Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1885-05-01

THE CONVICT LABOR QUEsTIOl

THE CONVICT LABOR QUESTION.
In 1888 a minority of the voters of the
State of New York expressed their disap-
proval of the contract system in prisons AS
a result of this expression the legislature of
1884 passed an act providing that the ''su-
perintendent of State prisons shall not, nor
shall any other authority whatever, renew
OF extend any existing or pending contract,
make any new contract for the employ
ment of any convicts in any of the prisons,
penitentiaries, OF reformatories within the
State" There the reform" stopped. There
was no provision whatever for a substitute
for the abolished system. In his annual re-
port made in January last the superintendent
of prisons thus called attention to the situa-
ton: ''When it did this act, the legislature
did not make any provision for the employ
ment of the convicts in the only legal man
ner under the existing laws The legislature
failed to make a large appropriation of
money from the treasury to meet the necss-
sary expenditures to buy machinery and
stock for engaging in manufacturing on
State account and for hiring and paying for
the citizens skilled labor, which will be
needed to begin and direct extensive manu-
featuring operations in the prisons. The
tablishment of this system has been precipi-
tated upon the superintendent since the c.~-e
Of the fiscal year by the abandonment of one
contract and by the failure. Of one
large contracting firm" And the superin-
tendent asked that something be done about
it. In answer to his appeal bill was intro
duced which provided for trial of both the
State account system and the piece price
plan.
This bill has been much discussed, both
in and out of the legislature, and it has just
been defeated. This means that the 1874
convicts in the prisons of New York are to
be thrown upon the State for support, with
out any possibility of employing them in
munerative labor. The cost of maintenance
last year was $500, sol, and the earnings of
the convicts under the contract labor system
were $40, ,657 in excess of this expenditure,
that the State had no burden whatever to
bear. The advocates of the bill are natural
ly much disguised. The New York Evening
Post remarks: Our experience is similar to
that of New Jersey and several other States
in which the contract system has been over
thrown. In nearly every instance the out
come has been the same-idleness for the
convicts and heavy increase in taxation.
The latter is the least deplorable aspect
of the situation. ALI authorities
agree that nothing is more destruc-
tive of prison discipline or more certain to
check all reformatory influences than the
maintenance of convicts in idleness. We
shall probably have, as the immediate result
of our concession to demagogues on this
question, perceptible increase in the num-
Der of discharged convicts who are recon-
mitted.
All this is instructive, or ought to be.
There is great deal of evidence that the con-
tract system works well, and that the objec-
tions to it are largely sentimental. After the
taxpayers of New York have supported their
prisoners in idleness long enough they will
doubtless be willing to have them go to