New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-08-23
ocrats have made permanent gains in that
THE a1TACK ON THE PRISONS.


THE a7TACK ON THE PRISONS
| Do taxpayers wish that hereafter the stare
Prisons should be supported by the State ana
not by money earned by the convictsf Inas
will be the final result il majority Oh the
voters of the State vote In the affirmative on
the proposition TO abolish contract labor In the
prisons. Senator Grady, perhaps unwlttiugiy'
did the convict labor system service when ne
pushed through the Legislature and persuaded
| Governor Cleveland to sign tho law for the
submission to voters at this falls election OF
| the question whether or not the contract labor
system ought to be abolished. In the last
| Legislature, with Legislatures usual hlgh
proportion of members cravenly anxious TO WIN
| the favor of the opponents of prison contract
labor, "A bill abruptly ending the system nearly
passed. But when the question is clearly pre-
srnted to the taxpayers of the State, when
they are shown that decision in the afiirma-
tive will impose on them q yearly burden OF at
least half a million dollars, can they then be
persuaded to give their CONSENT And once
decisively rejected by the people, what chance
will the proposition have of passing Legs
laturef
There is danger, nevertheless. that through
the circulation of adroitly drawn appeals to
the sympathies of workingmen majority may
be secured for the proposition. The favo-
rite argument Of the contract labor reform
ers, and the one that the most readily gains
the attention of workingmen, is that the con-
yicts injuriously compete with the labor OF free
workmen. Now, in 1879 the massachusetts
Bureau Of Statistics of Labor reported
that there were 47,769 persons in the prisons,
penitentiaries and reformatOries Of the United
| States. Of these 4O,122 were put to WORK ;
| 24.5S5 of them in various kinds of manufac-
| turipg. The census of 1870 shows that there
were 1.297,61I persons employed in manu-
| featuring in tho United States. This gives q
D, oportion of one convict to ffiy-two work
| ingmeb-less than . per cent OF competition.
| The contract labor reformers themselves admit
that competition of the convicts WIN the
workingmen would not be damaging unless 1t
amounted to over 3 per cent According 10
their own admission, therefore, the working
| man is not injured to any damaging extent by
the competition of the convicts.
Excellent reasons, indeed, should be given to
TEMPT the State into reverting to the discarded
public account system. Every taxpayer can
have access to the books OF Sing Sing Prison,
wherein the results of the two systems are
wildly contrasted. IN the five years ending
September 30, 1877, the gross earnings of the
prison under the system of having the State
employ the convicts, or the "pubic account y
system, amounted to 1888, 442 Az, and the
expenses to 81 ,2S3. 594 S3; total loss, $685.
l52 IL. On the other hand. during the five
succeeding years, ending September ~, 1857
under the contract labor" system, the gross
earnings of the prisOn amounted to 81 1913, $50,
and the expenses to 1927, S37 O9; total profit,
S2O5, Coz 30. And total gain to taxpayers by
the change of system, $l,10O,S4j -. Are
taxpayers ready with these facts before them
to say that the old system Of prison manage
| ment must be restored !
The State would save money by summarily
ending the agitation. Mr.. Baker, the Super
intendent Of Prisons, had just put the three
| State Prisons into fine financial condition when
| the Democratic Legislature interfered with his
work and brought loss upon the State. De
spite the increased &C st Of the leadirg articles
required in the maintenance OF the prisons, he
had increased the receipts of thu prisons
$3.50 90 aud reduced the expenditures
| S29,l 6S making total of $itSll So
for the fiscal year ending September 80, 1852.
| What WAS more important, he has nude the
prisons self-sustaining his books indeed
showing n surplus of $G,257 SO. This was
airemarkabo contrast to the financial record
! Of the prisons under the "public account sys-
TEN only six years before, in 1876, when there
was a deficiency Of over 100000. But the
Democratic Legislature was not content with
this satisfactory showing for the taxpayers. Ii
passed bill, which became n law through
Governor Cleveland's signature, forbidding
| the manufacture of felt hats III the prisons.
The result eau be seen in the record since of
| Clinton Prison, where ielt hats were made.
| The convicts earned for the State 4,494 SO
in April last by making the hats. In May the
law went into effect. The earnings of the con-
victs sank for that month to 1907 81. Mr..
| Baker has since managed to secure work for
some of his idle hands at this prison, but
months must pass before the earnings OF the
convicts amount to the sum they earned in
| April. The prison bank account may be SAID
to have been permanently lessened. 1t rests
with the taxpayers to SAY if this meddling with
the various trades followed by the State
| Prison convcts is to be continued, and if all
| trades finally are to be excluded from the
prisons. Does the taxpayer wish that the
prisons should again become a heavy burden
| to the State Treasury
| A GRATIFYING CHANGE.