Evening journal., 1904-04-26
LORE s VIEWS ON
JAIL ABUSES
Chief Justice Says That the
Convicts Should Be Put
to Work
SUGGESTS REMEDY FOR EVIL

In commenting on the condition Of
the Kent and Sussex county jails. set
forth recently in the Philadelphia Led
ser. Chief Justice Charles II. Lore says:
"The conditions at the two jalls are
depl6rable. The evil at Georgetown,
described in the Public Ledger OF April
% and 90 was growing until Il Is
claimed the prisoners went about the
streets. Some OF them. ] understand,
ran errands for the sheriff. They went
about In rags some Of them begging
for money, ] am told. AT the George
town jail IL is not safe 20 keep a muir
derer unless he Is confined IN irons.
"The prisoners live IN idleness.
condition which Is most detrimental to
their morals. These things demand
betterment. Sussex and Kent counties
need warehouses;. AT a.cost of 40 cents
per prisoner they could send the long
term convicts 10 the New Castle county
workhouse This, too. would be "a good
arrangement and one to which the
management of the workhouse will
lagree. Public sentiment Is aroused. and
think the next Legislature viii take
some action IN the matter. The NUM-
ber OF prisoners in Sussex county Is so
small that the building Of an indepen-
dent workhouse there does not seem
to be warranted. ft was suggested
there the chain gangs work upon the
county roads, but this does not meet
with the approval of the people at
large. So 1t seems that the only avail
able means to keep the long-term pris-
oners from idleness Is to place them
in a workhouse. Since the establish
ment OF the workhouse at GreenbanlS
the grand juries Of the two lower coun-
ties have recommended the establish
ment OF similar institutions and have
condemned the present jaiis.
'The agitation for a workhouse be-
. gan in 1895. Kent and Sussex counties
did not fan IN with the plan. because
= they considered the expense too great.
Finally, It was decided 10 abolish the
old jail az New Castle and build the
present institution, az cost Of 5000. OOO
L. at Greenbank just outside OF Whining
ton. 1t has been In operation now more
u than two years. 10 IS model institu-
ton. Before Il was built the prisoners
IL were kept under the old English system
Al OF idleness az the jail, which WAS es.
tablshed back In the time OF William
10 Penn. They came out OF prison ia
N worse condition than they went in.
Good Thing For Sheriff.
" "They lived in squalor The sheriff
N office was one in which much monel
i- was TO be made. The sheriff Of New
Castle county used TO receive abou
e. $4,000 for feeding the prisoners. Tn
81 actual cost was about $4,000 a year. Tn
ne Levy Court allowed him 30 cents a da.
60 ~. .I.H..
re- feeding now Is about cents "A day pc
ss man. Instead OF living IN rags IN
4, prisoners are clothed decently as 500
as they 20 i'm. and are kept so.
- "They are made TO keep themselvt
~ clean, and are not compelled to wea
% stripes.
Instead OF being an entire expense I
40 the county, the prisoners work to pa
the expenses Of their keep. Every con
0e vict works eight hours a day. His min
is and body are both healthier for IN
ne toll. For overtime the convict Is pal,
On one man who served two years at IN
be workhouse came out with S40 An ir
centive for good behavior exists. IN
of prisoner complies with all the rules. h
en- gets a deduction OF nve days a mont
he for the first year Of his sentence. seve
-e- days a month for the second year. min
p- for the next and ten days of ever
month afterward until the end OF nj
W. sentence. With rare exceptions. m
of discharged prisoners have abatement
on The method as pursued al the workhous
800 is based ON the Ohio system, and is
mt combination OF the best systems IN N
world.
There Is a farm Of forty acres whic
n is cultivated by convicts. a stone quar-
, ry Is IN operation. and many of N
long-term men work In an extensiN
er trouser-making shop. In connectio
b. with the institution. Under the old syi
he tenn the aggregate cost OF keeping
,fs single prisoner was between 80 and
am cents 10 Is now 40. and the workhoui
IN. is not only paying expenses. but u
Of trustees are enabled to pay the intere
w. on the bonded debt.
Need Of Much More.
TO- "The institution is absolutely eIimi
ny ated from politics. and is managed !
ed five trustees. appointed by the thr,
NJ judges of the county. They are M
ne paid and can make no contracts III
'st der this system we get rid OF a go,
lis many tramps Work scares them o
ke The sheriff now receives salary
OF $4,000 a year. Two hundred prsone
can be accommodated. and the buildir
u Is so arranged that additional cells mi
cd be added at small cost. such IS Il
condition in New Castle county, an
re- its comparison 10 that Of Sussex an
us Kent certainly emphasizes the need
he a new system, where now it is deplo
able"
s6 "
ist For Safety