USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > History of the Albany penitentiary. > Part 4
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"The Inspectors were not disposed to interfere or remonstrate. lest they might be suspected of selfish views in thwarting the Superintendent's personal interests, or those general state interests
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which were said to be involved. They neverthe- less thought it a mistaken policy, and that Mr. Pilsbury's usefulness here was of greater moment to the welfare of community at large, than in the sphere to which he was to be translated.
"In 1845, at the request of the commissioners appointed to construct the Penitentiary, Mr. Pils- bury, a stranger, came to Albany, where politics, in regard to public appointments, have usually been omnipotent. He has been four times unani- mously chosen for terms of three years each, to be its Superintendent, and in almost every case by boards, the majority in which, were opposite to himself in political opinion. But his talents, abil- ity and social worth are too well known and under- stood to require eulogy; it only remains for the Inspectors to speak of the present emergency."
At the joint meeting of the mayor and recorder of Albany, and the supervisors of the county, held on the twenty-second of November, 1855, he tendered his resignation of the office he had so long and honorably held. In his communication, there was a cordial acknowledgment of the cheer- ful and efficient supports he had received, and the kind estimate entertained of his labors. He said: "I herewith hand you my report, exhibit-
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ing the income and expenditures in the opera- tions of the Institution for the year ending October 31, 1855. It will be seen by the several statements and tables annexed, that the profit for the year, after deducting every expense for its support and management (including the salaries of Chaplain and Physician, and the wages of all the subordinate officers), has been twenty-five hundred eighty-six dollars and fifty-three cents, while it is entirely free from debt.
"In submitting this, which in all probability will be the last report or official communication I shall have the honor of transmitting through you, it will not, I trust, be deemed out of place should I embrace the opportunity to acknowledge the kindness and constant support I have at all times and under all circumstances received from you individually, and as a board, and also from the several mayors, recorders and boards of supervi- sors during the ten years I have been associated with you and them, in the building and manage- ment of the Penitentiary.
"The position which I occupied was for many years one of extreme labor and anxiety, and although at times discouraging, your confidence and appreciation of my services, always incited
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me to renewed exertions to promote the interests of the Institution and the welfare of those com- mitted to my care, by devoting my whole time, with all the industry and intelligence of which I was capable, to make the Penitentiary, if possi- ble, a model institution. I have endeavored to make it a school where the young, at least, while suffering confinement for crime, should be taught principles and habits of industry, and of personal morality calculated to govern them in their future lives. For the success which has attended my labors, I am greatly indebted to the citizens and press of Albany. From the commencement of the institution to the present time, not a word of censure, or unfavorable comment (so far as I know) has ever been published by either of the many papers of this city, or state, while all of them, from time to time, have spoken in the high- est terms of commendation of its management, discipline and success, thus giving to the Peni- tentiary a reputation that has aided me much in the discharge of my duties. Prisoners have come here feeling and knowing that the community approved of and had confidence in the discipline and management of its affairs, and consequently they have expected to behave well, and generally
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liave done so without punishment of any kind; the cheerful compliance with the rules on the part of the prisoners, the order and discipline which has without difficulty or severity been maintained, should be attributed in a great measure to the confidence and support I have received from the authorities and citizens of the city and county of Albany, for which I desire to express my warm- est acknowledgments, and to assure you and them, that it will always be a source of great satisfaction and gratification to feel that my course of conduct as a public officer, and my management of the Penitentiary has met with and received the approval of the citizens of Albany, and the public generally.
"Considerations, other than personal comfort or pecuniary profit, have induced me, reluctantly, to accept the appointment of superintendent of the institution on Ward's island, city of New York, which was tendered me (as you are aware) against my wishes by the commissioners of emigration.
"When, therefore, the mayor and recorder and board of supervisors of the county of Albany shall, in joint meeting, elect or appoint my . successor, and whenever he enters upon its duties, my responsibility as Superintendent of the
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Penitentiary will cease; until then I hold myself accountable for its management while the interest I shall feel in its prosperity and welfare will end only with life.
Very Respectfully, Your obedient servant, AMOS PILSBURY."
This resignation the authorities hesitated to accept, anxious to retain so valuable a public officer. They laid it on the table; appointed a committee to confer with the Superintendent of the Penitentiary, and adjourned to meet on the twentieth day of the next month.
At the adjourned meeting in December, the committee reported that "they had satisfactorily ascertained from him, that no inducement could be held out that would cause him to withdraw his resignation, he having, as he said, taken a step that as an honorable man he could not re- trace."
In anticipation of a new appointment, several individuals became candidates for the office, but after three ineffectual ballotings, Louis D. Pils- bury, was, in accordance with the recommenda- tions of the Inspectors, elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of his father.
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APPOINTMENT OF A NEW SUPERINTEND- ENT; HIS TRIALS, AND RESIGNATION.
