New-York tribune., 1903-06-28
HERDING OF PRISONERS.
Great EOI Of County jail Practice
Efforts at Reform

-EH OTIS 0L h6T Hm-
II IS almost beyond belief that the system Of
county 5aiis IN this great State OF New-York is On
the whole as uninproved and defective to-day, as
II was fifty years ago. The prisoners are better
housed for some of the old jail structures have
been replaced by modern buildings. They are better
fed for the counties more generous In their
meal allowances. Beyond that the Improvement
does not sc.
The essentials Of Improvement nave been almost
nrreIv neglected In the majority CT county Jails
there is no attempt classification and segrega-
+icr Of prisoners The novice and accldental GRIM
iuals are herded with the hardened professlons'
Witnesses and those awaiting trial are held in the
saroe corridors with those serving sentences The
solemn sentence Of the county Judge, Hard LABOR
A. the COUNTY lai" is travestied nine times out OF
1sn The hardest labor most jalls provide Is read
ing cheap novels, provided ry kindly 9allers' ana
playing cards with greasy prison pack
Under such conditions the county jail Is d
nursery of evil 1t is q veritahle school for the
-ounpletiou of criminal education The 1acuIl!
is made I'D of the old criminals and professional
-.-,,s. the students are the country youths serv-
Ing Srst sentences for ntoxicaticn or petty crime
Of some sort
This is no empty charge. There is not line OF
II hnt can be proved. The facts have been known
10 the State authorities for years, and the FFl =
Commission has striven manfuIly TO correct ..'
evil The legislature has passed laws goVeTl--lI
the county jais which would satisfy If they Were
enforced; but they are not
-
sad Cornelius V Collins. State Superintendent or
r9-ssons no q Tribune reporter IN Albany the other
day -aThe extensive penal system Of the State mas
,-s fatally weak point in the Jail system, whch
herds all classes OF criminals together ana BLOWS
them unrestricted association
~A,a the tails under these conditions fit Vesti-
hule entrance fer other penal institutions? ne
asks II do not know where pesthouse lot CON
tagious diseases is made the hallway for q nos
itai Such is the plain relation of the jas to the
z,risors and refo-matories OF the State Genuine
and effective organization for the sa4vauoh OF
criminals and alleged criminals must take heeo OF
the jan link in the system
Further evidence In support Of this terrible In
6ictrnent OF the Jail system comes from the state
Commission Of Prisons which consists OF John z
Iaecgel of Auburn; John G. Wickser. OF BuffaIo'
snd Cornelius Y. Collins, Of Troy, ana OF whlch
George NcL,aughlin is secretary. The eighth an
-ual report of this commission will be issued IN
July, and The Tribune has been permitted 10 e&-
anime manuscript copy
our State prisons and State reforrnatorles are
largely filed with offenders who became inoculated
,+E +ta cnntagion of crime by evil associations In
the jails Of the State. says one paragraph IN re-
cent commission report. Many sherl1s ana boaroS
Of Supervisors are charged with a lack OF appFe-
ciarion of the benefits accruing from the proper
classification and separation OF jan prisoners anu
Of the necessity of proper Ventilation anu 90
tion Of their jails-
Yet the forthcoming report will strike an encoul
aging hopeful note, for the work OF 1a-l improve
rueut has made marked progress during the year
The local authorities beginning TO reahze lhat
- is moi profitable for the counties themselves to
continue their local prisons schools OF CRIME 90
ing irreparable injury to the juvenile onenoelS'
converting first offenders into hebitual Criminals
and then turning them loose TO renew their oepre-
ations upon the citizens OF the community thereby
irfictsns upon such community the losses resulting
from their criminal acts and upon the taxpayers
OF the counties added and oft recurring expense
rearrest and reconvjctions and further mPr1son-
rnent"
The county tails themselves furnish the best evil
dence Of the evils OF the system. Here is an Incl
Cent OF jan inspection which while rather extreme
Is not out OF une with some Of the jail practices:
Al inspector for the Prison Commission visited
the jail OF Essex County. Elzabethtown, IN the
absence CT the Sheriff. The jaf is an OLD one. IN
dnapidated condition and badly arranged The
windows ara exceedingly small and heavily oarrl-
csoed with wide Stats OF soft iron
On the second floor" reports me inspector
locked in the same room. were man and
woman: the woman sentenced TO sixty days Tor
keeping oisorderly house al Lake PLACID, ana the
man for disoreerly conduct at Crown Point
asked them if they husband and wife. ano
uNss informed they not Indeed. they nao
until they met in fan
The Inspector man Of action. He left word
Win the Sherahs daughter, the Supervisor OF the
town and the clerk Of the Board OF Supervisors In
rell the Sheriff te give them separate apartments
r is 70 be hoped he got the message
At the eno Of the report he affixed this query.
Bhich certainly contains food Cor thought
When woman IS sentenced to 1aiI for keeping
cisorcerly house and q for disorderly
duct, not husband and wife, how long would they
have 70 be locked up IN the same cell before they
would comprehend the high moral standard exacted
of them by the good people Of the county and by
what process could their n3cds out why
hey were sent 70 1atl2'
Essex County has another Jail. Port Henry
which year ago brought down the ire Of lis
penard Steward who until recently was presi-
Gent ot the commission. II is special jail. used
ior Chinese prisoners only At the time his visit
ne found eighty-four Cinnamon under confinement
sieeplng IN tiers. They were packed so closely
maj mere was scarcely room to pass between
mem Ihere was but toilet room, which wss
downstairs.
6uch hero1ng together Of Cinnamon j.. any Of
re prlsef2s Is contrary decency," he wrote. 1T
Anply question OF money consideration for
cs Eeeper- The United States should make some
proper arrangement for the housing and deten-
'aon Of Chinsmen along the northern border Of
the State"
ne Sheriff Of county whose seat is not more
4A hundred miles from New-York q consci-
"Heas man and good official told a Tribune
poresr OF pathet1c instance of the hero.ng of
s1seners
.. sec see for yourself what miserable excuse
=. g jail that have to DO with" he began 1t
- miserable excuse" indeed. four or five
opening on two corridors 7 suppose
1o1io consider myself lucky in that no prisoner
~ sot away from me, but there is one wish
escaped VIII tell you about her