The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-01-05
THE CONNECTS.
RECOMMENDATIONS MADE
BY THE STATE BOARD
OF CONTROL.
Also a Letter From Capt. Hardy, In which
lie Gives His Views and says the
q. & s. 1. r. n. Co. are Ready to
Surrender Their Lease.

surrender Iheif Lease.
The State Railroad Commission, in
its capacity of Board of Control of the
penitentiary, will submit the follow
ing recommendations to the Legisla-
ture, looking to reform in the
management of that institution:
/. There should be board of con-
troll charged with the general super
vision of the penitentiary and con-
victs, clothed with full authority to
manage and dispose of the same upon
such terms as the Legislature may
deem proper and wise.
I'd. The guards and all connected
with the management thereof should
be appointed by said board of control,
and he subject to discharge by the
board for failure to perform such
duties as may be prescribed. These
guards and all other employees should
be paid out of the State Treasury, and
the employees should not have to look
to the lessees for their pay. A limit
to the salaries to be paid should be
fixed by the Legislature.
8. A small farm near Jackson should
be obtained upon which such convicts
as are not able bodied and Insufficient
strength to be employed on public
works, can be engaged in cultivating
peas, corn, potatoes and other articles
of food for consumption by the
prisoners.
4. There should I've provided at the
walls such facilities for manufacturing,
cabinet making, smithing, wagon
making, carpentering. shoe making,
tailoring, etc, as will employ all con-
victs while time of service is for a
long term. This work should, we
think, be confined as nearly as practi-
cal, to the making of such articles as
are to be used in the penitentiary
thereby avoiding as much as possible
competition with free labor. In this
way an opportunity would be given q
prisoner to learn trade by which he
could be useful to himself as citizen
after his term of service expires, and
in addition prevent those who are
most liable to escape from doing so.
Convicts serving long sentences should
under no circumstances be worked
outside the walls if the State expects
to enforce the penalties imposed by
| its courts.
5, The able bodied convicts, sc
pronounced upon examination by
the penitentiary physician, who are
not sentenced for life or for long terms,
might he employed on public works as
the Legislature deems proper, under
a contract to be made by the Board OF
Control within the limits to be desig-
nate6 by law, the contract to provide
for the payment of stipulated price
for work performed by the cOnvicts
under the exclusive control and man
agement of the agents of the State.
The fund arising from this source,
from the proceeds of the work shops
at the penitentiary, and for such sur
plus of food crops as might be grown
on the penitentiary farm, to constitute
fund to be kept separate in the State
treasury to be applied to the expenses
of the penitentiary.
The details of the general plan
above suggested to be provided fol
by legislative enactments, and such
rules and regulations in conformity
thereto, as may be adopted by the
Board of Control, prescribing such
disciplinary agencies, both detergent
and refOrmatOry, as may be deemed
advisable to secure the int1ictiOn OF
the penalties prescribed by law, con-
troll the convicts, and prevent abusive
or improper treatment.