The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-08

The Place of His ImprlsOnment-How
He Is Likely to Be Employed at
the Fort LeavenwOrth Penlten-


He Is Likely to Be Employed mt
the Fort LeavenwOrth PenIten-
tiary.
From the New York Evening Post.
Washington, Oct. 5.-The Fort Leaven-
worth peni.entiary. to which, under the
judgment CT the courtmartial, Capt. Carter
has been ordered is an old institution orig
inally designed for the confinement OF mill
tary prisoners alone, but more recently
transferred from the custody Of the war
department to that of the department o.
justice, and thrown open for the recep-
ton of prisoners of all kinds sentenced in
United States courts. 1t was not intended
or gnally for a pr. son at al. but was built
a group of brick warehouses for mer-
chaEd.se. II is on he edge of the military
reserva ton, whose mes were made 10 in
cluGe IL when il became a mill airy prison
A twenty-foot wall was thrown around II,
and the interior was Quilted, and tiers OF
iron cages or cells were substituted FOR
The storage arrangements on the several
stories. The change from military 10 civil
jurisdiction required the Te-surVey OF the
military reservat on so as to leave The cd
prison outside of it, but provision Nwas
made in the act of transfer that it should
continue to be a place of confinement for
persons convicted by courtsmartial of Of
lenses now punishable by confinement in
a penitentary and sentenced to terms of
imprisonment of more than one year" 1t
was further provided that the convicts
should be employed only in the manufac-
ture Of articles and the production of sup
plies for said penitentiary. ard in the man
ufacture of suppl fer The government.
AS the present penitentiary has accom-
modations for only $50 convicts, but the
neighborhood Is considered most conve-
nient for a general federal penitentiary
the government decided three years ago TO
build another penitentiary, capable of con-
talning about 1900 prisoners, with the I'M
Outstanding that on its completion the Cd
penitentiary should revert to its original
uses, exclusively military. This necessity
Is emphasized now by the growth of our
army to dimensions not then dreamed OF.
The site selected for the new penitentiary
is about two miles from the old one. The
building operations have been a godsend
to the prisoners, who have been employed
in them to the exclusion of most free
labor.
The warden, named McClaughry, bears
an excellent reputation ct the Department
OF Justice. He has made a career Of pris-
on-keeping, and mad charge for a number
of years of the penitentiary at Joliet. Ill.
He has laid out the work on the new pris-
on with great care, so as to have the con-
victs divided into groups of brtckmakers,
brick-layers, stone-cutters, stone-CnaSons,
quarry men. and the like each group or
gang being under skilled workmen as
bosses and teachers, and an incentive be-
ing he'd out TO the convcts to improve
in their work so as to pass by promotion
from the lower to the higher grades. The
convicts make and bake their own brick,
take their own stone out of the quarry,
shape it and put it into place. Each
morning when the weather will permit
they are marched from the old penitentia-
ry TO the new, military fashion, but under
guard, and are employed at wholesome
labor in the open air and sunshine, with
the result of a very fine average Of
physical health. to say nothing of the
moral improvement resulting from their
learning useful industry. No specific
time has been set for completing the work
on the new penitentiary and naturally it
proceeds at a slower rate than if let out
in the ordinary way to contractors. But.
on the other hand, as the government
would have been obliged to support the
conviets anyway, and as IL gets their work
free, and by their maintenance in good
health saves a very neat sum yearly in
medical supplies. it is not so particular
about the length of time taken in the
building process, provided, of course, that
there be no needless waste.
\ prisoner of Capt. Carriers education
would probably not be put at manual la
Dor in the brick-kilns or stone-yard when
his requirements could be turned to more
profitable advantage otherwise. 1t is be-
lieved here that he will have the direc-
ton of part of the work requiring q
knowledge of engineering. and will there
by save the government the expense of at
least one salaried employe. Further than
that nothing can be said now, the details
as to the care and assignment of convicts
hnff n7fi ra1x rrTftn
are no privileged classes, however. in the
penitentiaTy, and in every respect. apart
from the character of his task, an army
officer of the highest grade receives no
other treatment than is accorded 10 4he
commonest malefactor sent In by a civii
court Under the usual rule of commuta-
ton for good behavior Carter will be en-
titled to an allowance of two months in
each of the five years of his sentence.
This will be a total of ten months, re-
ducing the full period to four years and
sixty days.