Marin County CA Archives History - Books .....History Of San Rafael Township, Part 2 1880
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Book Title: History Of Marin County

  On August 31, 1872, the certificate of incorporation of the Marin County Water
Company was filed, the object being to supply San Rafael with pure fresh water.
Capital stock, six hundred thousand dollars; principal place of business, San
Francisco. Trustees-W. T. Coleman, Charles Wayne, Charles Brenhan, J. Mora Moss,
and M. J. O'Connor. Up to the inauguration of this company the citizens of San
Rafael had been supplied with water from some natural springs just beyond the
north-east corner of the town and known as the old McCue springs, James McCue
having been the original proprietor, who sold them to W. T. Coleman, to whose
enterprise and energy San Rafael is indebted for a supply of excellent mountain
spring water. "The water is brought in pipes, and distributed through the town
the same as it is done in San Francisco, the fall being sufficient to carry it
to any desired upper story. But the supply-about forty thousand gallons per
day-is entirely inadequate to the demand, and to meet the urgent need of our
people in this respect the company have projected a new enterprise, which is to
furnish an excess of our utmost consumption. Mr. H. Schussler, the chief
engineer of the Marin County Water Company (as he is also of the Spring Valley
Company) has politely furnished us the particulars of the grand scheme now being
prosecuted for the benefit of our town. The water is to be taken from the
Lagunitas creek, the main reservoir being situated at its head waters, high up
in the foot-hills of Mount Tamalpais, and having a capacity of one hundred and
fifty million gallons, which can be doubled by simply raising the dam a few
feet. The distance from the main to the receiving reservoir in town will be six
miles-the first half mile will be flumed, and the remaining distance the water
will be brought in an eight inch pipe. Many people think it absurd to expect to
supply so great an amount of water through a pipe so small, but they probably
underestimate the virtue of the great fall the stream will have. The source of
this supply is at a greater altitude than, perhaps, any other water company
enjoys. The main reservoir is seven hundred and forty feet above high water
mark, and the fall is one hundred feet to the mile. The Spring Valley Company
has one reservoir seven hundred feet and another four hundred and thirty feet
above the sea line, but the fall from the former is but twelve feet, and from
the latter eight feet to the mile. They use pipe of thirty inches diameter. The
Croton water, the supply of New York city, has but seven to thirteen inches fall
per mile. The capacity of this eight-inch pipe, with its great descent will be
one million one hundred thousand gallons every twenty-four hours, though the
consumption of water here will not exceed one-tenth of that."

  The State's Prison at Point San Quentin had long needed a supply of water, for
hitherto all they used had to be "hauled" a distance of two miles. The Marin
County Water Company at once entered into a contract to furnish that
institution. The work was commenced without delay, and on December 23, 1872, two
months after the commencement of the undertaking, the fluid was introduced into
the establishment. The following excerpt from an article in the Alta California
gives a detailed account of the successful inauguration of the work:-

  "About noon last Monday, the water of the Marin County Water Company ran
successfully through the mouth of the pipes at San Quentin. The work was begun
last September by the Company, with W. T. Coleman, M. J. O'Connor, J. Mora Moss,
Charles J. Brenhan and Charles Mayne as trustees. The vigorous and successful
carrying out of the work has been mainly due to W. T. Coleman, Esq., the
President and chief stockholder of the company. The cost of the works at the
present time, labor, piping rights of way, etc., approximate to the sum of one
hundred thousand dollars. The source of supply from which the company obtains
its water is in the Lagunitas valley, the creek of that name, together with a
number of smaller tributaries, supplying the water. From the point of draining,
tubing, made of the best boiler iron, well riveted, has been laid a distance of
five and a, half miles to San Rafael. Here a branching off is made, and a
smaller pipe goes on for four miles to San Quentin. The first is eight, and the
second five and one-half inches in diameter.

  "When fully completed according to plan, there will be an earth-work dam
across the valley of two hundred and seventy-two feet, with a base of two
hundred feet and a height of fifty feet. From seventy to eighty acres of valley
will be drained, and, with the capacity of the pipes, about one million gallons
of water can be supplied daily to consumers. The fall is seven hundred and fifty
feet above tide-water. It is likewise intended to use the water from Cataract
gulch, which as yet has not been appropriated. The reservoir now used is ten
feet wide, with a depth of from ten to eighteen feet, and lined with puddled
clay. The course of the pipes is very irregular; there is a constant descent and
uprising, little if any of the pipe lying on level ground. The main reason of
this was to secure a short and direct route. This necessitated great vigilance
and caution when allowing the waters first to run through the tubing. On every
elevation the pipe had been tapped and air-cocks adjusted to the openings, and a
man was stationed in attendance on each one of them. Early Monday morning Mr.
Coleman, Mr. Stevens, his agent, Mr. Hunt, his secretary, an Alta special,
together with a force of men, started on horseback and in buggies for Lagunitas
valley. It was horrible traveling, the roads being slippery and dangerous, the
morning foggy, drizzling, cold and disagreeable. On arriving at the dam the
party dismounted. The men immediately set to work-a flying scout was first sent
along the line to see if the men were at their positions on the elevations.
During his absence about fifty sacks of saw-dust and bran were emptied into the
pipes. This was done that any small opening in the lengths might be rendered
water-tight. This particular manner of providing for small leaks has always been
found most successful. On the scout returning and importing "all right," the
gate was opened and, the water allowed slowly to enter. In a few minutes the
noise of the rush of the air through the cock began to be heard. It sounded loud
and piercing. One after another the various sections became filled with water
and commenced to project through the air-openings. At some of them where the
grade was heavy it rushed out to a height of from thirty to forty feet, and it
was with great difficulty that the caps could be secured on the openings. By ten
o'clock the water had reached San Rafael, and then diverging began its course
toward San Quentin. An air-cock having, by mistake, been kept shut at a point
half a mile beyond San Rafael, checked the flow for a short time, and seriously
endangered the success of the inauguration by the immense strain to which it
caused the piping to be subjected. The matter was, however, promptly attended
to, and the water continued its flow uninterruptedly, arriving in San Quentin,
back of the State Prison, at about half past twelve o'clock, and thus assuring
the complete success of the enterprise.

  "About sixty thousand gallons can be delivered for the use of the prison
daily. From the time that it was built there has always been an urgent demand
for a better and fuller supply of water in this institution. The Marin County
Water Works has now supplied this pressing need.

  "The prison will pay for its supply one thousand dollars a month. The company
expect, likewise, to receive from five hundred to six hundred dollars per month
from outside parties in San Rafael and San Quentin for supplying them with
water. Their monthly receipts will thus aggregate from one thousand five hundred
to one thousand six hundred dollars a month-giving one and five-tenths to one
and six-tenths per cent, on the investment. By next Summer they expect their
receipts to reach two thousand dollars per month, which, under the
circumstances, is but a low estimate.

  "With the completion of this work, San Rafael has made one more important step
toward the fullness of her prosperity. The enterprise has been well and
energetically carried forward, and now that she has an excellent supply of good
water, that great desideratum in the growth and success of any city, her
heartiest thanks are due to Wm. T. Coleman, who has borne so large a part of its
expense, and who has given much time, thought and work to its successful
accomplishment."

  The Marin Water Company is now almost an English institution, with J. B.
Walker, the senior partner of the British firm of Falkner, Bell & Co. of San
Francisco, as Chairman.

  On October 5, 1872, the Marin County Journal changed hands, the incoming
proprietor being S. F. Barstow, the present able editor and owner of that
periodical. During the second week in October of this year, the old adobe which
stood on Court House block, and long owned and occupied by Mrs. Merriner and her
sons, the Short brothers-the last relic of its class to be found in the town-was
pulled down to make way for fresh improvements, while on March 20,1873, the old
Liberty pole which stood on the former Court House block was felled: Of this
circumstance the Journal says:- "What changes have occurred since the stars and
stripes first floated on the breeze from that old pole! A new civilization has
come in, a new town grown up, another generation is now active here, and how
many sleep in the oblivion of the grave who rejoiced in life's vigor then! It
was no partisan staff. It was set in 1860 by some twenty-five hearty fellows who
went voluntarily out into the woods and cut it down, hauled it in and set it in
June of that year, that it might bear the American colors in the air on the
coming Fourth of July. How different the panorama it overlooked in '60 from that
it saw in '73. When it first looked east, Fourth street could only boast, on the
lower side, the corner building where McAllister and Austin now are, and
Barnard's stable, and on the upper side Bear's store, Day's and the Marin Hotel,
as they now are; while further east only the Saunders, Wilkins and Merrill's
(Mrs. Merriner's) homesteads met the view; north, the only houses were
Skidmore's and the present residence of Mrs. McCrea; south were McKenzie's,
McVanner's, a little skeleton of the Sheppard House, and a shanty where the
Bayview House now stands; while to the west the only structure or habitation
visible was the San Rafael Hotel, which still stands. The splendid County
Building, grand hotels, princely residences, manufactories, the railroad,
schools and churches, bank, the Journal office- all these and many more have
grown up in sight of the old pole. Two 'cities of the dead,' one on either hand,
have grown populous within its reign. Among the most familiar names of those who
have passed away we recall those of W. T. Parker, S. B. Harris, James Byas, Hans
Olsen, George Wilson, John Harris, Harry Williams, Frederick Rowe, Charles
Johnson, Manuel Sanchez, Gernade King and William Murphy. Among those who
thirteen years ago stood sponsors at the raising of the shaft, eight were
present at its fall last week, namely, U. M. Gordon, J. O. B. Short, Dan.
Taylor, William S. Hughes, A. C. McAllister, Judge Frink, Val. D. Doub and John
Reynolds. As we write, and while the air is still vibrant from the crash of the
old pole, the walls of a new building crowd against the spot where it stood, and
in a few more days it will pass out of mind, and rarely be recalled to memory."

