain McInernay must be right in clsimlpg that much evil is fostered Tn turning the young hoys and more slight offen- ders together with a horde of hardened criminals, whereby, st the expiration of sentences, they are released upon the community with an advanced education in crime. instead of s tendency in the other direction ss might be the case were they kept properly separated and moro ealutary moral influences brought 10 bear upon them during confinement. Tho prison is designed to accommodate about 1S0 persons on the present sheep corraliDg system.
 The improvements noted under the present management was the cccS;ruc ton of one of the main tuner adobe walls that, becoming :nsafN. had to be replaced by new oGS. EuG the intro duction Of blower pipes for the ventila- tion of each cell and workshop. This latter improvement is very important if any regard for health or comfort is worthy of consideration. The total cost was but little over Sl00. Another improvement was three cells, being forged out of the hard cement, for the exclusive use of women should any ba 50 unfort- unate as to be sent here. At present there is but one woman within the walls, sen; here in 1888, under conviction of being accessory to the murder of Cninamar in Tucson. The circumstance that hrs eiirited comment Is the fact of her having had child born to her since ID prison, about two yeIrs ago. The question is: What crime has the child done that it should bear the sen tsnce of a convict! The situation Is un. fortunate. To remove the child with out the mother, 1t is thought, will re- suit in death to the former, so that the only practical solution seems to lie in the pardon of the mother. Governor Murphy, I am informed, is giving the matter his attention.
 The territorial prison was established here in June 1875. The sheriff of Yuma Co., in that year was appointed, April 12th (two months prior) the first super intendent. His successors in rotation were Capt. Geo. Thurlow, Capt. c. V. Capt. F. $. Ingalls, rhos Gates, Capt. Jno. II. Behan, and Capt. M. NJ. the present incumbent.
 There has been confiIed in this prison to date, 1G44 persons, Of which but c97 were Americans, or little more than p per cent, and of this D per cent Arizona but two prisoners, California gave us fifteen, New York nineteen, and tho remainder from other states and territories. Of the convicts from for eign pntareage 265 out of the 747 were Mexican, the balance from other cound tries, Norway giving us bar yuc. Finland one, Italy ore. Holland one, Cuba one, and Brazil one.
 The average term served by life prisoners since the prison wne establish .d IS less than three years. l ha highest number ever recsived within che year was S2 prisoners in 1894. Jhe largest number discharged was 72 ID 1890.
 Pima Co. is the banner county in the aumber supplied from the territory, be- ng 167, while Mohavs stands lowest, oum boring but If.
 The greatest number imprisoned here has been for the crime of grand larceny, 22l; while branding cattle unlawfully caught, but one; receiving stolen money, oue; obtaining money under false pre- lenses, one; attempt at abortion, one; counterfeit;ng, ere; adultrY, one, and stealing govern ment property, one.
 Up to this date the imprisonments for crimes against persons were 235, againet property, 415; public morals, 3; felony, l6; others not given, 3; United States crimes against persor, ?; against public morals, II; offenses against United States laws, 53.
 Only seven ever escaped who were not recaptured Eleven were sent to the insane asylum, and seventeen who attempted to escape were either re-
 l-s l.