New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-08-22
Maryland Prison Labcr.

Maryland Prison Labcr.
! Hard labor, rough clothes and coarse fare
appear to be the fate Of all prison convicts.
In many States workshops have been e.
tablished where prisoners learn trades and
learn accomplishments neglected in their
| earlier days; they learn stone cutting, shoe
making, cutlery manufacture, coopering
and harness making, and many other useful
emp!oyments upon prison grounds. In some
States the convicts are obliged-not with.
standing their sentence to be confined IN the
penitentiary for a certain number Of years
to perform the work of ordinary laborers, to
I dig canals, build railroads, miles away from
any prison walls, clearly in violation of the
terms of sentence; but the prisoner has no
redress, and seldom complains of being put
on level with mere paid menials, as the
hired men of labor contractors are often
called. A eolored convict finds his
situation but little changed from his old
slave life. Then he became the victim of
involuntary servitude because he was a
black man. and now because he has stolen
something. In each case the persons con-
| trolling his labor were and are enabled to
compete successfully with employers who
| pay their employees, and thus the convict in
! directly becomes the rival of the working
| man who labofs for the support of his
I family. The States Prison at Charleetowr,
! Massachusetts, is more than self disappearing.
The prison is sort Of home, as it ~ere, q
peculiar homo, where night keys are not a.
loved to boafders; but euch as it il. il
yields to the inmates all the comforts of q
home of that kind. Philanthropists preach
to them, read to them, sing for them, and
supply them with thanksgiving dinners. At
the same time the convict is gaining
strength, learning good habits and a useful
trade. II young men cosld receive sen
tenoe of imprisonment without committing
crime, and if it were not for the disgrace
fastened upon convicts who have not stolen
six millions Of dollars, one half Of the world
would be better off for serving term IN a
States prison, and there are mea mean
enough to say the other half would be bet
ter Oft while the way ward were SO learning
trades.
The Maryland State prison appears to be
. model institution of its kind. There fa-
cilities are prepared for doing most all
kinds Of skilled labor, and manufacturers
are allowed TO hire and work the convicts
under their own direction, bringing into
the prison tho raw material and carrying
out tho finished goods. They thus put
manufactured merchandise upon the mar
ket at astonishngly small cost, and neces.
sarlly reap large profits. A published re- !
port of tho number Of convicts employed
and the wages paid for them by employers.
shows that during The past year, in Mary
land, the shoe contractors employed 155
prisoners at fifty-fve cents per day, six at |
sixty cents. and twenty ono at twenty Eve |
cents per day, This shows to.sl of 1872 |
men making shoes at extremely low wages. |
The marble contractors employed 157 men |
at fifty five cents per day, and two at TWEEN. |
ty-fge cents. The cooper contractors got
fifty .one prisoners to make barrels 1
for them at sixty cents per day. The har-
hess contractors got thirty eight men to
work for fifty five cents per day. OF course
honest labor can not compete with such
prices The report also shows that in the
Maryland prison thirty-fvs women, con.
victs, were employed in the manufacture of
ready made clothing at thirty cents per
day. While this took so much from so
many worthy women starving for want of
needle work, it is curious to note the ex.
ceptious made in favor of = large voting
class. There is law in Maryland author
zing the penitentiary directors to farm out
The labor Of prisoners TO certain classes
If manufacturers, which Law has o strange
declaring that the prison
directors "shan not enter into any contract
or making or manufacturing Of the articles
Known as tin cans, used for oyster and
ruit packing purposes, nor employ any
onvicts in the making thereof" We
re told this amendment vas made upon
he demand Of the tin can nlakers of
Baltimore. Tin can making is large in
ustry in Baltimore, with much capital in
ested and many hands employed, and it
probable the tin can makers all vote the {
Democratic ticket whenever and where
yer they find opportunity. Nominations
re made in tin cans. wards are carried BY a
in cans and men are cent to the Legisla- /
IRE in tin cans. 1t would never do to let t
le tin can interest suffer. While the tin I
an makers have free souls no State prison |
onvict shall be allowed to compete with I
hem in their work fop daily hread T. &
oes not matter 30 much about the women
ho starve on ready made clothing; in fact
clothing can be made cheaper by convict
'bor. 90 much the better for the tin can n
akers who are obliged to wear clothing. b
hat to do with prisoners is one of the d
'eat questions of the age, terribly mixed =
, between humanity and business. n
Appointments. "