  On March 16, 1872, the question of incorporation of San Rafael was first put
to the public, which was in the course of time carried and put into operation.
On December 5, 1874, the fire company met for organization, and the following
were elected officers:-James Tunstead, foreman; F. Hanna, Assistant Foreman; J.
A. Barney, Secretary; and Frank Welch, Steward, The subjoined names composed the
membership:-John Green, E. F. Kiler, S. H. Kiler, G. W. Woolfolk, James
Tunstead, L. H. Smith, Thomas C King, E. Eden, M. Coughran, A. C. McAllister,
George W. Davis, W. L. Barnard, J. S. Walsh, J. A. Barney,  Daniel T. Taylor,
Francis A. Hanna, William Murphy, James Dronan, James M. McMahon, Dennis Haley,
Richard Hennessy, Timothy Deasey and John Reynolds. The name adopted by the
company was San Rafael Hose Company, No. 1. In 1875 we find that the town was
first lit with gas. We conclude this historical summary with a record of death.

  The news of the sudden and unexpected death of Jerome A. Barney, which
occurred about eleven o'clock on Friday evening, the 31st of June, 1876, fell
like a shock upon the community, and produced a sadness and doom that have
rarely been equalled in this county. Mr. Barney was born in Newmarket, Maryland,
in 1834. He learned the printer's trade in Frederick, Maryland, when very young,
and worked in Washington and Baltimore a short time. In 1853 he came to San
Rafael, where his father had preceded him about three years. He was in business
with his father a portion of the time up to 1862, when he conceived the
publishing enterprise which resulted in establishing the Marin County Journal,
which paper he edited and published from its initial number until October, 1872,
when he sold out the paper, having been intimately connected with the history
and progress of the county, and made a multitude of friends. He was a man of
noble impulses and a warm heart, generous to a fault, outspoken in manner, and
persistent in whatever he undertook. His early death will leave a void in his
wide circle of friends that can never be filled. He was taken sick on the 15th
of June, and at the end of twelve days he was much better, and was thought to be
recovering; but soon after there were symptoms of dropsy of the heart, under
which he rapidly sank away. Mr. Barney had recently been proposed and elected a
member of Marin Lodge, No. 191, F. and A. M., and would have been fully received
in that fraternity at the next meeting of the Lodge. His funeral took place from
Masonic Hall, at ten o'clock on Sunday, and was one of the largest ever seen in
the town.

  We have spoken of the equability of the climate of San Rafael, and the
softness and purity of its air, peculiarities resulting from its local situation
and surroundings. It is said that the mercury rarely rises above eighty-five
degrees, or descends below forty-five, (for the ultra severity of the last
winter must not be taken into account). There is, it is believed, no other place
along the coast of which these meteorological facts can be predicated, and it is
these peculiarities, no doubt, that contribute to make the valley remarkable for
its healthfulness. But while the equability and salubrity of such a climate must
exercise a healing influence upon persons of impaired health, who seek this
locality with a view to the restoration of enfeebled physical energies, the
beauty of the valley and its surroundings may also lay claim to a share of the
healing process; for it is well known that scenes which charm the eye, and which
constantly gratify the innate sense of the beautiful, do much to give tone to
the feelings, and reach and influence the physical organism through the
pleasurable action of the imagination. It is a combination of such causes acting
upon the mind as well as upon the physical framework that makes the lovely
valley of San Rafael exercise so happy an agency in restoring diseased humanity.

EVENING IN SAN RAFAEL.

Within the circling arms of graceful hills 
The nestling ville sinks like a child to rest; 
In the still air, nights' low weird music thrills, 
And clouds like wool round Tamalpais' crest 
In knotted clusters gather, waft and cling.

The west, ere while with roses all aglow- 
Showered lightly on the sun's low sinking head, 
Is paling from it's rosiness to snow; 
The brooding hills their purple shadows spread; 
And to their cosy nests the wild birds wing.

And twilight, like a filmy veil soft thrown, 
By thoughtful mother o'er a sleeping child, 
In gossamer shadows gently wafting down, 
Wraps the white ville so quietsome and mild, 
And for a space sweet peace doth hold her own.

Then stirs the slumbrous air, like muffled blows,
The home-bound ferry's patient rhymeful beat,
As through the drowsy bay she bravely plows,
Flying the city's din with movement fleet,
To where the mountain flowers breathe fragrance sweet.

All bustle quiets as the moon climbs high, 
Threading the glittering maze of shy, sweet stars; 
The golden fadeless flowers of the sky- 
And stripes the placid earth with silver bars, 
And on the ville a silver veil doth throw.


The air is heavy with the breath of flowers, 
And spicy scent of pinewoods from the hill. 
No sound disturbs the midnight's sacred hours 
Save a lone night bird's mournful trill, a trill 
Trembling through the stillness, sweet and low.
                            MARIA E. SUTHERLAND.

  POINT SAN PEDRO.-Point San Pedro is reached from San Rafael by a hard, smooth
road, which affords an exceedingly agreeable drive of a half hour's duration,
presenting several charming views of the bay, and many interesting landscapes.
The road skirts along San Francisco bay for some distance, then turning
northward, leads to the shore of San Pablo bay. Thence a high bluff turns it
back into the fields, and you soon come in sight of Mr. Bullis' residence. Just
up in front of the latter you hitch your team to a fence, and a walk of two or
three hundred yards brings you upon the scene of the fishing grounds of Point
San Pedro. This industry is entirely in the hands of Chinamen, who conduct a
very extensive business, employing upwards of two hundred and twenty-five men.
The land occupied by the fishermen is owned by McNear &  Bro., and leased to Mr.
Richard Bullis for one thousand dollars a year, and by him leased to the
Chinamen for nearly three thousand dollars. From ten to fifteen acres are
occupied, the shore line serving for houses, boat building, shipping, etc., and
the side hill for drying the fish, and preparing them for market. Shrimps
constitute the principal catch, and of these from twenty to thirty tons per week
are taken. The shrimps are dried on the hillsides, threshed, a la Chinois, to
get-off the hull, winnowed through a hand mill, and sent to market. The fish
sell for eight to fourteen cents per pound in the San Francisco market, at
wholesale, and the hulls are shipped to China, and sold for manure, where they
bring twenty dollars per ton, affording a profit over all expenses of five
dollars. It is said to be an excellent fertilizer. Other kinds of fish are taken
in great quantities, as flounders, perch; etc., and some of which are used only
for dressing soil. The stakes to which the fishers attach their nets extend out
into the bay a mile or more. There are thirty-two houses on the beach, and more
all the time building. Two boats are now on the ways, one forty feet long, and
the other thirty. Nine hundred cords of wood have been used this season, which
they buy in Redwood City, and ship themselves to their fishing grounds. Captain
Bullis makes a weekly trip to the city with a cargo, the law requiring a white
captain on a forty-foot craft.

  ROSS LANDING.-This is the point from which is shipped the greater portion of
cord-wood cut in this vicinity. During the busy season a number of vessels
ranging from ten to fifty tons carrying capacity may be seen daily unloading at
the Embarcadero, or taking in freight for San Francisco. The town contains some
thirty or forty houses, the several industries peculiar to interior villages
being found. It is situated about three miles from San Rafael, the road to which
is one of the most charming drives in the district.

  POINT SAN QUENTIN.-General M. G. Vallejo, whose intimate acquaintance with the
earliest California history is so well known, says that the origin of this name
is as follows: "The great Indian Chief Marin, after whom the county is named,
being, in 1824, very closely pursued by Lieutenant Ignacio Martinez and
Sub-Lieutenant Jose Sanchez, who had under their command, beside their troops,
the celebrated Marcelo, Chief of the tribes of Cholgones and Bolgones (tribes
living at Mount Diablo), sought refuge in the little islands lying near the
entrance of the creek known under the name of Estero de San Rafael de Aguanni.
These islands were forthwith surrounded by rafts managed by friendly Indians;
but the Mexican officers, not having a sufficient force to justify their setting
foot on the land, and being apprehensive that Marin's friends and allies might
cut off their retreat, raised the siege and repaired to the 'Punta de Quintin,'
where they met with an equally-strong, resistance from Captain Quintin, Marin's
Sub-Chief, and a brave daring warrior.

  "Lieutenant Martinez, although his force was inferior in number to that of the
enemy, joined battle with the forces of Quintin, and being favored by fortune
captured that Chief. The prisoner was taken to San Francisco and detained two
years, at the end of which he was set at liberty, there being no longer any
doubt that the whites could rely on his promises.

  "Quintin was a good sailor, and during his detention was employed by the
missionary Fathers of the Mission Dolores as skipper of one of the lighters
trading in the bay. Fifteen years later, at the recommendation of Solano and
Marcelo, who had given me their guarantee of his good behavior, I placed him in
charge of my best lighter, which was engaged in making trips between Sonoma
creek (Estero de Sonoma) and the port of Yerba Buena, now known as San Francisco.

  "The spot in which the struggle occurred, with such a happy termination for
the whites, between Lieutenant Martinez' troops and Quintin's Indians, was,
after the capture of the red chief, known as 'Punta de Quintin' (Quintin's
Point); but it was reserved for the North Americans to change the name of that
place, and to call it 'Punta de San Quentin.' I believe that the change may be
attributed to the fact that a large number of them arrived in California under
the belief that the inhabitants of this country were very zealous Catholics, and
desiring to gain their good-will added San (Saint) before the towns or villages
that they visited. I remember having heard on different occasions 'Santa
Sonoma,' 'San Branciforte,' and 'San Monterey,' and, pursuant to this custom,
they added San to Quentin.
                                                 "M. G. VALLEJO.
        "Sonoma, October 30, 1874."

  Point San Quentin is now notorious throughout the length and breadth of
California as being the location of the State Prison. In the country the
prisoner is sent to "San Quentin;" in San Francisco civic crime has softened it
into "across the bay." When it was first adopted as the locality whereon to
plant the penitentiary we have not been able to gather, neither have we been
successful in tracing much of its past history-fortunately so, perhaps.

