Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1914-01-03
KANSAS news ITEMS
GOSSIP FROM ALL PARTS OF THE
STATE, GATHERED FOR
OUR READERS.
PRISON SAVES STATE MONEY
An Entirely New PenitentIary Could
Be Built With the Savings of
Two Years, According to
the Authorities.

Inc state prison at Lansing saved
the state about II million dollars dur
Ing the fiscal year ending June 80,
1913 This, according to those who
should know, is very conservative
estimate. 1t represents about one
half of the appropriation asked for
by the warden to be used in construct
ing the new penitentiary. The Irvine
and brick plants and the coal mine
are the different departments where
the most of the saving was made.
The Irvine plant supplied the farm
ers of Kansas with million dollars
worth of Irvine last year at nine and
one-half cents a pound. This repre-
SCENTS a net profit OF S32 900, which
went into the state trea sury. If the
farmers had been forced to buy from
outside dealers at eleven cents
pound it would have cost them S45,-
600 more. This $4,000 and the $780,
900 profit represent a total of SIT 1000
saved the citizens of Kansas in Irvine.
The prison burns its own brick and
lime and supplies brick to the differ
ent institutions over the state. The
prison brickyard manufactured, for
the use of state institutions in 1912,
1923, 447 brick of different grades.
The prison received credit on the
brick account for $12,O9S. This was
an average Of about 81 a thousand
less that the same quality of brick
sold for on the market If these diff
ferent institutions had been forced to
buy on the open market, the cost to
the state would have been about $15,-
S44- This does not take into consid-
Grafton the brick used in the construc-
ton of the new Irvine plant and other
small buildings in the prison yeard.
The coal mine is the big money
maker for the state. Last year the
different institutions received $1,000
tons of coal from the prison, for which
the prison was credited with ST., 800
$3.50 per ton. 1t is said if the state
had been forced to buy this coal on the
open market, together with the 10000
tons it takes annually to run the pris-
on, it would have cost the state at
least $155,00O. Some estimates have
placed the amount as high a Il mil
lion dollars. If the prison had new
quarters it is said that the annual
maintenance appropriation could be
safely cut from s1O5,0O0 to $4,000, as
the saving in fuel alone would run
into the thousands of dollars.
The construction of the new Irvine
plant is another instance of economy
where the Kansas citizens profited
With prison brick, lime and labor,
this plant, consisting of two buildings,
will have cost the state, when COM
pleted, 100000 less than a similar plant
constructed by sister state. The
two plants are identical in size except
the Kansas plant contains two more
machines than its neighbors.
Dodge City Wants a New Postoffice.
A movement has been started to
petition Representative Neeley FOR
postoffice appropriation for Dodge
City An effort to get the apProrr:a-
ton for a building there was started
several years ago, but the death of
Representative Madison interfered
with the plan. Last year Representa-
tive Medley promised Dodge City an
appropriation at the present term of
Congress. Dodge City hopes to have
a term of the federal court there and
will ask an appropriation of 100000
for combined postoffice and federal
court building.