alterations, easily made, would make it very convenient. A majority of the inmates are imbecile. The county pays the keeper $2 25.a week for each pauper, and allows him the use of the poor farm.

Jail.--The jail, built in 1864, in connection with the jailor's house, is a fine brick edifice, with cells eight feet high, eight feet long, and eight feet wide, each made of slabs of stone of the same width, which are not, however, placed as securely as they should be. The ventilation should be better than it is. Provision is made for the separation of the sexes. The corridor is six feet wide. There is no underground sewerage. This jail cost $30,000, and is better than the average visited. Sept. 29, 1870.

POPE COUNTY.

L.

Almshouse.The almshouse is a double log building, and barely comfortable. The inmates, of whom there were four, two of them sick, on the day of visitation, were poorly clad, and suffering with cold. The keeper receives the use of the farm and $1800 per annum, for boarding and clothing the paupers.

Jail.-The jail consists of two rooms twelve feet square, one over the other, built of brick, lined with hewn logs and planks. Air and light are afforded the prisoners by means of three grated openings, eight inches by thirty-six. The jail contains no furniture, and has no sewerage.

Nov. 18, 1870.

B.

PULASKI COUNTY.

Almshouse.-Pulaski county has just purchased a poor farm of eighty acres, and completed a new almshouse. The paupers are, as yet, scattered over the county in private families. The keeper receives the use of the farm and $14 per month, for the board of each inmate.

A room eigh

Jail.-The jail, which is of brick, is nearly new. teen feet square contains an iron cage, twelve feet by twelve, made of bars of iron. The prisoners are placed within this cage. It seems to be quite secure, and is of course well ventilated. The sewerage is tolerable. Though not a model, it is far preferable to the majority of the jails in the state.

Nov. 8, 1870.

B.

PUTNAM COUNTY.

Almshouse.-Putnam county has no almshouse. There are but four towns in the county. The supervisor of each town makes provision for the support of the paupers in private families as he may think advisable. All expenses are paid by general county tax. The commissioner could not ascertain the number receiving relief.

Jail. The jail is insecure, and of insufficient capacity, containing, as it does, but a single cell of iron bars two inches in width, and one-half an inch in thickness, crossing each other two inches apart. The ventilation and sewerage are bad. The main building is of brick, two stories high, thirty-six feet by nineteen, with an "L" one story in height, and sixteen feet square, which are kept by the jailor and his family.

Aug. 26, 1870.

RANDOLPH COUNTY.

No report, as it was not visited.

RICHLAND COUNTY.

R.

Almshouse.-In 1869, Richland county had no almshouse. During the past year the county bought 227 acres of land, about 100 of which is fenced, and there is an old house upon it. They have hired an overseer. The building is not of sufficient capacity, nor in good repair, but is to be repaired and enlarged. The paupers do not seem to be very well cared for, the overseer having lost his wife, and being obliged to depend upon hired help. There is one female pauper, about ninety years of age, who is bed-ridden, under his care, and he is compelled himself to attend to all her wants, the hired woman refusing to do it. The commissioner found this pauper lying upon a bed very scantily filled with straw, and covered with flies, and a bed quilt thrown over her to hide her nakedness. In another corner was an old man, also bedridden, and in a third corner of the same room lay the corpse of a pauper who had died the evening before. The president of the board of supervisors, accompanying the commissioner, said that the condition of the paupers ought to be bettered, and that he would attend to it.

Jail.-One-half of this building, which is of brick, and was erected in 1858, is occupied as usual by the family of the jailor. The other half is the jail proper. On the upper floor are three iron cells, capable of holding eight prisoners, surrounded on all sides by a corridor four feet in width, with four windows, which admit of a good supply of air. The cells are ventilated by a barred door. Besides, there are two small-barred windows on the sides of each cell, and several small apertures in the top of each cell, so that the circulation of air is very good. The two lower cells are of squared timbers, with no ventilation except through the barred doors. Large tin pipes run from each cell into a vault outside of the jail, to carry off the offal. This is the cleanest and best ventilated jail visited by this commissioner. The sheriff states that they have never used the lower celis, except when crowded for room above. McC. August 19, 1870.

ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.

Almshouse. The Rock Island county almshouse is large and well arranged. The main building, thirty-six feet by sixty, is three stories in height, and the addition, eighteen feet by twentytwo, two stories, with a workhouse and barn attached. There are twenty-five rooms. The first floor is used for female paupers, and the second for males. The capacity is fifty. The number of inmates on the day is visitation was thirty-six.

