I farm overseer at $800 and maintenance. I chief matron (superintendent's wife, listed as overseer), at $500 and maintenance. I domestic for superintendent at $300 and maintenance. I clerk at $1,100 and maintenance. The prison was very clean, practically devoid of odor, and to every appearance well conducted. RECOMMENDATIONS 1) The Board of County Supervisors should supply some form of labor to keep the prisoners occupied. There should be no difficulty in finding suitable industries, and the proper floor space is already available. (2) All prisoners should be supplied with pillows and pillow cases, not merely the women and trusties. (3) A finger print expert is necessary who would also have charge of the Bertillon room. This work is done at present by the chief engineer, who is really an employee of the county, not of the prison itself. (4) A sterilizer of modern type should be acquired. NEW YORK COUNTY PENITENTIARY, BLACKWELL'S ISLAND INSPECTED ON AUGUST 1, 1913, BY PHILIP Klein The New York County Penitentiary is one of the institutions of the Department of Correction of the City of New York, and receives its inmates principally from the four counties making up the greater city. It may transfer some of its inmates to other institutions in the Department and similarly may receive transfers from them. A more thorough study of the penitentiary is soon to be undertaken by the Prison Association. The present inspection, therefore, will confine itself to a brief statement of facts. The penitentiary proper consists of a cellhouse and administration building. The parts originally built were the administration building and two cell wings radiating to the north and south respectively. These were built about three-quarters of a century ago, not long after the building of Sing Sing prison. The style of the cellblock is practically identical with that antiquated prison. Two additions to the original cellblocks have been made since, making a total of four cellblocks, of which three are practically continuous while the fourth is separated from the others by the rotunda of the administration building. This latter cellblock contains the female department and cells for minors, one side of the cellblock being used for each purpose. All the cells are 3 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 6 inches by 7 feet 6 inches, except in the latest or north prison where they are 5 feet 6 inches by 8 feet. In the last almost always a large number of prisoners are doubled-up." The cell capacity of the institution is as follows: South hall (female, 120; male minors, 120).. Old prison (the counterpart of the south hall, both being the original cellblocks). West prison (the cellblock contained in this makes a right angle with the original cellblock and the latest cellblock). North prison (the latest addition). Total. 240 256 240 368 I, 104 With a possible doubling-up in the last cellblock the capacity is increased to 1472. On the day of inspection 196 cells were doubled, making 392 prisoners, two in a cell. The cells where doubling-up occurs are very small for one person. Approximately the same thing can be said about all the cells that has been recently said about Sing Sing, with this exception, however, that the cells in the penitentiary are better located so that they are not so damp, and that during the administration of the present warden the small windows similar to those that can now be seen in Sing Sing have been replaced by large ones running the full height of the prison and flooding the blocks with light and air. The administration should receive credit for this. The prisoners are occupied chiefly at industrial labor. There are a number of shops and a quarry in addition to the domestic labor and farm supply occupations. The shops especially have. proved a very valuable financial investment. The penitentiary is practically self-supporting in spite of the obstacles towards the best development of its industries encountered through inadequate appropriations and the lack of a capital fund. The industries proper are under the supervision of a general foreman. The principal occupations are brush and broom making, shoemaking, clothing, manufacturing of beds. The building containing most of these shops is about 250 feet by 32 feet with an extension 32 feet by 45 feet, the entire building being three stories high. Approximately 4co prisoners are employed at these industries. On the day of inspection they were distributed as follows: Pitch brush shop, 32 ft. by 35 ft., employing.. Brushes and corn broom, 31 ft. by 127 ft., employing. Tailoring, knitting, etc., 31 ft by 127 ft., employing Bed shop, 31 ft. by 127 ft., employing.... ་ 31 inmates 41 71 76 II 65 23 60 Cylinder brooms are made in a wooden shanty 26 ft. by 60 ft., employing 18 A complete gang sheet will give a picture of the employment of the inmates: Roads for Department of Public Charities. Roads for Department of Public Charities (cement). Bakery (the bakery supplies the whole Department of Correction with bread).. 