The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-11-17
JOHN COLLINS--EDITOR
Topeka Prisoner Complies Prison
Statistics For Penitentiary Paper.

Prison Statistics is the name of the
official organ Of the convicts of the Kan
sas penitentiary. Its editor is John
Henry Collins, the university student,
who was convicted on the charge Of
staying his father, James 5. Collins, and
is now in prison awaiting the signature
of the governor to his death warrant to
be hanged. Inasmuch as Collins doesn't
have the freedom that is necessary for
a newspaper man to have in order to get
up a paper containing general news, he
devotes the columns of Prison Statis-
tics to prison news exclusively
The following are some interesting
facts concerning the Lansing peniten-
tiary from young Collins pen:
The youngest convict is Is years of
age. The oldest is n years of age Nine
convicts have died here during the last
year. There are % old soldiers serving
sentence here. Upon an average, one
prisoner enters and one prisoner leaves
this institution each day. There are 229
prisoners here from the territory of
Oklahoma, which has no penitentiary of
its own. The number of convictS having
served sentence, together with those now
confined is 9, 461. There are 999 prisoners
confined here at the present time, as
follows:
White males 72O; white females. 8;
cOlored males, 230; colored fen-al 10;
Mexican males, 3; Indian males, z; hang,
males. 81; life, males. %; life, females
l; United States civil, 4; Oklahoma, 229
The daily capacity of the bakery is
in pounds of food required per week to
feed the convicts is: Bread, II, $50; beef
$500; bologna sausage. 575; liver, 1000
coffee, $50; tea, so; dried fruit, 175; rice,
ESQ; beans Loco; peas, 500; honiny, $50;
butter. 40. Also 40 bushels potatoes
and 175 gallons syrups. Of vegetables In
season, the amounts required for one
meal are: Pumpkins, 800 pounds; cab
bage, 1000 pounds; pieplant, 1,4O0
pounds; turnips, IS bushels, sweet pota-
toes, Sc bushels; roasting ears 400 Dozen
The three cell houses contain 96S cells.
Twenty-three counties have no conVlcts
here. The average cost per day for
maintenance of the prison is $500. The
enclosure contains IS acres
The prison is surrounded by a stone
well % feet high and feet thick
Our brick plant has turned out about
1900, 900 brick, all of which were sent to
state institutions None are sold on the
market.
The goods manufactured each year by
the clothing department are 200 officers
suits, 1000 prisoners coats, 2,0G0 prison
er's pants, 5000 prisoners shirts. $500
prisoners overa.lls, 1,500 prisoners caps,
1000 pair of socks, 900 suits of under
wear, 5000 towels, 1000 pairs of shoes.
The prisoners are not allowed to smoke
and 500 pounds OF chewing tobacco per
week is manufactured for them at the
prison A high grade of leaf tobacco is
used for this purpose.
The pardon record shows that from
July 1, 1899, to November 1, 1900, four
were pardoned, five commuted, and 80
paro1ed. There has never been a. single
violation of the parole system. Twenty
three Oklahoma. convicts have been par
dOned in that time
There are seven grades in the prison
school and the average enrolment is
1874
There is a brass band here composed
exclusively of prisoners. The leader be-
ing very modest, no outside dates will
be made.
The following improvements have
made Of wit h
their estimated value: A Irvine plant
with a capacity Of 10, 600 pounds per day,
plant, 5Ox150 feet and 40 feet high, S., COD:
a brick plant with a capacity of eco
per day, $4,000; a school house recently
completed, $4,000; coal shaft retimber-
supply, So, 900; 1000 feet of track for coal
cars, 81, 900.
The prison fire department is equipped
with 500 feet of hose two hosecarts one
hook and ladder truck and one Steamer.
There are eleven fire hydrants In the
prison The reservoir capacity is 2 $780,
900 gallons About S00.0 00 gallons Of
water are used in the prison each day.
The prison has its own waterworks.
The library contains 5.149 books and
SSf bound magazines During the last
month 4,251 library books were read by
prisoners as follows: Biographical, 49,
classical. SO; cyclopoedia, 8; historical
~; juvenile, ia; legal and political 26;
light literature, 1,162; bound ma gaines,
2,33S; miscellaneous, 107; poeticaI, "a;
religious, Sc; scientific, IA; travel and
adventure, 116; foreign languages, Is.
This is the only penal institution in
the United States where coal is mined
The coal mine is 720 feet below the sur
face. 1t requires 500 small cars to han
die the product of the mine which is
about zoo bushels daily, when full force
is working. The coal vein is twenty
two inches thick. The entire product OF
the mine is used in the state institu-
tions and none of it is sold.
A acknowledgement Trip.