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lit port oi Alm Committee «r t nr Illinois f-*S itlntnre on IJie l’Milleiitlarj-*The joint com mitt00 oil tbo Pcnllenllnry wouldpcctfli llv report lo Iho IIoiibo, that it lutin-here vlnlted tha I'cnltcntlnry nt: Alton, Mail non□minty, Illinois, on the 13th, 1-lili and loth d»y» of January, a. u. 1835, and mail on very thorough examination ol the inVjectB Intrusted to their In voitl gallon.Tho • prisoners, holli male and female, worofound (o be comfortably olothcd, and iibundnntlyfed ou good, well prepared and. wholeeome rood, as far as It could bo procured; and luudalile of-lorla wore made, under Hid direction or an able physician, to accommodate the eruno to the want* of Lite prisoners, and to llie arolilance of disease.The officers of Ltiu prieou liavo not been able, o* all limes during the past sensors, lo obtain a lull supply* of vegetable food, nad a few caoce ol scurry, of n mllil churnclsr, bnvo occurred among the prlianers; but every effort has been made by the proper officers to avoid anch a re-nult, in id no censure elimild fall upon those who Imre the nianngcineut or the prison, for tho presence of till* disease. A Tew of tha male prison-, era were con lined lo the hospital for ordinary diseases, anil one Casa of RmnlV-pox liod'oecnrred In n prlronur, in iVbom this dtxensc manifested Itself a few days after bis admission to the l’cni* lentlnry. This disease bad spfer/1 to three or our other prisoners, but every effort within tho power of tins officers had been tnriU to Isolate those who bad been -exposed to tho contogioDi and as its Bubjccts woro convalescing, It-was hoped the discoao had censed to eprond. Most of the prisoners enjoyed excellent' Usaitli, and freely deelsred themselves qullo aa well trenteil as they deserved, or bod a right lo expect. The mortality within the wall* U little greater than in tho ordinary walks of llfo. . \Thcro are one hundred and fifty, two cells in the I’enitontlary. Each cell measures thrco and one-lmli by Severn feet, and iBonly largo enough foruoo man. Thera terr now.more- tbim three, hundred end'forly prisoners, and tho officers are compelled to piece two men In anch coll. and to coniine more than forty men lo tbo hospital-during each night. The convenience and health of tho prisoners imperatively demand tbo iraaio-Uiato construction of at least ono hundred and Hfty new cells In the prison, uod tho committee respectfully and onrnostly recommend tbo pcoao-outing of such a work.The character of tho ground in the prison yard and the immense amount ol business transacted In it, render the yard almost Ini payable In wot weal her, and cause a commingling al the shops and materials wiMi the mud unavoidable; wbicb together mako a lllLor from cotnpouud prollIIo In thn generation of the onuses of diseaso. Tho commitico would, consequently, urge an appropriation ol Bvo thousand' dollars, to he applied in paving tbo most useful parts of tho said yard.Cases of insanity occur, from time to time, In the prison; and, aa no provision has baen mads, either for ihu comfort or medical treatment of such cases, the commuted would reeomtncr.d that such legislative provision be mad a us the olrettui-etancvB warrant. ■ ■- ■'No provision is made for the cars and par tun tlon of pregnant women in tho prison; but females in such condition are occasionally receivedjhere. Your committee feel that tbs innocent, offspring of guilty parents should not bo branded with tho disgrace of a blrtlx within Ilia panitcutinry wHb; yet WO do alsn feel that to obviate this by an appeal to executive olomeucy, la hut to offer a premium to sin and to afford a stimulus lo the commission af one crime, ao'tlio means ol escape from the consequences of ano'ther. -A chaplain is now employed to preach to.tlie prison era, at a