As the appointment of Louis D. Pilsbury was for the unexpired term for which his father had been previously chosen, the authorities at their joint meeting held December 7, 1857, duly elected him as Superintendent of the Penitentiary for three years from the first day of March, 1858. In the report of the Inspectors then presented they said "The Penitentiary is still a self supporting institution, the receipts for the last year having been $2,152.76 in excess of its expenditure. The established discipline has been properly main- tained, and in that respect they can see no differ- ence between its present management, and that of its former efficient Superintendent."
But at that time a dreadful commercial panic had seized the mercantile community. Men's hearts were failing them for fear. Business was completely paralyzed. A monetary convulsion prevailed. Strong men and immense establish- ments were borne down by the destructive
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current. The contractors for convict labor at the state prison Wethersfield, Conn., at Auburn, and Sing Sing in this state, had thrown up their con- tracts, and the Superintendent had received notice from the contractors for labor at this Penitentiary that they would discontinue theirs after the 25th of that month, December.
This was most trying to an aspiring young man who desired to fulfill successfully his trust, and sustain the high prestige of the Institution committed to his charge. But it could not be evaded. Dependent as was the Penitentiary for success on the earnings of its inmates, that could not be realized when no work could be procured. "The Superintendent and the Inspectors used every means in their power to procure employ- ment for the prisoners without success; and the former Superintendent, with that deep interest in the welfare of the Institution which he con- stantly cherished, was indefatigable in his ex- ertions for the same object, but in vain." The labor of the convicts was offered to manufacturers on very low terms, but no one would accept it.
The effect was every way trying and discou- raging. It is forcibly stated in the report of the Inspectors for 1858.
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"It will be remembered that the Inspectors in their last annual report stated that by reason of the monetary revulsion which had then recently overturned almost in a day the business of the community ; when the workshops of the country were closed, the banks suspended, and thousands of operatives suddenly thrown out of employment, the contractors employing the prisoners had noti- fied the Superintendent that they would be unable to proceed, and therefore be forced to abandon their contracts. On the 25th December, 1857, all the operations in the saddlery and hardware depart- ment - the most lucrative and important branch of business carried on - were closed, and nearly one hundred of the most effective men in the Pri- son at once cast into idleness. Those engaged at chair seating, both men and women, were kept partially busy for a short time longer, when their employers, having closed their factory in conse- quence of the stringency of the times and the impossibility of effecting sales of the manufactured article, were unable to furnish any more work. So that on the 15th January last all remunerative labor in the Penitentiary entirely ceased; and thus, in mid-winter, and in the gloomiest time the merchants and manufacturers of our country have
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ever experienced, three hundred and twenty-eight prisoners (two hundred and fifty-five men and seventy-three women), stood entirely idle : and to add to the misfortune, the Prison just then was unusually crowded, the number of its inmates being greater than it ever had been before, or ever has been since. It was indeed a trying time, not only to the convicts but to the officers of the institu- tion, for nothing can be more irksome and depres- sing than a total want of occupation. The disci- pline (silence, non-intercourse, order, clock-work regularity), had to be maintained, and it was maintained. The men divided into squads of twenty-five to thirty, with an officer to each, were seated in circles in the work shops, and from time to time during the day were exercised in the open air, but only to return again to their seats. It is wonderful that the health of the convicts remained so good as it did, for certainly the punishment during that long term of idleness, was more severe than any they had before experienced. Imagine ! twelve to fourteen hours in the day time spent by the prisoners, seated in dumb idleness, with their eyes bent upon the ground, and their keepers (not allowed by the rules to sit), standing in their midst with nothing to do except to keep their eyes
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upon the prisoners. It is difficult to decide which was the preferable position. The excellent Chap- lain of the Prison, as often as he could do so, held meetings in the hall for moral and religious instruction. He also advised that the convicts should be furnished with books of a suitable character, which being done, afforded to those who could read partial relief from the dull monotony of their daily existence. Occasionally, as some prospect opened, the Inspectors would desire the keepers to inform the convicts that work would probably soon be obtained, and it was both curious and affecting to witness the eager joy with which such announcements were received. Truly, man in his laziest estate, is not altogether an indolent being, he covets employment either of mind or body ; he craves something - something - to do. As many as could be employed around the premises, in a manner consistent with their safe-keeping, were kept as busy as circumstances would allow; but it was mid-winter, and there was little outside work to be done. Thus, the great mass of more than three hundred men and women, were, from sheer necessity, utterly idle.
"In the meantime the Superintendent was inde- fatigable in his efforts to discover means by which
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the prisoners might be profitably occupied; while his father, the former Superintendent, at his own cost and charges, scoured our own and neighboring states with the same object in view, but only to find other prisons, more or less, in the same con- dition, and manufactories closed without work for their own operatives."
