Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-09
URGES WORKHOUSE
TO CURE WARRANTS
CHARITIES EXPERT ADVISES CITY
TO GET BUSY
Putting Prisoners at Hard Labor, Geo
retary Gates Says, Is Better for
Unfortunates and for,
Society

Secretary w. Almont Gates of the state
hoard of charities and corrections while
ON recent visit to Los Angeles from
San Francisco inspected the city Jail
without disclosing his presence here, and
as a result letters have reached the city
hall giving Secretary Gates views that
q workhouse should be built at once
to relieve the pressure in the Jail.
This is in line with what the mayor,
police commissioners and heads of the
department have been advocating for
some time. A
If stockade or workhouse were built
out near Elysan or Griffith park-and
1t could be done quickly-the chain gang
men could be utilized the year round in
grading and building roads and beautify-
ing the parks where their labor would
not come in competition with any other.
Keeping them in the jail requires long
haul in wagons each morning and even
ing.
Secretary Gates views are as follows:
Packed Like Sardlnes
1t was my privilege to visit your
city Jail on Monday morning, July %,
and l found the following conditions:
The cage used to detain men charged
with misdemeanors contains eleven
cells, 6xS feet in size, and toilet.
These cells are in two rows opening
on a central corridor, 10 feet in width.
The total floor space of the cage Is
about 24xSO feet.
The cells are dark, poorly ventilated
and the toilet cell wet and in bad
condition.
There were confined in that cell cage F.
during that night 81 men, or more
than to each cell There should not
be kept in this cage more than % at
any one time.
1r
was told that this class numbered as
high as $50. The quarters provided
for these are scarcely adequate for
the smaller number. The reason given
me why the number serving sentence
is as low as 75 is that the judges are
discharging many who would be given
Jail sentences if the conditions were
different in the Jail.
The second floor of the Jail is in
good condition and adequate for the
departments provided there.
Work Is Punishment
If all persons serving sentences,
except women, could be removed from
this Jail it could be made to answer
the purposes of a detention Jail.
Men who are serving sentences for
misdemeanors are mostly vagrants or
drunks and disorderlies. The best
punishment for this class Is the work
house. If you wish to reduce this
class of crime and criminals-and you
should-then the best wayfis to pro-
vide work and plenty of it. We VIII
never cure vagrancy unless we con-
fine the vagrants at hard labor.
During July you worked about so
men on the chain gang and A at
domestic work about the Jail and city
hall.
1t seems to me that the best thing
your city could do to relieve present
conditions would be to provide a good
workhouse.> Its location would depend
on the kind of work you decided to
be best adapted. That could best be
} worked out by your committee and
officers in charge who are familiar
with conditions.
County Prisoners Idle
1t Is also of interest here to note
that during the year ending June 80,
1906 Qater statistics not yet available),
1912 men served jail sentences in the
county Jail of Los Angeles county.
Most of these spent their time in
idleness
We believe that 1t is better for the
city, these men and for society that
these prisoners should serve their
sentences at hard labor.
Perhaps an arrangement could be
made for workhouse where both city
and county prisoners could be made
to work out their sentences.
You have presented to you an op-
portunity to take a step in advance
in penology and at the same time
conserve the financial interests of the
CITY t.--