effect a big yearly saving in the running expenses of the various state departments. With such state purchasing agent all materials could be bought on specification and by competitive bid. The specifications should be of such a standard as to insure a good product. Manufacturers' samples for analysis should be submitted with the bid, when deemed necessary, and when delivery was made the shipment sampled for examination to determine whether specifications and requirements had been met. A salvage department should be conducted in connection with the office of purchasing agent. In my opinion the possibilities of such a department as a means of saving money for the State is great. The commissary department is provided with a cold storage plant and a room for fresh meat, vegetables, eggs, butter and other perishables, also with a meat-chopper, cutting-blocks and other necessary equipment for handling meat and preparing meat by products. The meat and refrigerator rooms are kept in good condition, but are so situated in the main Prison building that it is impossible to provide suitable light and ventilation, it being necessary to depend entirely on artificial light. The issue room is small, but a limited amount of package and bulk goods can be carried on hand. Full cases of canned goods, cereals, etc., are stored in various parts of the Prison buildings and in caves hewn from the solid rock surrounding the Prison yards, consequently the stock is scattered and with the present method of keeping commissary accounts no accurate check of the amount of foodstuffs on hand is possible without making a complete inventory. More spacious quarters should be provided the commissary officer in order that he may keep his stock in shape and relieve congested conditions. Another storeroom is badly needed. Tobacco is issued twice a week, each prisoner receiving one package of smoking tobacco or a plug of chewing tobacco. To prisoners not working tobacco is issued but once a week.. One pound of writing paper and four packages of envelopes are issued to the main-line prisoners weekly. Each prisoner is limited to two letters a week, which constitutes what is termed "the stamp allowance." Clothing is issued by the commissary officer every Saturday to replace worn out wearing apparel that has reached the stage beyond repair or can't be salvaged and put in shape. These articles of issue comprise drawers, undershirts, overalls, stockings and shoes. There is some unavoidable waste in clothing as occasionally a prisoner desirous of obtaining a new issue will maliciously mutilate articles, given him previously, to a point where replacement is necessary. This is a matter very difficult to control and apparently there is no correction. This, of course, adds to the Prison bill for clothing. When a new inmate is received in the Prison all his clothing and what personal belongings he may have with him, are placed in a cloth sack, tagged and held in the clothing department of the commissary until the prisoner is released. It is recommended that a sterilization apparatus be installed to thoroughly sterilize such clothing by steam, or other suitable agent, to eliminate any possible chance of bringing to the Prison any disease or the spread of vermin. Foodstuffs are issued by the commissary every morning at 8 o'clock. The following table shows the issue of food materials during the period I was making my observation: The above table shows but little variation in the kind of foodstuffs issued. It does show, however, that the prisoners are issued good wholesome substantial foods. Your attention is called to the table headed "Food Computation Sheet" for the quantity they receive. Prisoners doing work on the new cell-house, in the stone quarry, or other work about the prison grounds, receive ten to twenty-five cents per day. With their earnings they are privileged to purchase, from time to time, such articles as sugar, butter, condensed milk, peanut butter, and occasionally jam, jellies, preserves and honey. All such material is bought for the prisoners by the commissary officer from local stores in Carson City. These food articles are kept on the diningroom table at the place assigned to the prisoner, or in an improvised locker, a small wooden box with cover, set under the table or bench. KITCHEN OR DINING-ROOM UTENSILS The main-line kitchen is equipped with a Merrill & Stetson range. This, as well as the cooking utensils, such as pots and pans, were found to be in fairly good condition. A certain number of prisoners are appointed each day as kitchen and dining-room orderlies. To these men is assigned the duty of keeping the place well washed and clean throughout, and to assist in the table service. The dining-room tableware, knives, forks and spoons, are kept in condition by each prisoner. In front of each place at the table is a small drawer for this individual service. As well as knife, fork and spoon each prisoner is provided with one tin cup and he is required to wash his own equipment after each meal and place the same, after thorough drying, back in the table drawer. Each prisoner is issued dish-towels twice a week, which he also keeps in the table drawer. Water for washing is set on each table in small tin pails at meal time. The tin plates upon which meals are served, also the larger serving dishes, are washed by dining-room attendants immediately after each meal. The dining-room tables are made of wood about 12 feet long and 3 feet wide, each table seating 16 prisoners. Long wooden benches serve as seats. No table-cloth, oil-cloth or other covering is provided the table. Breakfast is served at 7 a. m., dinner at 11:30 a. m., and supper at 4 p. m. Prisoners are locked up at 5 and lights out at 9. At the time this survey was made 63 yard prisoners were being fed in the main-line kitchen. The number eating in the guards' dining-room varied, as the following table will show. The Prison water supply is from wells located on the Prison grounds, pumped into storage tanks and distributed by a pipe system. The water is naturally hot, is of good quality, lightly mineralized, carrying but 355 parts per million of total mineral matters. Following is the result of analysis of a sample of water taken from a service tap: Natural hot water is supplied in the Prison bathhouse. BAKERY Water white None All of the bread used in the Prison dining-rooms, and also at the Prison Farm, is baked at the Prison bakery, a small room set aside for the purpose in the main building. The bakery is equipped with a Hughes electric oven in fairly good condition. This department of the Prison is lacking in equipment, and a mechanical mixer, doughcutter and other minor modern conveniences should be installed. Such addition would effect a saving and at the same time turn out a more uniform and satisfactory product. At the present time bread is made from flour milled at the Minden flour mill, from marquis variety of wheat grown on the Prison Farm. It is a flour of very good grade as the following analysis will show. Sample taken from flour bin in bakery room. There is practically no table or kitchen waste of an edible nature from the main-line or guards' dining-room. All left-over material is utilized by the cooks in making soup or hash; all bones are used in making soup stock. The amount of inedible waste for the period, consisting entirely of vegetable paring from all of the kitchens, was 114 pounds. FOOD COMPUTATION TABLE The following table gives the amount of the various articles of food used in the main-line dining-room during the period-the chemical composition of the foods in terms of protein, fat and carbohydrates, and by calculations the total amount of those food constituents actually consumed: The following table, compiled from the cost of food sheets and data furnished me by Mr. Greenwood, gives the actual cost of food consumed during the seven-day period, and the distribution of costs among the various items issued by the commissary officer. In the summary table will be found the cost per day of feeding prisoners. |