  THE STATE PRISON.-The prison is situated on the neck of land known as above
stated; borders on the Bay of San Francisco, and is distant from that city about
twelve miles. The land belonging to the State consists of about one hundred and
thirty acres, but with the exception of the part occupied by the buildings and
yards, five or six acres cultivated as a garden and the brickyard, it is of
little value save for pasturage, and in past years furnishing clay for making
bricks, but which is now exhausted for that purpose, brick-making in former
years giving employment to a large number of prisoners.

  The prison grounds proper, enclosed by a wall, contain about six acres. The
wall is about twenty feet in height, the lower half being built of stone and the
upper of brick, which portion being in a state of disintegration. This wall
extends about five hundred and fifty feet from east to west, and about four
hundred and ninety feet from north to south. The buildings are as follows: one
fifty by twenty-five feet (outside the walls), occupied by the clerk and
commissary of the prison as offices in the upper story, the basement being used
as a butcher's shop and storeroom; a three-story building, fifty-four by forty
feet, occupied by some of the officers of the prison, and the prison physician
and family. On the south side, and adjoining this building, is the main entrance
to the prison, through an archway in the wall, closed on the inside and outside
with an iron gate. Adjoining this is the kitchen, dining-room for officers and
guards, in a one-story brick building, sixty by twenty feet, made of brick of
very poor quality, and which, together with the building first above mentioned,
will serve but a few years, and will have to be rebuilt of more substantial
material.

  The buildings in the yard consist: First, one two stories high, forty by
twenty feet, built of brick of a poor quality, the lower story being occupied as
offices by the warden and turnkey, the upper story being used as a female prison
and a store room for clothing. Adjoining the building on the rear is a yard in
which the female prisoners are occasionally allowed to walk; second, the
wash-house, two stories high, the upper story being used as a hospital, the
lower for hospital, kitchen and lock-up-a room mostly used for convalescent
patients. In the basement is the dungeon of the prison, which contains fourteen
cells, seven on each side of the passage way, each cell eleven and a half by six
feet, and nine feet high; near the entrance to the dungeon stands the whipping
post. Third, a workshop, two stories high, one hundred and fifty-nine by eighty
feet. Fourth, three buildings containing cells situated parallel to each other,
two of which are one hundred and seventy-four by twenty-three feet, and contain
four hundred and twenty cells, each eight feet long, four feet wide, and six and
a half feet high, each cell being furnished with a bunk, two pair of blankets, a
straw tick and such other articles as the prisoner can procure. The third
building is one hundred and eighty by twenty-eight feet, two stories, the lower
one being divided into seven rooms, each occupying the full width of the
building. The upper story contains forty-eight cells, each ten feet long, six
feet wide and eight feet high. This is the only stone building on the premises,
all the other buildings inside the walls being of brick.

  For further particulars about the working of the prison, we would refer the
reader to the following exhaustive reports of the Resident Warden, the Moral
Instructor and Surgeon and Physician for the year ending June 30, 1879:-

  Report of the Resident Director.-Since my last biennial report many much
needed improvements have been made, which will be mentioned hereafter under the
appropriate heading and in detail. It is one of the favorable signs of the times
that recently a great interest seems to have been awakened upon the subject of
prison management in general. Public men and newspapers have shown an unusual
interest in the matter of prison management and discipline, until, I believe,
every known system has found warm and earnest advocates. Hence, a few words from
me on the subject may be pardonable, not by way of defence of my own management,
for in this regard I have nothing to boast of. I do point with some
satisfaction, however, to the fact that we have made a great reduction in the
running expenses of the prison in the last two years. And for the quarter since
July 1st of the present year, although not properly belonging to this report, we
have made this the cheapest congregate prison (except three) in the United
States, the daily cost per capita being only thirty-two cents and eight mills,
as will be seen ~by reference to the proper table. With the system here in
general I of course have had no power to deal, that depending in a great measure
upon the style of the buildings and the number of prisoners. Still, we have made
very many reforms in the last two years, and, but for a defection in the cell
buildings and want of room, would have to-day exactly the present New York
system. To enable us to adopt that system entirely we must have cell room
sufficient to prevent the doubling up of prisoners. Each prisoner must have his
separate cell, and the law must authorize his confinement therein for a time at
least, with or without work, when he first enters, or at any other time for that
matter, in the discretion of the management. The adoption of the new
Constitution, which goes into effect on the 1st day of January, 1880, places the
management under a permanent board of officers. This accords with the views I
expressed in my last report, and will enable the prisons of this State to be
brought up abreast with the best institutions of the kind in the United States.
In fact, with a permanent Board of Directors and a permanent Warden, and a cell
for each prisoner, there is no reason why this may not become a model
institution. As soon as the Folsom Prison is opened, which may be at any time
after the 1st of January next, a trifling outlay of money will prepare the
necessary room to place each prisoner in a cell by himself. When we have
accomplished so much, and inaugurated the new system, which we may do by
transferring five hundred prisoners to the new Penitentiary at Folsom, ours may
then rank among the highest and best institutions for the suppression of crime
and the reformation of criminals. To show that our system will then be in
harmony with the best prisons of the world, I deem it not out of place here to
give a brief description of the prevailing systems in different countries; not
that you, gentlemen, to whom this report is addressed, need or require anything
of the kind, for you have made this subject a study, but for the benefit of each
members of the next Legislature as desire to take part in shaping the new
system, and who, from their occupations in life, have been prevented from
acquiring any knowledge upon the subject. Prison systems of the world, taken
from the latest accessible reports and papers, are as follows:- 

  Austria has several prisons, but as they are not all built alike, she
necessarily has different systems; however, until quite recently, the associate
system alone prevailed. But all the new prisons, built since 1867, have been
arranged so as to be both cellular and associate, like ours. It is provided by
law, that every two days passed in cellular confinement shall count as three
days on the sentence, and that no prisoner shall serve more than three years in
cellular confinement. Retired prison officers are pensioned by the government.

  Belgium has eighteen prisons, mostly cellular, that system having the sanction
of her ablest men. However, in the Belgium prisons, each prisoner is treated
somewhat in accordance with his general character and deportment. Retired prison
officers are pensioned by the government.

  Denmark has a mixed system of imprisonments, her jails being used largely for
criminals guilty of the lighter offenses. All criminals sentenced to labor in
the State Prison are not treated by the same rules under the same system. Those
sentenced from two years to life are under what is here known as the Auburn
system. There are four penitentiaries in Denmark, three on the congregate system
and one on the cellular.

  France has a great variety of penal institutions, but three of them
corresponding to anything in this country. The central prisons, like our
penitentaries; the departmental, like our jails; institutions for correctional
education, like our houses of correction and reform schools. The cellular system
is not in use, but the congregate. Pensions are paid to retired prison officers.

  The German Empire has a mixed system of prisons. Baden, a department of the
Empire, has a system partially congregate and partially cellular, but no
prisoners can be separately confined for a longer time than three years. Upon
retirement prison officers are pensioned.

  Bavaria has four cellular prisons, one for the punishment of criminals, the
others for the safe-keeping of prisoners awaiting trial. All the other prisons
of the Kingdom are on the congregate system. Retired officers are pensioned by
the government. In Prussia there are forty-seven prisons properly speaking, but
one of which is organized on the cellular plan. The cellular system is new in
Prussia, but it is claimed that no appreciable difference exists, so far as the
reformation of criminals is concerned; but that other benefits may and do result
from the cellular system which could never be attained by the congregate. The
government pays pensions to retired prison officers. In Saxony, where the best
results have been secured, the system is a mixed one. There each prisoner is
treated to just what his case is supposed to require. He is treated under the
cellular system, the congregate, made a trusty, or given a ticket of leave to
spend a time with his friends and family, as the authorities think just to him
and safe to the State. Saxony has eleven prisons where this system prevails, and
with the best results. In Wurtemberg the congregate system prevails, with common
dormitories, except the prison at Heilbron, where a trial is about to be made of
the cellular system. Generally throughout the German Empire the congregate
system prevails, Italy, like Germany, has that diversity in prison system which
naturally results from the combining of many sections under one rule. The Tuscan
Provinces have the cellular system. I believe the Neapolitan, Sicilian, and
others, have the Auburn system. The best reports are that the government is
making efforts towards a unification of systems, but upon what plan I do not
know. At the last report, the prisons of Italy were classed by Mr. Wines thus:
Two on the system of isolation and partly association; five on the Auburn plan;
two partly on the Auburn plan and partly on the community plan; and forty-five
on the community system. Retired officers are paid pensions.

  Mexico has but few penitentiaries-all on the cellular system. All other
prisons are on the plan of association.

  The Netherlands have a system of cellular and association, but no prisoner
shall be confined in a cell longer than two years. Retired officers are
pensioned by the government.

  Norway has a mixed system, partly associate and partly separate. Retired
officers are pensioned by the government.

  Russia has a mixed system, but cellular imprisonment for long terms is
forbidden by law. The system in Russia is supposed to be bad, and the management
generally worse. Retired officers are pensioned by the government.

  Switzerland has mainly the Crofton or Irish system. The congregate system also
prevails, but efforts are being made to adopt the cellular of nights. The report
of Mr. Wines states: There is a general agreement that the system of association
is favorable to industrial labor, and not unfavorable to discipline, but that
when extended to the dormitories as well as the workshops it is obstructive to
the moral education of the prisoners. Pensions are paid to retired officers by
the government.

  Sweden has a mixed system of prisons, cellular and congregate, but it is
making efforts to adopt, the Crofton plan. Sweden pays pensions to her retired
prison officers.

  In the American States, it is said our first steps were taken in the matter of
prison reform in Philadelphia, in 1784, when the old Walnut Street Prison was
built, and that the first organized effort was made in 1787 by Dr. Franklin and
others. The oldest penitentiary is at Charlestown, Massachusetts, began in 1800
and completed for the reception of prisoners in 1805. Fifty years and more ago a
heated controversy was carried on by some of our most distinguished statesmen of
that time, as to the best system for penitentiaries. Two systems had strong and
able advocates; one was called the Pennsylvania system, the other the New York
system. The New York system adopted at Sing Sing and at Auburn was the
congregate, with separate cells for prisoners at nights. The Pennsylvania
system, adopted at Philadelphia and Pittsburg, was the cellular and isolation.
Several other States adopted the Pennsylvania system, but all have now abandoned
it, and in fact it has long since been abandoned at Pittsburg, so that the
system now prevails in but one American prison, and but few in the world. The
system has been condemned by every able and enlightened statesman who has
studied the subject, for the last twenty years, and has been finally abandoned
in this country and in most all the nations of Europe.

