The Portland daily press., 1901-02-11
Bill To Put Sheriff on a
Salary.
Sheriff Pearson FavOrs This
Plan.

II the bill now pending in the leigsla-
turs passes the sheriff of Cumberland
county will bs put on salary and Will
be relieved from the expense Of boarding
the prisoners there. IL the bill does not
pass the county com missioners say that
they will probably rsduce the price paid
for beard of prisoners providing the num-
ber OF prisoners at the jail Is found to be
over one hundred. The county now pays
the sheriff s. week for the board of
prisoners and 81 20 week for bound over
prisoners. For years the county commits.
s.oners have been trying to find out just
how much 1t cost the sheriff to board the
prisoners at the jail but they have never
been able to get the facts. The sheriffs
have not besn anxious that the county
commissioners or the public should know
too much about this matter and as re.
suit the officials b ave had little know
ledge OF the subject. But it has always
been thing OF common knowledge that
the shefiffs derived large income from
this boarding of prisoners at the rate OF
81 q week pei man. Based on the figures
OF the cost of boarding prisoners obtained
from other Jails and prison 1t has long
bsen the opinion of the county commits
sioners that prisoners could be boarded
for 81 % a week at the most and in many
institutions they are boarded for 81 each
and even less.
As the county commissioners said Sat
urday under the present plan 1t costs the
sheriff about as much to board one hun
dred and fifty prisoners as 1t would cost
him to board one hundred. The sheriff
now has to pay his turnkey, his cook and
his other help from the amount he re-
oeives from the board Of prisoners besides
paying for the food and fuel. When the
Jail Is full OF prisoners as 1t usually has
been the amount received from the board
ing OF prisoners has besn estimated to be
q very large sum but with one hundred
prisoners In the jail the sum received
from the county is said not to be enough
TO pay all the expenses,
: II the pending bill passes 1t will give
the sheriff salary over and above every
thing and the county will board the pris-
oners itself. The county commissioners
say that they viii hire commissary,
the turnkey and the other de paties, but
the shsriff win still continue to be the
jailer and custodian Of the prisoners and
Will have the appointing of these men.
Saturday afternoon Mr.. WigRin, one OF
the county commissioners, when asked II
the commissioners were contemplating
the reduction OF the price OF board of
prisoners in the county jail said that such
thing WAS being talked of but he could
not say Just what would bs done about 1t.
If the pending bill passes the legislature
the county will board tine prisoners 1t
self, plan which MIR. Wiegin seems to
favor and which other commissioners
have advocated in the past. IL the bill
does not pass Mr.. Wiggin said that 1t is
likely that the price on boarding the pris-
oners may be re1uced somewhat but he
could not say to what figure it would bs
reduced. He said that with only one
hundred prisoners in the jail the price
now paid would not more than recon-
pense she sheriff for the cost he was now
put to, but that 1t would cost him very
little more to board 100 prisoners than it
would cost him to beard one hundred.
Sheriff Pearson was seen Saturday by a
reporter and asked II he knew about this
matter. He said that he did and he
didn't seem to like the idea OF cutting
down the board of prisoners very well.
He said that when he assumed charge of
the jail it cost him on the outset some
thing like 50, 1888. He found over two
hundred prisoners there. Today there are
"A. The sum he receives for the board
OF the prisoners is not enough to pay the
expense he is under and Mr.. Pearson said
that he is losing money every day. He
said furthermore that he did not like a
move which the county commissioners
were now talking of. They were talking
of reducing the salary of one Of the depu-
ties in the jail work shop from $500 year
to s612 and they were also talking OF re.
ducing the salary OF the Waterman. MIR.
Pearson thought that this was not tight.
He said that the salary of the deputy In
the jail workshop has always been $500 a
year and that the man earns every cent of
this salary. He is forcsd to go into the
jail workshop in charge OF desperats men
at seven o'clock in the morning and he
stays there until i've O'Clock at night
every day In the year excepting Sunday
and he is required to put In every third
Sunday at the jail when the prisoners at
tend religious services. MIR. Pearson said
that there was too much politics IN this
contemplated reduction of the deputy's
salary. Under Sheriff Despeaux and
Sheriff Plummer no such a reduction was
thought OF but with Prohibition sher-
IN the county commissioners had decided
&c become economical all at onoe.
Mr.. Pearson showed by figures that the
maintenance of the jail with only one
hundred prisoners cost him more every
dsy than is received from the county