It is not surprising that, under these circum- stances, the youthful Superintendent was dis- couraged, nor that, with the prospect of continued adversity and dependence on the county treasury, he should desire to resign his charge. Just at that time an opportunity was presented for him honorably to do so. He received a call to the management of the state prison in Joliet, Illinois, which he decided to accept.
Having informed the Inspectors of his purpose he addressed the following letter to the mayor and recorder of Albany, and the board of supervisors May 8th, 1858. It shows his appreciation of their confidence and deep regret that untoward circum- stances had prevented his success.
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To the Mayor and Recorder of the City of Albany, and the Board of Supervisors of the County of Albany, in joint meeting assembled :
Having received an invitation to take charge of the new Illinois state prison, now building at Joliet in that state, I have deemed it my duty to accept thereof, and therefore hereby resign the situation of Superintendent of the Albany County Penitentiary which I now hold, to take effect on the first day of June next.
It is with extreme regret I leave a city in which I have lived so long, and to which, with all its interests, I have become so strongly attached, but considerations of another character have induced me to present my resignation. I also deeply regret, that a combination of untoward circum- stances, have resulted in my leaving the Peni- tentiary in a less flourishing condition than when I assumed its management.
Having been twice, by you, appointed the chief officer of the Albany Penitentiary, allow me to return my best thanks for the generous manner in which I have always been treated by the joint authorities, the support and encouragement I have received from the Inspectors, and all the city and
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county officers, and for the general good will and kindness invariably manifested towards me by the citizens of Albany. All these will ever live in my most grateful remembrance. :
With respect. your obedient servant.
LOUIS D. PILSBURY.
Penitentiary, May Sth, 1858.
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RECALL OF FORMER SUPERINTENDENT.
THE aspect of affairs at the Penitentiary was at that time ominous, and the situation of the In- spectors perplexing indeed. It was not that there were no candidates for the vacant office, nor that those who sought it were not respectable and worthy men; but their anxiety was to secure an individual who was thoroughly adapted to the situation, and equal to the then existing emergency. They saw a man was required who, in addition to a thorough practical experience in prison discipline, had a character that would attract public confidence, courage to meet obsta- cles, persistency in contending with them, wisdom in devising measures for their removal, and skill in the execution of necessary plans. To have given the office then to an individual who had not these qualifications, would have been to destroy the reputation of the Penitentiary, and extin- guish the sanguine expectations which had been justly indulged of its permanent usefulness.
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Under these circumstances the Inspectors wisely and unanimously advised the authorities to use every means in their power to induce Amos Pils- bury to resume his former position of Superin- tendent of the Penitentiary. They said: "He is the best and probably the only man, at this special time, who can put the Institution on its former good footing, and so conduct it as to shield the county from expense."
In thinking now of this advice, it seems to bear somewhat the aspect of temerity, for they knew that Mr. Pilsbury's services on Ward's island had been remarkably successful, that they were highly valued by the commissioners of emi- gration, that no efforts would be spared to retain them, and that he had signified no disposition to return to Albany. They said in their recom- mendation :
"Although the Inspectors have frequently of late approached Mr. Pilsbury on this subject, they can not say they have received much en- couragement that he would return to Albany and occupy his former place; but yet, from the deep interest he has ever manifested in the success and character of an institution which he has, as it were, built up and made himself, and with which
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his name and fame, far and wide, are identified, and the zealous efforts which he has put forth, down to the present time, to advance its pros- perity, the Inspectors confidently believe that if a unanimous invitation to return to its charge shall be extended to him by the joint authorities, he will not feel at liberty to decline. The great importance of his services at present would seem to require that this effort should at once be made."
In accordance with this recommendation of the Inspectors, the authorities at their joint meeting adopted the following preamble and resolutions:
"WHEREAS, a vacancy in the office of Superin- tendent of the Albany Penitentiary will exist on the first day of June next, by reason of the present incumbent having resigned said office from and after that day : and,
" Whereas, This joint board entertaining the highest confidence in the preeminent fitness of Amos Pilsbury, Esq., for such office, the duties of which he so long discharged to the entire satisfac- tion of the people of this county ; therefore
" Resolved, That Amos Pilsbury, Esq., be and hereby is appointed Superintendent of the Albany Pentitentiary, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Louis D. Pilsbury.
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" Resolved. That the salary of said Superintend- ent be fixed at 82,500, being the same as hereto- fore paid him."
To this invitation Mr. Pilsbury made no formal response. but happily for the interests of the Penitentiary, the county and the state, he assumed the position with his accustomed vigor, discretion and tact; and the beneficial results were soon apparent.
