The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-29

!, committee l voted AGAINST rat
tom Of the lease aud would vote egain'
/. ,oV in lis orisins! terms. did not sign
80 minority report because doubted th'
.-s.,ion of resumption ami operation {
,bs penilen,iarits on state account. d
-, ,slisye il practicable without grea
- In this view am supported by tn
.v,s-ieuce OF other states that have trie,
-. srp.riment. To keep them in the wall
~ ,Dust be employed at mechanical a
,',a1ulsctory industries, auu TO so empiOl
- many men requires the investment n
al rapital to carry stocks Of material ant
bni5 the manufacturing products until .
market is found for them, and 1t will take
inc TO build up q market Tor those mad,
AZ our psuitentiarieS, which are uniortu
Ssteiy located SO far from any
commercial center, and with such
noor facilities Tor transporta
Ion. individuals may undertake to dc
ms The state will hardly furnish her OIL
6ceIs such sums rs would be necessary Ia
csr-y ont successfully such enterprises In
the northern anu eastern states, where the
CONCENTRATES are located in or near large
Az are familiar with mechanical and mau-
rhcturing pursuits, the state can Jet a GER
tain space with certain number OF men
IN A given price. This we cannot do aud
so we must carry on the industries by the
state or lease to some one that will, or con-
tirl,e the hiring system. Then the Ques-
ION /, reduced TO a choice between two
nropositions: To either lease to those hay-
IN the capital and experience to carry on
those industries in the penitentiary walls
or 10 continue hiring TO be worked on the
outside
Now, Mr.. President, heartily endorse
the policy of the late and past administra
lions that looks to the employment of the
conycts inside the walls at the earliest time
practicable, without too greatly burdening
The people with taxation for the building
and maintenance of the penitentiaries-a
policy which is but the reasonable demand
/ mink we should look seriously to the
hest, surest and safest manner of accom-
pl!shing the purpose. Not do as contended
by the senator from Anderson, look mainly
to making money out of the convicts,
whigh would continue the hiring system,
and leave our penitentiarieS, built at
such great expense, standing unoCcupied
and useless and not, as commended by the
senator from Dallas, operate the peniten-
tiaries on state account, even if ii costs
$4,000 per year and not as commended by
the senator from Travis, work the convicts
BY the state at any cost, but Till up the
penitentiaries already built with conviCts,
and work them there on the best terms we
can until We can build others sufficient to
hold all our prisoners.
~ LAT, it,nt IA 20 lnl
and give iair estimate of its operation
under the lease. Morrow, Handy & Co.,
take the Rusk, and Cunningham q Ellis,
the Huntsville penitentiary for period OF
ten years, the conviCts to
be equally divided between the
two penitentiaries, the state
to retain the control, management
and supervision of the convicts, to appoint
and remove the superintendent, inspectors,
sergeants, guards and other officers. This
power to control said convicts is fully eX-
pressed in the tenth section of the contract:
"The right is reserved to the state through
its proper officers to direct how, and at NIL
times. and under all circumstances, the
conviCts whose labor is herein contracted or
leased, shall be lodged, fed, clothed, worked
guarded and treated, and it is distinctly I'M
derst00d and agreed that the control of
such convicts under this lease pass from the
state or its officers, and the management of
said c0nvlcts shall, in all cases and under
all circumstances, remain under such con-
troll
This secures the conyicts all the protec-
ton under the lease that they would have
1.-THE penitentiaries were operated on state
account in either event, they being under
the control and supervision of state officers.
Other amendments OF the lease prohibit the
employment of the cOuviCts upon railroads
or other public works, except the building
or Improvement of penitentiaries, and re-
quires the lessees to employ, within three
years, l 400 convicts inside the walls, 325
having heretofore been kept there. And
further, that the state may, by building
other penitentiaries or reformatory schools,
placefhem all inside the walls. There are
now on hand 2,27S convicts, of these 1,0l0
have been hired to work on farms for a
period OF five years, under contracts
winch the state has no right to re-
woke. This leaves TO be disposed O
LIS conyicts, eighty-nine of whom are put
down as on.productive labor, leaving L.
Iiy. Two hundred and forty of these con
VlcI' are under eighteen years of age, and
are expected TO be placed in q reformatory
school, a bill for that purpose having been
reported iay0rably, without objection, and
Which will certainly soon become law.
lhlS VIII leave net working force of 900
MOI already disposed Of This does not in
clude the estimated increase. which / find
10 De Tor the last two years 121, or sixty per
ailum and suppose that would be q fair
oasiS Oh calculation for the next ten years,
winch would give 600-at least 10 per cent.
oi Whom, would be under eighteen years
oIu' ana so to the reiormatory school, leav-
lns net increase of $40. Giving the aver
age increase Tor ten years 205, making the
average working force Lila, besides 1 040
wv hlred on farms-altogether
-,lG Fourteen hundred to he
WORKED inside, leaving only 75i
outslue the walls. These figures, are
taAe9 from the report of the penitentiary
board, and the correctness has not been
questioned.
now as to the profits to be derived from
lhis labor, the l,Oi0 hired on farms yield a
net annual revenue of $74,SS-0, out of this
tne state pays for transportation of prison
e ets rom lSn the jails, $2S for every county,
Sto'oS3 per annum. Now if we could keep
sle other prisoners inside the walls without
etpense, we could make the $40, $50 per an
nun Tor the next five years. then, when
. o,s 'ot are outside, the amount would be
reunceu 10 S26,2 per annum. But tho
p,,enitehtiary board advertised the lease of
tnese prisoners with the other convicts to
NC worked inside the walls, time and again,
anu A. ha9 no bidders except one, and he de-
nu that the state give him u
bonus of $4,000 per annum. If no
private individual will undertake TO oper-
s.e lhese penitentiaries without n bonus
rom the state, can the state expect to so
V u them without lease, aud would not
sme loss upon those inside the walls cou.
sniue all' II not more than the profits de-
l.veu from those hired outside? Can the
Sfa n.y. AFFORD to undertake the experiment,
u que can lease Tor certain profit OF $50 coo
nsv annu m, besides saving largely in trars-
p por!atlon and other expenses, and reserve
f : and management of the convicts2
! snall vote to ratify this lease as amended,
because believe it best for the state to
,e~e, and because | believe the state can
r ny, tease on better terms, aud to those
VINO would be more likely to give gem
present lease. ' y WV
Messrs. Handy e. Co. are the present
Tlessees OF the Nashville penitentiary, of
! tennessee, and Cunningham & Ellis have
N.Y. charge of our convicts for five years.
ne success Of both these lessees rive assur-