The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-23
utilized or worked proftably at a compare

walls, while profitable, is undoubtedly AN 4
evil; and II their labor can ne mane profit I
able, OF even self-sustalning inside the I
walls, then provisions should DE made TO
contine them there at any price.
But there is u general demand that the
criminal population be made seltsustaiI
ing, aud that law-abiding citizens snail not
be taxed To maintain convicts. AS before
stated, there is a large class ui our convicts
untitled Tor skill, d laborers, and hence can
not be prohtably employed within the
walls. What shall be done with this class
Work them where they viii be seli-sustain-
irg.
within the walls, and even where most OF
them are hired on good contracts, very few
of the prisons are ssif-sustalning.
A year ago visited the Missouri peniteI-
tiary, where there were 400 conviots i'll
the walls. Nine hundred were hired to
contractors. The greater part of the re
manning SD were unit ior. skilled labo.,
could not be hired, aud their expenseS
about consumed the net profits OF the 30 |
These northern prisons have, besides,
clsss OF convicts better suited for inside Ia |
bor; they have, 100, other advantages in
the way OF purchasing aud selling markets,
and transportation facilities which We do
not have.
Take almost any prison north, aud the
difference IN railroad ireights alone, in one
wear, between IL and either one OF our prlt'
uns with say $50 men, would amount To az
least $500 annually. Now, II northern
prisons, with all their facilities and adyant-
ages, aud with demand for INSIDE labor,
cannot be- more than seisustalning, what
can be expected here, with nearly one-half
the conyicts uAsu ted TO skilled labor
The board recognized this fact when 1t
endenyored to contract this unskllled labor
on the outside ana lease the penitentiarles
or shops independently of 1t. To contract
outside labor was easy en- ugh, but nobody,
with all ihe advantages offered, was willing
to lease the penltcntiarles alone, or con
tract by shops even. In order to lease the
prisons. aud conine n larger number OF
convicts inside, the board was compelled
to sugur-coat them with the outside labor.
PREFER THE CONTRACT sYssEm
for our penitentiares 10 the lease system;
but what ever be the causes when
prevent the investment OF capital
manufacturing enterprises in Texas
even where there ia railroad com
petition, operates TO greater ex-
tent to prevent the Inauguration OF them
with convict labor at such places as the
prisons are located
The lease of either one of our penitcnti-
aries when large Misunderstanding enterprises
or "''N' :" V - ~ ', -. 80
VVoS per S m,nmn T naas or Fora Wop'h
than where thev are nj Huntsville and
? Rusk. Any large manufacturer would be
, willingto pay that difference for locality,
} have said that the Working OF ConviCts
outside the walls is an evil, because of the
ID mortality aud escapes resultant there'rom.
! The great cry, with those who desire that
a Cunycts be confined within the walls, is
,l h..xr lt.ft nd tntn Hta t,ftfh La.
/ honest ire. labor OF the country. Shall II
= man because he has been convicted OF
: crime cense IA work. The most of the
- conyiots IN the penilentiaries are registered
% nv Iahorers before thew came there and be.
fore conviction they competed with other
j, Inhorers--it NOT ihev ought to have done so
- II confined in the walls In idleuess, the re-
a ouirements of the law are not carried out
# md If at labor then do they not connect,
u "nnollv as n,Iich mnre with Tree I,nor thar
If worked nj unskilled labor
. on the outside? There can be ne
q iniurinrs con,neti,ion ha,woan froo and
I convict labor in Texas, for the demand TO,
labor of nil SORTS IA preatpr than the SUNNY
= The aupar interests of the etn,e did no
4 hegin Ia he deyeloped until convict labo
!. WAS EMPLOYED ut IL There arc about |,
= 900 900 naies o; cotton raised in Texas, ant
,. how many THOUSANDS of bales have re
a manned liIp lplIA tina winter tn roll he
:. la,p.., Al,.laaL agl.bor,la niak iL2 OF lin
: l9uv " ""' '',S moor u cerVoluIy NJ
v copvicts o n"I ,no u,npioy lnSul OF lheS'
=, ives the sn,,l Ro oo.toh auu clle larlh
N Hht,ir inbnrnr" ,u,'' NJ, uo'ter Vnntce u
a., her nr,, bo"a,i,,,. |'" '""' '"o sre"teF mum
-" a ,rI "or V "rn ,',',s'' ,.,, ,oo,
i roads IN Sra, "''u t'i"n 'uVo ni''es OF rail-
4 canaci,ies 5n nnn ,n ,oa ',tpu3 c ~, uiuereh
are conyicls,~not much TH"' nv n,or ", WHO" ,%"
!. nre ouIv en,nlnwod iaoSo coHNlGl'
!, .,,,,;, V'S u"'P,JSuu because OF The
" hnmnd nv Lawo i"uo, ~ ruiiroaus art
Uu.I'u W nave iaoor, ana II they ciunOt &c;
y sans nromnt ~ VIZ nav 10 ihuuce th'
where IL 10 so ,,',nh ' ,ou i'oh' the larhs
Whi,c tLer, is " a, ,'ve"eu.
- onviotn IL, H. 10 H. 'u,ol III ieAas 10 place
. tion with Tren T"n' pru"use vi competi
w., Wv" VIZ, '.eo tuoor, lheie IL c!amor in
$ walls worS;n,, S'a at MneIo a,l are III The
q them "t un.is ;usd i HI'ieu LABOR, 10 WORK
. t;,inn Wv '''"'''o" '"por' 10 prevent compe
= "1su"rr'oN AND THE PUBLIC ACCOUNT
!, rI,uc nstEM;
an, leas,s 49,, LASS vi "oJeotorS 10 lhe pres
n and desire Iha, sew W. ,no lease system
on ,ha wy shGl neWorked
state otnciais ~ ',' ~ s'eh- Is, oy
ten, u w,,V n', W, s'u'e account This syS
a vesii"atsa a1 I"amuSi',s anu thoroughly IN
The nmhiic ncnovnt ', s,'a, ny ,he board.
+ in Texas from tho org,";.a,i n"u ple'Wlei
trn,iarv nn,,i WY o'Ruvn,na'i2n OF the peni-
r lease IN lS7o |, is ,a,, w., DemVy 20
faiirra AZ 10 wei knowh mat 1t was
a dopment mlu nenue us aban-
!, hein" n,aao , ~ were always
c,,;1asn ,'"nJ W. voSet ueuo'enoles' ratrotl"
si,ntiv "n no ",''.nau.s vi huntsville con.
money so J" mr,, VIZ mS rescue advanced
/, nm guards inns rbeo"s o ara oae'lt, bought
wy Sua'us hine cheGHs' ana OF course de-
sriS, u upSm Tue noerallty OF the next
m.sc ,s,a,u '' 'ne NECESSARY uehclency ap.
; '' T,,a '',,II;, ,,,,,.,. .....,
ovarn pmV'lo auooun, SYSTEM mas JAILED IN
u,an sI"sne'h s.a'e especially since the
,hn ' t %as "aS pvu" s1uerauy followed by
n mr onoo SYSTEM, mas JAILED III the
nuL.sn.tn s,a'es' ana the contract system
'" !, ,,ooit ...,-
all, ~ p,e'"nsat present IN California; Penn