St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-13
Gay Times at the Saltwater
Prison, According to Sec
rotary Hart.
The Prisoners Flirted With
Each Other and Every
body Else,
While the Expenses Of the
State Increased Beyond
Parallel.
More Office Hall and Other
Inspectors on the Wit
ness Stand.

The senatorial committee appointed
to investigate the Saltwater prison COM
menced its work yesterday morning,
Senators Sanborn, Mcmillan, Craven,
Dedon, Erickson and Keister being pres
ent. The first and only witness at the
morning session was Secretary Hart, OF
the board of corrections and charities,
but his evidence was so racy at times
that the session was decidedly interest
ing. The reverend Secretary'Ss report
to the governor. which was suppressed,
was introduced in evidence.
Mr.. Hart began with a lengthy criti-
ciSm of the discipline maintained by
Warden Randall, and cited number of
cases showing the lax discipline. The
case of Convict Munger was mentioned.
This man had charge of the
warden's stables and by some
means furnished other prisoners with
liquor. Indeed, on several occasions
number of intoxicated prisoners were
found on the premises. ConYIcts were
allowed to carry sums of money, and
this increased the difficulty, because it
was an easy matter to purchase liquor.
This, however. had been stopped on
being brought to the warden'S notice.
Each guard seemed to make his own
rules. Here Mr.. Hart took up the re-
port he made to the governor last April,
a part Of which reads as follows:
COnVicts Gamble.
''Couvicts are allowed to run loose together
in The cell room every Sunday morning after
service in the chapel. They are allowed TO
have money, and IN some places gambling
has been carried on. They are allowed to
play ball, pitch quoits and otherwise amuse
themselves: and in the blacksmith shops
convicts make coffee mOlasses candy and
lemonade during working hours. Convicts
are allowed privileges outside the walls,
which is detrimental TO good discipline ana
creates scandal
ConvicIs we're allowed to run loose for an
hour or TWO In the blacksmith shop they
made molaSseS candy, and the men in the
shop OppOsite the cells where tie
females were confined spent their
time in carrying on tlirtations with the
women There appeared TO be no governing
rules. the deputy warden, Mr.. Langum, adj
hitting that there had never been any writ
ten rules since he went Into Office. A
prisoner named Davis escaped, the assistant
deputy warden started TO ST. Paul for him,
ACCOMPANIED by the stOrekeeper. The latter
got raying drunk, ana on the return trip
flOnriShed TevolveTs on the train The as
sistant deputy warden did not report this, be
cause the Storekeeper was a favorite Of the
warden 5.
Food Wasted.
Last fall said MIR. Hart, ~ learned
that there was large amount of food
wasted, and on Aug. ) l wrote to War
den Randall about the waste of 100
pounds of bread day.
Mr. RandalI'S reply OF Aug. was
read He wrote they had reduced the
waste of bread and meat and had made
a place for keeping soap, which, it APP
peared. had been Wantonly wasted. AS
to 50 many cOnvictS having officers
fare, the kitchen help having charge of
the cooking could eat what they wished,
and the female convicts. having a
stove. could manipulate the food to
their own taste. AS to the Younger
boys. Mr.. Randall wrote they had had
their photos taken before he took
charge. and were selling them to raise
money for a monument TO Bob
Younger's memory.
Nismanagement.
Secretary Hart offered letter which
he had written to the prison board call
ing attention to the fact that the cost of
convicts per capita was too large, and
the expenses too high. The current eX-
penSes for the year had been S247, the
largest for any year in the ten last past.
= cOlH pdIHllN6 SldleIlelll Vi IllC cOSL Vi
running the prison for the past five
years per convict follows: 1856, SIS;
1887. sSS; 1888, 1872; 1889, $97; 1890, S115.
The total cost follows:
Year No Convicts Cost
1SS6. Observation-Disclosures. 3S4 S1O,569
observation-disclosures 16 1864
1875. ..............4l U 14,o5I
1889 Observation-Disclosures. 1884 14.000
1890 northumberland. 81 1855
The Secretary's comparison of the
Saltwater and Joliet prisons was inter
esting-especially to the taxpayers of
the state. At Joliet, for instance, a
convict receives three pounds of sugar
per year: at Saltwater he gets no less
than tWenty-SiX pounds; and so on.
Being questioned. Mr.. Hart expressed
the opinion that he did not believe the
binding tWine manufacture would be
profitable. He valued the labor at from
80 to 20 cents per day. and declared
change was necessary in the manage
mant Of the prison.