The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-03-22
Council Committee on, Police Dis.
cusses the New Workl,ouse.
SCHEME WAS KNOCKED HARD
BY Several North Main Street Citizens
who Attended tho Meeting n Tho
Committee Sends in an Alternative.
Recommendation to Council that Is
Really no Recommendations The
Fire Department Estimates.


the new workhouse scheme fathered by
Mayor Sweeney was exploited pro and
con for all It was worth. All sides were
given a chance to express their Views.
The scheme was first knocked" for
keeps by delegation Of North Main
street residents.among whom were Cen
,erai Alfred Caldwell Fldelus Riester,
w. G. Caldwell, George L. Stifel and
Alfred PAUL. Sheriff Richards was
called In and told the committee how
nice 1t would be for the city to abandon
Its workhouse system and board the
city prisoners in the Ohio county
jail at fifty cents day.
Mayor Sweeney and Chief of Police
Clemans were also on hand, and told
the committee it ought to replace The
present disgraceful, excuse OF work.
house by one that would be credltable
to n progressive municipality. The
committee gave everybody interested n
chance to air his views, and then came
TO the conclusion that 1t couldn't arrive
at conclusion when so many plans
were SO ably presented. In other words.
the committee sends up to council three
! alternative resolutions, any one OF
which council can pick out and adopt.
The first IL that the old water works
pumping station be converted Into a
new and improved workhouse; the sec
ond, that the pumping station property
be sold and the proceeds be used In
building workhouse either on the site
OF the present one or elsewhere, and,
hat hn
Richards. doing away with warehouses;
and boarding city prisoners at the coun-
ty jail, be accepted.
The meeting was presided over by
Chairman Chew and the members OF the
committee present were Councilmen
Knoke. Fox. Worls and Bradbury.
Mayor Sweeney and Chief OF Police
Clemans were also present. as were the
North Main street citizens named
above.
Mayor Sweeney first addressed the
committee, advocating the turning Of
the old pumping station building into a
workhouse site. He said the building
5 colld he improved at IL small cost and
made into ir'ilrst class workhouse.
For the North Main street citizens,
General Alfred Caldwell spoke at some
leGS;h. He appreciated the present dis
graceful excuse OF workhouse, but
nNjSCted to another workhouse being
,,'aced next to valuable residence prop
erty. lie suggested as location the
Did stone quarr!es in the East End.
sir. St!fcl said the city wouldn't have
TO go FAR to find q purchaser for the old
pumping station property. He had
heard the Pan Handle Railroad Com
psny %ould Ike TO secure it for an ex-
te-tloa II It's yards.
Mr.. SwccEy again addressed the COM
r;it,ce, going into the details OF his
rchcma % turning the pumping station
buiid!3C into n wo-kaousc. He had ad-
"ccateti the idea as q matter OF eXpcdi-
cncy: the city had the property and
could at small cost convert 1t into
suitable worNhouse. The outlay, he be-
lieve6. would be not over sl.5CO.
Some OF the Main street people doubt
ed whether the workhouse, however
conducted. could be made to pay. The
day of breaking stone, by hand. they
said, Is past. Mr.. Paul! said machine
broken stone can now be bought for 81
ton. There would be more loss in
year. said another through depreciation
of Main street property values. than
would be made in several years break
Ing of stone by city prisoners. Its an
outrage" chimed in another.
Sheriff Richards was called In and
made his proposition for boarding the
city prisoners at the county jail. The
proposition was to the effect that he
would take all the prisoners sentenced
In police court at daily rate of fifty
cents each. but that in no event would
the annual charge be more than $4,000.
The present cost of maintaining the
workhouse Is from Zoo to $500 4 year.
The sheriff said he believed solitary
confinement at the jail would be dread
ed more by the prisoners than any stone
breaking job they would encounter at
workhouse. He did not believe the an
nual cost would be over $1,000 but no
matter how many prisoners were sent
to the Jail it could not be over $4,000. He
said there are 100 cells in the Jail, OF
which only about thirty are occupied
now, so there would be an abundance OF
room for city prisoners. The jail had
been built large enough for five or six
counties.
There was further discussion, In the
course OF which General Caldwell said
there was no labor except the unprofit-
able breaking Of stone. at which work.
house prisoners could be employed that
would not compete with honest labor
outside the jails and warehouses;.
The difficulty Of providing for the
workhouse officials In the event that the
city does away with that institution
was discussed. and General Caldwell
said there would be not the least diff
Guilty: when good and sufficient cause is
shown, council can end the term OF any
office.
Finally the committee went into cx-
ecutive session and adopted the alterna-
tive resolution outlined above. In addi-
ton the chief of police was authorized
to receive bids for painting the two
rooms at police headquarters. and to let
the contract to the lowest bidder.
In the course Of the discussion re-
garding the shcrin's offer to take the
city prisoners. some of the committee
men said they thought he ought to name
lower rate than fifty cents day. and
one councilman said he had heard n
prisoner say the fare at the Ohio county
Jail was "the worst that ever happen
cd" Another said the feeding Of the
prisoners cost the sheriff six to eight
cents per day.