St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1880-11-06

IN the keniten0ary u Baton Rouge
is lying lille, while the convicts are
leased to parties engaged in clear
ing land. digging bitches. etc, in
various portions Of the State. said
lease having been granted while the
State was in the hands Of Warmoth
and his cohorts. Tue FARMER has
raised its "horny hand" against the
employment Of convicts outside the
walls of the Peniteatiary, and we
are happy to state that we have
been seconded by some of the most
influential journals in the State,
outside of New Orleans, as will be
seen by the following:
We join with the st. Tammany
FARMER in its call for the return Of
the convicts within the walls Of the
Louisiana Penitentiary. Unless this
is dons, criminals when convicted
hereafter, should be explicitly SEN
tencrd either to work on the sugar
farms, or railroads. and not to the
Penittutiary, al institution int"
which scarcely any Of them ever en-
ter. Or better still. let the law be
SO amended as to authorize each
Parish to take charge of her own
convicss and employ them in repair
ing the roads. -pr.-::os Demo
Graf.
Some time ago, If We are not mis-
taken, Gen. Jastremski, now the
versatile editor Of the Capitolian,
was enthusiastically in favor Of a
reform III The management of the
Penit4ntiary, and that the convicts
shou.d be kept inside Of the Peni-
Tertiary, and not outside. It &C.
ours to us that the people wonld
like to hear the opinion OF the Capt.
tolian on this Penitentiary question.
st. Idmmdny FARMER.
In reply 20 the above we would
state that while in the Constitutional
Convention we voted for adoption
Of an ordinance prohibiting the en-
ploylnent Of convicts outside the
walls OF the Penitentiary. The or.ii-
nance. however, failed to receive
the required majority. Until the
present lease expires no action can
he had through the General Assem-
lily. Meanwhile, we still stand on
the principal that guided our vot.
in The Conyention.-Baton Rouge
Capitcliaa.
The FAR4za would like to know
when the present lease expires, af
We are Of the opinion that the ma.
chinery in the Penitentiary could
be mere pro6tably utilized BY on,
poverty stricken State. with the aid
Of the convicts. than if it were
leased to outside parties. Besides
these nills, belonging to the State
no one has the right to rent or lease
them to anybody. The convicts
should be confined within the pro.
cincts Of the Penitentisry. where
they belong, and this valuable prop.
erty be made to yield a revenue te
the State. As will be seen by the
following extract from the New
Orleans Democrat, the machinery il
in good order. and work could be
commenced at once
AZ We have said, however, it il
surprising that. in the genera
awakening. the large supply of ex
cellent and valuable machinery now
lying unused in the Penitentiary
building should be overlooked
There is now within those walls
a complete outfit of cotton end
wool machinery. all in excellent or
der and requiring but the least ex-
psnditure Of money to put it il
practical working order. There il
also sn engine of power suficien
to drive all machinery. Thi,
machinery has been carefully look
ed after, we understand. 1t ha,
not been allowed to lust or fall t.
pieces, and is now in almost as goot
order as though it had been worked
1t has q capacity Of ten bales Of raw
cotton PEI diem. and will, with Ion
barrels Of coal, work up that guam
tity of lint into 5000 yards o
osnaburgs and 5000 yards Of sheet
ings dnily. We should like to se'
something done with this valuable
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