Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-12-31
CRY eETs 4 BILL
COUNTY WANTS PAY FOR FEED
ING MUNICIPAL PRISONERS.
File. Claim For s77s.2s. Covering Cost
Of Caring For Prisoners since 1873
City FalIs to Pay Because OF Unset
tied Counter Claim Against Marshall
County.

For the past seven years Marshaii
county has been boarding city prison.
ers at the county Jail, without reeeN-
ing any compensation and now II
wants its pay. A bill for s'7s'2S Tor
prisoners care from 1913 to the emu
of 1919 has been submitted to the city
council by the board of supervisors
with the request that the city pay
The city Acknowledges the indeot-
edness and has no quarrel with lne
board as to the correctness OF the
amount due. In all probability the
bill will be paid but a city voucher
will not be signed at the present time
for no fund is available to settle the
account. .,.
At first the members of the city
council were at loss TO know why
the bill should have run for seven
years without any payments pelng
made. The county board declared
there was no laxity on its part for not
submitting the BILL as 1t Is said 10
have been handed annually TO city
councils in the past. But the Dill was
unpaid and has continued to gro"
larger year by year.
City Has Counter Claim.
Investigation then was undertaken
and the findings were that the city
had filed counter claims with the
county which the board Of supervisors
would not pay and the city has let
the Indebtedness for prisoners board
increase rather than pay the county
when 1t was contended the county
was indebted to the city.
Just what all the little items MAX
ing up the city's claim were was not
certain today. Counoilmen and the
mayor had vague remembrance OF va
rious services rendered by the city for
which the county had agreed to pay
or was expected to pay but which re-
manned unpaid.
AS near as members OF the council
could remember the county was In
debted to the city for work Of repair
at the detention hospital. which was
to be paid for Jointly by city and
county removal Of fire hydrants from
Center street, when that street was
widened. construction Of the curbing
on South Center street and South
First avenue, which was to be paid
Jointly by the city and county, the
county board agreeing to stand a por-
ton Of the expense Of Improvement,
construction OF a meter pit for the
county, connecting sewer to the pub
Ito toilet IN the court house and other
items Of more or less Importance.
Cost Of Feeding Prisoners.
The annual cost Of caring for city
prisoners ranges from s1o4, in 1914.
to $3.50, in 1915. The cost for the
year 1919 IS s111. The amount Of the
Indebtedness contracted by the pres
ent council Is about SIS, or for care
Of prisoners from April 1 to Dec. 81.
The rest Of the expense was incurred
during the administration Of other
councils.
The daily cost Of the care Of a pris-
oner at the present time is 50 cents.
The sheriffs office Is allowed 20 cents
meal for each prisoner. or go cents
for the daily fare: Is cents a day for
lodging, apd cents for laundry. The
present allowance became effective
| July 1 last Prior to that time the
allowance for the individuals meal
was Is cents and the laundry allow
| ance was 25 cents. Up to 1915 the
allowance for meals was even less,
12h cents meal or stu cents q day.