The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-01-06
State Prison Commission Asks
Pen Improvements.
Supplemental Report Covering
Water Supply and Efficiency.

| In a supplemental report filed with
Governor Hodges. members OF the pr1s-
on commission recommend the re-
building of the penitentiary coal plant
and the purchase of new engines ana
boilers. The improvements. says the
commission, will add to safety. MOD
ernize the lint equipment and reouce
the operating cost more than % per
cent.
| Allowing SIS a week for labor for
each man employed in the mines last
wear and estima ting cost OF coal at $Z.5O
| a ton. 1t cost 1000 to operate the
prison mines and furnish power FOR the
prison plant. BY the expenditure OF
$40 600 to $4,000 the cost can be re-
duced to $4,000 year, the commits
sion finds. The use of nineteen anti
uuated,. badly worn and ancient DOLL
ers and engines should be discarded.
Their combined horse power Is 3.4oo.
The same work can be done and better
results accomplished with loo horse
power engine Of modern type. says the
prison commission.
In it's final report to the governor
before the converting of the state leg
| islature the commission repeats its
| former declaration to the effect that:
:.Plumbine and other sanitary ar
engagements that were considered good
fifty years ago are, in the light OF
modern sanitary engineering, not
only not good, but positively bad"
The commission, which recently rec
commended the rebuilding Of the en-
tire prison plant, then points out the
defects in the present operating sys-
| tenn and emphasizes dangers, expense
and wasted energy.
1.-The value of coal burned in the
year 1911-12, as recorded in the war
denis office was $4,000" says the
commission. IF the coal is worth
$3.50 a ton, this would give $4,000
fb0 Mt n
year. Figures just received from the
chief engineer indicate that the
| amount burned between December l,
1913, and December 1, 1914, was &c.
| 734 tons. The. value at $3.50 a ton
| would be $4,000. The number of
men to operate the plant was given at
| 10. With the labor of a man worth
about $1,000 a year. The total cost
for labor and fuel only for operating
the plant during the year was appar-
emily $124,OO0. So
1.-The above figures show the plant
to be enormously wasteful of labor
and fuel. Most of the waste occurs
at the boilers. some OF which are un-
fit for service: and all of which are
being operated at a disadvantage.
when all these losses are taken to-
gether, 1t is probable that not over
two or three per cent of the heat in
the fuel is being eHect1veIy USED.
Pumping OF Water.
1.-The amount of water pumped per
day is reported to be 100000 gallons.
With $50 people to be served. this
would be equivalent to over 800 gal
Ions per capita, which is more than
three times the quantity allowed for
all purposes in municipal plants. But
admitting it is desirable to pump as
much as 100000 gallons a, day, the
amount of coal necessary to do this
pumping should not exceed 800 tons
a year. The amount for last year was
1,480 tons. TfsI ~ Z Z!
"A properly designed plant of ZOO
boiler horsepower would be ample for
all heating and power purposes at this
| institution. A total engine horse
power of 700 with generators and mo-
tors to correspond would take care of
all the power needed except mine
hoists. Such a plant would cost the
state from $4,000 to $4,000 1t
would require from $4,000 to Is, 900
tons of coal a year and the labor of
20 men to operate IT. With coal and
labor at the price figured in the first
part of the report, the operation of
such plant would cost from $4,000
to 100000 a year, thus reducing the
present cost by more than half With
this saving would go vastly improved
service and appearance of the
grounds"