The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-04-01
UNDER THE DOME
Serious and Specific Charges
Are Made
By the LeavenwOrth Times Con-
corning the Penitentiary.
MANY ABUSES CITED
Which Warden Lands Permits
to Go On.
POpuliSts Protest That the
Charges Are Political.

The Leavenworth Times of Wednes-
day printed a column article severely
scoring Warden Lands and his corps
of assistants at the state penitentiary
for alleged Encouragement.
The charges in the article are as fol-
lows:
1.-The food supplied to the convicts is
much inferior to that furnished by the
preceding administration. In fact the
food is so bad that all of the convicts
who can get hold of money buy meals
and have them sent in to them. 1t is
said that 100 meals are brought into
the prison every Sunday in order that
the convicts may have something fit to
eat one day in the week. The breakfast
menu consists of hash three days in the
week that smells so bad that many of
the prisoners cannot eat it at all. This
is varied by sour lVerS three days in
the week with potatoes and bread on
the side. The bill of fare for the noon
day meal includes soup and kraut so
diSreputable as to scarcely merit recOg-
milton, varied occasionally with mutton
stew and hominy with oxmouth and
beans on sunday. The supper menu con-
sists of cold water, hot water (by cour
tesy called tea) and water mixed with
mOdicum of mOlaSSeS.
Under the administration of Bruce
Lynch the cOnvictS got plenty of clean,
wholesome food, while under the care of
Warden Lands the prisoners are half
fed with unfit food and are not allowed
to protest,
Prisoners thought to have money, or
means of getting it, have been frequent
ly approached and told that if they
could raise couple of hundred dollars
they could get a pardon next fall La
boring under mistake as to the length
of the sentence imposed upon a convict
recently released, named Randolph, one
of the prison officials approached him
last fall and for hundred dollars
promised to secure him pardon. Ran
dolph said that he was tired of contrib
uting to the Populist campaign fund,
and the officer threatened to report him,
but the matter ended there.
About year ago the matter of Sc
curing a revision of computing good
time was agitated among the convicts
and Leavenworth attorney made
speech to the prisoners, telling them
that he could secure a decision which
would have the effect of materially re-
ducing the sentences by reason of a
more liberal construction of the rules
governing the computation of time al
lowed off the sentence for good be-
havior. Later Warden Lands said that
if the prisoners would give 25 cents
apiece, the matter would be taken up
The convictS each contributed, and
something over 5000 was raised, but
nothing was ever heard of the suit.
1.-The punishment melted out to the
prisoners is beyond the bounds of rea-
son and humanity. For the most trivial
offense it is customary to give ten to
80 days in the crib on bread and wa
ter. Privileges are taken away upon
the slightest pretext and a form of pun
ishment that is exceeding popular is to
deprive the prisoner of his bedding and
compel him to sleep on the hard Stats
or cold prison floor That modern bar
barity known as the crib is in fire.
quent use. In fact, the two cribs orig
inally built have been found to be insult
ficient and five more have been added
LAS a sample of the total disregard
of the officials of the responsibilities
fiV1cr 1a1- of
interesting social event is a fair sample
At a performance given under the au-
spices of the state officials, prisoners
were smuggled out of the prison after
nightfan in citizens clothes and taken
to a down town hall, where they partic-
ipated in the public entertainment"
w. T. Upton, secretary of the Popu-
list state central committee and chief
clerk at the penitentiary, is in the city
today and declares all the statements
made in the Times article to be false.
He said:
THE affairs at the state penitentiary
present time. There is 80 per cent less
time lost by the convictS because of
sickness and punishment than there
was under the Morrill, administration,
and the food furnished the prisoners is
the best that has ever been furnished
at the penitentiary. The statements
that officials are in the habit of barter
ing with cOnvictS to secure their release
for a consideration and supplies pur-
chased by the state for the prisoners
are Sold are lies, pure and simple. The
convicts are never inhumanly punished,
and their quarters are always kept
clean and in the best sanitary condition.
At night the air in the cell houses is
changed by means of electric fans ev-
cry three minutes. The statement that
prisoners were struggled out of the
penitentiary and taken down town to
participate in an entertainment in citi-
zens' clothes, is ridiculous. and original
ed in the brain of some person who
wanted to lie about the management
of the institution.
This newspaper talk about coal be-
ing mined for commercial purposes is
all rot Every ton of coal mined at the
penitentiary under the present admins
tration, except some slack coal furnish
ed a furniture factory in Leavenworth,
has been furnished the state institu-
lions and no penitentiary coal has been
placed on the open market. During the
winter the mines may have possibly
been worked more than they were in
the past years, but it was because we
had $50 more men to find employment
for. Now that the frost is out of the
ground a large force of men has been
taken from the mines and placed at
work on the turnpike between Leaven-
worth and Kansas City.
1.-THE entire article said Mr.. Upton,
in conclusion, lis a campaign story, and
that is all it amounts to-"