The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-07-17
CUhYICT LABOR.

me, and pnh'iahsd in the INrELLla nScsR O.
January q, 1883:
COhvICT LABOR.
Some Remarks On the noundsvfffe Pen
i,en.iary.
To he EditT eftAs IsseA.gextr.
SlR:-Apother effort is being made In The
Legislature to discontinue the contract BYE
tenn Of employing the convicts In the peni
Tertiary. A bill to the same effect was in.
troduced at the lsst session; and after tax
ing into consideration investigations and
reports made Ia The Stats where convict
labor has been employed both by the State
and under the contract system, and hearing
tho statements Of various persons who be-.
lisved their inter- s:s jeopardsed by the
contract system, the Committee en- the
Penitentiary failed to report q bill 10 the
Honse p lib recommendation 10 pss,, The
subj ct was discussed at length in the
House, and little or no innovation upon
the present 81 stem was made. UnetB the
present Legislature can offer some plan far
better than has been offered heretofore
something practicable and sufficiently plain
as to be convincing to the average iutelli.
gence Of the public, 1t would be we'll to see
to the present condition and management
Of the psnitentiary, and apend no time in
an effort to enact law, that by all proha.
bili,y, would incur an expenee that the
ate could not u Hd and the people would
not approve.
One argument advanced In favor OF q
change is that tho present system brings
tho convict labor In competition with other
labor; but no Argument has been offered
showing that the competition would be de.
stroyed, were the State to engage in manu-.
featuring, or otherwise give employment to
the convic's. To employ part Of the labor
TO do the public printing, as has been aug.
g.sted, would prove unsatisfactory aud un-
profitable, and would bring the convict
labor in direct competition with and lessen
the demand for the labor Of the professional
printer. For the State to engage in manu-.
featuring iron, glass. cigars, wagons or other
articles, would not lessen The present
competition; for to make the labor
OF conVicts remunerative, the greater
number Of them would have to bs
employed in one industry, the one that
would be most likely to return the best
profits. We do not know that the Slate
conlemplales the building Of public works
sufficient to give employm=n for any
length Of time to our forcs OF convicta; but
II 90, to employ the convict labor would
come in direct competition with aud ira.
vent the employment # other labor. 10
! give the conyicts out to farmers would
compete with the farm laborer, though we
do not belivs that our farmers would want
to engage such help, were the State to fur
Dish one or two guards for each convict.
To hire then, out 10 township and counties
to work on the 1oada, or TO Incorporated
towns end cities to work on thu streets,
would deprive many poor man Of employ.
ment who depend upon the kind Of labor
for their support. 't-2
The two hundred convicts in the pcni.
Tertiary, as nov employed under the pres
emit contract Bystem, cannot, We believe,
materially ipj1re anylof the manufacturing
industries carried on III the State, or have
any considerable bearing in regulating the
price Of labor. The terms Of service OF the
convlcte, perhaps, will not average five
years, and they cannot be clasrsu as ek,ll.
cd !aborers. Two years ago forty OF them
were employed, under contract, in manu-.
featuring cigars. The cigars were the kind
extensively manufactured III Wheeling and
the surrounding towns, but were mostly
shipped to markets remote from thiB
section. Yhe pigafs manufactured by
the copvlc!s could have but lit,ls
bearing upon the market, eitner ss regard.
ed over production or competition.
Wagons, We are informed, are manutac.
tured in Ohio and sold in this State in
competition TO the wagons manufactured
in the penlteptiafy. The greatest number
OF wagons made by tie CONVICT labor are
shipped to Southern msrketa, and must be
sold in competition. with those manuiac.
tured BY the large factories in Indiana and
Other SECTIONS Of the country, and any
wagon mandatory in this State would
have to compete with these factories, both
az to local and Southern ma,ke,a Like
competitions would apply to broomp,
whips, or other articles Manufactured by
the oonyiGtg. 4
Should the State engage in manufacture
my, all necssssry machinery not owned by
the State, would have to be purchased, and
large appropriations Of money necessary 10
carry on manufacturing, would have to be
made. The success Ct such an undertaking
would depend upon the labor employed
the quality Of the articles manufactured and
economy IN the management OF the works.
A manufacturing industry carried on under
political management, all Losses to be borne
by the tag pa, ers, and not by the msnsgare,
would, We believe, az in other inatances,
prove unproa!able-uot only failure
financially, but also failure in
loso1p;po thc coropof;t;or ~ A..
convict labor. The idea CT keer-
ing the conviots confined, aud giving
them no employment, will not DO enter
tainkd by any. reasonable numb OF men;
for such confinement would uv. be con.
ducive to the health OF the morals Of the
prisoners, would be burdeusoms to the
tax payers, and Of punishment for crime
would increase rather than Lessen the mum.
Der Of criminals. The sutJecs. is one tbat
should be we'll considered, and immature
legislation avoided. f
Ia conclusion would say. that az a
member of the Legislature, 1t WAS not my
part to advocate measure 10 abolish the
present system Of employing convict labor
In the absence OF better system, and I
am Satisfied that my vote upon the me azure
met the approval OF nine-tenhs OF tbs
voters Of Marshall county. J. SINCLAIR.
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