The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-23
sOUTHERN PRISONS.

| bVGAhbNh A-AiFOANFs
DR.. p. ID. Sims, VINO for years hes
been a student Of the Nystem Of i'm
prisonment and punishment for crime,
and who 80 distinguished himself
short Time ago by his exposure OF
abusse in some prison modes carried
out in Tennessee, lectursd at Chatta-
noogs last Thursday upon Southern
Prisons" to an approaching and sp.
plauding audience. He pointed out
that at the conclusion Of the war the
old prison system OF the South was
broken up, while the disrupted condi-
ton OF things was aggravated by the
whole negro population, who were for
merly Kept il: order by their masters,
having now TO b. dealt with by too
State, While tho country was impov.
erish'd by w1r the expensts OF
the prisons became far heavier
than ever bJfole Tho tsxpayers
cried out for relief, the Stats was
too poor tD maintain lis ciminale in
idleness, they also mus! labor fo' their
own maintenance, and that labor
must be farmei out to the best bidder
This brought the now common lease
systsm. The buyers OF the labr and
also the State boih ergaTed in making
money by convict labor. In doing
this discipline YVES changed in char
Rctsr, fnd the mental and moral i'm
provement Of tho convict was lost
sight Of. The labor of the prisouer
was DO longer for the sske Of ieforma-
ton, bat Of profit. The obligations OF
philanthropy were forgotten. Like a
steam engine, the prisoner was an in
strument TO get work GU. Of and to
make money by The purchaser of
tbs labor might b, good aud amiable
man; lh9 fault was in the system that
reduced the prisoner to ssrvile and
degrading co dition. The reforma.
ton of the majority OF the prisoners
is to be looked for principally b. &C.
customing them to labor under cir
cumstsnces that will lead them TO
live honestly by labor when their
prison days are over. The lease sys-
tenn destroys all this. Labor is made
hatefal, disgusting and degrading to a
msn-a thing to keep clear of when
the prison walls are passed. To labor
with the hope OF further advantage, is
one thing; to do 20 az thing to be
made money 10y for somebody's profit,
Is another rand 80 the prisoner feels
1t. Crime is renewed by these men
whose reformation has been hindered,
not advanced, and crime expands as
a consequence, 81 that in the frat ten
years Of the lease System the number
OF Tennessse's criminals vera nearly
doubled. aud she now pays cut about
5000 900 In arrestlng and prosecuting
C,imlnale, while she receives only
100000 year tor hiring out her
csnvlcte. Yet the lease systena is re-
garded as saving to ths Taxpayers.
The system affects the health, as we'll |
ls the Character Of the prisoner. The |
evils Of the system can best b. shown
by comparative Ggures. A careful
comparison Of the reports Of thirty
nine State piison', tweniy.eight nom
iels5d and olav5n Leased, running
through a series Of years, with 40
avsngs ps'son population Of, in.
the former, 1889 and in The
latter Of 10, 2l3. shows an average NOR.
tally in tae former o, 10 per thousand
par snnum to CT per thousand per au-
mum in toe lstter. This rate OF es-
capes in the former ia 2, against 81 in
the later. La the State OF Mississippi,
running through fur the years 1882,
1888, 1884 and 1886, with an average
population of 79l, this average death
rate is 12l and the rae Of escapes 70.
In other words, 20 per cent. of the
prison population die or escape every
year. Tennessee, l blush to say il,
presents almost as bad record. The
aggregate mortality OF the prison
population for 1883 and 1884 was but
II per thousand per annum and es-
capeO IS. This WAS as a whole; some
branches ran as high as 49," In
conclusion, Dr.. Sims appealed for re-
form, fer ceparation of the sub.
jet AID keepers Of prison
ers from politics, from the
power OF mouopolies, and from
thu dobssing, inhuman bargaining
in their labor, The labor Of the con.
vic, should b9 an incident in his i'm
prisonment, lot tho cole obiec! Il
his Incarceration; the object of his
confinement SHOULD be punishment as
reiormatory discipline, moral ends
sought by philenthropical means. The
prisoner should be made to under.
stand that labor ia not punishment,
bat friend, by aid Of which good
and cheerful future may b. secured.
Emphstically DIR. Sims asserted: IN
our own State the whole penal super
viso'y, lessees and their employees,
prison keepers and their guards, are
one vast army Of political Clackers in
the interes. of the party in power.
There should be no politics in the
guarding aud keeping of our Grim.
insls."