Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1903-04-04
GRAND JURY REPORT.

!
To the Honorable Benjamin s. Baker.
Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court Of said territory and Judge OF
said District Court.
We, the members of the grand jury,
who have served during the present
term Of the district court. having con.
oluded our labors, submit this as our
final report:
On the first and last days of our la
bors we were In session portion of
the day only, so that we have held SEES
slons for about ten days. during which
time we have examined more than
one hundred and twenty witnesses and
have presented to the court forty-nine
indictments. and eleven bills. which
were ignored We have had before us
also some other cases, In which no
presentments to the court have been
made, because the accused persons
were not under bond or in custody and
the evldenc, did not justify indict-
ments In the discharge of our duties
we have eudeavored faithfully to fol-
low the instructions of the court. and
have returned indictments In all cases
in which We believed the evidence JUS
titled in our doing so.
We have made an examination of
the public buildings and offices of the
county officials. We find that some re-
pairs and improvements are necessary
about the court house, but do not be.
lieve IL necessary to go into details, as
what is needed must be obvious to
any one We invite the attention of
the county commissioners to this mat
ter.
We find the county Jail entirely mad
equate to the needs of the county, as
II has been fer a number Of years. We
are not inclined to criticize the sheriff
or his employees. as we believe they
have done the best possible to care for
the prisoners with the limited accom-
modations which the Jail affords but
we are called upon to express In stron-
gest language possible our sense of
the barbarity and inhumanity OF con-
fining so many prisoners as are often
In this Jail In such place. Not only
from the point Of view of humanity Is
the present jail to he condemned. but
also on account of the difficulty of
: safely keeping so many prisoners In
such crowded quarters. Evidence pre-
sented to us shows that on the thirty
FIRST of December fourteen men were
!, confined In one room. three of them
being lunatics. and that during the
night seven OF the prisoners escaped
by removing a large stone from the
: wall OF the jail. Had there been prop
u ....s. txa all In. txfht al. m
keep these prisoners, 1t would have
u been impossible for them to make a
hole through the wall without detec-
ton. and we do not believe that the
u TAILOR in charge should he seriously
blamed or censured, under the circum-
u stances, for what happened. We earn
estly recommend to the county com
missioners that steps be Immediately
! taken for the enlargement OF the jail
and for the making of arrangements
by which youthful and inexperienced
offenders can be separately confined
4. from old and hardened criminals.
o We also have learned that in the
Il Jail there Is confined lunatic, who
l, has been there for two years. This fact
o Is not creditable TO our county, as
a. there Is a territorial asylum provided
y for the INDECENT insane, and while II
- is true that that asylum Is taxed to Ia
utmost Capacity yet, certainly. there
must have been come time within th'
last two years when Bernalillo count,
could have obtained admission for al
u additional inmate.
We have found the county Offices II
a. good condition. with their books ant
n records properly kept, so far as we car
Is Judge from such examination as W,
ct have been able to make. We have nc
g criticisms to make nor suggestions L
h offer on this subject. but We do fee
'e that we ought to congratulate the
1t county upon the manner IN which the
ID records of the county and probate
i. court are kept, especially with regard
y TO the records Of deeds and convey
IS ances OF real estate, and the indexes
IS 10 those records II is doubtful II any
c. county In the territory equals ours IL
T. this regard, and we are sure that ther,
is not one which surpasses us.
- Special mention should. however. b,
made of the business OF the Office o
treasurer and collector. we ma IRON
" the records OF the county clerk. tina
the tate treasurer, Charles X. Newhall
has made complete settlement OF hi
IN accounts, filing all vouchers and wal
Id rants. which have been carefully check
n ed up and found correct. This Is woI
70. thy of note, because as we are inform
,n ed this Ii the FIRST time In the histor,
M OF the county when a treasurer an,
IL collector has made snch a settlemen
10 at che close of his term of Office, Tn
nr methods and system adopted by MI
Newhall are continued by his success
nj or, who has entrusted the conduct Q
40. the details of his official work TO tn
an same competent deputy, who has here
oy tofore been In charge.
a.. We desire to express our high al
., probation OF the kindness and cou
tesy with which we have been treate