Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-01

1 uSDTeSSiOD lIlClubul u ptlSDn AiCF l we have men who are underground, shut 1 out from sunlight from nine to eleven hours daily; we have them working SIX days in every week in the mines. From 1 the mines the men are carried into the prison, where the light is Door and where the breathing space does not exceed 800 | cubit feet for each prisoner On Sundays and holidays they are kept in the prison. l In word, theypractically never get into | the sunlight.
 With these most favorable conditions | for the spread of tuberculosis, there are in every ward men suffering from tuber- | culosis and scattering the seeds which are to grow and flourish in the fertile | soil afforded by thes prisoners. Little wonder that the crop of tuberculosis should be plentiful. Heretofore, the men l who worked in the larger mines had to | walk through a tunnel for three-quarters | of a mile before reaching their places of | work, and much complaint was made by prisoners as they were forced on ac- | count of the low ceiling of this tunnel | to walk in constrained, bent position. | But within the last two months this has ] been changed, and the men are now | transported in cars to and from work. This arrangement has the great advant- age that it allows the men as they come | out of the mines to get a breath of l fresh air and sunlight while they await | the hour of return to prison. The pris- l oners finish their tasks at varying times, tilOSt ltulSHlilS llTSl SelllfiS HlDSt d1f and sunshine. The strong benefit most | by this-the weak taking longer to do | their tasks.
 The Death Rate. During these two years 105 prisoners | died Of these 105, there were thirteen | who were received in such condition l that they were never able to work at all | after entrance to prison-a circumstance | which tells the sad tale of the way pris- oners are treated in county jails. Ten were killed in the mines or out | side, thus leaving eightytwo deaths l among prisoners who were able to work. Of these S2 who worked 31 were worked | on the outside or were working on the I outside at the time of entrance to hospi- | tai for final sickness, thus leaving 51 l deaths among those who were deemed | able to work in the mines. Thirty are reported to have died of l tuberculosis in some form, but five cases | Of delayed pneumonia and one of pleurisy | should also be included, making thirty | seven deaths from tuberculosis. Seventeen deaths from diarrhoea are l reported but as there were few post l mortemS made in this class of cases | there is question as to whether some of | these were not cases of intestinal tuber- | culosiS.
 Twelve died of typhoid fever. Pneu- | monia, rheumatism, dysentery, erysip- | elas, kidney trouble. etc., constitute the l other causes of death. Beside these deaths twenty were par | doned, most of them on account of poor | physical condition.
 l The death rate of the prison for each
 of the two years was 90 per 1000. | The rate for each year deducting those who never worked and those who met ac-- | cidental deaths was 70 per 1000. | The death rate among the men who l worked in the mines who were working
 in the mines at the time they were re- | ceived in hospital was GA per 1000. | Such death rate, siXty-four persons per 1000 among men in the prime of life
 and in such physical condition as to | work in the mines, is simply frightful l The death of GA per 1000 includes only | those among the miners who died while | in prison, and does not include those
 who at the end of their terms carried
 forth into civil life their death warrants
 in the shape of disease contracted in l prison.
 In or1er to demonstrate how high com | paratively the death rate really is,
 offer the following:
 A Comparison.
 The death rate of Birmingham for 1894 | was 13 per 1000, which included deaths | among children and all classes. l The death rate of the English army in | 1880 was less than 2 per 1000. | Some prison death rates are as follows Missouri penitentiary, 16 per 1000 in | 1894.
 l oIio PCihlCltieliSi J PIl lVOV III lcJo. Ohio penitentiary, 15 per 1000 in 1894. | Western Pennsylvania penitentiary, g | per 1000 in 1893.
 Western Pennsylvania penitentiary, 5 l per 1000 in 1894.
 Illinois penitentiary, 26 per 1000 in 1893 Illinois penitentiary, 27 per 1000 in 1894. Michigan penitentiary, II per 1000 in | 1892
 Maryland penitentiary, 27 per 1000 in | 1894 >
 Virginia penitentiery, 15 per 1000 in | 1894.
 Mississippi penitentiary, 40 per 1000 in | 1S93
 Coalburg prison, 90 per 1000. | The officials of the SlosS company urge
 in extenuation of the excessive mortality | among the Coalburg prisoners the num- | Der of short-term men they have to re- | ceive in order to keep up an average of
 57O; the class of prisoners who commit | slight offenseS and are sent to Coalburg, and lastly the bad condition of men on | entrance as a result of incarceration in | the county 1aflS.
 After making all possible deductions I for these factors, the mortality still re-
 mains very great.
 As to County Jails. Attention may we'll be called here to the condition of many of the county jails,
 as evidenced by the prisoners who have
 been incarcerated in them. Certain of
 these jails have established unenviable |
 OnerS.
 This condition of affairs will probably
 continue as long as sheriffs are allowed
 a specific amount per capita for feeding
 prisoners and as long as public opinion
 condones the practice of feeding fat
 meat and corn bread as a steady diet,
 when the money allowance permits of a
 changing, palatable and healthy diet.
 The official figures of the Illinois peniten-
 tiary show that it costs 12 cents per day
 per prisoner for food of varied and nu-
 tritious character, whereas the common | allowance to sheriffs for feeding pris-
 oners in this state is 30 cents per day.
 Some Conclusions.
 After a careful study of the question | my impression and belief are that so long
 as present conditions pertain, so long a;
 prisoners are deprived of sunlight and
 pure air so long will the sick and death
 rate of Coalburg continue high.
 The tubercular subjects should be sep
 arated from the others both in prison and
 in hospital.
 Some means should be provided by | which the prisoners can get access to