Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-07-27

convlcts home. The prison is located
in a stockade Of brick and stone three
feet thick by sixteen feet high and
covering an area Of six acres. Within
the enclosure beside the prison is the
three-story brick hospital, rapidly
nearing completion, the laundry, tailor
shops, shoe shops and machine shops.
Among the Improvements made by
the new warden may be mentioned the
planting of a young orchard three
acres in extent and garden of eight
acres. Also coil is now used as we'll
as wood and horse car line, or" petty
larceny railroad" as the warden
satirically calls it, runs down to the
main line of the Washington e. Co.
lumbia River railroad where coal bunk
ers are located. Coal is used for the
steam heating plant with a saving as
follows: 1t took five cords OF wood
day in the winter time to operate the
steam heating arrangements and this
at Sc per cord made $3G per day. Coal
costs 1914 per ton and three and one
half tons per day do the work of six
cords of wood. During the summer,
three cords of wood per night was
used; now a ton and q half OF coal
does the work and runs one more dy-
namo and heats an additional wing
which has been built to the prison. On
the farm this years crop of wheat on
forty acres will cut 100 tons OF hay, and
ten acres in alfalfa will average two
tons to the acre. The chicken ranch is
also on an extensive scale and is looked
after by Ben Blenton, aged 70 years,
who is called the chen shark" by his
fellow prisoners. Blenton is a twenty.
year man from Whitman county, hav-
ing killed three men whom he suspect.
ed of intimacy with his young wife.
A horse thief acts as hostler and keeps
the stable in good repair, while an
other horse thief is very efficient
butcher. Heretofore the State paid
six and one-half cents per pound for
beef and 500 pounds per day were used.
Now steers are bought on foot for two
and one-half cents per pound, fattened
on the farm and slaughtered. The
meat now costs only four cents per
pound, not counting the hide, tallow
and offal, the latter being fed to the
hogs. AS the penitentiary is now run
it is source of revenue to the State.
The prisoners live we'll, have three
meals day and meat at each meal.
The steward hands a report every
evening to the warden, and these re.
ports show that the average cost per
day for each convict's board is eleven
cents. The day that the correspond
ent was at Walla Walla the stewards
report was as follows: Four hundred
and sixty pounds of flour, 100 pounds
cornmeal, so pounds hominy, 20
pounds rice, $50 pounds pink beans,
10 pounds white beans, 432 pounds
beef, 2 hams, II pounds sugar, s
pounds coffee, II pounds tea, IA pounds
black pepper, 90 pounds salt, gallon
vinegar, pounds bacon, II pounds
corn beef, 1! pounds cream tartar, 4
dozen eggs, 3 pounds pork, l pound
raisins, and one-third cord of wood to
cook it all. Thus the days board for
1876 convicts cost but $47.42, or on an
average of IL cents per man. The
meals per man for the forty officers
and guards run from so cents per man
per day down.
Other economics calculated to bene-
fit the convicts themselves are prac.
ticed with good result. The incoming
convicts supply the outgoing ones with
clothing. When convict enters the
prison his clothing is taken from him
and turned over to the five women
who represent the criminals of their
sex in Jail. The clothing is repaired,
patched and cleaned until it is almost
as good as new. When o convict is
discharged he is given clean clothing,
IS in cash and railroad ticket to the
place he came from when arrested, or
if he prefers, is furnished transporta.
tion for an equal distance to any part
of the country.
In the headquarters building are
employed Sam Duesenberre, Bert Wild
lake, Dave Latin, and Compon, and
Albertson, all we'll known in Tacoma.
They serve in various capacities as
clerks and so useful have they made
themselves that the Warden does not
require them to wear the regulation
striped suits. 1t is not from any de-
sire to play favorites, however, that
this exception is made. The men are
employed on the books and records OF
the Office and were they compelled to
wear stripes every visitor to the place
would stare at them and there would
be but one effect-the men would get
ratified and make mistakes. So they
are permitted to dress as best suits
them.
A man OF any sentiment at all can
not visit an institution like the Walla
Walla penitentiary without being con-
vinced that there are numerous grave
mistakes committed in the name of
justice. At Walla Walla many splen-
did looking men-men of fine ply
sique, intelligence and undisputcd
ability-are serving long terms for
crimes that short sentences would am
ply suffice. Then there are others
who, it seems, should never have been
sent to prison at all.
The army OF men confined in the
penitentiary is held in check by force
of eleven armed guards, stationed in
as many watch towers scattered about
the premises. The guards are armed
with revolvers and Winchester rifles OF
largo hore and all of them aro crocL