The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-09-01
A Relic Of Bondage and Infamy
That Should be
Abolished.
1t Degrades the Criminal and Pauperizes
the Honest WOl kingman; and
.DemOEalizes Honest
Manufacturers.
Let This MOnOI oily be Abolished; The State
Secure the Profits; the COIvictS be
Benefited and Honest La.
Dor Protected.
CONTINUED From Lat HIseE !
NoN.PoLTIoAL INTERFERENCE.

Your committee 10 decidedly Of the opinion
that II our penal institutions were placed beyond
the reach Of party politics. and considerations for
the SPpoin ment Of prison OficiAlb based entirely
upon tfiCieDCy, that In q refoImatoly, as we'll "a
financial point Of view, . high dc gree Of success
would enBue. These institutions could then be
placed In the hands Of competent managers, who
would manage their industries for and In the in.
teEeBt Of the State. We could then afford to dis.
pense with the useless .Rppendage-the prison
contractor. A system Of reformation could be
inhoduced which would not only greatly dlmin.
iBh the large number Of IecommittalB, but the
unfortunate convict would then 20 out into
society, intellectually and morally mach better
being than he was when ente rir g prison. Under
the system which your committee recommend
our penal institutions can be made refoTmRtorv
In character; under the contract System, never,
All prison history proves conclusively that the
Z refoTmAtion Of prisoners under this system hss
been complete and total failure Not that alone.
but this perniCiouH system 10 directly responsible
for the lamentable and hopeless degradation Of
the many Thousands Of unfortunate human be-.
ingB who have graduated under It, and who are
now hopeleSsly Lost TO society, and can never be
reclaimed The State heretofore, in itI anxiety
to make the Penitentiary not only self.suSRininR.
but to derive revenue theTefrom, lost sight Of
the most vital point connected with prison man.
Ggement-TC formation.
FEASIBILITY OF ABoLBHING THE CONTRACT
SYSTEM.
Through the investigation made, your commit.
tee has arrived at the following conclusions:
l. The contract system jnteTfeHes in an undua
manner, with the honest industry Of the State.
It has been the cause Of cTipplnR the business OF
many OF our manufacturer; It has been the
cause Of driving many Of them out Of business; II
has been the cause Of large percentage OF the
reductions which have taken place In the wages
Of our mechanics; 1t has been the cause OF nan.
periEing large PORTION Of our aborers, and in.
creasipg crime In corresponding degree; It has
been no benefit to the Slate; as a reformatory
agency 1t has been complete, total and miserable
failure; 1t has hardened more criminals than anv
other cause; 1t has made total wrecks, morally NJ
Thousands and Thousands who would have been
reclaimed from the paths OF vice and crime. mn.
der proper system Of prison management. but
who now have resigned their fate to a life NJ
hopeless degTadstion; 1t has not a single oou.
mendable feature; It's tendency is pernieions IN
the extreme In short, II is an insurmountabIo
barrier in the way Of the reformation OF the nm.
fortunstes who are compelled to live and Iaho,
under Its evil influences; 1t enables a clasu NJ
men to get rich out OF the crimes committed bv
others; 1t leaves upon the fair escutcheon OF the
State a relic Of the very worst form OF human
slavery; 1t Ia bone Of oeRseless contention be,
tween the State an its mechanical and IndustriaI
Interests; 1t is Abborred by all and respected bv
none except those, perhaps, who make profit ana
gain out Of IT, II should be tolerated no longer.
but aboliHhed at once,
2, The penal institutions throughout the State
should be placed in charge Of men who A ter
thOroug and rigid Examination, have proved
themselves thoroughly competent and efficient,
Place these institutions now and for all time be.
yond all partisan, tectRriRn and political control
whats oever. Let the industries Of the prisons be
managed by the head Of these institutions. and
let whatever profit, II any accrue from conyio
labor, be placed In the TreASuryof Of the State CITY
or county having control OF tuch institutions
Many Of our eminent prison managers are de-
eldedly Of the opinion that 10 allow prisoner To
participate In the profits Of their labor as a re-.
ward for good behavior would not only be an In.
Centive to REFORM but would enable them, when
discharge d, tO seek honorable employment and
thus place themselves beyond temptation to rec
lapse into crime. This plan, wherever 1t has
been put into practice, has been productive Of
muc good. Take, for exam pie, the large indus.
rial prison OF Count Collohub. at Moscow, Rus.
sIa. In this prison each convict Is permitted TO
choose the trade he wishes to learn, and o. soon
as he masters II he Ia permitted to share In his
earnings. In many casts he ia allowed two.
thirds This system furnishes such great stimu.
luA to industry that many prisoners often become
good Workmen in very few months. In re-.
formOtory point Of view II has been decided
success. Out OF two thousand one hundred pris.
OnerB discharged In six years, only nine returned
No penal institution In the world can show bet.
ter record. Whether or not the same results
would follow In this country by the adoptiC Of
this system, we are unable 10 say. We are quite
certain, however, that II the profits Of convict
lab or were shared by the State and the prisoners
| that II would be much better for the prisoners
| and for society than II can be under system
| which gives the entire earnings Of prisoners to
| contractors.
Your committee has weighed well the objec.
tons raised against the adoption Of system
| which places the management Of the industries
Of prison in the hands Of the Oiicer at the head
Of the institution, but fail to Hnd any reason why
| suhicient integrity can not DO found anODR Ouf
people to supply honest and competent LfiCerg 10
control our penal institutions a. well as other de-.
| pRrtmentB Of State. There 10 no evidence 70
lhoW that these institutions will be made any
i worse than they are under the contract Byktem,
but the evidence that they will be made better q
/ Overwhelming and irrefTAgable.
| 3. classification OE prisoners, according 70
the degree Of their crime, we deem indispensable
| 10 their reformation and general moral improve,
ment Separate the vicious and depraVed nom
| those less hardened In crime, and teach them Z
full trade - fer ~ Il 10 p0ssible TO do 90. y
1. In order 10 avoid any undue interference
with the interests Of free.labOR, multIpliOAtioM
| Of the various trades, az much a. possible would
seem 10 us as furnishing q remedy for ihe eva
complained Of Then let the State put the pro,
duets OF convict labor upon the market as other
manufacturers DO, and sell them ct their market
value. Furthermore, let such branches Of lndua-
try be selected aa will least interfere with the ing
| duslries Of the State B'
| The adoption Of a system such as your coInI
/ mittee recommends we feel confident would
obviate all the evils connected with the contract
| system. Our manufacturers would then have no
\ cause for complaint, and the contention when
haf for the past thirty five years existed betWeeH
the State and It's mechanical tnteres,s would for
ever cease The unfortunate convict wo Id have
a door thrown open to him which would lead6
higher plane and higher order. There wOuld
| then be opportunity for his reformation Andito
reclaim him from the paths Of vice and crime
and send him out into society with his reioImRI
| ton complete. To the accomplishment Of thiI
end the State 10 In duty bound to exert ever
| ehort, no matter at what cost. Reformation
should DO the paramount aim, and all financial
~ WSh "a oSheE alma, should be nOrOlI