Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-08-11
STATE PENITENTIARY.
A BRIEF STATEMENT IN REGARD TO
 ITS PRESENT CONDITION.
Employ iment for all the Gonyicts, Who Are
 More Than nSeIf-Supporting

In answer to numerous inquiries that nave been received in regard to the condition of the State peniten- , tiar, Superintendent Mcconnell and Financial Agent Carroll are sending out an interesting letter, from which
 the following extracts are made: "The State took charge of the pen itentiary on the 7th day of May, l ls93, with an appropriation of $30,- 000. The penitentiary having been leased for the past twenty years, we found all the buildings, furniture and ] fixtures, etc, in a very dilapidated condition, and the convicts were turned over to us almost naked. There was no live stock at all on hand, no wagons or other vehicles even to haul cur supplies from the depot or city.
 ''lt was too late to make d crop with the convicts that year, and too late to hire but few of them out for that purpose. The consequence was that after hiring out all that we possibly could we had left on our hands nearly 300 convicts to he fed in absolute idleness from May until September l, before we could get en- ployment for them.
 Prom May to September l large part of the appropriation of $30, ,000 had been expended in SUD- porting the convicts and improve ment of the penitentiary property, so that on September l2 we only had left of the appropriation $S,500.
 After that time we got employ ment for all of our men and have been more than self-suppOrting ever since We have returned of the ap- propriation $l4, ,500, this making $23,- GOO on hand at the present time. Be- sides this we have due us from work already done, over $5,000 and we have kept all the conviets employed this year.
 "We have 2,s00 acres planted in cotton in Chieot county, Arkansas, which We are farming on the shares. Ne have a beautiful crop there and unless the crop is ruined from now on it will net Us considerable reye- nue We also hare 600 acres in L0- noke county, Arkansas. il large DOT tion of which we have cleared up, and or which we receive two-thirds 0f the crop. We have 400 acres three miles above the city which we have rented, on which there is as fine crop of corn as is in the State. This will insure HIS all the feed for stock and bread for convicts for next year.
 In regard to transportation of convicts from the counties, consider able opposition, we hear, has been made to this part of the new law. From 1885 to 1893 the cost of trans portatio of convicts to the peniten- tiary under the old system .that is by the Sheriffs1 ranged from $26.s6 to $36S4 per capita, as will be seen by referring to the last biennial re- port of the inspector of convicts on page 9, table No. I.
 Daring the year 1892 there were 3S0 conyicts received 1t the peniten- tiary from county jails, delivered by Sheriffs at the cost of $l4,000, or $3684 each. From May ', 1893, the day the State took charge of the penitentiary, to the 7th day of May, 1881, we have received from county iail 539 conyiets, at q total cost to the State of $3,954,14. or $7.393 l-3 each. This includes the salary of transportation agent and all other expenses, such as teiegraphing, post age, etc, incident to the traRspor- tation.
 "Cnder the old system to have de- livered these 539 conviets at $36.S4 each which it cost the last year of the old system) would have amounted to $2O, ,s46.70. As we have delivered them for $3,954.14 we have saved to the State the sum of $l6,- 902 62, or more than one-half of the amount of the appropriation for all purposes-$30, ,000.00 on this one item. .
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 Good Railroad Connections.
 Train No. f via Cotton Belt Route, now makes close connection at Cairo, with fast mail trains Nos. and 7, ..sl. IIli,.4,ic, E1,, tnnl p R fnr pninfs