Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1912-05-18
UNSANITARY JAILS
Continued from first page.

The building has no heating plant,
but the fooms have wood stoves and
any amount of stove piping in each
room. In case of fire, there Is but
one exit to the whole building and a
fire in the lower hallway would rem
der escape from the building impos-
sible, except from the windows.
The prisoners would burn to crisp,
like rats in a trap, as only the wind
ows they have In their dungeon are
heavily strapped with iron bars, rend-
ering escape impossible, there is
not a fire escape to the entirebuild.
ing. A fire in any part OF the lower
floor should it reach the hallway,
would prevent escape from any part
of the upper floor, except by jump
ing from the second story windows.
There is not hotel or rooming
house in all Idaho with such made
quate fire protection. There is a
stand pipe on each floor, with about
twenty-five feet of half inch cotton
hose and an old chemical fire extin-
guisher, with the result that | found
the chemicals in the extinguisher to
have deteriotated 80 as to render 1t
useless, while the hose on the second
floor is badly defective and unreliable
when the full force of water is sent
into it. The electric wiring in many
parts of the building is exposed, and
absolutely dangerous. And yet, not
withstanding all this, there Is but one
vault in the entire court house, and
this is so inadequate as to be abso-
lutely incapable of holding even the
records of the auditors oifice,while 1t
is anything but fire proof for the in.
side wall is of but ordinary thickness
and would not stand. the heat ana
weight to make it fire proof. Conse-
quently not single record or file
can be considered safe from fire,
and this includes every tax title, ev-
cry will, every tax receipt. and the
titles of to 65,024 acres of land with
an appraised valuation Of over mil
lion of dollars, as also titles to city
lots valued at a quarter Of a million
of dollars and the personal property
in the neighborhood of three quarters
Of million.
In view of all these conditions,
which renders both court house and
Jail as unfit and unsafe for human
life, nothing remains for the state to
do but condemn said buildings and
to direct your attention to section
1882 of the revised laws, which pro-
vide that Whenever the interests
of the country require 1t, and the
board of commissioners of the coun-
ty deem it for the public good" a
bond election shall be called to build
court house or Jail, or both. If ev-
er the interest of any county require
1t, then NEST certainly those of La
tab county do, and you would be re-
creant to the discharge of a sworn
public duty to longer delay this mat
ter. Latah county has neither bond
nor warrant Indebtedness, and certain
ly her people when reused to the
danger that confronts them, will rise
to the situation and by their vote will
auth -rize her board of county commits
sioners to protect the lives Of her Of
fcials and her prisoners and safe
guard her invaluable property by Q.
recting a fire proof and adequate
building.
Were 1t not for the fact that your
dis riot curt will convene in few
days, steps would have been taken to
have had the prisoners now In jail
moved to some safer quarters. Be-
cause of this the only thing that
could be done under the circum.
stances was to require certain changes
looking to temporary relief, rs Der