Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-09-03
PRESENT JAIL is
COUNTY'S SHAME
Obsolete Structure No Longer
Is Fit for Human Habi-
tation.
VISITORS ARE SHOCKED
Argus Representative Finds Condi.
tions of Affairs That Few Be-
ueved Existed.

If every voter In Rock Island county
could visit the county Jail. it is doubt
full if there would be a single dissent.
ing voice when at the next election
the people are asked to levy a tax for
\ the erection of q new building. At
least this is the belief Of those who
| have been so fortunate, or unfortunate.
as to be permitted to visit the prison
and inspect 1t from top to bottom. A
| representative OF The Argus was as.
signed that duty during the week, and
the task proved very sickening one.
The building, through no fault of the
sheriff, but beause of Its age and de-
sign, is so unfit for the use that it is
put to that it really beggars descrip-
ton, and 1t has to be seen before one
can fully appreciate just how bad it is.
Has No Ventilation.
To begin with. it's builders apparent
ly had no idea either Of ventilation or
Of sanitation. A description of how
the Jail Is planned will show this.
About half of the floor space of the
building Is included in the prison
and there are five windows in all,
which open into the place. Two of
these are on the north side and three
on the west. The walls are thick and
the windows small and heavily barred
so that very little light comes through
and practically no fresh air, as there
are high walls beyond these walls.
In the center Of the floor space the
cells are built, leaving a 10-foot walk
all the way around them. The cells
are in what is virtually a tower built
Of massive stone. There are Is of
them and two prisoners are assigned
to each. The cells have but one open
ing, the door, and absolutely no means
of ventilation. The cells which open
on the west side of the stone tower are
fairly well lighted in the afternoon.
but those on the east side are always
dark, so dark that one can hardly see
into them until his eyes become &C
customed to the lack of light. On
warm nights the prisoners lay with
their heads as near the cell doors as
possible and practically gasp for
breath all of the time. AS the 10 cells
are rarely sufficient to hold the number
of prisoners, the remainder are allow
ed to sleep in the northeast corner of
the floor space, which is known as the
bull pen. They, too, experience con-
siderable trouble in breathing, but are
far better off in this respect than the
others who are confined in the cells.
No Sanitation.
Until short time ago the jail was
almost without any form of sanitation,
although recently a modern bath tub
and a closet have been installed. The
air is bad all the time, however, and
one instinctively holds his breath when
looking into cell, as the smell Is most
foul. The walls of the cells and of
the whole building are covered with
blood spots resulting from the killing
of bedbugs and other pests which al
most overrun the prison. In one cell
in particular is this true. The inmates
apparently tried to kill time by ami
hilating the insects and the wall is
nearly red as a result of several days
labor. The bedding used by the bull
pen sleepers is piled up in one corner
during the day time and it does not re-
quire very sharp eyes to see the pestif- |
erous bedbugs running around and
wondering why there is no one on them |
whom they could eat Eat is almost |
the word, for there are SO many of the |
things that they could almost devour |
a man if given day or two in which |
to complete the task.
No Preference Shown.
The plan of the Jail does not permit |
Of any separation of prisoners except |
that there Is a better lighted and bet |
ter ventilated department where |
women prisoners are Kept. The latter |
quarters, however, are not much to |
brag about and are surely a place to |
be ashamed of. In the mems portion
Of the Jail, the youth who happens to |
be caught In bad company rubs elbows
with the fellow who is serving out a |
long jail sentence on a charge of |
or worse, and If the lad |
was not contaminated when he was i'm |
prisoned he is pretty sure to come out |
corrupted, even though not |
guilty of the charge against him. A |
jail in a community Of the size and |
of Rock Island county |
should consist not only of q prison |
where convicts are kept, but of sepa,
rate department where men can be de-
tanned until proven guilty or innocent
Of the charge against them. Scarcely
OF the men who go to jail to |
await their trials are convicted and |
yet everyone of them suffers the pun
shment of a twice convicted man ev-
cry day that he is penned in with a lot