The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-05-14

passing out from the gallery into the
stream of people emerging from the
| dress circle and parquet at the inner
door OF the theater, eighty feet from the
street entrance, are certainly nsuffi-
Gent to permit the safe and hasty
egress of a panic stricken audience in
times OF danger. This jury urgently
recommended to the proprietor of the
| building that he remove this menace to
the lives of his patrons by cutting a
door in the south wall, with stairway
| leading to the main entrance, and one
also in the west wall leading on to the
porches of the Clunie building. The
proprietor Thomas j. Clunie, has cut a
small door in the west wall of the gal
| 1ery floor, but it is totally inadequate
to relieve the gallery in case of panic
| This jury strongly recommends that the
Chief of the Fire Department compel
the owner of this building to provide a
! large door opening from the south side
of the gallery floor on the roofs of the
low buildings facing on K street south
of the theater.
COUNTY AND CITY BUILDINGS.
County Jail - A careful inspection
showed that the County Jail is kept
scrupulOusly clean and neat, and we
could find nothing that would call for
adverse criticism, excepting the mess
quarters or dining-room of the pris-
onerS. No blame can attach to the Jail
officials for this condition of affairs.
These mess quarters are located in an
illy-ventilated cellar, the only place ap-
parently that could be made available
for the purpose.
City Prison-The city prison is kept in
as good and. as clean a condition as the
| character of the building will permit,
and about the only Improvement the
Grand Jury can recommend would be
the demolition of the old structure. We
found in the Jail yard a small-sized
storage warehouse used for private pur-
poses by an ex-Chief of Police. We be-
lieve it to be the duty of the Board of
| Trustees to order the removal of the
same and permit the space it occupies
TO be utilized for increased. Jail facili-
ties We called the attention of the
Chief of Police and the Mayor to this
warehouse, and recommended its re-
moval, but thus far no action has been
taken in the matter. We would also
recommend that lights be placed in
some of the darker cells as a protection
to officers entering such cells when con-
tanning dangerous criminals. There is
one matter in connection with the City
prison which we deem of sufficient i'm
portance to merit the immediate action
of the proper authorities, and that is the
necessity for the employment of a
matron to look after and care for the
of = la a
minor children When these unfortun-
ates are brought into the Jail they, in
common with all other prisoners, must
be searched, and this disagreeable and
repulsive duty falls to the lot of the
officers. This is a shame and calls for
the Indignation of this community, for
however low and depraved a female
criminal or outcast may. become, her
body should be sacred to herself and she
should not be subjected to this indignity
at the hands of men. On the other
hand, such a search for weapons, poison
and other inhibited articles, could be
made by a matron without lowering the
moral tone of either prisoner or matron.
This jury made this matter the sub
ject of a communication to the chief
executive of the city, but so far no
practical results have obtained.
Hall of Teecords-A very great mis-
take was made in permitting such cir
cumscribed quarters to be fitted up in
\ this building for the Tax Collectors Of
flee, and the Building Committee of the
Board of Supervisors should at once
take steps to remedy this mistake be-
fore the rush of business is entailed up
on the office. The office proper is wholly
| inadequate to accommodate the present
clerical force and when this force will
be added to in order to accommodate
the crowd Of taxpayers usually found
in line when taxes are due and pay
able, there will be just cause for COM
plant from those on the inside and
outside of the office The iron railing
at the cashiers window should he re-
modelled so as to at least allow of free
egress from the window. This difficulty
could be obviated by continuing the
passageway, so that the people in line
could pass around and out instead of
struggling to extricate themselves from
the crush that must of necessity occur
at the window.
The Grand Jury made a careful in
spection of the buildings owned by the
county and municipal governments and
now used for Offices jails, etc. The con-
dition of these buildings is a matter of
common knowledge and a we'll worn
subject of severe structures by visiting
strangers. Yet we feel it to be our
duty to particularly direct the attention
of this community to the fact that the
accommodations afforded by our public
buildings for the transaction of official
business are very meager and wholly
inadequate to meet the requirements of
the constantly increasing demands of
our city and county's growth. Measures
should at once be inaugurated by our
citizens having for their object the
erection of a substantial edifice, where
in could be grouped all the departments
of our county and municipal govern
ments.
To carry to successful completion the
erection of such a building would of
necessity involve the expenditure of q
very large amount of money. and the
selection of men of brains and probitv-
men who would not be dominated either
by political cowardice or cupidity-tc
discharge the public trusts reposed in
them by the people. 1t is a most hui
initiating spectacle to see a city of Sac
ramento's resources and pretentions
conducting the business of the munich
pality in specially furnished rooms and
permitting the office and duties of tbs
City Treasurer to be discharged by a
private banking institution. The build
| ing at Front and / streets, known as