Telegram-herald., 1891-09-24

place IN the factoEs account.
slixhs Dlsere paeei~s Expi&lnsa.
They follow win scme figures, which
they call ssslight discrepancies"
amounting 70 sSs. .06S. 80, and ltsualse, -
foliows.-s.SeDtembe lsso, labor
charged 10 plant, s2l2; October 1850,
charged 10 plant, S40s, rs; November
1SS6, labor. charged 20 plant, &5Ss.
And so on 10 the amount OF ~ sveS-so.
They decide, without claiming 10 be
furnisure experts" after . lapse OF
fve years, that these charges saouia
not have been made to the plant They
DO tina Without consulting the superln-
tenacnt or foreman, or any one who
had knowledge Of the facts, and pro-
ceed 10 charge the factory Win this
item.
The facts are are-all this labor was
done on the plant. rxwtables, OF al
kinds, were made ia the shop, and OF
course both labor and materials were
charged 10 the plant. Sand drums.
work benches, pulieys. and other parts
of the plant We're manufactured there.
We had more labor than We had
money. Labor cost but little, aud MAS
used instead of money, wherever pos
sible. Why did they not call III MI.
Bower, who Is now superintendent ot
the furniture factory IL Iona, bnt then
MAS superintendent of the prison fac
tory, and ask him, before giving the
lie 10 NE reports. as well as my owny /
WAS likewise al hand and would gladly
have set them right on tnls matter.
But they left as soon as began 10 cor
rect Their work Show me the factory
IN Grand Rapids Or elsewhere, that has
no item OF labor charged 10 the plant
Do these men think mach lEes step in
and takes their places IN tie shop, ready
beIted and IN order for running
Further; these wise '.experts" say,
''There WAS some thing little sticky m
the plant account. Ne found sonle
glue there, also some salary Items.
some burlsps, oil and some ssDdpaper
and on this account, they proceed 10
take 81, ,5ss.36 from the plant, in tho
accounts OF 1856 and 1857 and charge
the same TO the factory. The glue,
burlaps, sandpaper aud ''some salary
itenls," were all used IN manufacture
ing sand drums, (which were covered
with both burlars and ssndpaper. As
any furniture mechanic knowsl, anu
various other articles needed 10 manu-
facture furniture. There wss a super
intendent or fore man OF the mea, ,waiie
this work WAS beng done,sn of course
HE salary was charged 10 the plant.
Glsring Errors Corrected.
The article further says: 1.-The sys-
tenn oil borrowing supplies from other
prison departments without charging
the furniture factory with the items,
prevailed to some extent. OF items go
borrowed and not charged TO the fac
tory, they have prepared an exhibit
marked 'D' and which aggregates ST.
2s5.4l. They do not give the iiems of
this account, but charge IL TO the fac,
tory IN bulk. | have 10 means OF know
ing what they are.'
Ia the report of the business Of the
factory for the year given, the same
unfair and incorrect figures are used, as
the other parts OF this expert" state
ment, S9l0.47 IS taken from the plant
account and arbitrarily charged 10 the
factory ,.and S2S5. 4 4asetrsnsferSed from
OTHER departments, but no credits given
for transfers 20 other department.
Neither is any credit for furniture
manufactured for the PRISON itself.
The factory books show these credits.
Why were they not included IN the re-
porp Were these items properly placed
the years business would show a
small balance on the other SIDE.
Ny accounts show the cost Of the
plant at the time ! left the institution
10 be less than $4,000. i venture TO
say this il a less amount than the cost
of any plant of like value IN the State.
But at the rate of scaling down adopted
by these experts" we should socn
have credit balance on 1t. As 10 the
price of beds--No. Is is gwen as an ex-
ample-prIce stated 10 be S1.l5, and the
estimates OF three men sre reported
all showing higher than the scAle-prIce.
One of these men "a said 10 be the
"factory superintendent" another con-
Wet. and the other "long term opera
tive" presumably a convict.
Errors Could Be Corrected.
Henry Bradfield Is the sGperintcnd-
ent, and he told Mr.. Rich and others in
my presence that he had given no
figures, nor had his opinion been asked.
As 10 the estimate OF convict workmen,
| should want TO know the man and the
circumstances of the case before I gave
il credence. 1t would probably not be
difficult TO prove the truth or talslsy OF
any or all the statements made toy con-
vict testimony just as was desired. But
If the price be too low for any bed IN
the list laud these prices run from 50
cents to S2.25l. change Il or cease To
make it. The contract gives the pr1ce
OF the sample bed in the white atsl.
stating that IL any bed cost more, a.
corresponding INCREASE shall be adtcd
10 the p.ice. These changes are made
by The warden and the contractor by
agreement every slx months ] do not
now remember If the pfice stated was
the price agreed TO by me; bat If SO, u
could have been changed since | left,
az mere than six months hsve elapsed
the first act of the present rarden after
relieving me, was 90 lower the price 81
labor for Cochraue and Miller. on thcir
finishing business, from 60 10 50 cents
per day, and 10 change the prices on
some of the beds, one Of which, at
least. wa. reduced. 7 have now found
the Cochrane 4 Miller &c. honest and
fair in their desllngs, and doubt not
they would assent to q raise IN the
price of the bed named, II urged 10 do
so, or discontinue its manufacture.
Much mere might be ssld on this sub
ject not, specially creditsbe 10 the pres
ent management at she state House OF
Correction, bBt do not wish % trespsss
upon your space or tue time OF your
readers. have pride IN my adm
tratioD at the State House OF correc-
ton and certainly propose 10 defend
my record. II it becomes necessary 20
attack IN order to do this. there VIII be
no hesilsncy on my part.
The fact csn not he eainssid that the
earnings OF the inmates we're more, and
the met expense TO labor OF inmates