The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-02-05
pital. At present the colivicts are as burly a
looking body Of men as can be selected.
DAILY LABOR

pital. At tpresent the coilvicts are as burlyi. a
looking body Of men as can be selected.
DAILY LIBoR,
The work OF improVe Vement is continually
going on; and, as far as possible, the conyicts
are required to build their own nest, without
outside assistance. Much Of the iron work is
done by convicts. Nearly all Of the stone cut
ting, the care Of large garden, the charge oi
large number Of pigS and hogs, which are
destined soon to become pork, and the general
police Of the enclosure all this devolyes upon
the convicts, and the tank is well and faithfully
done. There is no department which is not
hourly under the eye Of Major Lee, who COM
bines with his skill as sn engineer an unusual
amount Of administrative 10 ability.
AS soon as practices ole it is proposed to in
troduce mechanical power Of various kinds, to
which the adjacent water power will be sp-
piled; and it is understood that the machine
ry now in the State works at Greenville will be
removed to the penit sntiary fol: the purpose.
The institution will then be in condition to
turn out implements Of labor, in wood and
iron, and such other work as can be put upon
the market for sale. II will thur soon become
seKsupporting conc,rn.
THE RESULT IN DOLLARS.
Already, expenses, by reason Of convict la
bor, have been materially reduced. This labor
is daily becoming more valuable. Many Of
the stone-cutters are now worth $23 per day,
while the average val1e is one dollar per day.
The cost of maintaining these prisoners is
only about forty-eight cents a day, Of which
fifteen cents covers tie cost Of subsistence.
The total outlay thus far for materials,
building apparatus, temporary structure, &c,
has been $7O,901.70, hut the cost to the State
is about $4,000, so that it may be safely est-
mated that between $1,000 and $1,000 has beon
absorbed by discount on the State bills in
which most Of the payments were necessarily
made.
From November "a, 1865, to December 81,
1857, the cost Of provisions was A,919.s0, and
Of clothing, shoes AMI bedding $ss76.A.
On July /, 1853, tho convict labor viii entire
ly supersede hired labor, and, with the inn
provements contemplated by Major:Le the
institution will aoon become source Of in
come to the State. ..'-
con CEUsIoN.
During the year 1857 there were in confne-
ment two hundred and twenty y-three prison.
ers, of whom eighteen were pardoned by
the Governor, fve were discharged at the
expiration of their sentences, six died and
three escaped. On January 18th, 1888, there
remained one hundred and eighty-seven pris-
oners, Of whom tuenty-nine are whites and
one hundred and Hfy-eight are blacks.
With such an array Of facts concerning this
institution as We have presented, there can be
no question that ii is.. likely to become the
most important of the kind in the Southern
country. 1st. Its general plan, arrangement
and management are based upon the best
models which the country affords. 2. Its loca-
ton upon the banls Of stream whose water
power is almost unlimited, affords advantages
for manufacturing purposes certainly not sur
passed by those Of any similar institution, and,
therefore, the State is likely to derive benefit
from this hitherto new and untried system OF
punishment, in the double sense that it will
not only be self-supportlng, but will supply o
want that has bean oIporienoed ever slnce the
change from the former condition Of affairs.
What may be the effect of this enterprise,
although penal in it's objects, upon the pros
perity of Columbia is yet to be determined.
Possibly the development of the remarkable
water-power Of the Congaree River and the
adjacent canal, in it's application to the manu-
featuring purposes Of the penitentiary, may di-
rect to that locality the attention OF capitalists
abroad, and the consequent improvement of
that portion of the City Of Columbia. In the
course of time tho penitentiary itself may turn
out half the wooden work, the boots and shoes,
and implements CT agriculture that are used in
South Carolina. Certainly up to the present
hour the most remarkable success has at
tended the undertaking. It is probably the
cheapest structure OF the kind in the United
States, and bids fair to be the best We have
only to add that it is popularly known as the
Governors Pet," and it is to the general
supervision and direction Of the Governor that
the State is indebted for this incipient 'Omni-
um Gstherum" Of incredible wickedness and
frst-class rascality.