The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-11-15
Shall Michigan Adopt
The Budget System.
BY Frank M. Sharks
From the Grand Rapids Herald.

eneu SCaCe OF Michigan allowing the
boys sent to corrective institutions be-
ing forced to drink water from the
flush boxes of toilets, to have no night
gowns to sleep in, to be confined in
little wooden firetrap without means
Of hasty exit?
Can you imagine the great business
institutions of Michigan dealing in
many millions of dollars each year
Ecrmitting any one institution to
ledge state property for loans Of
K.ndreds of thousands of dollars
1ich it goes outside of Michigan to
cure and pays more than per cent
r?
Can you imagine the great state OF
.ichigan printing tons of expensive
eports only t6 sell them for junk,
b eceiveing 23 cents for what cost the
Estate SIS.
1t is hard to imagine and yet that
is what the Budget Commission of In
quiry has found to be the fact and so
says in its report to the governor.
Perhaps the commission went some
what outside it's province in its report
on the conditions at the Industrial
School for Boys which is located in
Lansing. The duty of the commission
was to study the business methods and
the financial system of Michigan. But
when the Investigators reached the in
dustrial school they found there con-
dition which they could not refrain
from making public to the shame and
disgrace of the state. Here is what
the report says on this subject:
DANGEROUS TO LIFE,
HEALTH AND MORALS
"In our investigation of the school
we found, among other things, that
large number of the boys sleep on
the third floor of the cottages, where
there are no fire escapes, and where
there are far from adequate sanitary
arrangements. The exit from these
floors is by way of narrow stairway,
in. some cottages two narrow stair
ways, and these stairways are very
steep. In case of fire there does not
seem any possibility of escape for
these boys.
+ Furthermore, no arrangements
have been made for furnishing these
boys with drinking water. We were
told by the superintendent that when
the boys wanted drink of water, they
usually dipped it out of the flush box
of the toilet. Sometimes during the
hot weather of summer they would
carry water up in pals.
"It is also to be noted that these
boys are not furnished with night
shirts in which to sleep. The bathing
facilities are inadequate and unsani-
tary. The only way the boys can
bathe is to stand under an irregation
pipe in the basement of the cottages
which is also the place where they
wash their faces and hands.
"The present conditions at the
school are such as to offer every in
ducement for sex perversion and from
what we have learned, considerable of
this is carried on.
Referring to the neglect to furnish
fire escapes, it is pertinent to remark
that the state employs INSPECTORS who
travel around the state all the time
to see that public buildings are furn-
ished with adequate fire escapes and,
where it is not done, the owners of the
buildings are punished as provided by
law; and, at the same time, we have a
state institution almost under the
dome of the capitol building without
any fire escapes where there are on an
average about 800 boys kept for cor
rective and educational purposes"
JACKSON PRISON NOT
RUN AT PROFIT
Much has been printed from time to
time about Jackson prison and its
finances. 1t has been claimed by men,
bers of the prison board at various
times that the prison was running
without expense to the taxpayers of
the state and that it was really making
money. 1t has also been claimed that
such was not the case, and some pref
ty bitter controversy has resulted ov-
er it. The Budget Commission of In
quiry declares the institution is not
run at a profit, but rather at dis
tinct loss. Just how great is this loss
the commission declines to say,because
under the financial methods pursued
and under the bookkeeping system it
is impossible to find out.
Just how inadequate is this book
keeping and financial system is shown
by the fact that the commission in its
report declared much of the land pur-
chased for farming purposes around
the prison was very poor and poor
investment, and that the prison lost
100000 last year through it's farming
operations. eog ...~.~
Two or three days ago the new war
den of the prison called up Mr.. Lord,
secretary of the budget commission,
and asked him to change that $4,000
loss and make the report say "severai
thousands" Then he added he had
been unable to find out just what the
loss was from the books handed down
to him when he took the wardenship,
and so didn't like to be specific in his