The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-02-06
THE STATE PRISON NORTH
Warden J. w. French Responds to
Charges Made by Two Ex-Conyicts.
lie Claims the Prison Is Managed in Accord
ancs with Law, and that the Inmates Are
Treated Justly and Even Generously.
the Editor Of the Indianapolis journal.

AcSSuSy opbOoASA OvOA II
names of ex-convicts-one in the Craw-
louisville Journal and the other in the
Richmond Item. In your editorial you say:
"Of the present warden of the northern
prison this man says:
81 noticed In his annual statement to the d.
rectors concerning his expense during his eight
months or Office he stated the expense would
have been less had it not been for the high price
or potatoes and pork. He said potatoes were
: l.25 per bnshel and pork $40 to $13 per barrel.
Inc state owns two hundred acres OF land adj
joining the prison. 1t ia fsrmed by convict labor.
and TO see them digging potatoes 1t looks like
there were enough potatoes to supply the city OF
chicago, and there surely Is enough for eight
at that prison FARM Il he is compelled to pay
Sl3 per barrel for pork. he ought 10 be compelled
TO buy meat the convicts can eat. They are COM
peeled TO work hard. and they should have some
food that is not rotten. I would like to be per-
mitted to accompany Mr.. Johnson, secretary of
the state Board of Charities. also the next in
vestigatlng committee, on their next visit to the
prison.
THE public has been led to suppose that
the era of rotten meat ended when Warden
Murdoch retired. Is it still continued
Also. IL does look q little strange that with
two hundred acres of good land the State
should not be able to raise all the potatoes
the c0nvlcts need without buylng them at
81 - Der bushel. Such statements as that
of this man Reinheimer begst q suspicion
that prison investigations are very super
SA~ ~ POhluAOtOlJs "aot hO
says about the labor-contract system goes
TO show Its inherent viciousness."
AS the warden of this institution. / desire
space in the journal to make reply. In the
first place the man Reinheimer is mistaken
In saying there are eco acres in the prison
farm. The fact is, there IS only one hun
dred acres and of this only about twenty
five acres are subject to cultivation, the
balance being a waste of sand or else occu-
pied by the prison plant. Last year there
We're eight acres cultivated in potatoes.
These were cut down by the frost, and 1
obtained a crop of 465 bushels. The con-
sumption of potatoes for the year amounted
to about eleven thousand bushels. You
can readily see what had to be bought, and
it will give you some insight into the char
acter of ReInheimer's communication.
Of the shortcomings of Warden MUIR
docks administration, If any there were.
let him answer for them. Ineed only state
here. that on the charges made against him.
he received the unanimous vote of the Leg
lslature by way of exOneration.
THE PRISONERS FOOD.
As to your insinuation of rotten meat. /
beg to say that all the meat, both pork
and beef. that 1 feed is purchased in the
open market at Chicago from such firms as
Armour & Co.. Swift & Co.. and the Chi
cago Meat Market Packing Company. Do
you believe that they would sell me rotten
meat if / wanted it. and can you conceive
of any reason why q man with q spark of
humanity IN his breast should want rotten
meat, even if he could get it. to feed to i'm
prisOEed menf There Is always q greater
or less stock of this meat on hand. and you
could do me no greater favor than by com
ing in person.. bringing any committee you
saw tit, and making any kind Of an exam
%ination of the meat that Will satisfy you as
to it's quality.
Replying to the charge that the men here
are poorly fed. i have to say that their food
is cooked in the latest improved Mott
steam-jacket kettles, where nothing comes
denslnR lids on top OF the kettles prevent
the strength of the food from boiling away.
So far as boiled meats and soups are con-
cerned, l challenge o comparison with the
best hotels in the country.
You may be interested in knowing what
these men get TO eat every week. Permit
mt TO enumerate: They get fresh beef,
corn beef, mess pork. picked pigs feet,
butterine. light bread, corn bread, p0ta-
toes. sauer kraut, hominy, beans, rice,
dried peaches, dried apples, dried grapes,
raislns, soups OF every character, tea, cOf-
fee. and. in their season, they get cabbage.
lettuce, tomatoes, celery, and
such sue con other heods garden Vegetables as
tity to supply the table. This list
of foods is ted to them in such variety as
makes up a constant change. and every
man gets all he can eat. White bread,
and that of the best, is served twice a day.
Coffee is served twice a day, or else once O
day with tea once. On Sunday the beef is
roasted. with gravy, and so long as it last
ed. which was some three months. this was
mess of pork sausage is served. and on spe-
cial days. such as legal holidays. the men
are gwen extra meals. On Easter Sunday
OF this last year being my first / can only
speak for it,. they had $50 dozen eggs: on
the Fourth of July they had roast beef.
new potatoes. pies. and cakes, and lemon
ade; on Thanksgiving they had roast pork
tenderloin with gravy and celery. potatoes,
pies, cakes and coffee; Christmas they had
nine hundred pounds of roast turkey.
with dressing and celery, and In ad-
dition bad pie. cakes and three apples
each. light bread and coffee; on New Years
day they had a milk oyster stew, with Sc
Iect oysters and butter crackers. / can
point you to dozens of laboring men with
families in the outside world who do not
live so well. l do not ask you to take my
word for the foregoing. but invite you to
investigate the matter for yourself.
In the matter of the over working of men
and driving sick ones to work, as charged
by these eX-convlcts and commented upon
by you, / want 10 deny it, and say. first, that
out of q population of eight hundred, last
year. We had only nine deaths. and with q
population merging into nine hundred,
with one quarter of this year gone, we nave
had but three deaths, and L challenge any
community in the State of Indiana. with
an equal population. to show n mortality
half so low. And yet it must not be forgot
ten that through indulgence in drink and
debauchery many of these men come here
full of malignant end chronic diseases.
and that we have all of these things to con-
tend with.
OTHER DENIED.
The Charlottesville convict complained
that the men were overworked on the
cooper contract. The task on the cooper
contract has not been changed in nlne
years. Many men on this contract do their
task in half o day. and by 8 o'clock each
day the men are seated in idleness or doing
overwork. The barrels are all cut and
put together by machinery. and all these
coopers have to do is to shave and hoop
them. A tierce task Is eleven barrels, and
of the pork-barrels. fourteen. OF these
latter, men Oh the outside make thirty, as
yon will find by inquiry.
The convict Shular. who wrote in the
Charlottesville Journal, was never under a
guard q dav while he was here, but worked
In n repair blacksmlth-shop by himself,
and the prisoners cash ledger shows that
while he was q prisoner he made for HIM
self over $500 in cash during idle hours, and
went away from here with 500 In money
In his pocket. The convict who wrote III
the Richmond Item worked on a task that
permitted him to make overtime every
dQU that ha ma. horA md fha aama aaah