Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-21
MCCORMACK LOSES,
PRISON S|NECURE
Fielder Signs Reform Bills, One
of Which AboIishes Board
of inspectors. :
Especial TO the Evening start

Especial 10 the Evening Star.I
TRENTON. April 21.-An almost
| complete reorganization of the man.
agement of the State prison is eff
fected through the signing by Gov
ernor Fielder of the three prison re-
form bills. The bills legislated out Of
office the BOARD of inspectors of The
State prison, the board of parole and !
the prison labor commission. Until
| next Friday, when the new members
of the boards are to be appointed by
the Governor, New Jersey will have
20 one to attend to the management
| of the prisons. On Friday the Gov
ornor will ask the consent of the Sem
ate to his appointments.
The most important of the bills is
| committee substitute for House 149.
by Mr.. Fisk. This abolishes the
Board of Prison Inspectors and cree
ates new board of six members,
| term six years, salary $500. This
| board is empowered to regulate the
| control of the prison and all en-
ployes and officials thereof. including
| deputies, officers, physicians, clerks,
| guards. teachers and moral instruc-
| tors. The board is also to determine
the number of employees and fix their
| salaries.
The act makes the head keeper, the
office now held by Thomas b. Mad
den, Democrat, the chief executive
officer, but provides that he shall be
responsible to the Board of Inspectors
| for the management under such regu-
! lations as the board shall provide.
The head keeper is to appoint all Of
| ficers and employees, subject to the
consent of the Board of Inspectors.
| Under this act Joseph p. McCor-
| mack, of BayOnne, the supervisor OF
the prison, is legislated out of office
at the end of his term, April 15 1915
| The act provides that the supervisor
shall serve out his term and after
| the expiration of his term Head
Keeper Madden shall appoint a stew
ard, who, under the direction of the
keeper, shall be the purchasing officer
The prison inspectors have power to
| fix the salary of this steward.
| The inspectors who were legiSlated
out today by the signing of the Fisk
! bill were Jacob NJ. Shurts. of Somer-
vile; John F. Clark, of Newark;
| Walter NJ. Dear, of Jersey City; B.
Frank Hires, of Bridgeton, and
| Harry w. Jones, of Franklinville.
| The vacancy created in the Board
of Prison Inspectors by the death OF
| Caleb Van Husan Whitbeck will be
| filled by the appointment of somebody
not from Bergen County. That county
will lose representation in this board
| for the first time since 1910, when
| Governor Fort appointed Mr. Whit
beck Governor Fielder takes the
ground that Bergen County has been
! pretty well taken care of in this
years appointments and that it would
| be well to let some other county than
| Bergen fill the vacancy.
The terms of all of the inspectors
would have expired anyway this year
even without the Fisk legislation. 1t
| is understood that there will be a
number of reappointments when the
| new Board of Prison Inspectors is ,
named by Governor Fielder on Fri
day, the day of the special session Of
the Senate in Trenton.
The new Prison Labor Commission
| is created by committee substitute for
| House 147, by Mr.. Fisk. The commits
| sion is to be composed of the COM
| missioner of charities and corrections.
a member of the Board of Prison In
| spectors designated by it; a member
of the board of managers of the State
Reformatory at Railway, to be desig-
mated by 1t, and three citizens to be
appointed by the Governor and con-
| firmed by the Senate. The members
| are to serve without compensation
and the term of three citizens is to be
| three years, one term expiring each
| year.
The act provides that the Prison
Labor Commission shall secure the
employment of as many inmates OF
the penal, correctional and reforma-
tory institutions of the State as may
be employed advantageously in agri-
culture, horticulture and Horticulture,
| and all surplus products from such
| industries above those required for
the use of the institutions where pro-
duced shall be disposed of for tho
| benefit of the State.