Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-02-23
OUR ROADS AND OUR CRIMINALS.

with its present arrangement. Inc nta'
and least Is It's exrenso. We hare there
some twelve or fourteen. hundred able
bodied men and Women. VIII" are UNA
bic to support themselves. Tho honest
ycomanry OF the state are thus compelled
to work tor their maintenance. This. 1t
be remembered. is in addition 10
the cost involved in their capture. III
generation in the county Jail. trial. aud
transportation to jefferson City. All OF
which Items combined pile up ! iriGhttul
bill of costs. aud are Il serious burden
upon our honest industry.
In addition to the expense is the social
disturbance threatened by bringing their
labor into competition with thai OF the
law-abiding workman. Their shoes anu
boots. their wagons their chairs. are eX-
posed tor sale by the side of those made
BY the man who honestly tolls tor his
daily bread. Honest work is thrown
out of the market by the undertaking
OF penitentiary contractors. who refuse
to pay enough for convict labor to MAKE
the institution selt-sustaining. In plain
terms, the coal diggers and coal miners
OF Lexington pay a tax TO enable the
penltentiary contractor to rule them OUT
OF the market. By hiring co"vict labor
tor such u pittance that it vii! not sup
port itself. they are able TO undero'd our
coal companies and throw our miners
out of employment. No man can fail to
see that this is u serious evil, and likely
to breed n fearful storm, whose not dis
tant mut,eriugs we have already heard.
There is a third grave objection to the
present criminal law as it regards the
penitentiary. Itisthe bringing together
into intimate association the less crlml-
nal and the most hardened wretches OF
the state. BY virtue OF this fact. our
penitentiary Is so tar from being a re
torInatorv. that it is the exception II the
petty thief does not come forth from lis
walls a graduated, desperate criminal
The consequence Is that we have formed
i class OF abandoned law-breakersr
whose lite is 4 chain OF larcenIes, bur
e~laries, arsons, rapes and murders. IN
terlinked with periods OF imprisonment
in the p~enitentiary.
Well. what has all this 10 do with on
county roads? 1t has this connection
We D 4 radical change IN on
criminal law, so that the p~enitentiar,
shall be reserved Tor the highest grade
of crime next to that OF deliberate mur
der. Let no ordinary thief be sen
thi,her. Perhaps we should say that n
one ought to be sent there for violation
OF the rights OF property ri least. MOTTO
the first ~offense. Let ii be reserved I"
those whose criminal instincts lead ther
e TO endanger the persons OF others. A
any rate. we are clear in our judgneu
that at least two-thirds who are sci
| there can be disposed of in a better wa,
Let them be kept IN the counties VINO
have had the trouble and expense OF the
VI conviction, and let their labor be Wt
q issd uDon the pubiic roads Of N
c counties.
There is no proper objection to takin
them out into the country. This Is dor
Il a. Jefferson City. The convlcts the
= not only work upon the streets OF Jetfe
y son, but go upon boats for miles up al
down the river. Moreover, they a
a. carried into other counties. We kno
h, that they a-e working them in the &c
g mines OF Pettis and johnson counties.
But even if this were not thought be
Their labor could be profitably used
20 having an Enclosure adjoining the coun
ia,l. such as we have attached TO o
a CITY calaboose. There let them sPe
their time breaking rock to macadam'
is the roads. This is the plan adopted
no :, Louis and other cities. We have
:, here in Lexington. Why may we
,,se our state criminals for the same p
pose?
on II would save one large item Of CO
m which is involved in their transported
'th to Jefferson City. 1t would prev
their labor from coming into comp
mis- ZION with that OF the honest worhm
mr. II would so lessen the number ID
peni,entiary that they could all be p'
as itably employed. 1t would be a m'
rial help toward improving the pu'
thoroughtares, and thus add greatly
the prosperity of the country. 1t wo
keep them in small companies and II
UP contact with the viler classes OF the p
Tertiary, and so tend to prevent Il
hardening into a fixed habit OF crime
has .oaIs genera reconst,