The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-03-29
The Penitenfiary.
wrssox. Mss, March 16, 1876.

WEssoN. Miss, March 10, 1876.
EDS. CLARION: The Penitentiary should
be leased for term of years with the priv
ilege of working certain class of cOnVicts
outside of the wall.
The first reason that | shall give is the
lack of cells in which to keep them-there
being about three times as many cOnvicts
as there are cells. If all the house room on
the premises converted into sleeping
apartments, it would prove insufficient for
the purpose.
The second reason is that there are neither
shops TO work in. nor tools and machinery
to work with. and no material to work
upon. But II this was not so, the capacity
of the cooking and eating rooms is entirely
insufficient for the whole nun Der. Either OF
these reasons would be sufficient TO work
most of them outside excepting those con-
Victed of rape, murder and arSon) until
provision is made TO work them inside.
But if all these wants were provided tor-if
the cells, shops aud cooking and eating
rooms were built, and machinery and
tools and material supplied, with plen-
ty of money in the Treasury - even
then it would be unwise to put four
hundred uneducated, unskilled, corn field
hands" in the shops at one time. 1t would
take one-Hith of their number OF skliI1ul
mechanics rs overSeers to conduct their la
bors, and those In for a short time could not
learn so as To be useful at a trade and
therefore should not be put at one. At the
expiration of the lease, they should be re-
should be filled gradually. The first thing |
to be done then is to provide workshops.
tools and material. There are but five |
branches of the manufacturing that can be |
carried on with profit with convict labor /
namely: blacksmithing, the making OF /
wagons, plows and shoes, and the manu-
featuring of cotton and wooden goods, and
bagglng made of jute. The blacksmlthlng
should be commenced first, because most
profitable and takes less skill as well as less
~ hn NAL. ingr nf nln
the material can be got ready in shorter
time. 1t will take some time to get wagon
tim Der and dry il sufficiently to make good
work. The shoe department is already or
ganized on a small scale, but in a room lar re
enough for large operations. The cot
ton machinery should be put up last.
The M anutaeture of bagging should be a sine
gtti non. The building put up last year for
that business, it is too wide, it makes the
room dark in the middle, it has so many
posts in it that the machinery cannot be
placed properly. and rs it should be. But
{ will do-the upper story for the wagon and
blow shop, and The lower story for storage,
ind it will be sufficient even when the cot
on factory is started and everything should
De done with reference to the cotton bag
ing factory.
The lessee should be required to complete
he cells and increase the mum Der to six 7
r seven hundred, to build and put in OPP r
ration a cotton and wooden or bagging v
lills with two hundred cotton looms, 5
nd all the preparatory machinery, to which
light be added several other smaller enter
rises, such as the making of rope, twlne,
ewing, ETC., etc. =
The old proverb, that to make a good
.holar YOU should send the child to school
oung applies with great force in spinning
nd weaving. 1t is very difficult
ling for a man with hard and stlh,
)arse fingers, to learn to tie the broken \
lread in weaving or piece up an end; it l
quires a small, soft and nimble finger to G.
either with dispatch, and there are very II
W of that class that ever gets to the pen
sptiary.