The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-08-13
MANY GOOD ONES
Forty Eight Counties i'm Kansas
Have No Prisoners.
Cost OF Conveyance to Peniten-
tiary Decreases.
SENT 22O LAST YEAR.
Cost Fell $4,000 Below State
Appropriation.
SENT 22O LAST YEAR
Interesting Feature in COnnec.
tiOn With Report.

w. E. Davis, assistant state auditor.
has just completed a compilation of
the cost per county and total expense
to the state of conveying prisoners to
| the state penitentiary. The state has
appropriated Sc, 500 for this purpose and
through a thorough and consistent
checking system on the part of the
state auditor the expenses this year
Rave been kept down to $4,95516 or al
most 1000 under the estimate.
There are a number of interesting
figures connected with this report
there have been 4S counties in the state
ithour prisoner to the state peniten-
tiary during the last year. Most of
these counties are in the western part
of the state. Some of the well popula-
clear record For instance, Dickinson
county, one of the large and populouS
counties in the central part of the state
has failed to produce a felon this last
year.
The state allows the county sheriff
two cents a mile for the actual neces-
sary expenses on the trips. The guards
are given three cents a mile for ex-
three cents mile. These latter allow
ances were made when the fare was
three cents a mile and the legislature
has failed to repeal the law.
With each prisoner sheriff is detail
co. With each two prisoners an extra
guard is allowed. And an extra guard
is allowed for each three prisoners over
this number. Thus two guards for five
prisoners, three guards for eight pris-
oners, etc. This is where the cost of
conveying piles up.
The total number of prisoners taken
to the penitent.ary this year is 22O.
Two years ago there were IT'S and ten
years ago the number was still smaller
but the expenses ran up to almost S.
900. The state gave an allowance of
IS 900 at that time and this caused the
Oh a RI "a IIca
of it. Since the present auditing ad-
ministratioE' the checking system has
closed down on the means of conveyance
and thus the reduction.
The cost per prisoner amounts to d
little over $22. The cost per county to
send the prisoners to the penitentiary
amounts to an odd $46. The tax for
this use is general and one county pays
as much in proportion as the rest.
Where the western counties send very
few prisoners the eastern have but a
little distance to send what they have.
One interesting feature in the report
is that practically all of the counties
in the state beginning with the letters
&C. and "G" have no prisoners. These
letters transposed could be translated
into Good Counties Thus the G. c.
banner places in Kansas for hOnHsr
men.
The counties sending the most pris-
oners to the state penitentiary are
Cherokee, Labette. Leavenworth. Mont
gomery. and Reno all sent above ten.
Atchison. Crawford, and Sedgwick sent
eight each. Wyandotte, Shawnee and
Morris counties sent seven prisoners.
Barton, Franklin and Neosho sent six.
F'inney, Nemaha, and Saline contributed
five each. Doniphan, Douglas, McPher-
son and Republic sent four Harvey,
Johnson, Lyon, Rice and Wilson came
in for three. Allen, Butler, Geary, |
Marion, Pawnee, Pottawatomie. Rus |
sell, Seward, and Sumner sent two. The |
rest of the counties sent one with the