The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-15

the Recent ReductioIf I . Ffve-Gent
NHaaIs Cauaas N Comment.


Especial to The Jersey City ews.'l
VINELAND, Nov. Is, 1851. The resolu-
ton passed by the vineland Borough
towns criminals to five cents per meal
is causing no end of discussion, and in
stead of being a popular measure in the
interest of economy. it has given the
town fathers no little embarrassment and
ridicule. The five-cent rate is undoubt-
edly the lowest allowance for criminals
meals ever made by any town in New
Jersey.
The Councils action Is scoffed at by
the entire police force. A prominent Off
ciaI of the town asked his question to-
day. Suppose that a wrongly accused
person, say a stranger, subjected to al
most starvation in the Jail should bring
suit for heavy damages against the
boroughio
Mayor C. p. Lord, who does not approve
of the reduction, says: The amount paid
out for meals to prisoners last month was
only $4.20. An officers time and trouble
is worth something. Then, to, innocent
persons are sometimes jailed" Council
man William F. Rohrer, who proposed
the resolution, says that over forty tax
payers nave congratulated him upon his
move for economy. Mr.. Rohrer said to-
day
"The action of the Council in the mat
ter was Indirectly caused by the arrest
of a little colored boy for shooting craps.
Now, L claim that it takes at least two
people to play a came of crap. Why
wasn't the other player, who is the son
of a prominent merchant, also arrested?
/ can tell you. The complaint was made
by a little upshot of a pettifogger who
is fishing for the office of Mayor at next
springs election. He did it for politi-
cal effect. That little colored boy, named
Green, lived in paradise at the lookup for
ten days.
sgThe prisoners are living too high at
the jail and the waste in his way is an
outrage on the taxpayers of Vineland.
Five cents a meal is all the criminals
deserve. If I had my way about it i
would carry a bucket of water and a
loaf of bread to the jail and say, Here,
prisoner, help yourselfv If dudes, snobs
or any of the four hundred should hap
pen to get behind the bars and want a
ive-dollar dinner, all they have to do
IS 10 smell out anu lHey cdH Scl ~, d.
the Council has recently passed a reso-
luton allowing it.
Prank Nichols, the colored constable,
came to me today and said:-Rohrer,
you did right. The meal at the jail is
a banquet compared with what these
colored people get at home. They would
shoot crap or commit any petty offense
to be jailed and before long you would
nave to enlarge the lookup.
In speaking of the Councils reduction
of allowance for criminals meals, Rev.
eli Clifford, pastor of the First Methodist
Episcopal Church, criticised it this even
ing in the following manner
Taking into consideration the way
prisoners in towns like Vineland are
fed. 1 think five cents per. meal is en-
tirely too small. 1t is unreasonable. Econ
only is a good thing when applied with
judgment"
Rev. D.. H. King, D. D.. of the First
Presbyterian Church, expressed himself
tonight regarding the five-cent rate in
these words;-.Criminals can be given
cents a meal. It will be a good thing to
keep tramps away / think our town
fathers are al good men, and | abide by
their