The Jail
Anyone reading the last grand jury report must have come upon one point of it with a feeling of here-we-go-away. That is the paragraph devoted to the subject of the county jail. The framers of the Report in this case used restrained language; far more restrained than some others that have come in. But as the Report states, no words are adequate. It must be seen to be believed. And+in any case as far as talk goes, the subject of the County Jail has been talked out. As far as we know nobody thinks the present jail facilities are satisfactory, unless that somebody has peculiar ideas that a man who comes into the toils of the law thereby sheds his humanity. There has been indignation expressed; shame expressed; determination expressed. But no action.
Every time the question is raised, the question of cost is raised. Every time the question of cost is raised, the question of taxes is raised. And every time the question of taxes is raised a great howl Is raised. We decide that Sullivan County is too poor. We have come to believe it is true. We are too poor. But not in finances. We are too poor in spirit; we are too poor in Christianity; we are too poor in humanitarianism. We are too poor in pride; we are too poor in self-respect.
Let’s look at the record. The first sight of the county jail by this writer was in 1938. It was taken at the request of a man locked up there. The three of us who made the grand tour at that time came away nauseated. We printed pictures, and we wrote the first piece urging that something be done. The County was too poor to do anything but deplore.
1938 to 1953. In that interval Sullivan County has grown phenomenally. Its population has increased more than fifty per cent. Its riches have multiplied. It had basked in great prosperity. But the Jail is just about what it was.
We can no longer believe that adequate facilities for jailing criminals is a matter of money. It isn’t. If we are honest, we will admit that our delay is simply due to our attitude toward the criminals. Consciously or subconsciously, we are saying, “Why spend money on criminals? There are other things we need worse.”
The people of Sullivan County should get rid of the shame that they carry. There are many arguments, but argument is useless. It all boils down to the question of whether the people themselves are interested enough to translate some of the Christian fervor developed on Sunday morning into positive practical Christian action. The county court will take action when the people tells them positively that they want it taken. It isn’t what any newspaper says; it isn’t what the Grand Jury says. It is what the people say. How many will make themselves heard?
