The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-08-08

then upon the whole country. This moral
result is obtained by giving the prison Off
cials full control of the prisoner. He may
be advanced or changed as often as seems
best: but under the contractor the prisoner
can only be changed or advanced when it is
! to the best interest of the contractor and
not the prisoner. For instance, l was
handed over to the contractors agents here
after my arrival. placed at work. and after
| being instructed in that work for day OF
two. | was able to fill the bill. The work
| was of the most alien character to my tastes
or former education or natural desires.
| After several months the state officials
wished to promote me, or change me tC
more suitable employment, but the con
| tractors agent would not consent. II
| would have been necessary to have instruct
ed another man, requiring a few minutes
| now and then during a couple of days. OF
a foreman's time. or | might have worked
with another prisoner two days and he
would have learned as much as l knew.
| But the contractor would have been 9Oc out
Of pocket because of my two days loss OF
time. To save that amount | have been
kept at a kind of work that has sapped the
industry possessed. that has made me hate
| work itself almost. and if | were to CON
l would certainly be much more useless
man than when l entered this prison. Fol
| paltry dollar the contractor would hold a
man to the same work year in and year out,
when if the state had control the prisoner
would have been advanced through the
whole shop, and learned the trade. and
could have had a chance to obtain employ
ment when discharged. 1t is plainly the
object of the agents. master workman,
foreman. or whatever you may call them.
| to keep the prisoner ignorant, that he may
not encrOach upon the trade. So he is kept
| at what will yield them the most present
benefit, and that will not make him a COM
petitive workman when released.
| will not say anything more about the
contract system here, for l confess that
| am biased, and might say what would be
| indiscreet if published in these columns;
but what have said will be corroborated
by large majority of my fellow unfortu-
mates. But now suppOsing the state take
full control and learn the men a complete
trade; the young man who has five wears
learns trade, but he has not seen the ad-
vantage of it, for it has paid him nothing dur
ing that time. He says. Il always thought
there was nothing in working. and am now
convinced after five years tra.: all | got
was my living, and l always got that | am
tired of it," This Is the way the whole
matter looks to the convict. Long, long
before his sentence expires he is disgusted
with work-sick of it every day. Is ii
reasonable to suppose that he is going right
out of here and seek employment at this
same work that he has been tired OF so
long, even it the state has learned him the
trade? -Four times out of five he will never
work at it again.
In the sash and blind shop here it is esti-
mated that 80 freemen would do the work
| of 35 cOnvicts, yet the freemen working in
that shop receive $500 and upwards per
day, while the state receives 45c for the con-
vict Or again, of 2S3 cOnvictS employed
by the Thresher company it is estimated
that $50 freemen would perform the same
work, or upon total estimate of all the
labor performed by cOnvicts, the result is
that l convict equals rs of a free labOrer
or reverse it, and free laborer is equal to
1.27 of a convict. To get this result. all
convict labor has been added together, and
then equaliZed, for in some states the con-
victs perform more labor than an equal
number of freemen. In Alabama the work
performed by 1.97S cOnvictS, it is estimated
that 1t would require 2. 1856 freelnen to per-
form; in fact the cOnvictS in all southern
states perform on an average more labor
than do the same number of freemen.
Then come north to Massachusetts, and you
will find 54 cOnvictS employed in a similar
shop to our soft-wood shop, whose labor it
is estimated could be performed by 25 free
laborers or at the same work in Washing
ton Territory 16 freemen would perform
that done by 45 convicts; or again, $50 con-