People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1897-06-17
Condition of the Jail.

Inc .udge OF The district court and
county attorney Monday inspected
the county jail and filed the following
report with the county clerk:
20 the Honorable Board of County Commits
sioners of Sumner County, Kansas:
GENTLEMEN: In accordance with
section 1886, General Statutes, 1889, l,
in company with the cOuHty attorney,
made an inspection OF the county
jail this day. We went through the
jail aud examined it as to the sanitary
conditions, as to the bedding pro-
vided, the food furnished, the man.
ner OF cooking and the demeanor of
the sheriff and attendants toward the
prisoners. We found the Jail was
kept as clean as it is possible to keep
such building. The board will re.
member that | have heretofore
stated that this Jail is not 1T place
10 which to cOnfne any human being.
But such as it is, | can see no way In
which it can be improved over the
manner In which it is now being
kept.
We found six prisoners confined in
the Jail, one woman and FIVE men.
We closely questioned each one of the
prisoners as to their treatment, their
food, the condition of the food furn-
iShed, and every prisoner, without
exception, answered that the food
furnished was good, clean, wholesome
and In sufficient quantities. mas.
much as there has been some ques.
ton raised by the board concerning
the kind and quantity Of food furn-
ished tue prisoners by the sheriff, we
had the prisoners give us q list of the
articles, or rather the bill OF fare,
that is usually supplied them by the
sheriff. 1t is as follows: For break
fast, fried salt meat OF some kind,
potatoes and frequently eggs, good
bread, molasSeS, good coffee, oat meal
almost every morning, and gravy
when wanted. FcI dinner, boiled
beef, potatoes, or II not potatoes
beans, gravy, coffee. sometimes cab
bage, mOlasseS aud bread. They In
formed us that the bread is always
fresh and pure and never old and
stale, and as said above, the cooking
is all that could be desired.
In conversation with the spokes.
man for the male prisoners, he In
formed US that they really had more
TO eat than men not taking exercise
needed. The only thing they desired
particularly that they did not have
was fruit of some sort; but as under.
stand the statutes, the sheriff Is
under no obligation or legal duty to
furnish fruit to the prisoners, al
though / am Informed that he fire.
quently does furnish fruit and other
things that the law does not require
him TO furnish,
We find that on the south side OF
the Jail, near the east window, there
is a leak Of some sort, the exact loca-
tiOn of which we were not able to de-
termine, where after each hard rain
water runs into the jail and under the
cells and vets things up considerably.
We recommend that this be repaired
without unnecessary delay.
We find that the urinal and wash
basin In the main Cell nave become
rotten and decayed, so that it is al
most impossible to keep it clear and
prevent stencil. The prisoners inform
US that they have to be constantly
throwing water through 1t and over
it in order to prevent a bad smell.
We recommend that this be repaired
without delay as the weather Is now
becoming very heated, and 1t will not
only be very disagreeable, but also
unhealthy. As understand II, these
prisoners will probably most Of them
remain in Jail for some months to