The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-15
NEW ORLEANS. july rs, 1873.
EMPLOYMENT OF THE LABOR OF
CONVTOTS.

More than one embryo association, assum
ing TO speak for workngmen, has advanced
the idea that convicted criminals should no
be allowed to labor, and the socialists propos,
the prohibition of the use of prison IabO
by private employers or corporations"
liz 1t not evident to the oommonest under
standing that in any given community, hav
ing given number of persons able to work
a certain and fixed amount of food, and cloth
ing, and other objects of human desire which
can only be procured by labor, will be pro.
duced, and that those who from any cause
are idle, must be fed from the produce of the
labor Of those who work, and the food of the
workers Is inevitably diminished thereby.
Then, II you keep convicted criminals idle
they must eat the bread produced by the toll
of honest men.
is 1t not, then. to the interest of honest
men that the convicts should produce by their
labor as much aCedm as possible, to be dis
tributed among the community which they
have injured by their crimes2 The more food
they produce the more there will be for every
man, woman and child In the community to
eat. Is not a government officer, who has no
Interest or motive other than very weak
sense Of duty, the least likely to cause the
convict TO labor the most productivity? On
the contrary, IL the CONFLICT is hired to pri-
waite Individual who Is the highest bidder, not
only Is Che revenue of the State increased and
the taxes on honest men diminished but the
lessee. having the powerful motive of self-in-
terest, will be certain to so employ the con-
vict rs to produce the greatest amount of
wealth. or course, after deducting what the
NonVlct consumes and what the lessee pays to
the State, the residue Of the product of his
labor increases the wealth of the lessee, but
his wealth is part of that of the community.
He Is the better able to purchase the products
OF the labor Of honest men.
To Illustrate, 80 in 100 of the convicts in
Louisiana are totally unfit for any other labor
than that of the common field hand or ditch
CIR. They are generally incapable of learning
any mechanical employment.
Experience has demonstrated that with a
complete cotton MILL carding machines, spin
ming iennys and looms furnished free, they
cannot be prohtably employed in the manu-
facture Of even the coarser cotton fabrics.
1t is utterly impossible to make them earn
their salt by any kind of manual labor in the
four walls of prison. They could only
break rock, and it would cost more to bring
the rock from the distant quarries of the
North than the broken rock would be worth.
The only mode in which they can be profit
ably employed-that is, can be made to earn
more than they eats in either plantation or
railroad work. 1t is the only kind Of labor to
which they are adapted. We have demon
strated that If they are idle they must eat the
l,-h hof is 20
the interest Of all honest workingmen that
the convict should produce as much wealth
as possible, and that he is most likelyto reach
the greatest production under the stimulus
of the self-interest of the lessees of convict
laber.
The increase of the wealth of the Iessees
benefits the whole community and enables
them, directly and indirectly, to give employ
ment to the carpenter, shoemaker, baker and
every sort OF industry.