  The Crofton or Irish system commends itself generally to students and prison
managers throughout the civilized nations. This is but a liberal trusty system.
The next in rank, and in the main like it, is the New York system, now being
adopted in all the new American prisons, where it can be done without too much
cost. In my opinion, the New York system is free from many objections which may
be urged against the Crofton. For instance, the free association of prisoners,
which must take place at some stage of the imprisonment under that system, is
certain to prove destructive of all the good and repressive effects of
isolation. The most learned and laborious association for the prevention and
cure of crime in the world-the Howard Association of England-has lately assailed
that system, and not only denounced Spike Island but Mountjoy-Dublin
Penitentiary-as well, for the reason, mainly, that a free association of
prisoners is certain to breed plots and plans for mischief after discharge; and
also, because such association begets a feeling of home attachment for the
prison, to which the prisoner returns in many cases without regret. This sort of
association here is doubtless the cause of hundreds of returns to the prison,
and of course of the commission of hundreds of crimes. In a recent communication
of a committee of the Howards to the Home Secretary I find these remarks: "The
due separation of prisoners from each other only is an essential feature of a
wise and efficient treatment, but mere solitude is unnatural and pernicious. It
is neither wise nor merciful. Prisoners, when separated from evil companionship,
should be necessarily brought under the influence of good intercourse, both from
within and without." In this short paragraph lays the foundation of the best
economy, the most humane treatment of convicts, and the best repressive and
reformatory methods possible at any penitentiary. These principles may be
carried out here, after the new prison is opened, and the number here reduced to
one thousand, by an outlay not to exceed ten thousand dollars in enlarging the
cell room.

  Were I asked to suggest the very best plan for the prevention of crime, I
would advise the closing of drinking-houses, and the absolute solitude of
prisoners. But the freedom-loving citizen of this country will not be restricted
in his right to buy, sell, and use alcoholic liquors, nor will the humanity of
the age permit such brutalizing of the convict. Were I asked then to suggest a
plan alike just to the public and to the convict, I would say keep the convict
in a cell to himself, make him work, use every means to teach him the benefits
of honesty and morality by placing him in contact with honest and moral people
from within and from without. We should consider no man wholly and entirely bad,
even though he be a convict, and that every man has within him a germ of
goodness which is capable of illimitable expansion. In this age of advancement,
when men of every other calling have reached to almost human perfection, it is
strange that the moral and religious cultivation has made so little out of this
seed of goodness, this germ of the godly principal in man! Whatever may be the
cause of the fearful increase of crime now noticeable everywhere, it is anyhow a
public duty we all owe to the State to save and cultivate all the good we find
in rand among prisoners, and to this end we should use such methods as justice
and humanity may dictate. We should not strain after original systems or violent
remedies for the management of criminals or the repression of crime, but we
should keep up with the spirit of the age, and thereby show ourselves as capable
and as kind in these matters as any other people. I make these remarks because
the agitation in the State over the question of prison reform, although good as
indicating a proper interest in the subject, is liable to bring to the surface
many radical reformers, who would, in their zeal for the .protection of the
public, entirely forget the claims of the unfortunate and the criminal. It is a
curious fact that right in the home of prison xeform, and in the center of our
civilization where the question of prison reform has been most agitated, the
number of convicted criminals in proportion to the population greatly exceeds
that of any other part of our country. I allude to New York and Massachusetts.
This proves one of two things, either that the teachings of our best moral codes
are conducive of crime, or that too much agitation of the prison question is not
good. For more than one hundred years this great question has been a constant
theme of discourse by divines and by statesman, and what has been accomplished?
The religious sentiment has been steadily on the increase, civilization has been
taking higher grounds, the moral sentiment of the world seems to have constantly
improved, yet crime has in no sense been diminished. Since the days of John
Howard, who gave the years of his life between 1770 and 1790 for the relief of
suffering criminals, and the improvement of prison life in England, there has
been a constant increase of crime in all the Christian nations. Burke says of
this great philanthropist: "He visited all Europe, not to survey the
sumptuousness of palaces or the stateliness of temples; not to make accurate
measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of the
curiosity of modern art; not to collect manuscripts, but to dive into the depths
of dungeons; to plunge into the infection of hospitals; to survey the mansions
of sorrow and pain; to take the dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt;
to remember the forgotten; to attend the neglected; to visit the forsaken, and
to compare the distress of all men in all countries." What a glorious cause he
served! Yet it must be confessed that for the general good of the nations, the
setting in motion of the humanitarian and philanthropic views of Howard has
brought nothing but bad fruit. The benefits have all been on the side of the
criminal.' The agitation once having been started, the subject being so full of
tenderness and even grandeur, naturally enlisted the most eloquent divines and
.statesmen. So that fifty years ago the excitement seemed to have culminated.
Commissions were almost everywhere raised to investigate the subject of prison
reform. Commissioners were sent here from foreign countries, and our own
greatest men of all classes set to work in investigating, writing, and speaking
upon the subject. And this was natural, as long as the people were interested,
for eloquence always selects man's wrongs, misfortunes, and abuses, as the best
themes for riotous declamation. As long as this excitement kept up to fever
heat, crime increased in the country. Finally a lull came in the agitation, and
with it a lagging of the increasing current of crime. In 1872 the eloquence, and
the charity, and the sentimentality of the United States again broke out with
intense violence upon the subject. They seemed to be and they were, determined
to reform the prisoner, and prevent the commission of crime. All the nations of
Christendom were seized with a spasm of intense brotherly love for the poor
unfortunate criminal. They met in London in 1872, and their great divines and
statesmen made speeches and wrote essays. Then, again, they met last year in
Stockholm, and did it all over again, in the most fervent manner. All over the
United States we have founded prison associations for the relief of the
criminal, and we have held State and Federal Congresses for the same purpose,
and what has it amounted to? It has made prison life easier-it has made it easy.
It has made crime, as a career, quite respectable in the eyes of very many. It
has more than doubled the criminal element of the Christian nations in the short
space of seven years. It has more than trebled the number of convicts in some of
our American States within that time. It has increased our number of convicts
from sixteen thousand to about thirty-five thousand, and gives us over sixty
thousand criminals in the United States. The convict should be protected in all
his rights as a convict, but it should never be forgotten for one moment that he
has forfeited every other right, and he should never be permitted to forget
those things. If there is ever to be any deterrent effect in the imprisonment of
the convict it will be when the outside world looks upon him with loathing and
with horror, and when the convict lives a life of humility and obedience,
recognizing fully his loss, and that of the State, by his crime and imprisonment.

  In concluding this part of my report I beg leave to summarize the foregoing. 
  I would-

  First, Give to each prisoner absolute seclusion of nights.

  Second, Would confine him to his cell alone for at least a short time upon his
arrival at the prison, and would authorize his separate confinement at any time
thereafter, in the discretion of the management, subject only to a reasonable
restriction as to length of time.

  Third, Would make him work when possible.

  Fourth, Would give him free intercourse with the good, whether reformed
prisoners or outsiders, but would prohibit general visitation as at present
practiced.

  Fifth, Would encourage the "trusty" system by the constant advancement of good
and reliable prisoners, and would carry it to the full extent, in rare and
important eases, of allowing prisoners to leave the prison and visit their
friends and relations.

  Sixth, Would have as near silence as possible in marching, in the dining-room,
and in the workshops; but prisoners should at all times be allowed to make known
their grievances.

  Seventh, Would continue the "Goodwin" or good "Copper" bill.

  Eighth, Would advise the Legislature to devise some plan for the equalization
of sentences.

  Ninth, Would use the pardoning power ten times to where it is now used once;
would not use it absolutely, but conditionally. The Governor may impose any
condition he pleases; he may confine one man to the limits of a particular town;
another to a particular township; another to a county, or to a farm, or he may
send him out of the State or the United States, or he may pardon him upon
condition that he pay a sum of money for the support of the prison, or that he
furnish beef for the prison for a given time.

  There are at least one hundred prisoners here who ought, in my judgment, to be
pardoned, and there are at least two hundred more serving excessive, unheard of,
and inhuman sentences. Then, again, there are at least two hundred prisoners
here, under short sentences, who should either have been sent for life or long
terms.

  Official Force.-As will be seen by reference to the Clerk's table, giving list
and rank of officers, we have been compelled to make an increase of five in the
guard force. This was made necessary by the increased number of prisoners, and
the extra hazard of working a large gang of men on the hills some distance from
the prison. We found it absolutely necessary to employ a competent book-keeper
as Assistant Commissary, or Commissary's Clerk, and also to appoint a Moral
Instructor. Of the force in general too inch cannot be said in their praise for
watchfulness and uniform fidelity to their trusts. The officers, one and all,
have been true and devoted, and are entitled to the highest commendation for
their fidelity to the service.

  The Brick-Yard.-The making of brick has not been carried on this season, and
never can be again, unless land is purchased in the neighborhood from which the
requisite quality of clay can be obtained. Since my last report we have made
about six million five hundred thousand brick, to which should be added two
million on hand at the end of the burning season of 1877, making eight million
five hundred thousand. The cost of the two burning seasons, 1877 and 1878, have
to be taken together from July 1, 1877, making a total, mostly for fuel, of
twenty-four thousand four hundred and one dollars and twenty-five cents, as may
be seen by reference to Table Fifteen. By reference to Table Thirteen, it* will
be seen that the income from the sale of brick amounted to eighteen thousand one
hundred and one dollars and sixteen cents. There are yet owing to the State
several uncollected balances for the sale of brick, all of which I hope to
collect before my term of office expires. It will be impossible to give anything
more than an approximate estimate of the brick used here in the various
buildings and other improvements. Relying upon the best method of computation,
it being impossible, the way the buildings and improvements were made, to keep
an exact account, I estimate the number of brick used at four million. We have
on hand about one million five hundred thousand, perhaps more. The balance have
been sold, mostly for seven dollars per thousand; some, however, at seven
dollars and twenty-five cents per thousand.

