Omaha daily bee., 1885-01-31
As IT REALLY Is.
An BI-PtnitGltiaTY Foreman EXPRESSES
Himself On the Subject Of
Convict Labor,
The System in It's Nature and Its lie.
suits 49, Oppressive on the
Working Glasses.

A BEE reporter last evening had on
Interesting talk with MIR. M. w. Bru-
bacher, now in this city and formerly
connected with the stste's prison at Jol.
let, ILL.,, and Jefferson, Mo. The espec.
ial bearing of the conversation was upon
the subject of convict labor, with all
phases of which MIR. Brubacher is per.
fectly familiar, having taken advantage
OF his circumstances to make q careful
and analytical study thereof.
Gin saying anything about this matter
of convict labor" said Mr.. b. in response
to the reportorlal invitation to unbosom
himself ON the subject, ~ hardly know
where to begin. However, before saying
anything about my impressions on the
subject, I'll tell you something about
what the convict goes through, as pre-.
iiminaries. 1t may assist an intelligent
conception of the subject"
THE convict, after sentence, ia first
taken to the barber chop, where he is
closely shaved, and then taken to the
clothing department, where he is fitted
out with the striped regalia. He Is then
escorted to the warden's office, where he
is ''entered up" that is, a full descrip-
ton of him Is taken, his name, ETC., is
recorded, and he is assigned to q cell.
He Is then introduced to the foreman of
the department In which he is to work,
under the contract system. OF course,
1t makes no difference whether the con.
vitt has ever been employed at any trade
or not before his entrance Into the prison;
he Is assigned, provided his ply steal con-
dillon will permit, to a certain class of
work, and he has to do it. Now, right
here, permit me to say that there sre two
systems of contract labor, with reference
to the regulations under which the con.
vlct performs his work. In the Missouri
state prison, with which / was for q long
tlme connected, there is in vogue the
task system. That Is, the convict Is
given 30 much work to perform a day,
and he has to reach that standard.
This regulation, however, does
net apply until the convict has been at
the particular branch of work six weeks;
after that time he must perform the task
which Is allotted to him. What results
If he does not accomplish the task2 He
Is generally taken into what liz known as
the blind. cell, barred and logged with the
''cat o nine tails" until his mind ia duly
impressed with the enormity of his dere-
fiction. This cruelty is sometimes car
ried to an extreme. L have frequently
seen convicts rise in the morning with
their backs raw and bleeding from the
effects of these loggings. / have often
seen men who were physically unable to
work, driven In like brutes and compelled
to work out their task, conscious that If
they failed to come up to the standard a
beating awaited them.
In the Joliet penitentiary the
system of contract labor is diff
erent, somewhat similar to the
system In the Lincoln penitentiary.
Instead of being compelled to do a GER
tain amount of work, the convict is
obliged to work 30 many hours a day,
after which he drops his tools. This
system Is manifestly the more humane.
l might go on and tell you of evils
which / noticed which are a direct result
of the contract system, some evils name
less and horrible, had I the time.
Careful study of the whole question
has led me to see the truth of one or
two propositions. In the first place,
the prison contractor can always rely
upon the exact fulfllment of his con-
tracts. He knows that his men will
always do the work, and that they will
always be on hand, and that his contracts
will always be completed at a certain
time. He can also have the work
done at comparatively
trihlng cost. In these two
respects he has manifest advantage over
the outside contractors and manufacture
ers, who, in demanding a legitimate
price for their work, have to ask higher
prices. And 50 In this direct conflict
between prison.made work and the
product of outside labor, the working
classes are damaged to almost an I'M
limited extent. In Analysing the cause
af the present hard times, l believe that
the convict labor system ought to be held
responsible In a very large share. Why
take the one item of local business in
the harness trade. Now there Is Jacob
Strauss of st. Louis, contractor of the
Jefferson prison. He sends his men to
Omaha and they undersell right and left
the local business firms. So do the Chi
cage men who are contractors for the
Joliet penitentiary. So that you SEQ the
loss to business in this, as well as
other directions, is almost beyond
computation. And the workingmen, In
greater degree than the jobbers and re,
t~ailers, feel the oppressive burdens which
the system entails.
but suppose the present system Of
convict labor contracts, which is supposed
to make the penitentiary self.sustaining
to be abolished, heavier taxation would
have to be resorted to In making up the
deficlt2"
"Yes, so l acknowledge, but the work.
fngman of the state can better afford tc
pay a small additional tax In supporting
the penitentiary, than to have his salary
constantly eaten away. l had rather pay
ten per cent a year as the tax which
would result from the abollshment of the
system rather than have my wages
decreased ten per cent q month by the
existence of the system. In other words
do away with the contract labor system
and distribute the penitentiary tax equal
ly upon all classes. Let it remain, anC
it bears with most oppressive results up
on the working men, whose interests, o
all classes, ought to be most CAREFUL!