The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1906-06-29
NORTHERN PRISON
State Institution at Michigan City
Cares For 705 In
mates.
YET IS ALMOST SELF SUSTAINING

Instead of Spells System, Large Ex-
pense TO State, and Brutal Habits
of the Past, Reformatory Policies
Have Been Adopted, and Business
like and Economical Methods Char.
acterize the Management.
Especial Correspondence
With an average daily count Of 795
inmates, an average daily disburse-
ment for all purposes of s34215, and
an average daily earning for the state
of s149.96, making the average net
cost per man of 24.48 cents per day
for the care and subsistence of the
men and the maintenance, repair and
improvement Of the ground and build
| ing, the Indiana State Prison at Mich
igan City may confidently submit to
| any examination on the score of econ
omy in management And when along
with this there is taken into consid-
Grafton the remarkable advance there
to be seen in the methods employed
for the protection OF society against
the ravages of crime, there Is just and
ample ground for profound pride
throughout the state.
The figures given are for the period
Of two years ending Oct. 81. 1904. the
date of the latest biennial report of
the institution. and are calculated
from the following summary:
Yr. ending Yr ending
Oct. 81, Oct. 81,
1903 1904
Disbursements. s121, e04.e5 $128.166.4 AT
Earnings 1900. 52.259.S2 51,os9 ST
Products OF farm 3,094.33 1901. 80
The average daily population In 1903
was 774.5s men; in 1904, 1855 men.
Small Per Capita Expense.
For each inhabitant OF Indiana there
is yearly outlay of "a cents for all
|
every 500 of taxable property within
the state there is an annual oontribu-
ton of about half penny for this In
stitution, containing 500 convicts, or
one for every 1880 persons in the
state
Remembering that every person is
threatened by crime constantly and
that nearly everyone Is at some time
made victim of it in some form, this
seems to be an absurdly small price
TO pay for the work that is accom-
plished at Michigan City
II is gratifying to know that en-
inent prison experts from a number
of states and countries agree that the
Indiana penitentiary has in recent
years risen to the front rank among
penal institutions and has achieved a
standard of efficiency that is at this
time nowhere surpassed. II a greater
proportion of the people would take
less interest in the morbid and sem
sational aspects of prison life and
more in the true purposes for which
| penal establishments are maintained.
public sentiment would substantially
hasten the approach toward com
pleter protection from criminal enter.
prise.
Sensible Policies Adopted.
That SO high a degree of efficiency
has been attained concurrently with
the practice of such economy as is ex.
hibited in the foregoing figures is due
to the laws and policies inaugurated
and enforced since the administration
o{ state affairs was entrusted to the
Republican party by the elections OF
J 1894. The deadly blight of partisan
control has been eradicated from the
prison by the superior and represents
tive appointments of Governors Mount
Durbin and Hanly under the law re
curing non-partisan boards The in
determinate sentence and parole laws
have been administered in a broad
and enlightened spirit for the COCO
OF society, without favoritism or DO
Htieal bias The successful and an
proved usages of other like institu
tons have been investigated and
NuoI5VSI dppllCAplS, adopted. Ins
business of the prison has been con
Quoted on business principles by bust
) ness men.
: Spells System Abandoned.
/ BY withdrawing the institution from
. the machinery of politics and estab
G fishing it as business concern witt
: certain objects to accomplish, two puI
poses of prime Importance were effect
ed: The officers found that merit ha.
J superseded pull" The convicts foun,
: greet benefit in the superior standar
OF the officers, and they responde
: gladly in improved discipline With;
/. the walls and improved behavior afte
= release. 1t also resulted that tn
prison force. when withdrawn fror
political work and confined to the en-
ployment for which the state was PAL
ing them. performed great deal NOR
labor than they had been doing for tn
= institution and tremendous eeonom