The record-union., 1894-09-11
PROPOSED PRISON CONSOLIDA-
TION.


It is said that the Prison Commission
ers or Directorate will recommend to the
coming Legislature, indeed have already
prepared report to that end, that the
San Quentin Prison grounds and prop
erty be sold, and the State Prison grounds
be consolidated at Folsom.
If this is true, and if the recommends
ton is likely to be acted upon favorably,
the result will be bad for Sacramento, but
good for the State. The location of a
penitentiary in this county has proved to
be curse; we invited it, however, and
must not now complain. But when it
comes to the higher interests of the State,
directors is wise and to be commended.
The San Quentin Prison is too near TO
the metropolis; it is TOO easy of access; its
power for industrial purposes is all arti-
ticial and very costly, even the water
necessary for prison uses has to be pur-
chased at an expense in excess OF $4,000
a year. The location is too fiat and ex-
posed, and the limitations upon industry
there are too great.
The maintenance of two prisons within
ninety miles of each other is useless, one
set of administrative and executive Off
GERS could as well serve the State if the
prisons were consolidated. The location
at Folsom is more retired and equally as
salubrious; power is natural there; athe
State owns plenty of good land at the
branch prison; there are inexhaustible
quarries to be worked. hundreds of acres
TO be TILED. water III quantity without
cost, and opportunities for employing the
prisoners in a large variety of useful
labors that will tend to their better dis
cipline and speedier reformation, and to
make the prison self-supporting, or, at
least, largely so.
If there is need at all for two prisons,
then they should be widely separated in
order to save the State the expense of
long transportation of conyicts.
This journal has always contended that
the California system of scattering insti-
tutions of the character of prisons and
asylums is costly, silly and inexcusable
policy. The rule should be that of con-
solidation for economic reasons first and
reformatory and treatment purposes Sec
ondly. There cannot be shown any good
reason why single administrator can
not conduct and oversee the affairs of the
prisons of California If massed in one
place. We have gone on erecting and
placing State institutions in California to
placate, favor and crafty local ambitions,
greed and desire, utterly regardless of
State economy, until the policy has be-
come crying shame and burdensome
and an unnecessary expense.
State institutions should be erected
only as State need requires and located
as State economy and wise administra-
ton demand, utterly regardless of the
claims of towns and counties to be
favored with the site of an asylum, a
State school or a prison. The simple
truth is that California is a laughing stock
with her five insane asylums in i've dis
tinct sections of the State, and that very
fact should cause change of policy to be
inaugursted. The new rule should be
that of concentration as opposed to the
present one of distribution.
1t is a most unlikely season and year to
propose to the people any re- establish
ment of State institutions calling for ex-
penditure of the taxpayers money. But
as we understand the synoptical state
ment made of the forthcoming prison re-
port the belief is entertained that the en-
tire cost of consolidating the prisons can
be met by the sale of the San Quentin
property. This may be error, it may
prove that the San Quentin site will be
worth no more than agricultural acreage,
and that the ideas OF the directors con-
cerning its value for suburban homes is a
greatly erroneous one. The cost of re-
ducing the site to condition to fit 1t for
such purposes would probably fully equal
its present value. 1t might, however be
easily adapted to manufacturing purposes
where artificial power could be econom-
ically used. AT the same time whatever
it would bring should be considered in
connection with the fact that the major
burden of new construction at Folsom
can be borns by prison labori that there