The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-03-01

S'2 -e pTlSOn has been printed for sub I.-ission to Governor Holcomb by the board, President Norris G. Osborn. w. O. Burr, vice-president; Frederick M. salmon, secretary; and James w Cheney, Frank c. Sunni and Will liam H. Post.
 To His Excellency. Marcus H. Hol-
 comb, GOver-2r:
 Sir:-We herewith submit for your consideration the biennial report of the Connecticut State Prison for the two years end4 7 September 30, 1918.
 Prison Population.
 re population of the Institution during the past year showed a de- cline of 13 per cent. The average census for the two years was 619.43. In a general way this decrease in numbers can be accounted for by war conditions which drew large numbers of potential criminals into the serv- ice or gave them increased Oppor- tunides for employment at advanced wages. There Is no reason to believe that this reduction in the population warrants any departure from the se1- tied lodging policy of the state For practical purposes it Is fair to as sume that the percentage of crirn- inals will maintain about the same proportion to the population at large.
 Improvements have been of a gen eral nature and relate to the working necessities of the prison. They in- clude an enlargement of the vault facilities in the office, rearrang- ment of the stairways leading to tho officers dOrmitories and terminattng in the interior of the main building Instead of in the executive office, nG- ditional closet facilities, new laundry. machinery, new cold storage plant. kitchen and bakery machinery and general repair work The iron fence from the front of the prison lawn has been removed adding to the sightIt- ness of the property.
 School Work.
 Increasingly beneficial results have been obtained from the night school especially in teaching the English language to those who have known little or nothing of it. Success has been attained In the other essential elementals. The directors owe a debt of gratitude to the Hartford Sunday School Teachers association whose voluntary service has been of a help ful and stimulating character to tho inmates. On Sunday. No~emb ber 24 1918 the association presented to the institution the national and state col ors, in the presence of the officials the inmates and many friends They will be on constant display in the chapel
 Tn this connection may be mention ed the interest taken by the Inmates in war work. They subscribed in all to Liberty loans, Red Cross and other war activities the handsome sum of SIS, ,958.20.
 Health and Mortality.
 The health of the inmates has been on the whole excellent. Nine deaths have occurred during the two years. the majority Of these from chronic causes. A slight typhoid epidemic caused the institution to be quaran- tined. The quarantine was extended until all danger of an influenza cpl demic had passed.
 Finances.
 The revenue from prison labor has declined during the period since our last report owing, in part, to the re- duced population, and, in part, to dis turbed commercial conditions grow ing out of the war. The war was not of sufficient duration to make plans for obtainabIe government work possible. On the other hand. the cost of maintaining the prison has in creased materially This is shown in the high cost of food and clothing and in necessary increases in the sal ary list Unless unexpected changes occur in the price of these necessi- ties, Q considerable increase will have to be made in the state appropria- ton. Should the population recover, an increase in earning capacity would follow but this possibility does not permit of calculation. There are other elements of @ probIematic char acter which would enter into such d prophetic adventure.
 Discipline.
 The discipline of the prison has been maintained under some difficult ties which can, on the whole, be best described as the product of human excitement and restlessness growing out of the great world war. The emotions, if not the passions, of the outside public found their reflections within all prison walls. Unquestion- ably, too, the change that took place in wardens led the more adventure some inmates to try out the met la or the new LnCum bent with results not satisfactOrv to them. Al a criti- cal stage the id of the state police was successfully invoked and the new order of things securely established. As justice is the principle upon which the directors seek to guide the administration of the prison, it be- came necessary, as a matter of law and order, to temporarily withdraw all privileges of a social character. renewing them as they were earned by good population conduct. Parole.
 The parole board has had its faith in the principle of the parole law more and more strengthened by en- larged experiences. The statistics of Its application will be found in detail in the warden's report so need not be duplicated here. It is sufficient to state that 84 22-100 per cent. of the men and women paroled have grati- fled the confidence of the board and started successfully on a new and promising lease of life. The directors still believe that the parole privilege should be extended to life prisoners