New-York tribune., 1900-11-19
ODELL'S FIRST MESSAGE.
SOME PROBLEMS THAT THE GOVERNOR
MUST FACE.


Observation-Disclosures FOR DANNE-
MORA SITE FOR coNsUMP-
TIVE HOSPITAL.
! Albany, Nov Is (SpeciaD.-Governor-e elect
| Ooel has begun to collect information from the
heads of the State departments here In relation
10 the cost and records of their branches of the
state government for the last year with the
object Of using the facts in his first annual mes
! sage 10 the Legislature. Mr.. Odell, 1t is said
intends to give very close attention to the busi-
! ness aHalrs or the State, and therefore will, no
uoupt scrutinize with especial care the inan-
clal reports Of the Department of Public Works
"hlch show the cost of the canal system of the
/ state; of the State Commission in Lunacy
"hlch indicate the sums expended in the care of
! the INDECENT insane; of the State Controller
/ giving the cost Of the maintenance Of the minor
| charities of the State; of the Superintendent of
/ Prisons. revealing the expense to the State of
! its prison system, and of the Superintendent of
| Public instruction, relating to the various ex-
! penditures toward the support of the schools
| of the State
! senator Ranes in the platform which he
prepared for the Republican State Convention
/ this year. stated that in 1898 the State ex-
pended only $23573 341 73 for the support of
| It's INDECENT and insane, whereas the appropria-
]
! So'922,443. Mr.. Raines further stated that the
! total expenditures this year for the support Of
| the State Government amounted to 500. OBI ga.
thus showing what a large proportion Of the
! States money expended in the care of it's
! INDECENT and insane 1t may be properly stated
| here that the State Commission in Lunacy,
| which has charge of a population of twenty-five
! thousand INDECENT insane persons. has reduced
/ the cost Of maintaining these inmates In the
J IA aT@ifo hyY% fHalno kl,a
| total cost ranges up in the millions.
SERIOUS PROBLEMS TO FACE
Mr.. Odell. when he becomes Governor will
find himself confronted with several serious
business problems which must be solved or the
! States tax rate will be increased Mention has
been made of the large cost of the work of the
| State Commission in Lunacy. 1t is not only
the maintenance account of this department
which Is large, but there is also the item of
rev buildings and additions and repairs to pres
ent buildings which must be considered
In the present fiscal year the Commission must
continue its work of constructing buildings on
Long Island for the accommodation OF thou
SANDS of insane patients who must be removed
from the asylums of the county of New York.
Buildings must also be built elsewhere in the
State for the INDECENT insane, and, altogether,
the expenditures of the Commission in this di-
rection will be toward 81 900 900
| Persons acquainted with the character of the
| buildings of the State now used as State
prisons, at Sing Sing and Auburn, as well as
some at Dannemora, we'll know that those build
skags antiquated and unsanitary,- and that
there is great need OF better structures for the
imprisonment of the convicts and possibly in
other localities. Sing Sing Prison is built almost
upon a swamp. and its site is very unhealthy.
There is therefore. prospect that soon the
/ Superintendent Prisons will he driven tO
appeal to the Legislature to grant him an appro-
priation of several hundred thousand dollars
for the purpose of enabling him to erect mod
| ern prison buildings for the accommodation of
the convcts at Sing Sing Auburn and
! Dannemora.
IDLE CONVICTS IN THE PRISONS
The labor of the convicts would. Of course be
employed in a large measure in the construction
of State prison buildings It may be said
that aiding the Superintendent of Prisons and
the Commissioner of Prisons to find labor for
the convicts will be one of Governor Odells chief
! tasks. Mr.. Mclaughlin, the secretary OF the
| Prison Commission, stated yesterday that prac-
tically a thousand convicts are out of employ
ment
/ 1t will be noticed that only 1876 men were en-
! poyed at Clinton Prison on State industries out
| Of 1O5O convicts there. 1t may be we'll to state
| that this does not include hundred or so men
! who employed in the construction of the
new State Hospital for Insane Criminals ad-
/ jacent to Clinton Prison. But such large pro-
| portion Of the convicts at Clinton Prison need
| employment that Cornelius V. Collins, the Su-
perntendent of Prisons and the State Prison
! Commission both earnestly favor the placing of
| the new State Hospital for Consumptives sufh-
/ GENTLY near that prison to give work to the
convicts in the construction of the buildings. 1t
/ is believed that the State would save a large
sum of money If the labor Of the convicts were
thus employed-a consideration not to be
sighted. in view of the increasing cost to the
State of the work of supporting its charitable
institutions.
/ The members of the Prison Commission have
formally approved of the suggestion that the
Consumptive Hospital be placed at Dannemora,
the site of Clinton Prison. The Superintendent
of Prisons also favors that site. in order, as
stated. to give employment to the convicts.
Some time ago the trustees of the proposed
hospital for consumptives recommended the Sc
lection of site at Big Clear Lake, in Franklin
County. but this recommendation has not yet
been adopted by the Forest Preserve Board or
the State Board OF Health. whose approval must
be secured.
/ WORK THAT PRISONERS MIGHT DO.
An examination of the Dannemora site was
suggested by members Of the State Board of
Health and it is said that this examination has
been made recently by committee OF the
trustees of the State Consumptive Hospital One
member of the State Board of Health says ne
will not approve of any site selected by the
17Y1tiI