The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-06-23

REPUBLIC SPECIAL
New York. June 2e-Sing Sing Prison.
the largest and one of the Oldest state
penitentiaries In the United States-.t has
stood nearly three-cuarters of a century
is TO be remodeled and made one Of the
most model institutions Of its kind in the
world. Alphabetically and otherwise 1t Is
TO be made more civilized and up-to-date.
Customs handed down from warden TO
warden in the way Of managing the pris-
on's affairs will be abandoned, and more
modern ideas adopted.
Superintendent Collins says: Zone OF the
greatest questions which the State ought to
take up and deal with in a comprehensive
and thorough way is the reconstruction OF
prison buildings. especially Sing Sing. The
main buildings are very old. built on bad
plans. ard are the antiquated monuments
of WORKOUT ideas. The cells are loaded
with the crusts of years OF use and the ac-
Nominations OF human occupancy, which are
\ot completely removable. by reason Oh
Acinal bad construction"
This Is all true. For years Sing Sing mas
been overcrowded. To secure mo,INoom,
light and air. it IS proposed to butlo ad-
dition or wing. with 500 steel cells. at the
upper end of the long prison. That would
accommodate. as removed. the prisoners
from the ground tier. which Is to be aban-
doned, and also the new convicts arriving
day by day from the city.
State Superintendent Collins further SAYS:
when the cells are all occupied the prison
contains a population equal to that OF a
village of $50 families. The cells are too
small, and for years have been condemned
as insufficient in their dimensions. They are
poorly ventilated. The air is bad and fouIy
contaminated in the entire hall. The rooi
Is of wood. covered with tin. and Is In no
sense fireproof." During the recent IRE IN
the administration building the big prison
49, $1,000 locr-fnn Had the W1n6
been a little more favorable for the nre
the whole group of buildings would have
been destroyed.
Mr.. Cornelius V. Collins. State Superin-
teudent of Prisons. has been in conference
with Warden Johnson. and both agree that
the entire ground fo-or-comprising 800 cells
should be abandoned and a new floor laid
above them, on a level with the on1ces OF
the prison, thus leaving a space OF eight
or ten feet between the ground ana the
door for ventilation and a free circulation
1of fresh air under all the cells. This wouio
greatly improve the sanitary condition OF
the place.
Visitors to Sing Sing long observed the
Anticipated, tumbledown appearance OF the
workshops and prison walls. Warden john
son has already made many improvements
One of his first acts was to build sewers
and demolish the old mess hall and chapels.
which for seventy years had disgraced the
institution.
Another di hanback, is the expensive and
insufficient water supply; also a lack OF
drainage-the site of the prison being 80
near the level Of the river. The entire prs
on yard. but a few feet above the river, has
always been subject to the overflow OF the
floods sweeping. down the Hudson River
slope of Sing Sing. During high tide ana
rainy seasons the yards were like a muck
bed. and even In ordinary weather. mud and
water oozed up through the joints In the
stone floors OF the buildings. In removing
the messhouse 1t was found necessary to
disinfect the place with immense quantities
Of lime: More than 1900 Loads OF fresh
yard. which is now like fairyiand COM
pared with its former tumble of desolation.
soming with beds OF flowers. make. that
scene Of crime and row refreshingly
beautiful. The unslgh1y " workshops have
adding still further TO the picturesqueness
of the grim yard.
The prison itself has been thoroughly dis
infected and renovated, and for the first
time in three-quarters of a century those
horrible prison smells which visitors never
forget have disappeared. Warden johnson
/ rays that he found the cell walls 30 In
Nusted with filth and slime as to e~ndanger
Ne health Of the convicts. He had the walls
capped and smoothly chiseled. then ce-
this, he finds IT impossible to get rid OF
the vermin. which seem to be in the very
foundations and walls of the building. They
come out Of invisible places. but chiefly
swarm from the little aperture in the up
per corner of each cell, which tradition
says is for ventilation.
The Warden discovered that the heating
apparatus was inadequate and expensive:
BY centralizing the steam heating plant and
putting In an up-to-date system OF pipes
throughout the structure. more warmth and
comfort are secured at reduced expense.
Another Improvement was changing the
power plant from steam to electricity. For
merly engines and boilers were scattered
over the yard. and In some instances 1t was
necessary to convey steam a long distance
in order to reach the machinery. all result
ing in a great waste Of power-particularly
when 1t was belted to shops from a thou
sand to fifteen hundred feet away The re-