salary entirely inadequate to the services which lie should perform, and,-os a consequence, the prisonern only enjoy an opportunity to hear one sermon in the Bpnco of from three lu five nooks. Tho prison can tains a population or about three hundred nnd filly convicts, who oro placed'wlllfin Its walls to be reformed la'htr than to be punished. These prisoners should on-tumble to hear at least ouo sermon every Sub-balh, and, ulao, for receiving Sabbath sahool instructions under Lite immediate direction and supervision of tho ciiaplafn, and the said chaplain should receive liberal compensation forhlsaer-' The pri on library is composed of a bitiuII and poor assortment ol antique hooka, which liave not been replenished within Uiu past two yours, although fifty dollars per annum uro allowed Tor the purchase of npproprialo works. Your committee would recommend Hint tha Bald appropriation ho incrna»ed to one hundred dollars per an num, and thaL It he made a part of tho duty of said chaplain to apply tbo amount .now due and tbo find hundred dollars ol llie annual approprla-tion now proposed, in procuring a suitnble library Tor tlio Penitentiary, and that ho he required thus annually In apply tho Bald one hundred dollar appropriation as It shall become due, I The committee would Btalo that deceased con-rlilok op- viola were formerly burled In ono corner ol tho UK to all prison yard; hut that any room for such purposeiy Mr. if yes*fiCUSS-of the res 41, repealJniou,; at the oek on 1)0 two j way-9 lo bo’obeeii iposcd; undc-officcrs on ao' Ittes.— im Olii• jbt, In jD Borne id that; almost Dio 21st a back oved.— ’1th tho us that* sould ho I rack at that no r the ill-ir exor !, It beWo linvc he the Principal Education of I by order of Hi a rcry satlsfai Institution, pile. Eleven are many b'.ir not enjoyed t Tlfe hmoun able for tho r part ycor wh dollars, all a about one the for the eusui twclve-thous (loicnt.The fan 11(111 bh sufficient I (ha Stnto, f( necessary to out-lmildlng in trod uced; grounds of The Trustee) which the In pll In the Ilti men Is, to o etructcd in t lecturing or of which be orablc and I the Trusted portnnt cndi The Prlnc prcfonts the tnlion, prelmark a:Tho con to p-’GS a lif nees, in bHI burden to t friends. AInstructionpraotico-!, and vacuit; accessory it erlion, and encourage help others We often li surprise an at tho nice UjIb, nad tlt; n monaton la lltcratn each day's large a hoi and all tbl they must the clock i business.''Tho Rep of being c and 11 It d does a grc fill to then and chucri tho world Thn Tn port, that BE pupils, receiving may. appl and assist crease Id more can penso to her. Is sup who havlt; benefited tho blind handiorai gea oltVro tho Instit be, evenIn the Instruct! the publi gratify Incctud tothat tho run, Icnice , ac'cor-^esturday i; and rt-tho ailcr-rctumcd in on Inal will hero-icretoforo. water in iouis; anil cder. We this muchfailed sumo time ngo, nnd that tho Interments of such prisoners have subsequently been mado in adjacent burial grounds. Now, however, all per-tairaion for such purposes has been unreservedly withdrawn. 11 it, thenfioro, important that the of uot less than anc hundrodliurchato of nouie two ncree o! ground; at a point ooiivvnlcnt'lo tho city of Alton, for a Penitentiary burial ground. Knowing that In many other States In this Union, tho bodies of nil cou-vicls who die In prison are given, by low, lo the medical faculties of Colleges, *ud fooling that those who ha vo been only acurae to their epeoles during llfo, should, II portaible, after death be bo dittposvd of as to coatrlbuto snmositittllbcuefit to the ottusu of anfl'erlng, living bnmunlly and the InluriiBlB of bcIcqoc, your committee rcspoollully, hut deliboiatoly, rooommend tho pssago of bucIi iv law an shall giro tho bodies of ftll couvictB who dimin the