Jail.-The jail, which is of stone, is in good repair, secure, and of sufficient capacity for the wants of the county. The ventilation is far from being good, although pipes from each cell extend through the roof, and very little attention is paid to keeping the premises clean. It is perhaps proper to say, that the jailor claimed that there was a lack of water, which deficiency there is now an endeavor being made to remedy. A liberal supply of this very necessary article would sensibly improve the appearance of the jail, and the comfort of the inmates. There are seven insane persons confined here. The county is, however, building an insane department in connection with the almshouse, which, when completed, will render their removal possible.

Nov. 19, 1870.

C.

SALINE COUNTY.

Almshouse.--The Saline county almshouse is a cheap log building, but may be made quite comfortable. The inmates appear to be well cared for. The keeper receives the use of the farm and $100 for each pauper per annum.

Jail.-The jail is better than the average, but rather dark, and the sewerage defective. It is of brick, lined with plank, and contains four cells twelve feet square, ventilated by a grated door. The sexes can be separated.

B.

Nov. 14, 1870.

SANGAMON COUNTY.

Almshouse. The present pauper home in this county is an old farm house, known as the "two mile house," so called from its distance on the Peoria road from Springfield. Seventy-two is the number now entertained at this place, at an expense to the county of about $50 a year for each pauper.

A new almshouse, however, is now being built upon a poor farm lately purchased, consisting of 371 acres, situated midway between Buffalo station and Illiopolis, upon the Toledo, Wabash and Great Western R. R.., about twelve miles east of Springfield. The land cost $18,000, and the building is to cost $31,250. It is to be one hundred and forty-six feet in length and fifty-six feet in width in the main building. The keeper's lodge, to stand in front, will be forty feet broad. The capacity of the almshouse is designed for about 220. The building is to be completed by June, 1871. At the laying of the corner stone, last October, the Governor of the state, in the course of some appropriate remarks, gave the following advice to those intrusted with the care of such institutions: "Do not let the poor house be such a den of misery as the soul sickens to contemplate. Do not adopt the principle which an officer of another county expressed, who said he wanted to make the poor house so bad that nobody would want to go to it. Come here and set out shrubs and flowers, and make the fair spot now dedicated to charity blossom like the rose."

* * *

Jail.-This jail was erected in the year 1853, at a cost of $6,570, of which $2,000 was paid for the land, and $4,570 for the building and other improvements. Since then the sum of $5,000 has been expended for repairs and the improvements of the

building. It is of brick, with walls eighteen inches thick and contains eighteen cells, seven feet four inches long by five feet and four inches wide, and seven feet and ten inches high. The cells are all in the second story, and are arranged in a double tier back to back in the centre of the building, with a corridor surrounding them on three sides. The ventilation is bad, but the premises are kept perfectly clean, and the corridor can be sufficiently ventilated by opening the windows.

It is probably the only jail in the state in which religious services are maintained without interruption regularly every Sabbath. They are conducted by a committee of christian men and women, aided by the city pastors, and the jailor testifies that the effect upon the prisoners has been most happy. His own labors have been materially lightened, by the improvement observable in their demeanor, which renders discipline more easy. Dec. 10, 1870.

SCHUYLER COUNTY.

W.

Almshouse.-The almshouse, which is of brick, one hundred and twenty feet by forty, two stories in height, with a basement, is the largest and best arranged which the commissioner found. There are forty-five rooms, ten for the use of the keeper, and thirty-five for the paupers. The capacity is one hundred and twenty. The number of inmates on the day of visitation was thirty-one, of whom thirteen were insane and idiotic. The keeper receives a salary of $900 per annum, makes all necessary purchases, certifies to his bills, and presents them to the board of supervisors quarterly, by whom they are audited, and if allowed, orders given on the county treasurer. No separate account of the expense of supporting the paupers is kept.

Jail.-The jail, in connection with the jailor's house, is very well arranged, with cells on two floors, ventilated through the windows and doors. There is no sewerage except from the hall. It is one of the most secure jails visited, and the inmate says that he is as well cared for as he could desire.

L.

Oct. 3, 1870.

SCOTT COUNTY.

Almshouse. The poor farm contains eighty acres, with a substantial brick house. The building is forty-four feet long, by