Evening star., 1896-12-24
NOT TO ALBANY
No More Federal Prisoners To
Go The
new JERSEY LIKELY TO GET THEM
Talk of Building a Government
Prison in the South.
WARM CLIMATE DESIRED

In view of the fact that the New York
state penitentiary at Albany. to which
many Of the prisoners mearly one-third,
convicted IN the United States courts IN
dis'icts outside of that state have hereto
lofe been sent. is now closed BY law to that
class OF conviots, and that none will be re-
ceived therein after January next. Al
torney General Harmon is considering the
question OF what disposition to make of
such conVicts after the date named All
the prisoners convicted in the District of
Columbia of offenses involving a sentence
OF more than one year are included in This
category, and IL will be Impossible to send
any oil them TO the Albany penitentiary
after December 81
lnasmuch as there is no eovarn,,,o,, a.,
sututlon where they can be sent n is neces
sary TO call upon the state authorities FOR
assistance in this matter. The Attorney
,eheral mas two places under consideration
lile new Jersey state prison at Trenton
ana the ONO state penitentiary at Column
nus, ONO with a strong preference for the
oIi' ,oinier' because OF the smaller expense in
VOWED i'm the matter of TRANSFORMATION Of
the convicts- The New Jersey authorities
are sald to be favorably inclined TO III.
project, and it is probable that the next
contract for the care of Distri,.. ronyicts
will be made with them
In ms annual report to Congress Attorney
GENERAL harmon made an argument TO
shoW tne absolute necessity for immediate
provision Tor suitable United States prisons
ana reformatories. 1t seems not unlikely
ne said, that the time will soon arrive when
the government will be compelled 10 erect
prisons OF Its own, for the reason IL no
othef, that those of the states will be en-
tlrely closed to federal conyicts
An act was passed by the Fifty-first
congress, he said. ''authorizing the pur-
chase Te OF sites for the erection of three
United States prisons, but was hold 20 be
imperative because il carried no annconr.ia
tion Should ii be deemed inexpedsent now
to make an appropriation sufficient To carry
out all the original purposes of that law
II is suggested that al least one penit.n.
tiary should be established in a southern
state Tor the confinement of cony-ic.s from
southern districts. This measure seems to
me TO be inperatively demanded for rea-
sons OF humanity we'll as economy Rut
lew state institutions i'm thai section can
De USED Tor federal prisoners, VINO are con-
sequently sent TO penitentiaries i'm northern
districts. The change of climate Involved
results inJurfously, and executive tIerlency
is frequently invoked and exercised ON the
ground alone that the prisoners health has
been permanently broken and incilrabI.
disease contracted by the severity of The
northern winters.
nave ascertained that there are in the
south quite large number of reseryat ions
belonging TO the government, military and
otherWise, among which a suitable site for
prison could doubtless be selected III
not, offers made after the passage of the
ACT Just mentioned show that the land re-
qulred would doubtless be furnished free
Of cost to the government"