i'euUcntlnry, or Tenltentlstics 'of this State, nnd aro’not claimed for burial by the!'rrlenda, to tho Modioalfnoultlca of regulurly chartered Colleges In this State, as fur wfiuppllcallonjcrat, that iccurred at be amount transpired olhurn, at , was burnt machinery i are a totalatli convoy the town ol nm, .wbloh Among tbo containing itlmatod ati Jldvocait f Nash villa, ig-roam, on o time—her id although neighbor ta ally bur and r-four hours,echoal, c lociudini iH $031,/i to $57,{ $60,000, uet of $1 lands iu turns ba cceda ir $1,7-13,1 cat nma Interest among tpo rliit,money, paid by omount In nil tar dor scbool 1 42. Miv pnbMo i $438.9f but its licet th elilldru within' school, twolvn per bcU Tho an exponr New Y c-, U drcn u lathe fora hrshall bo made lor such bodies by. bM College faculties, ;Tha commitlce would reoommond tbo exten-siou'of EscCulivo clemenoy lu the'pardoning out of Hu'oli convlots- ae shall ho partioulwly rrcom-mended by thclnspeclorB, for good behaviour and ihdostry during their confinomont, an far as to have the pardoning prerogative of tho Govcrnnr exercised tn favor of such prlBouete ouo day, bc-laru the expiration-of their term of conrloHon, that they niitf IhUB retain Uia'Ttghta and prlvl-leges o( Oitliemhip, • BO .far M.they cnj.iycd the same hofori! scuteOOO. I •' -The Icrtn ol the prfsont lease will expire In about thrua and a lmlf yours from this time, aud thu Slnto will owe the leesoo about $12,000,— The Bald lessee desires to imvu the proaont loaee so far cxleoded as lo enable him thus lo rcceivu tho amount that will bu due him. Tbo committee does uot advise such axteueiim to bo mado atIn conoludtog this Report, the committee, ia view ol the facts that umro Ibun ouo-hall of tbo prisoners In tlm Penitentiary are jeoelved from Northuru Illinois, and that Luo location of Buid I'cnltonilnry at AlLun, above the city, Is considered- b nuisance by tho citizens ol Alton, earnestly reooinmend that preliminary ineiwurea be taken by Iho pceBeat Legislature, fur tbo cou-Blructiou of a l'enltontlary at some point in Northern Illinois,couat the eat at leur find -ilt; tho afi or $i, f the a frod ded ft —iiliI. . age, r oonstl ordln «houl twolvli.endWedifollovpuptlluallvedicomein one ohlhl is. lu lien-wed eu Llt;rwuy one to italn ono lo .uslrla one to uricen. . in l ono lo fifty.Illgil. I’ll00 III Wlit-nl.Mr. Cco. 1*. ITaut, of Iba Franklin mill# In this oily, as will ho seen by oar market report in another aolutnn, paid on Saturday $1 75 per bushel for r lot of elioico white wheat. This is the highest phco ever pufd iu this market,Tho diminished stock of grain at preBenton tho market, and tha prospect of navigation being eimpeudtnl for some tiiuu—together with favoru-blo Inlclllgcnca hum Now Orleana, have bad a teudency to pfoduca eouib imiirovoiuentln prices generally, here. Hut the lorogolng gbould.nut be (ukeu altogether as a criterion of the-tnBrkol by our country friends, as tho lot alluded to was exceedingly choice, *pd- tho peculiar condition ofIbd preachers u( ltoprescnt-ter deautnlno-Geo. Dodge, Ihnuiaml dot-Witheri, lire lavlugB lt;l( hit •rflo portion olWhen a man cntnea homo and . tries la bolt tho doorjwilb a aweet potato, pubes tho fire with llto spout of Iho coffea pot, altuinpte to wlQd up tha clock with hU'.bootjnck, tries to out kindling lur bla morning Ore with an ivory papar-balfo, takes q bohl putala in bis baud'to light Him to bed; utid prefers to sleep in Uls loots aud hut, you rosy reasonably tuft-r that ltd has Been making the aeiinainlauce oI bquiq very Iclcudly peo-
Newspaper Details
Alton Daily Telegraph
Alton, Illinois, US
Fri, Feb 09, 1855
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Hayner P.
IL, USA 08 Dec 2023
Other Publications Near Alton, Illinois
Alton Evening Telegraph
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