Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-03-18

to prisoners and TO receive things from
them.
Seventh. the old wooden gates and
wood stockades in the east wall of the
penitentiary yard where cars. wagons,
etc. are brought Into the yard, should
be removed A heavy modern steel gate
should be placed In the wall This gate
should open into a steel stockade suffi-
GENTLY In sire TO accommodate the larg-
est freight car. TO the end that the car
could be brought into the gate and said
gate locked before the inner gate out
Of the stockade Is opened to admit the
car into the yard.
More Guards.
AT this point there should be a guard
house in charge OF a guard night and
day. with direct telephone communica-
ton to the warden and the deputy
warden and an up-to-date alarm system
attached TO the mechanism thereof. so
that any tampering OF this gate out OF
hours would Immediately notify the
warden and his deputy. A mere state
ment Of these facilities Is Of itself
powerful description OF the fatal weak
ness and absolute lack Of facilities to
afford the management proper safety
and to thwart the escape OF convicts
and the bringing In OF dope and other
materials.
There is much more that could be said
along this line and many more details
could be enumerated here that cannot
be in this article given out to the press.
situation Well In Hand.
4 recognize that the burden placed
upon me as the chief executive Of the
state Of Nebraska at this time is the
most important and the greatest that
any governor has ever been called upon
TO face. The situation at the present
In the penitentiary is well In hand and
everything is being done for the COM
fort Of the prisoners and the management.
Of the situation that can be-
Under these conditions as now exist
Ing the warden Is called upon to inaug-
urate an entirely new prison. as It were.
with tS inmates TO begin with, some OF
whom are the most desperate criminal
10 be found anywhere In the world. Many
Of them are well-dlsposed men, who are
In there as victims Of a set OF cIrcum. !
stances who ought to- be in an inter
mediate penltentiary instead OF the place
where they are.
Il am going to install man as war
len who. In my Judgment possesses
much executive and administrative abil- !
~, who will be firm. yet kind. ! win |
recommend TO the management down |
here to put In a discipline that in some
iegree will be analogous to the discl-
pline required Of soldiers. Everything
will be required to proceed along WELL
iefined lines and these lines must be ad-
lered to.
Il win recommend the latest up-to-daie
md approved system Of prison rules and
regulations in vogue and force them az
lar as they can be with the poor facili.
les that we have here at our prison.
Keeping Desperadoes Apart.
The segregation and classification
under the present buildings and facilities
Town there is well nigh impossible, but
his will be done as far as It can be. For
Instance. II should be possible that such
iesperadoes as those who murdered and
escaped should be kept BY themselves
Ind a guard placed over them and they
20 made TO perform their labor OF tasks
separately. 4 do not mean BY this that
hey should ba punished or anything OF /
he kind. but they should not be allowed
% naingie with other prisoners under
my circumstances.
, More TeIephones -Nesdea-
zone matter I have overlooked that I /
want tomention Is that the guards and
he men in charge Of the shops as they
III at their desks should not only have
! phone connecting them with the war
len and the deputy warden, but there
Mould DO an alarm that.they could touch
with their foot that would notify the
sarden and the deputy warden that
Is wrong. in case they should
Tot be able TO phone. This Inaugural
ion OF the system OF alarms should
20 provided for in every shop where there
5 any number fmen at work, under an
,yerseer.
In conclusion, permit me TO say that
have previously expressed my con-
'ldenee In the warden and nothing more
need be said along that line. I feel sure
hat the next legislature. when these
things are pointed out. win take hold OF
his matter vigorously and the result
win be modern institutions for Grim
mails, insane and other wards Of the
state that viii rank Nebraska as high
along these lines as does her splendid