  Buildings and Other Improvements.--That a full and complete understanding may
be had on the subject, the Clerk has re tabulated that part of our last report
coming under the head of "Building Fund Expenditures." To this we place, in
tabulated form, our expenditures for other buildings since constructed. The
recapitulation, marked "Table One," of buildings, shows that we have expended
two hundred and twelve thousand five hundred and nine dollars and twenty-five
cents for all buildings, and what they are. "Table Two," of buildings, specifies
in detail the expenditures. From these tables it will be seen that we have used
twelve thousand five hundred and six dollars and twenty-five cents from the
General Fund for these absolutely necessary buildings. Since the last report we
have put up a cell-building, containing two hundred and four iron cells, at a
cost of forty-one thousand two hundred and nineteen dollars and ninety-three
cents. The items of cost will be found specified in "Table Two," above
mentioned. We have also erected a building for library, school-room and chapel,
two shop-rooms, kitchen and dining-room, all in one, at a cost of ten thousand
four hundred and twelve dollars and ninety-two cents. The part of the building
used as a dining-room is about three hundred feet long, forty feet wide, and one
story high. The other part of the building used for kitchen, shop-rooms, chapel,
library, and school-room, is about eighty feet long, forty feet wide, and three
stories high. We have also erected a building for a clerk's office and
store-room, at a cost of four thousand five hundred and eighty-two dollars and
seventy-four cents, which is two stories high, and about forty feet square. We
have also erected a drying-house next to the boiler-building, forty feet long,
twenty feet wide, and one story high; also an addition to the boiler-house for
the storage of fuel, about thirty feet square, and one story high; also a small
building. one story high, thirty by twenty feet, at the lower door of the north
shop, for the use of heavy machines. The cost of these last buildings have gone
into the "General Improvement Account," as there was but little new material,
other than brick, lime, and sand, used in their construction. In addition to
these improvements, the hill in front of the commissary department, and looking
down towards the front gate from the guns, has been cut down, and a heavy brick
wall has been erected at the foot, and a terrace wall on top of the hill. This
Summer we have built, or rather excavated, a large reservoir on the top of the
hill, north of the Prison. It is about two hundred feet above or higher than the
lower floor of the shop buildings, and will hold about three million gallons of
water. The excavation and cutting down of the hill required the removal of about
one million seven hundred thousand cubic yards of earth and rock-mostly soft
rock. Table Four, of Clerk's report, will show the amount expended on this
important work up to the 1st of July, 1879, to be but one hundred and thirty
dollars. The expenditures since that date will properly go into the report of my
successor. But I may state that up to the 1st of October, 1879, the whole sum
paid out amounted to five thousand and seventy-five dollars and five cents. The
whole cost of the work (it is now completed, but all the bills are not in), will
be about nine thousand dollars, besides the brick used. The number of brick used
in its construction was about one million one hundred thousand; the quantity of
cement, one thousand eight hundred barrels, and over all a heavy coating of
asphaltum, so that it is as well and strongly lined as possible. I estimate the
number of bricks used in all these improvements at about four million. We have
been engaged for the last seven months in sinking an artesian well, and have it
down now, at this writing (October 31st), to a depth of seven hundred and
fifty-five feet. Our contract with the well-borers was to pay them six dollars
per foot. We can only express a hope that we may strike water; if so, it would
almost repay any outlay. Up to July 1, 1879, this work had cost two thousand and
thirty-seven dollars and one cent. With our present storage capacity for water,
and with the piping and other appliances we have for fighting fire, we may feel
perfectly safe from that destroying element in the future. That is, we may if we
keep a full supply of water on hand. The Marin County Water Company have
furnished us, as indicated by their meter, something over eighty thousand
gallons per day. For the excess over eighty thousand gallons per day they claim
compensation, their bill amounting to nearly two thousand dollars for the two
years ending July 1st, 1879. A majority of the Board of Directors, they alone
having authority to audit bills, have felt disinclined to allow anything for the
excess, so the matter still remains unsettled. The company measure all the water
sent here into our reservoir, through their meter, and charge it to us. They,
however, have very many small customers for water, to whom they sell, fixing
their own price and collecting as they please. These customers take the water
from our reservoir, through our pipes, and in quantities to suit themselves.

  I have been at all times willing to pay the excess whenever I could know its
quantity after deducting the amount drawn off by the company's customers. As
this is an impossibility, or nearly so, I would suggest some other arrangement
be made, satisfactory to both parties if possible. Whilst I have been willing at
all times to make an effort to come to some understanding upon the question, my
associates on the Board have been unwilling-to do anything more for the Water
Company than we are now doing. I would advise that the Water Company be required
to use the small reservoir on the hill for their other customers, and that in
the future they be not-allowed to take water from ours, as we will henceforth
draw from the new reservoir alone. It was gross official neglect, and a great
misfortune, that made it necessary for the State to pay one thousand dollars per
month for water for use at a public institution located in the country. The
Prison should not be at the mercy of any company; should not be in a position to
suffer from the caprice or avarice of anybody, but should have water attached to
the place as a part of the State's property.

  Financial Statement.-For a complete financial statement I refer to the report
of the Clerk.

    NOTE.-These tables have been found too voluminous for production in these
pages, besides they are not absolutely necessary as aids to the reader.

Table One-Monthly cash receipts.    Total $940,790.30.

Table Two-Monthly disbursements.    Total $940,186.29.

  These sums are doubled in this way, as will hereafter appear: Money or
warrants received are charged as receipts; when deposited in bank it is credited
as disbursements; when drawn out it is again charged as "cash received," and
when paid out is again credited as disbursements; so that the sum appears twice
as great as it actually is.

  Table Three-Shows the sources of all receipts, and the amount.

  Table Four-Shows for what purpose money was disbursed, and the sum to each
item in the list of expenditures. Reference is respectfully made to the note at
the foot of this table. It has been a custom to allow the officers five dollars
per week in lieu of their board. Many who have families avail themselves of this
privilege. Many guards and employes fail to draw their pay regularly from the
pay-roll; in such cases the sums are carried to a separate ledger account.

  Table Five-Is a recapitulation of cash transactions from July 1, 1877, to June
30, 1879, inclusive.

  On hand at the date first above given, $1,068.37; received from all sources,
$940,789.30; total, $941,857.67; disbursed, $940,186.29; amount on hand on the
1st July, 1879, $1,671.38.

  Table Six-Gives monthly the sums received for merchandise sold, with the
aggregate, $44,252.34.

  Table Seven-Gives the assets and liabilities at the end of each month.

  Table Eight-This table makes as complete an exhibit of the matters therein
specified as it would be possible to make by a tabular arrangement. On the 1st
July, 1877, we had one thousand three hundred and eighteen convicts in the
Prison. We now have one thousand five hundred and sixty-four, an increase of two
hundred and forty-six. The average for the two years is one thousand four
hundred and seventy-five. The increase for the last two years, it will be seen,
is in excess of that of the two years preceding by thirteen. The total
maintaining cost of the Prison for two years has been three hundred and
ninety-one thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars and ninety-four cents. The
average number of prisoners being one thousand four hundred and seventy-five, it
will be seen that the cost of each convict per day is thirty-six cents and four
mills. I add here the maintaining cost of the institution for the quarter ending
September 30, 1879. This, of course, will again have to be gone over by my
successor, as it will belong to a fiscal period which he will have to cover by
his report. But I will doubtless be pardoned for embracing the opportunity to
show, as fully as possible, the transactions here under my management:

  Maintaining Cost at the California State Prison, July, 1879.-Subsistence,
$6,161.92; forage, $399.69; clothing, $736.08; shoes, $405 .87; beds and
bedding, $208.37; medicines, $256.72; stationery, $35.94; general use, $761.68;
expense account, $27.55; water, $1,000; freight and telegrams, $14.41; salary,
$5,130.65; wash-house, $65.29; fuel, $839.28; postage, $15.20; total,
$16,058.65. Number of prisoners, July 31, 1879, 1,553; average cost per day per
capita in July, 33.3 cents.

  Maintaining Cost at the California State Prison, August, 1879.-Subsistence,
$5,962.48; forage, $367.61; clothing, $1,007.30; shoes, $474.39; bed and
bedding, $209.60; medicines, $241.57; stationery, $32.55; general use, $799.19;
expense account, $25.80; water, $1,000; salary, $5,147.95; wash-house, $55.62;
fuel, $340.05; postage, $12.25; freight and telegrams, $18.94; total,
$15,695.30. Number of prisoners, August 31, 1879, 1,558; average cost per day
per capita, in August, 32 1/2 cents.

  Maintaining Cost at the California State Prison, September, 1879.-
Sabsistence, $5,790.75; forage, $355.82; clothing, $829.36; shoes, $426.59; beds
and bedding, $252.98; medicines, $260.12; stationery, $54.04; general use,
$683.67; expense account, $14.80; water, $1,000; salary, $5,101.90; wash-house,
$58.53; fuel, $191.38; postage, $15.55.; freight and telegrams, $31.67; total,
$15,067.16. Number of prisoners, September 30, 1879, 1,531; average cost per day
per capita, in September, 32.7 1/2 cents.

