The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-05
REFORMATORY IS
TAXED TO THE LIMIT
impossible to Complete Addi-
ton for Is Months Prison.
ers Sleep in Corridors.

with Its present resources the state
board of control can see no hope Of
getting the proposed new cell wing at
the st. Cloud reformatory finished I'M
til year from next fall. And in the
meantime many of the prisoners are
sleeping in the corridors. The popu-
lation of the reformatory is now Pol,
the largest it has even been, and is
steadily increasing.
81 simply can't see what we are to
do to provide sufficient accommoda-
TONS" said S. w. Leavett yesterday
upon his return from ST. Cloud, where
he and the other members of the board
of control spent the previous day.
"You see we are doing our building
there with convict labor and the state
has been merely making an appropria-
ton each session sufficient to cover
the cost of material that will be used
between then and the time of the next
session. The administration building
has been in course of construction for
number of years and the legislature
has been appropriating $4,000 year
for material to be put into it. The
permanent buildings there are all Of
u.
and placed almost entirely by labor of
the inmates. We have only been en-
ploying sufficient number of expert
Workmen to oversee the work and the
progress must necessarily be slow.
VIII Take Eighteen Months.
1--WE hope to get the roof on the adj
ministration building and the founda-
ton of the cell wing finished before
Iii iToo 70 h11f
the work with convict labor I can't
see how we can get the new cell wing
ready for occupancy before the follow
ing fall.
''The board has not yet decided upon
any plan to relieve the situation, but
it will soon be necessary to do some
thing. There would be nothing gained
by any transfer of prisoners from st.
Cloud to the Saltwater penitentiary,
for there are 663 prisoners at StillWa-
ter and even with the new additions
just completed there is no room to
spare The present situation at st.
Cloud is not only dangerous as ques-
ton of security of the prisoners, but
it is manifestly detrimental to health
to have the men crowded in that man
ner.
"The board has thus far been unable
to decide upon any plan, as the appro-
priation for this new cell building is
only 100000
Speaking generally of the building
operations at St. Cloud, Mr.. Leavett
said:
Had to Change Plans.
1--WE have again found it necessary
to entirely change the plans of the
administration building. AS the plans
were originally drawn some years ago,
it was intended to have the upper story
for chapel. We have found that by
following those plans there would be
a great deal of space wasted by reason
of the shape of the roof, so we will
add another story above the chapel
and make that a dormitory for the
employees. When this board took hold
of the work it was found that one side
of the foundation, which was the only
part then completed, was twenty-five
inches out of square. We had to build
a new wall on that side to correct the
error.
'"The administration building WILL in
time, be the central structure of the
institution 1t faces the west and on
the east end or rear it adjoins the orig
inal cell house. There is another cell
house on the north side of the admin
istration building and the new one
will be added as a wing to the south
side.
"The new building will accommodate
$50 prisoners, but at the present rate
of increase that will not be sufficient
by the time the building can be fin
ished. On Sept. 80, 1901, there were
139 prisoners at this institution, on the
same date of the following year 1913;
and on the same date of 1908, 259. Now
there 291, and these figures may be
taken as showing the rate Of increase