36 46 9 The industries, approximately. The remainder is composed of barbers, runners, photographers, hospital helpers, occupants of punishment cells, new arrivals, discharges, bucket gang, etc. The number of officers is 99, divided as follows: The hours of keepers are arranged so that there are during the major part of the day approximately fifty on duty; ten keepers are on the night shift; between three and five are generally on vacation. All but the night keepers are on shifts somewhat as follows: Monday, all keepers arrive at 7 a. m.; two-thirds leave at 5 p. m. the same day; one-third at 5 p. m. of the next day; the one-third remaining over may retire at night but must be ready for call to duty. The next day the two-thirds that left Monday at 5 p. m. arrive at 7 a. m. Tuesday; one-third of them remain over until 5 p. m. Wednesday; the third that remained the day before and the final third leave at 5 p. m. Tuesday, and so on, so that in the six working days the complete shift has been made twice. Every keeper has one day in a month off and receives two weeks' vacation. The matrons' hours are for half of them from 7 a. m. until 5 p. m.; for the other half until 6:30 p. m. Night keepers and night matrons. are on duty from 6:30 p. m. to 6 a. m. In the opinion of the warden the addition of fifteen keepers, one clerk, one assistant foreman and one matron would make possible an eight-hour shift for all the employees. There is a hospital with a resident physician who holds a clinic daily at 11:30, but is required to be on duty all the time. The hospital has eight beds, but a possible accommodation of fifteen. The food is plentiful, wholesome, and well prepared. ONONDAGA COUNTY PENITENTIARY, JAMESVILLE INSPECTED AUGUST 21, 1913, 9:30 A. M. TO 3:00 P. M., BY E. R. CASS The penitentiary is under the supervision of John S. Markell, salary $2,cco a year and maintenance, and an assistant superintendent, Erwin J. Broad, $1,400 a year and maintenance; a Bertillon clerk, J. R. Higgs, $1,080 a year and maintenance; two chaplains, $250 a year each; a physician, $500 a year; twenty keepers, who begin at $51 a month, and at the end of three years receive as a maximum salary $70 a month and maintenance; three engineers, the chief engineer receiving $1,080 a year, the two assistants receiving. $900 a year each; there are four matrons, the chief matron receiving $500 a year and maintenance, and the assistants receiving $35 per month and maintenance. The penitentiary has accommodations for about 578 prisoners. Prisoners from fifteen other counties are kept in the penitentiary, the counties boarding the prisoners there at a rate of $2.30 per man per week. A section of the penitentiary is set aside for the detaining of men and women held for the grand jury, who are taken from the temporary place of detention in the city of Syracuse. On the day of inspection there were 368 men and 32 women serving sentence, twenty-five men were awaiting the action of the grand jury, one man was held as a witness, and there were two civil cases; 73 men of the 368 above mentioned were being kept in a road work camp about seven miles from the penitentiary. These men are kept in portable houses and move on as the work progresses. The penitentiary is a stone structure. The interior finish is of brick and cement, and the floors are of concrete except in some shops and parts of the administration building where there are wooden floors. The roof of the penitentiary is "A" shaped and covered with tin. The building is heated by steam, and lighted by electricity. It is well ventilated, with turrets erected on the roof of the cellhouses. The plumbing is open and modern and seems in good condition throughout. The water supply is taken from the town; the drainage is into a cesspool where the refuse undergoes a chemical treatment and finally drains into a creek. The buildings are practically fireproof and have iron, stone, concrete, and wooden stairways. The cellhouses are equipped with standpipes and hose connections. There is also a fire pump in the basement and a small equipment of fire apparatus on the grounds. There are water hydrants located on the premises about the buildings. The cellhouses run east and west, and are divided in the center by a building running north and south. The cellhouse on the west side is used entirely for men serving sentence. The divided cellblock in this section is 133 feet 9 inches by 27 feet 4 inches. The inside corridors are 3 feet 5 inches by 133 feet 9 inches. The outside |