Huntsville gazette., 1886-09-11
CONVICT LABOR.
The Present System, and the Way
to Work Convicts on our Public
Roads &C
From the Mercury:

| From the Mercury:
1t is understood that the next Legisla-
| ture of Alabama will undertake to devise
some solution Of the troubles arising
| from our present convict system.
| That it is grave question, and one
surrounded with many difficulties and
embarassments, is manifest to every
thinking mind One object will be to
shelter and protect the convict from the
possibility OF inhuman treatment. The
next in Importance will be, to save the
people from the burden and expense of
maintaining cOnvicts in idleness And,
the last, but not the least object, our
Legislature will have in view, will be to
avoid the baneful competition between
convict and free labor.
The writer believes that there is prac-
tical solution of all these difficulties.
Much has been said about working con
victs on our public roads.
Hon. A. Whited, member elect to the
next General Assembly from this cOun-
ty, in a recent letter, published in the
Huntsville Gazette, gives us the assur-
ance that he will use his best efforts to
have the convicts OF Madison county
worked on cur public roads. 1t would
be idle for Mr.. Whited to 60 to Montgom
cry and simply have a law passed, au-
thorizing the Court of County Commis
sioners to work the county convicts on
the public roads, The present general
statutes of the State, as well as the spec
ial Road law of Madison county, grants
such authority to the Court of County
Commissioners Then there must be
some good sound reason why the convict
labor hae not been utilized on our pubs
lie roads.
The whole trouble lies in the present
officers fee-system. This can be plainly
demonstrated. The chief end and aim
of our criminal statutes in having the
criminal punished for the benefit Of the
PUBLIC, and the public good. is lost sight
OF, by reason of the present system of
fees and court costs. A man is sentenc>
ed now, not for the public good, but to
work out the Solicitors fee and the
Clerk and Sherih's costs. The writer
is aware Of the fact, that the Supreme
court of Alabama has recently decided
that a sentence for Solicitors fee, Sher-
ifs and Clerks costs, was not an i'm
prisonment for debt. But, still We
know, that if our Solicitor chooses to
compromise $50 fee for So, he can do
80. and the convict will not be sentenced
to work out the same in the coal mines
We said our trouble is the fee system.
Ii the law is such that free labor is twice
as cheap as convict labor, so far as our
public roads ale concerned, then the tax
payers will, and ought to, object to the
employment Of convict labor.
Now we do not propose to indulge in
theories, but to test the matter by the
law as it now exists. Let us take four of
the most popular misdemeanars those
which appear more frequently on onr
criminal records than any others, viz
betting at cards under section 1909 Of the
code; carry concealed pistol under sec
ton 1909 of the code; disturbing public
worship, &c, under section 1900, and
playipg cards in a public place. nnder
section 1907 of our code.
To illustrate, let's use the first mention.
ed, viz: Betting at cards. For a cons
viction OF this ofense, the Solicitor re.
ceives fee Of $50. The fine prescribed
by the statute is not less that fifty, nor
more than three hundred dollars. The
almost universal fine is fifty dollars. The
Sherif's fees and Clerks costs will never
fall below $50, and will frequently reach,
fincluding witnesses attendanool f;ftv