  Recapitulation of Maintaining Cost for Quarter ending September 30, #70.-July,
$16,058.65; August, $15,695.30; September, $15,067.16; total, $46,821.11.
Average number of prisoners during the same period, 1,547; average cost per day
per capita during the same period, 32.8 cents. Total for subsistence,
$159,834.15, divided as follows: Guards' mess, officers' mess, and warden's
house, 2.783 cents; brick-yard mess, hospital mess, female mess, wash-house
mess, Sundry No. 8 mess, and masons' mess, 2.217 cents; prisoners in general,
9.845 cents. Total cost for food, $159,834.15-14.845 cents; water,$24.000-2.228
cents; salary, $118,745.49-11.028; clothing, $19,772.70-1.836 cents; general
use, $19,568.85-1.817; forage, $12,920.04 -1.199 cents; shoes, $10,277.09-.954
cents; bedding, $8,031.35-.745 cents; medicines, $4,919.12-.456 cents;
stationery, $1,170.43-.108 cents; expense, $1,479.67-.137 cents; freight and
telegrams, $736.50-.068 cents; washing, $1,499.76-.139; fuel, $9,020.59; profit
and loss, $5.20-.839 cents; totals, $391,980.94-36.399.

  So far as mere economy is concerned, this is a very marked improvement, one
upon which I congratulate the State, and also my associates, who, by their close
attention to business, have enabled me to make this flattering exhibit: The
maintaining cost, daily, for each prisoner for the last quarter has been 32.8
cents; for two years ending June 30, 1879, 36.4 cents; for two years ending June
30, 1877, 42.7 cents; for two years ending June 30, 1875, 44 cents; for two
years ending June 30, 1873, 53 1/6.

  Without going into details, or making a lengthly comparative statement,
showing the maintaining cost in each of the States, I will abridge this report
by saying we are much below the average of American prisons in supporting cost.
In fact, I have found but three penitentiaries, run under our system, which are
cheaper than ours, namely: West Virginia, 31 5/6 cents; Sing Sing, 28 3/10
cents; Auburn, 31 cents.

  The three New York penitentiaries, Auburn, Sing Sing and Clinton average 34
cents 9 mills; the Clinton being at a cost of 45 cents 5 mills. I divide the
daily average cost per convict as follows, which I believe to be a correct
analysis of Table Eight of the Clerk's report.

  Table Nine-Gives the maintaining cost per capita per month of the different
items, fractions of mills left out, except in profit and loss.

  Table Ten-Gives the monthly earnings, from which it will be seen that the
total is but one hundred thousand two hundred and sixty-nine and fifty-six
one-hundredths dollars.

  Table Eleven-Specifies the earnings from which it will be seen that but
ninety-three thousand seven hundred and thirteen and seventy one-hundredths
dollars were earned by -labor. This miserable showing is not to be attributed in
any way to want of zeal and proper exertions on the part of the directors and
officers of the prison, but to the bad laws governing us in the letting of
labor. For six years past the law has prohibited the letting of the labor for
less than fifty cents per day. This has prevented us from hiring the men except
in limited numbers. I believe we would have been able to make this a
self-supporting Institution but for this unwise limitation. With this
restriction, and no appropriation, or law authorizing us to work the prisoners
on State account, we have been compelled to let four-fifths of them remain idle,
or employ them in unproductive labor. I recommend that even now, at this late
day, the whole matter of letting prisoners for the next two years, be left to
the Directors and Warden to do the best they can. I say for the next two years,
for after that time, under the provisions of the new Constitution, no labor can
be let out by contract, but all convicts must be worked on State account.

  In view of this constitutional restriction, I would recommend that the
Legislature make provisions by appropriations, for the working of the prisoners
in the discretion of the Directors and Warden. I would do this for the reason
that it may be difficult to find contractors, even if the fifty cents
restriction should be removed, who would be willing to take the hazard in any
mechanical enterprise with a full knowledge that they must break up their
business at the end of two years.

  The present contractors are the California Furniture Manufacturing Company,
working from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five men- Stone & Hayden, J.
C. Johnson & Company, Armes & Dallam, and the Door and Sash Company, are each
working a number of men, but none of them have taken contracts. I suppose they
will all continue to employ a limited number of prisoners until the new
Constitution turns them out. They all together work about three hundred men, the
number varying according to the pleasure of the employers.

  Table Twelve-Gives the income per month.

  Table Thirteen-Specifies the income.

  Here it will be seen that the total sum received from the State treasury is
three hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars. This shows an actual cost to
the State of one hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars per year, all of
which might have been saved to the people, but for the reckless reform
legislation which has prevented the hiring of prison labor. The sale of
manufactured articles on this coast, other than cloth, will amount to over
twenty million dollars yearly, yet this miserable policy has been adopted for
fear that one hundred and eighty thousand dollars worth of such articles,
manufactured by convicts for their own support, would produce injurious
competition with the honest mechanic. If the labor could be generally
distributed, or even distributed among eight or ten different kinds of
manufactures, no one could possibly feel the result except the taxpayers,
particularly, as we are buying and selling convict-manufactured articles from
several other States. Reference is here made to the explanatory note at the foot
of this table.

  It will be seen that we have sold eighteen thousand one hundred and one and
sixteen one-hundredths dollars worth of brick; andI, also, seven thousand seven
hundred and ninety-three and fifty-two one-hundredths dollars worth of live
stock. This is for the sale of hogs mostly. But for the very bad luck we have
had in fattening hogs we might have sold twice or three times the number. We
have tried by purchase to keep a sufficient number on hand to consume the waste
material from the kitchens and dining-rooms, but by reason of the prevalence of
an epidemic we have lost many hundreds; so that for several months past we have
kept on hand a very few, hoping the disease would eventually expend its force
and die out.

  Table Fourteen-Gives the expenditures per month, other than for maintaining
cost, aggregating fifty-six thousand six hundred and ninety-nine and
seventy-eight one-hundredths dollars.

  Table Fifteen-Specifies the items making up the sum total as shown in table
fourteen.

  At the conclusion will be found a statement of assets and liabilities. This is
the general balance sheet, showing assets and liabilities. The liabilities are,
of course, set down correctly, but the assets are in no case supposed to
represent the true value of the property on hand, except in the case of goods in
store. To illustrate: in the case of live stock the real value is. I suppose,
about three thousand five hundred dollars, while it is set down at one hundred
and seventy-five dollars. This comes from the complete system of bookkeeping by
which purchases and sales are recorded, showing finally that the original cost
has been as represented in the schedule. This result has been reached mainly by
the purchase of hogs, at a less price than sold for, they being bought light and
increased in weight by fattening.

  Labor of Convicts, other than those employed by Contractors outside the
walls.-Brick-yard and excavations, 180; blacksmiths, 6; Butchers, 2; Carpenters,
4; cart drivers, 16; cooks for officers, 3; commissary department, 8; clerk's
office, 2; gardeners, 10; kitchen help, 7; stable, 7; sweepers, 4; servants, 16;
waiters, officers' dining-room, 4; wood-yard, 4; wash-house, 5; Warden's office,
4; Warden's residence and gardens, 10; total 292.

  Labor Inside the Walls-other than Contract Labor.-Bath-tenders, 2;
brick-layers's gang, 10; barber shops, 12; boiler houses (2), 10; coopers, 2;
cooks, 18; closet cleaners, 12; Captain of the Yard's office, 5; dining-room,
38; door tenders, 14; donkey engine, 3; engine-room, 3; gate-keepers, 8; gate,
upper, 3; gate, lower, 3; hospital cooks, 5; Hood's gang, 7; hospital help, 8;
lamp-room, 3; library and school-room, 95; mortar mixers and carriers, 6;
mattress makers, 3; painters, 5; plumbers, 4; room tenders, 12; shoe shop, 20;
tailor shop, 10; tin shop, 5; turnkey's office, 4; wood-yard, 4; white-washers,
5: wash-house, 45; yard sweepers, 14; total inside, 304; total outside, 292.
Total employed for State and at school, 686. Of this number about 85 are kept at
school, the whole of them being boys; leaving the number who labor other than
for contractors, 601. Whole number employed inside the shops, on an average,
300; inside in other capacities, 394; outside in various capacities, 292; total
number employed, 986.

  This leaves a surplus of over five hundred that must be kept in close
confinement. We recognize the great wrong thus done these prisoners, but we are
powerless to remedy the evil. It will be understood that all attempts at order
and discipline with five hundred convicts at large in the prison-yard would be
absolutely futile. We do the best we can for these convicts by letting out a
limited number at a time for exercise by walking between the cells and in the
rear yard of the prison. It will also be seen that in every case, except in the
shop labor, we put on all the force possible to crowd in. This is not done
because the work is done better or even so well with large gangs, but to give
the prisoners exercise and air. In many cases one-quarter of the force employed
would do the work better. Much of the labor done by these men is of a purely
penal nature, and for exercise and air, being of little utility, and bringing no
return.

  Turnkey's Report.-From the Turnkey's report, Table I, it will be seen that the
total number of prisoners received at this institution since its foundation, in
1851, has been nine thousand three hundred and twenty, and that the total
discharges have been seven thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, leaving now in
prison one thousand five hundred and sixty-four:-

  There remained in prison on the 1st of July, 1877, 1,318; received to July 1,
1878, 715; received to July 1, 1879, 604; total 2,637. Discharged to July 1,
1878, 546; discharged to July 1, 1879, 527; total discharged, 1,073; total
remaining in prison July 1, 1879, 1,564. It will be seen that the increase for
two years has been 246.

  Table II-Shows the receipts and discharges for each month, and the number on
hand.

  Table III- Gives the nativity of prisoners. To this table I call especial
attention, particularly the nativity of the foreign criminals, and the
percentage from each country. This table, just as here presented, would be a
powerful argument with which to met our Eastern friends, who think Chinese
immigration a blessing. It will be seen that our population is:-

  Foreign, 731; American-United States, 833; total, 1,564; of which 267 are
Chinese. Percentage of American-United States, 53.20; percentage of foreign,
46.80; total 100.

  Table IV-Makes a classification of crimes, for which prisoners have been
convicted, and the number to each. From this table it will be seen that over
five hundred prisoners, one third, nearly, of all, came here for burglary and
other crimes connected with burglary and attempts at burglary. It will also be
seen that two hundred and nineteen are here for highway robbery and attempts at
robbery. I call especial attention to these two classes, and beg to suggest that
their punishment is not sufficiently severe to deter the regular professional
from engaging in his calling. There are large numbers of burglars here serving
out sentences, ranging in duration from one to two years; and there are large
numbers of highwaymen here who stopped stages and travelers, intending to take
life if they encountered resistance, serving sentences of from three years up.
This appears wrong, and it is wrong, but it may be partially remedied by proper
legislation, and prison life made laborious.

