The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-03-10
JAILS need IMPROVING.
Views of the State Chari-
ties Aid Society on
the Subject.
LOCAL BEARING OF THE QUESTION
Jersey City Stations in Excellent
iIShape With a Single Exception
Hospital Facilities.

The Hudson County Branch of the
State Charities Aid Society met in one
of the parlors of the Y. NJ. G. A. building
in Wayne street last evening. In the
absence of the President. Major Papg-
born presided. NJ rs. Emily E. William
son. Secretary of the State Society. was
present and urged the necessity of hold
ing a mass meeting to arouse the publ!c's
interest in the reformation of existing
evils and abuses in the prisons. hosp ttals
and asylums of the county. Such meet
ings have been held in Mercer and other
counties and accomplished good results.
Major Pangborn. Il. M. Gopsill and Miss
NJ. E. McCartin were appointed a COM
mittee to secure a hall and speakers,
The Tabernacle will be secured, and
Dr.. Lewis Il Mrs, Josep hine Shaw
Lowell and other noted speakers will he
invited to address the meeting. The
meeting will be held sometime in the
latter part of the present month.
The promiscuouS budding OF young
girls, some of them held merely as wit
nesses, in cells with older and hardened
offenders, and separated from other cells
and the corridors only by open iron bars
at the county jail, was freely discussed,
rs was also the habit Of allowing the cor
ridors 20 be filled at all hours of the day
with friends of the prisoners who easily
secure permission cards.
JAIL VISITING.
The members of the committee on jail
Visiting during their last visit to the Jail
reported that they almost had to fight
their way through a tough lot of persons
~jailors are powerless in the matter, as
hey are obliged to allow anyone who
presents u proper card to enter.
The per capita system in the matter of
the ~jaller's pay for services was also dis
cussed ana denounced. Why a lailor
should receive twice as much salary as a
Judge of the Supreme Court Is beyond the
COMPREHENSION of the Charities Aid So
ciety.
A committee, including many of the
most prominent members of the society,
will wait upon the Freeholders' Jail Com
mittee, probably at the next meeting of
the Board, and ask that the abuses above
mentioned be remedied. Mrs. William
son, of the State Society. will act in con-
junction with the committee.
A "REMINISCENCES OF sToDDARD.
Speaking OF the abuse OF allowing too
many visitors at the jail. who furnish
tobacco. whiskey and stationery to pris-
oners, Mrs. Williamson caused much
amusement by remarking that she had
ICCCIfCu LIZ 1900 OAoh uhlttJ va
Stoddard, the forger, who has a mania
for writing letters. Before she found out
who he was she wrote him one answer,
stating that she would Investigate his
case. He had also written to a we'll known
lady. the wife of q college president, and
actually convinced that lady That some
thing ought to be one In his behalf. But
a cursory investigation showed her that
she had been imposed upon.
Mrs. ALEXANDER's CHARGE.
Mrs. A. Alexander made a verbal re-
port of her committee observations dur
ing recent visits to the ~almshouse, and
dwelt with much emphasis upon the lack
OF proper accommodations at that insti-
tuition. The committee understood that
$l3, 600 had been appropriated by the
Freeholders for the erection of a new
hospital for the treatment of patients
suffering with contagious diseases, but
was unable to find out what became of
the appropriation. It was understood that
the County Health Board was 1nvestigat-
ing the matter. Mrs. Williamson had
written to Dir. Gordon, president of the
Board, concerning the results of the
Boards investigation, u had thus far
received no reply.
STATION HOUSES PRAISED.
Mrs. Campbell, of the committee ap-
pointed to visit police station houses and
the hospital, reported that her committee
had visited the First, Second, Third and
Fourth Station Houses. She had a word
of praise for the new Station House in
Seventh street. The Gregory street and
the Communipaw Q station houses
were in good condition, but the commit
tee was not satisfied with the absence of
a regular matron at some of the station
houses. The Oakland avenue station
house, though recently repaired and i'm
| proved in man. respects. was not found
us clean rs it should be, so far as the
| prison is concerned, and the general ar
rangements are bad.
The foundation IA been laid for an
| extension of the City Hospital. The
| present accommodations were by no
means as good as they should be. especi-
| ally with reference to contagious dis
| eases. An appropriation for bed clothing
was needed. The bed clothing for the
| patients was not found clean. Warden
Osborne was exonerated. The a%ppropri-
alton for his purpose has always been far
below what was needed. Mrs. Rud-
derow, who owns the adjoining properly
through which the refuse of the Hospital
is drained, had notified the authorities
that she could no longer allow hat. 1t
was thought the property could be pur-
chased for S 1900.
The Treasurer reported a balance in the
treasury of $94 as against q balance of
$50 on January /, 1891.
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