The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1904-12-31
STATE PRISON
0vERCROWDED
Head Keeper Osborne in
His Report Says He Has
Had to Violate the
Rules.
MORE PRISONERS THAN CELLS
New Wing to the Build ng
Sadly Needed - Health
and Discipline Good.
MORE PRISONERS THAN CELLS

TRENTON, Dec. 30, 1904.-In the an
nual report of the State Prison mana ge-
ment submitted ito Governor Murphy this
week, the Board of Prison Inspectors
will urge the appropriation of $3.50, 900
for new wing to the institution that
Head Keeper Osborne may obey the law
regulating the disposition of prisoners.
This law requires the head keeper of
the State Prison to allot a cell to every
man or woman prisoner and under NO
consideration ito put more than one pris-
oner in one cell.
On account of the prison being too
populous the head keeper has been oblig-
ed to be law breaker and he calls at
tention to this fact in his report which
follows that of last winter in this re-
spect Relative to this feature of his re-
port the Board of Prison Inspectors ann
pliies and suggests remedy as economi-
cal as possible. The inspectors say: THE
necessity for more cell room is now more
urgent than last year. We have but 900
cells among 1,175 prisoners. This con-
dition renders it impossible with the law
demanding the separate confinement Of
each prisoner. We have on the premises
~ all ooIl ba,,co .,-;oI, , ,1,,,5,,, :, Il q. 80,
130 prisoners. This could be remodeled
according to modern plans so as to con
tain at least 800 cells and all in close
contact with the centre wing. The ex-
pense of caring fer 300 men in tf1Ss wing
would not be any greater than to guard
the 130 now there.
with this change we would be rid of
building with its antiquated system of
slop buckets for the convenience of the
prisoners which no care can prevent from
becoming offensive and pestilential in
in every sense of the word, and which
of the entire institution. This, with inn
provements and enlargements which
could be made in the South Hall, which
was erected seventy years ago, would
furnish cell room for ,250 prisoners, and
this would be sufficient for many years
to come and make the New Jersey State
prison the model among such institutions
in the United States
The inspectors report that the total
cost of administering the New Jersey
State prison for the year was 1923,
460.93. The cash receipts of the prison
for the year were $50, 1927. Deducting
this amount from the total cost leaves
S140727.96 the net cost to the people of
New Jersey in protecting society from
bad men.
Head Keeper Osborne lays great stress
on the Finger Print SYSTEM as the
only infallible means Of identification and
urges an appropriation Of money so that
whenever a man comes into the prison to
serve term his identity may become
fixed by his sinfallible' system.
Mr.. Osborne's statistical report shows
that the total population of the prison at
the end of the fiscal year was / ,1T5.
The highest number in the prison at one
time during the year was 1.221 and the
lowest ], ,125; TO4 prisoners were received
during the year and 529 discharged.
OF the present prison population there
are ,035 male New Jersey prisoners and
81 women; United States prisoners 1o4
males and 5 females. OF the total NUM-
Der 1S2 are employed, 16S unemployed
because Of inability to do hard work and
% are confined to the hospital.
Trust moneys for convicts held by
Head Keeper Osborne aggregate S12,-
413.43. During the year $4,498.34 was
paid out to discharged convicts and the
State disbursed to them $2,169.
Some idea Of the feeding Of this large
number Of men is obtained from the de
tail of supplies, which averaged daily
S17 pounds Of meat and fish; LAG pounds
of bread and ,33S. pounds Of vegetables.