  Table V-Gives the terms of imprisonment and number to each term.

  Under this table, the fact will be noticed that ninety-seven prisoners are
held for life. This, I believe to be wrong, for to every one should be left
grounds for hope that some day they may be free. This applies to those who are
in for thirty and forty years, and who in the regular course of nature can only
be set free by death. A little conditional clemency by the Executive would light
up the gloomy hearts of these wretched men with a hope that would at least drive
out despair. This must be done to make anything of them other than brooding,
plotting, unreliable, unsafe, treacherous, and unhappy criminals. This is
natural, for the prisoner who despairs of ever earning his freedom, only awaits
his opportunity for murder, if thereby he has the least chance of escape.

  Table VI-Gives the ages of the prisoners.

  From this table it will be seen that there are four hundred and seventy
prisoners twenty-five years old and under; two hundred and seventy-three,
twenty-two years old and under; two hundred and two, twenty-one years and under;
one hundred and forty-four, twenty years and under; one hundred and one nineteen
years old and under; sixty-nine, eighteen years and under: thirty-six, seventeen
years and under; eighteen, sixteen years and under; seven, fifteen years and
under, and two children of fourteen.

  It is safe to estimate that seventy-five per cent, of these unfortunate boys
have been exiled from home, to adopt a course of crime, by the drunkenness and
cruelty of parents.

  They nearly all tell the same tale of misery, want, intemperance, parental
neglect, and cruelty. If it is the fault of the laws and of society that these
boys have become criminals, then they should be peculiarly the care of the
public whose fault is their ruin. Idleness in almost every case has proved the
downfall of these boys, nor has this resulted, from their own choice, but
because employment could not be obtained. The work they would gladly have done
has been performed by the Chinaman, and they have been turned from door to door
until despair and absolute want have driven them to the commission of crime. -
In nearly all cases theirs were crimes against property, such as are only
committed by the suffering-those in want of shelter, clothing, and food. Less
whisky and more work would have saved nearly all of these boys to society, many
of them to become its best ornaments and most useful men.

  Table VII-Gives the educational condition of the prisoners.

  Table VIII-Gives the number of prisoners from each county in the State.

  It will here be seen that San Francisco sends to the State Prison five hundred
and twenty-five; Alameda sends sixty-three; Los Angeles sends sixty-four;
Sacramento sends eighty-six; San Joaquin sends eighty-four; Sacramento and San
Joaquin have the largest per centage of criminals; Los Angeles and Alameda next;
Del Norte, Alpine, and Trinity being the lowest, and Sutter next.

  Table IX-Gives the former occupation of the prisoners.

  It appears from this table that an exceedingly undue proportion of cooks have
been so unfortunate as to commit crimes, the number being set down at one
hundred and four. It also appears that six hundred and forty-eight give their
calling as that of laborer. It would be safe to estimate that not ten per cent,
of the number ever earned a living by labor; hence they are convicts.

  Table X-Gives the number of returns, and how often.

  From this table it appears that two prisoners are serving out their seventh
term; four, their sixth; fifteen, their fifth; twenty-four, their fourth;
eighty-two, their third, and two hundred and fifty, their second. From this it
will be seen that of one thousand five hundred and fifty-four prisoners, three
hundred and seventy-seven have been returned and are serving beyond their first
terms. It appears from this that not quite one-fourth are now serving other than
their first sentences.

  At the Auburn Penitentiary, New York, there are one thousand one hundred and
ninety-three, of whom two hundred and eighteen are serving beyond their first
sentence. This is nearly the same percentage as ours, but not quite so large. At
the Clinton (New York) penitentiary there are three hundred and sixty-five
convicts, one hundred and eighteen serving beyond their first sentence. This
shows a very much larger percentage of returns than is found in our prison,
being a fraction less than one-third of the whole. I am unable to find any
record of the returns to the Sing Sing Prison, although I have the latest annual
report of the Warden and Superintendent.

  Table XI-Is an exhibit of the workings of the "Goodwin Credit Bill," passed by
the last Legislature. The change from the law of 1864 is not great, chiefly
benefiting three, four and five-year convicts. The law as it now stands is an
exact copy, so far as the credits are concerned, of the law governing the same
subject in New York. I believe it to be a good law, and that it should be
allowed to remain without amendment.

  Table XII-Gives the amount of clothing, shoes, hats, and bedding issued to
convicts.

  Following the Turnkey's report will be found that of the Moral Instructor, to
which I refer with great pleasure. The report is so complete within itself I
need do no more than refer to it, and to express my entire satisfaction with the
good results obtained by the unremitting care and attention of that faithful
officer.

  Lastly, I refer to the very able report of Dr. Pelham, the Prison Physician.
Like that of the Moral Instructor, it is so full and complete within itself that
it needs no explanatory remarks.

  Before closing this report, I respectfully call attention to the law passed
four years ago, and known as the "Giffen Bill." This Act is, in many of its
provisions, in direct conflict with the new Constitution, and, to prevent
complication, ought to be repealed at the earliest time possible. Even had the
new Constitution never been adopted this law, in my judgment, would have
resulted in nothing good, but would have been productive of much evil. Two years
ago I recommended its repeal, believing then, as I do now that if allowed to
remain on the statute book until the first of January, 1880, the time fixed for
it to take effect, that evil would result from it.

  In closing this report I congratulate the faithful officers here upon the
provisions of the new Constitution, setting the prison management beyond the
uncertainties of political strife, and making it a non-partisan institution. The
people's decision, that a man's qualifications for prison management shall not
be determined by his politics, will, doubtless, abate the severity of the
machine and cause the selection of the fittest. I hope for good results under
the new system about to be inaugurated.

  Report of the Moral Instructor.-The school and library department of the
prison was reorganized and placed under the present management on the 13th day
of May, 1878, at which time there were enrolled fifty-four pupils. The whole
number enrolled as members of the prison school to June 30, 1879, is one hundred
and forty-six. The ages of the young men who have been under instruction range
from eighteen to twenty-two years; the average age is about eighteen years.

  The school is divided into five classes, and for each class a competent
teacher has been appointed. Great care has been exercised in the selection of
teachers. Several had had some experience in teaching previous to their
imprisonment, and each has labored faithfully and efficiently in the discharge
of the important duties assigned him.

  The greater number of the boys enrolled had received but little or no
education; twenty-six were unable to read or write at the time of their
commitment; fifty were only able to read imperfectly in the first
reader-fifty-two had some knowledge of the first principles of arithmetic, while
but eighteen had made that degree of advancement in their studies which might
reasonably be expected of boys twelve years of age during one year's regular
attendance at any well conducted school.

  The nativity of the pupils is classified as follows:-Native born of native
parentage, forty; native born of foreign parentage, seventy-seven; foreign born,
twenty-nine. Total, one hundred and forty six.

  Nearly all the boys admitted to the school had been convicted of burglary or
grand larceny, and sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from one to three
years. A very large proportion of them appear to have never been subjected to
parental control or home training. They had never been given any regular
employment, taught to work, nor required to attend school.

  Thus, free from restraint, permitted to mingle freely with the criminal class,
and left without intellectual or moral training, it is no cause for surprise
that so many neglected and unfortunate boys become criminals who, under more
favorable circumstances, might have become useful members of society.

  The boys in general had never attended school a sufficient length of time to
derive much benefit therefrom, and had neither the knowledge, the habits, nor
the inclinations of scholars; neither had they any just appreciation of the
value of mental culture. Under these circumstances their deportment has been
better and their advancement greater than we had reason to expect. The
intellectual advancement of many has been truly gratifying to all who feel an
interest in their welfare.

  Mental training has had its usual beneficial influence, and doubtless some
improvement has also been made morally as well as intellectually. They have been
separated as far as practicable from older and more hardened criminals, and
required to pass each day, under the supervision of the teachers selected, with
direct reference to mental and moral characteristics, as well as to their
literary acquirements. And while they have been rendered temperate in their
habits by necessity; prohibited the use of profane and obscene language; and
compelled to present the appearance of sobriety and respectability, some at
least have been prepared to carry away with them their acquired good habits, and
afterwards to practice through choice the habits at first enforced and
afterwards rendered easy and familiar by continued practice.

  But while it is true that some good results have been attained, it is also
evident that a prison is a very poor place for the moral and intellectual
training of children, and it is greatly to be desired that discretionary power
be given to magistrates to use other means of punishment than imprisonment in
the case of juvenile offenders. The Prison library contains 3,118 volumes, among
which are to be found many standard works on history, biography, travels,
science, theology, poetry, and general literature. The present collection has
been made up principally from donations of books made by the Mercantile,
Mechanics' Institute, and Odd Fellows' Libraries, and from private contributions
by the friends of prison reform in San Francisco and elsewhere.

  A valuable and popular department of the library consists of several hundred
bound volumes of magazines. The periodicals contributed and collected from
various sources have been assorted, arranged, and bound into volumes in the
book-bindery connected with the library, where several prisoners have been
constantly employed in binding and repairing books.

  The privileges of the library are extended to all the prisoners who comply
with its rules and regulations, and its influence has been highly beneficial.
From the want of sufficient employment in the workshops a large proportion of
the prisoners have been compelled to spend most of their time in their cells,
and to these the privilege of drawing books to give them mental employment is
invaluable.

  Many have thus acquired a taste for reading, and have become familiar with the
works of the best authors; others have made an earnest effort to remedy the
defects of their early education, and, with such assistance as was available,
have made good progress in their studies; while others have made a special study
of some foreign language, or of some branch of natural science, theology, or
mathematics, and have added greatly to their knowledge of these different subjects.

  The prisoners who have thus availed themselves of the facilities proffered to
them have not only improved their tastes and acquired an increased store of
knowledge, but have also strengthened their mental powers, and have been in some
measure prepared to regain the confidence and esteem of their fellow-men, and to
become industrious and useful citizens.

