The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-11-20
VIOLATED CONTRACT.
Bob Davis Does Not Live
Up to His Agreement
With the Free
holders.
THE LATTER'S DUTY PLAIN
Dis barge This Negl gent and In
efficient Jailrr and Make APP
peal to The Legislature
Unnecessary.
THE LATTER'S DUTY PLAIN

~ -
Du ing the past week THE JERSEY CITY,
NEWS has published n series OF IA rt.cle
and interviews for the. purpose of In.
forming the t~axpaying public how ok
travagaut the present system Of Conduct
ing the County Jail is. BY a comparison
Of the cost of food for Essex Cou nty jail
and the Tomhs in New York, THE NEWS
has shown that this county pays almos,
four times as much as Essex county, and
more thai three times as much as it costs
condition Of affairs that in itself is scan
dalous, and the result of the most wanton
ex~travagapce. The F~reeholdsrs say by
way of extenuation that the amount paid
the present Jailer is the same that his
| predecessor was paid. aud it only proves
that the system should have been
changed many years ago. instead of all
lowing it to exist to the injury of a
payers.
A bill has been prepared to be pre-
sented to the Legislature as soon as pos
sible to recuify the errors of the fee sys-
tenn and to impose upon the county the
duty of feeding the prisoners, AID the
Sheriff the responsibility for their safe
keeping while in jail. The cost of food
alone is about So 600 u year for the
prisoners in the County jail of this
county, while the total appropriation. in.
cluding everything needed for the Jail.
| such as coal, water, gas, medicine, re-
pairs, furniture Il salaries is but SIS
900. The contract under which Robert
Davis is making a fortune by feeding the
| prisoners for thirty cents O day zach pros
vides, among other things
CONTRACT PROVISIONS.
And that said jailer shall be respoa sible for
the management and conduct OF said Jail, In
accordance with the statute in sucd case made
and provided, and he is also to be responsible
for the cleaning and keeping in order of the Jail,
Court House bulldogs and Freeholder's Office,
without extra charge therefor, and IS to supply
such help as the COMMITTEES on Public Grounds,
or other proper committee may DEAN neces-
sary to keep said buildings and grou nds in
proper order.
Further on the contract provides tn at
the iiler:-
Will, at his own expense. employ IL neces-
sary deputies, keepers. male as we'll as female.
and watchmen. and keep them 30 regulated
and employed as that good discipline and treat.
ment of the prisoners confined Ia said jail shall
be maintained, and the prisoners therein be
kept in safe and secure custody.
HIS BONDSMEN.
For the faithful performance of
these duties Davis has given a
bond of Sic. 900. The sureties are
Lawrence Pagan. Mayor of Hoboken,
aud Jonn NJ. Shannon who has been
dsad for six months. The law requires
that the bond shall be signed ly at least
two sufficient sureties, and II is said by
lawyers thar when one OF these bonds
men die another should be substituted.
II the executor of Shannon's estate
should notify the Board of Freeholders
that the estate would not consider itself
$50 -. 49, NJ, ~aA
lug could be recovered from 1t in case OF
a suit upon the bond. 1t is very pro
babe that the executor Will lake this
course for In justice to the heirs he can
not risk their inheritance by such neg
lect. The contract Is for five years be-
ginning April, 1892. and the question
which presents itself to the pubsio is
has Jailer Davis lived up to hts agree
ment for the consideration OF $4,000 a
year?
At the last meeting Of the Board of
Freeholders County Superintendent Can
non notified thu Board that Judge Hubs
peth had directed chat the Common Pleas
and General Sessions Court room must be
put into a clean condition or he wouId
close the court room aud hold the Free-
holders responsible for such action. A
reporter for The JERSEY CITY NEWS saw
Judge Hudspeth and asked MIN II what
Mr.. Cannon had said was true, and he
replied that It was.
HUDSPETH MEANS IT.
sit has become a subject OF notoriety,"
said the Judge, that the court room ia
filthy and that vermin can at almost any
time be found crawling over the benches
uron the floor. This is disgusting In the
extreme. but it is not all. Last July l
mentioned these facts to the Freeholders
and gave them the control of the court
room until September to place itfn a good
sanitary condition. The Freeholders
pleaded that they had no money to pay
for the repairs and they feared to exceed
their appropriation because it would rem.
der them liable to Indictment. The Free
holders did, however, place q ventila-
| tor In the room, which Is by no meaus
satisfactory, and a day or so before court
| opened the carpet was laid down without
the floor being properly scrubbed or the
carpet cleaned. The result was that the
court room reeked in filth as it had done
previously.
1.-The jailer is responsible for the
cleanliness of the court room, and he is
supposed 30 send a gang OF prisoners
here every day to scrub the floor where
there is no carpet, and to scrub the
benches q to keep The place clean
| from vermin aud other Nth. As n mat
ter Of fact l have learned that the conrt
room is not scrubbed every day n the
sweeping amouute simply to q scrape
and a promise. Unless the loom is
thoroughly cleaued daily 1t cannot be
Kept ina condition nt for any one TO De
in. Many Of the prisoners brought here
daily are covered with vermin, and the
OILY way to avoid this filth is by having
the benches and floor thoroughly scrub
bed. The cracks under the benches and
where they are fastened to the floor are
filled with vermin and filth, the accum-
mutation of many years. propose &c
have these benches removed aud new
ones substituted TO see IL that will not
help to a degree the cleanliness of The
place. The Freenolders have promised
to put in the new benches ano to furn'
1sh a new carpet for the space within the
bar. When This Is done You may be GER.
tain that I shall see to it that the courl
room is properly cleaned every week.
sIts condition since | have been on thu
Bench has been frightful and very detri
mental to the health of the JUDGES. law
yers, court c0nstables and others WHIT
must be here daily"
VIOLATIONS OF CONTRACT.
From this interview aud from the cor