The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-02
COUNTY PRISONERS
GET THE COLD
SA|vERS
"To Be Confined at Hard
Labor" No Longer a
stereotyped Phrase.
BOARD ADOPTS A PLAN
Hereafter the Prisoners Will
'Buck" and "Bang" Wood
and Rock Piles.

There were some cold shivers
around the county Jail this morning
when it became known that the coun-
ty commissioners had decided to give
the prisoners a chance to earn the
money paid out for their board and
bed while reposing in the county Jail.
Yesterday evening States Attorney
Wineman presented the matter of es-
tablishing a workhouse, so that the
prisoners would be compelled to earn
part at least of the taxpayers
money, which has been paid out for
their board. After considerable dis
cussion the board adopted the follow
ing resolution, which establishes
workhouse for the county and the
prisoners will hereafter be required
to comply with the stereotyped SEN
tence of the court to be confined at
hard labor. The resolution reads as
follows:
Whereas, the states attorney of this
county has recommended to this board
that a wOrkhouse be established so
that all persons convicted of violations
of the laws of the state of North Da-
kota and sentenced to serve term of
Imprisonment in the county Jail shall
be compelled to work and thus in a
measure recompense the county for
the expense of their keep, and
Whereas, we approve of said recon-
mendations,
Now, therefore, be it resolved by
the board of county commissioners of
the county of Grand Forks, that a
workhouse for the county of Grand
Forks be, and the same is hereby es-
tablished, and all courts. magistrates
and justices of the peace are request
ed that when any person is convicted
of violation of the law and sentenced
to imprisonment in the county Jail that
they sentence them to Imprisonment at
hard labor as required by section 1923
of the revised codes of North Dakota
of 1899.
Mr.. Winenan was seen this morn
Ing by an Evening Times representa-
tive and asked as to the plans he had
for carrying out the resolution. He
stated that the work was now a matter
with which the county commissioners
would have to deal, but that so far as
ne could assist he would do SO, and
that his present idea is to put the
prisoners to work on the wood pile
for the county which will have to be
sawed and split, and that as general
proposition the prisoners would he
worked on the county roads and in the
construction of bitches and in the win
ter If there was nothing else that they
would be put to work shoveling snow
on the sidewalks of the city, where the
commitment was for a crime commit
ted In the city. At any rate it is evil
dent that the fellow who breaks into
Jail during the winter to find a good
fire, good food and comfortable bunk
at the expense of the taxpayers will
be pleasantly surprised.
The plan is being tried in other
cities and the following statement of
the results of the plan at Houston,
Tex, will be of interest to the tax
payers of this county:
Zone of the cheering sights at the
tax collector and assessors office is
the passing in through the money win
dow of pile of bills, gold and silver
emanating from the police department
"The city is now getting about three
times as much fine money as it used
to before the days OF the chain gang.
They are afraid of it, observes
a police official The ditching gang
looms up as terrible punishment and
the rule now is with those getting run
in to dig. dig. dig for the money. They
telephone friends or hastily send word
to someone to pay them out.
1--WE used to have Jail full most
of the time and the grub bill was a
big one. Now there is always plenty
of room. and man must he surely
broke and without friends when he
doesn't buy his way out. Never was
better feature established in connec-
ton with the police department than
the chain gang. There is an average
of is to Is men. and usually husky
mes, working on it, and they more
than pay their keeping by the good
work they are made to do in cleaning
bitches. The city is really making
money out of the police department
on the strength of this feature. where
as the maintenance of the police sta