The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1888-02-18
a VICIOUS SYSTEM DENOUNCED.
By the House Penitentiary Com.
mlttse.
A Comprehensive Epitome Of Their
Report.

SJ NHS1ASt NCuuluk 10
mitigate OF exagerate the evils
charged.
as result they have arrived at
the conclusion that under any
form, the leasing system is wrong
in principle and vicious, that It
possesses all the evils of the slav
system without any of the safe
guards Of ownership. Whenever
human laoor is farmed out for
consideration uncontrolled by any
intei est in the welfare oi the labor
er, the laborer is very apr to be
worked with view to the highest
possible gain to the contractoc.
"lf the system Of leasing is
Objectionable, that of sub-leasing
is doubly so. The sub lessee must
pay his middle man, the original
lessee. This profit is charged up
to the labor, and is exacted from
it in addition to the profit the sub
lessee must make. OF necessity
then VIC look for overworlx and
undue economy on the part of the
said lessees. The testimony shows
that such expectation was real
lied"
The committee finds that frost
bite Is general among the convicls,
and the prevalence OF this com
plant is explained by the testl-
mony of one sub lessee who said
that .the hands wore poorly clad
when he received them aud that
lie wanted to get even with Ham
ilton, and so delivered them to
another sub-lessee IN hike condi-
ton And to accomplish this
lauda5le end lie wanic to turn
the conviots back to Hamilton
with poor clothing. In the lncan-
time such metto Is of retaliation
however satisfactory to the sub
lessees, might result in frost bite
to the half clothed conylcts.
"Oac convict, Jobe King, Il
young and WAS stout, is now in
the walls and on crutehes IN con
sequence of this novel attempt t,
draw a line between nakednces
and humanity" We find the con
duct OF j. p. Mcdonald, con
tractor on the X. G. NJ. & b
raili cad to have been simply mar
derous. ''To the cruelt,es prac.
ticed by this yrute in human form
is attributed in a great measure
the high death rate among con.
vicis in 1887.
From the testimony is no
creditabIe to The administration d
Ijus'ice in Monroe county that thii
brute aud some Of his creature!
are not now in convict garb them
selves
Inc death rate during 1885 wa,
l9.08 per cent. ItISS7 tho deatl
rate was 1914 per cent. The
lessees are not. however, entirely
to blame for tins high death rate
as they are often in bad condition
produced by i'll treatment or
county convict farms. And 70
the last few months the rate d
mortality has been much less, bu
we do not cxouerate the lessee
from all blame for this high deatl
rate.
The death rate, however, B.
the few prisoners in the walls i
as low as could be expected undet
the circumstances, and the con
t;ast between the death rate tier,
where conYicts are generally sics
and IN the camps where they ar,
supposed to be we'll, is highly sig
niiicsnt of their treatment in ths
latter. We find that many casei
of cruelty, in all probability, nevel
Come to light on account of a sys-
ten Of intimidation.
While the leessees forbid al
cruel and unusual pumshments OF
the part Of their subor,Ilnates
they should not be held blameIesi
to employ such men as Atkinson
and Emerson, who are known Il
be habitually cruel TO convicts
wh'cn '@i=es a presumption tha
the iessees, are at least illdsf ffsront
Another source of maItreatmen
10 convIcts is thc class of guard,
employed Guards are paie
$l2 50 per month aud only tn.
worst Class OF men can be secured
to do as much service for so litti,
pay.
| lDasmuch az we sbelieve rh.
evils Of the leasing system to b.
! iphefeDt therein. and incapable 0.