As might have been expected the commissioners of emigration took immediate action to secure the continuanceof his services. They raised his salary to 85,000 per annum and left him no alternative but to remain on Ward's island, and in his government there. Consequently, while from a regard to the interests of the Penitentiary he acted as its Super- intendent, yet, as he could not reside here, he placed in the hands of the Inspectors a formal resignation of the office to take effect whenever his successor was appointed and ready to enter on its duties.
This resignation the Inspectors wisely deter- mined to keep in their own hands; for they were thoroughly satisfied that while the responsibilities of the position were on him, they would be honor- ably met and discharged, and that every thing
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would be done that could be to restore the Peni- tentiary to its former prosperous state. In this course they were sustained by the advice of several prominent citizens. and public men. Mr. Pilsbury was therefore left "to select an officer of his own training, educated by himself in his own system, and at his own expense, to be his hands while he himself was the head. and sustained all the responsibility of conducting the Institution."
Time soon determined the correctness of this opinion and course. The Inspectors said in their next annual report : .. In five months Mr. Pilsbury has nearly restored the Penitentiary to its former useful state. and it is now again in a prosperous condition, with every prospect of continued success. He has. without impairing its efficiency or scanting its inmates, but mainly by his skill in purchasing, and other methods of economy, reduced the ex- penses of the establishment more than fifty per cent, while every man and woman in the concern is industriously engaged at remunerating work. In this place, however. it is but just to the former Superintendent to state, that the seven months of his administration were. and are always, by far, the most expensive portion of the year. and also, that during that period there was a much larger
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number of prisoners to feed, clothe and maintain, than had ever been on hand before.
" Nor has the present Superintendent, thus far, reaped any pecuniary benefit for himself from these circumstances, because he has expended every dollar of his salary in paying the services of his representative, in traveling expenses and other outlays to promote the interests and welfare of the Penitentiary, and to obtain and secure labor for the prisoners. No one better than the In- spectors, can tell the amount of trouble and ex- pense and extraordinary exertions, that have been made, and incurred, by the Superintendent during the last six months, to improve and restore the condition of an institution, with which his name and reputation are so closely and extensively known, which last circumstance has without doubt proved a more powerful incentive to his efforts than any pecuniary compensation that could have been offered to him. The Inspectors knew the remarkable capacity of Mr. Pilsbury, and that whatever he undertook would prosper ; that he was entirely competent to manage, at one time, if need be, several such institutions, in a masterly manner, with equal ability and success : they believed that the authorities would coincide
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with their views, and they knew that nine-tenths of the community would sustain them. Having the public good and that only in view, without regard to those who make office-seeking a trade, they felt they could safely and confidently rely on this joint board and on the tax-payers of the county for approbation and support. It is true that the Superintendent, at present, does not constantly reside at the Penitentiary, but this vio- lates no law, because there is no law in relation to it. It may be a nominal, but nevertheless only a partial infringement of a rule instituted by the joint board for the regulation of the Prison; and this, by the advice of leading citizens and mem- bers of this joint board and by public opinion, and by the Inspectors, who consider the public interests paramount, has, for the time being, been waived. The Superintendent is at the Peni- tentiary, as long and as often, as is necessary, and whenever absent, receives daily, full and minute reports of every transaction and event that occurs. His representative, trained by him- self for many years in his own system, and in his own pay, is constantly on the spot exercising full power under his principal, who is responsible for him and for the good conduct of the whole concern.
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"The public are not only satisfied with this arrangement, but, in common with the Inspectors, think it would be perfectly suicidal to the public interests to interfere with it, and to throw away not only all those advantages, but $10,000 to $20,000 per annum besides, for a mere techni- cality, which, if thought necessary, can easily be obviated by the passage of a resolution suspending only one line of the rules and regulations during the pleasure of the joint board."
Happily the opinions of the authorities harmo- nized with those of the Inspectors. At the next meeting of the joint board, held on December 3, 1858, their course was readily endorsed, and the clause in the rules and by-laws for the government of the Penitentiary, which provides that the Su- perintendent "shall reside at the Penitentiary," was suspended during the pleasure of the board. Thus all cause for complaint, on the ground of non-residence, was removed. The resignation was practically disposed of, and the Superintend- ent was left to complete the work of restoration he had so promisingly begun.
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RENEWED FINANCIAL PROSPERITY.
THIS honorable expression of confidence on the part of the authorities of the Penitentiary was highly appreciated by Mr. Pilsbury, and induced a determination to continue his well directed efforts to restore the Institution to its former state of financial prosperity. In his next report to the Inspectors he said : "Deeply grateful for the con- fidence reposed in me and for the encouraging terms in which you have been pleased on many occasions to notice my labors in endeavoring to render the Albany Penitentiary a model institu- tion, I submit to you my official report, which presents most gratifying evidences of renewed prosperity during the year just ended, and con- firms the fact that in regard to health, cleanliness and discipline the condition of the Prison has never been better than at the present time.
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