  If the library did nothing more than to afford an occasional hour of relief
and pleasure to the prisoners. it would indeed be doing a good work but it
effects much more than this; the works of the best authors diligently read in
most of the prison cells cheer many a sad life with glimpses of other scenes and
better things.

  The religious services have invariably been attended by as many prisoners as
could obtain seats in the chapel. Respectful attention has always been given to
the clergymen of different denominations who have volunteered to visit the
Prison alternately, and instruct the prisoners in religious truths. Several of
these gentlemen have, for many years, been accustomed to visit the Prison
regularly, and conduct the religious services, and are highly esteemed by the
prisoners. Many appear to have been deeply impressed with the instructions
received, and strengthened in their resolutions to return to a course of
sobriety and virtuous industry, and encouraged to undertake and make efforts to
persevere in an honest way of living.

  To the volunteer clergymen, and especially to the General Agent of the Prison
Commission, we are greatly indebted for their faithful and punctual attendance
at the hour set apart for religious worship, and also for a large supply of
books, magazines, and newspapers, collected from various sources and forwarded
to the Prison library.

  Prisoners have been furnished with stationery without charge, and encouraged
to write letters to their friends as often as they have thought necessary. All
letters written by prisoners, and also those addressed to them and received at
the Prison, have been carefully examined; and the number thus received during
the year has averaged about 2,300 a month.

  During the past year, transportation to their former residence or elsewhere
has been provided for two hundred and six discharged prisoners, of which number
I have been given tickets,-two to British Columbia, fifteen to Oregon, three to
Washington Territory, sixteen to Nevada, and one hundred and seventy to various
points in California.

  Medical Department Report.-In submitting for your consideration my biennial
report pertaining to the medical department of the California State Prison, I
will glance at certain matters of complaint and suggestions of improvement to be
made in its condition, to which your attention was called in my last biennial
report. The condition of embarrassment, inconvenience, and annoyance existing at
that time, resulting from the preceding disastrous fire, have all, happily, been
dissipated by the wisdom and energy of your Board, the liberality of the
Legislature in affording the necessary appropriation of money, and the
efficient, prudent, and active zeal of the Warden and other officers of the
Prison, whose duty it was to bring order out of chaos. As one of the results,
the medical department is now amply supplied with all the room required, and all
the improvements and material called for by me in the report referred to, and
also sufficient cell capacity for the accommodation of all the convicts.
Notwithstanding so much has been accomplished, and the time and energy of those
properly in charge has been taxed at all times to their full capacity, there
still remains unprovided for the matter of the guards' quarters, which was
referred to by me in my last report in the following words:-

  "The sleeping apartments assigned to the night guards are not sufficient In
space or ventilation for the demands of health, and the main draught of .air
that reaches them is blown over the surface drainage of the kitchen and a
contiguous lot of old decaying shed-rooms about two hundred feet in length, that
stand against the outside of the south part of the east prison wall, their
contents adding to the impurity of the atmosphere. It is necessary that these
sleeping rooms should be less crowded and better ventilated, and that the old
buildings referred to, together with the officers' water-closet be removed, and
that different arrangements be made for the vegetable depot, which at present is
one of the shed-rooms mentioned."

  Occupying a position that necessarily brings me in close contact with the
convicts, affording me ample opportunity for observation, and influencing only
in a slight degree their management, control, and discipline, being to some
extent an independent observer, it is with pleasure, not divested entirely of
pride, I notice that there has been a marked and very great improvement effected
during this administration in the discipline and government of the Prison, and
the disposition of the prisoners. This happy state of affairs is due to the
attention given to the subject by the Directors, the efficiency and the humane
disposition of the Warden, and the energy And zeal of the officers in the
discharge of their respective duties. An important factor in producing this
desirable change, is the introduction of the systemn of credits for good
behavior provided for in a law of the last Legislature commonly known as the
"Goodwin Bill." The operation of this law effected a marked change for the
better in the deportment of the convicts, and therein greatly aided the officers
in enforcing discipline and lessening at once the number of cases necessitating
corporal punishment, and resulted also in improving their sanitary condition,
for it is a well-known fact that the mental status of the prisoners materially
affects the vital organs, and that the death rate and disability list is
influenced greatly by a tendency to cheerfulness, contentment, etc. From
observations of its practical effects, it is evident to me that it is an
excellent law, happy in its influence for good, and lessening positively the
arduous labors of the officers whose duty it is to maintain order and enforce
discipline, accomplishing all these ends without producing that degree of
degradation which educates convicts to become utterly outlaws and desperadoes.

   I have to report a great change for the better in the habits of the convicts
in reference to the loathsome and degrading crime of self-abuse and its kindred
associations, which I referred to in my last report as prevailing at that time,
from which the following is an extract:—

  "The great evil presenting for remedial action in prison life is self-abuse, a
vice that undermines the constitution and debases the moral instincts more than
all other causes combined. It kills body and soul; and if the subject of this
vice is so fortunate as to serve out his sentence, he returns to the community a
fit subject to adopt crime as a profession for life. This disgusting vice exists
as a primary cause of the principal diseases with which convicts are afflicted,
and to repair the resulting injury is the principal study of the Prison
physician; and its eradication is also of primary importance in a moral point of
view."

  This change is marked, and the number of cases now presenting for medical
relief, from the vice itself and injuries resulting physically and mentally
therefrom, have very materially lessened.

  From the accompanying tables, to which your attention is called, it is
apparent that the health of the Prison has been excellent, and that there is a
remarkable degree of exemption from diseases common to cell life, originating
from blood poisoning called zymotic, and also of malarial origin, the few cases
occurring of this class having received the germs of disease before their
arrival here. But there has been an increase in the number of chest diseases,
and the death rate from this cause has been augmented. This is mainly caused by
the sudden change of temperature, produced by the removal of the convict from
the close air of the cells to the cool atmosphere which is common here in the
early morning. As a rule in these cases, the subject visits me suffering from a
cold, more or less severe, affecting the first air passages. The same cause of
disease still operating, the case may present itself with chronic inflammation
of the larnyx, phondix, or trachia, some one or more of these organs, which by
easy grades passes to chronic bronchitis, and finally terminating in bronchial
consumption. But by reference to the column of unclassified diseases, which is
mainly made up of cases of this character, it appears that the ratio of cases
originating from this cause is exceedingly low. The remedy for this state of
affairs would be the confinement of the prisoners in their cells until a late
hour in the morning, a thing which is impracticable in a work-prison.

  By reference to accompanying tables you will see that the ratio of deaths to
all reported cases of sufficient magnitude to require medical attention, is one
per cent., and to those which were diagnosed and classified, two and sixty-four
one-hundredths per cent. All cases that were aggravated at their inception or
then indicated such condition during their anticipated course, and all persons
who were physical "wrecks" at the time of their reception in the prison were
treated in the hospital, consequently the ratio of deaths for those treated in
the hospital only, gives no practical indication of the sanitary condition of
the prison. The death rate of this class of cases is twenty-five per cent.

  The question affecting the best manner of conducting a prison is one of
magnitude, requiring for its solution great experience and thorough practical
knowledge of the subject in all its bearings, and will, probably, for many
years, like the tax question, be antagonized by diversified views. Persons
generally of the least experience will give tone to public opinion and shape
legislation in the premises. In the discussion of this subject, two antagonizing
ideas are generally advanced: one of which contemplates a course of discipline,
having as an objective point the infliction of misery, degradation, and shame in
the extreme, thus dissipating the last relic of humanity in the subjects and
degrading them to the level of the brute creation; the other, from an opposite
standpoint, are influenced by a maudlin sympathy, affecting them to such a
degree that they would condone all crimes, and, in fact, impress into the minds
of the convicts the idea that they were a badly misused class, improperly
deprived of their liberty, and that a system which holds to punishment following
conviction for crime is morally and radically wrong—thus advancing doctrines
which, if prevalent, would be utterly subversive of all government, and equally
as detrimental in its effect on communities and the family circle, where it
would become the germ for misdemeanor and the progenitor of crime.

  I do not intend to attempt the task of reconciling these discordant ideas, or
of suggesting a happy medium, if there be one, or of offering a solvent for the
subject matter, but will content myself with a short reference to some of the
bearings of the question that pertains more particularly to the medical
department. It is apparent to me that the, aggregation of convicts as practised
in this prison, and which is necessarily unavoidable from the construction of
the prison buildings, and the system of labor utilized, is clearly injurious to
their health and morals, renders the duty of enforcing discipline more arduous,
and is disastrous in its effect on every phase of the question of reformation.
On the other hand, the silent non-intercourse system affords punishment not
accompanied by the degree of degradation which accompanies the present plan. It
avoids the general recognition and familiar acquaintance of one with the other,
and carnal intercourse, which is detrimental to health and morals, and prevents
identification elsewhere, which is so prolific of evil to those who leave here
with serious intention of reforming. I favor, then, the silent, non-intercourse
single cell plan generally, and for this prison as near approach to the same as
the exigency of the case will admit, as a promoter of health and morals, and a
preserver of self-esteem and manhood, and the germs of virtue, which are found
in all who are not totally depraved, these principles being essential
ingredients in the consideration of the question of reformation.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA;
INCLUDING ITS
Geography, Geology, Topography and Climatography;
TOGETHER WITH
A Full and Particular Record of the Mexican Grants; Its Early History and
Settlement, Compiled from the most Authentic Sources; Names of Original Spanish
and American Pioneers;

A Full Record of its Organization; A Complete Political History, including a
Tabular Statement of Office-holders since the Formation of the County;

Separate Histories of Bolinas, Nicasio, Novato, Point Reyes, San Antonio, San
Rafael, Saucelito, and Tomales Townships;

Incidents of Pioneer Life, and Biographical Sketches of its Early and Prominent
Settlers and Representative Men;
ALSO
An Historical Sketch of the State of California,
In which is embodied the Raising of the Bear Flag

ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
ALLEY, BOWEN & CO., PUBLISHERS.
1880.


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