Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-23
NEW YORK STATE PRISONS.
The New Legislation in Regard to Them.
Boston Globe.


Boston Globe.
The new law in relation to the state
prisons of New York has been signed by
Governor Hill (aImost under protest. +,
and preparations are now well under way
to set at work the thousands of prisoners
who have been idle for months under the
old law. Its passage was remarkable,
considering the fact that the extremists
had, until the recent session, succeeded
in so controlling legislation as to prevent
all prison labor.
That a bill should have been framed
acceptable to both Mr. Yates and Mr..
Fassett was hardly to have been ex-
pected, but there was a strong reaction
against the extreme legislation OF the
past. The new law goes to the other
extreme, and requires that IAN prison
ers in the state prisons who are physi-
callY capable thereof shall be employed
at hard labor, not to exceed eight hours
of each day, other than Sunday and
public holidays; but such hard labor may
be either for the purpose of production
and profit, or for the purpose of indus
trial training and instruction, or partly
for one and partly for the other of such
purposes.
The law also provides for dividing the
prisoners into three grades, the first to
include ''those appearing to be corrigi-
BILE, or less vicious than the others, and
likely to observe the laws and to main
tain themselves by honest industry after
their discharge; the second includes
those appearing to be incorrigible, or
more vicious. but so competent to
work and so reasonably obedient
IL, Ill 70
interfere with the productiveness of their
labor, or of the labor of those in COM
pany with whom they may be employed;
while the third grade will include those
appearing TO be incorrigible or so insub-
ordinate, or so incompetent otherwise
than from temporary ill health as to
seriously interfere with the discipline or
productiveness of the labor of the
prison.
The superintendent of state prisons is
given authority to make rules and regu-
lations for the promotion or reduction of
prisoners from one grade TO another, and
to transfer prisoners from one prison to
another, and he may, if he thinks best,
put all the prisoners of one grade to-
gether in one prison AS New York has
three state prisons-at Sing Sing, Au-
burn and Clinton--.the superintendent
may, if he chooses, mass all first-grade
men in one, all second grade men in an
other, and all third grade men in the
third.
The law provides that a first-grade
pTisoner-the highest grade-shall be en-
ployed with reference to fitting him to
maintain himself by honest industry
after his discharge from Imprisonment,
as the primary or sole object of such
loI Ft,l loo J, 10
products result from the labor, if it is
though that such q course is necessary for
the training of the prisoner; otherwise he
is to be SO employed as to produce the
greatest amount and value of useful and
saleable products.
The labor of prisoners in the second
grade is to be directed primarily to the
production of the largest amount and
value of useful ana saleable products;
and, secondarily, to fitting them to main-
tain themselves when liberated. while the
labor Of the third Cor lowest) grade men
is to be directed solely to such exercise as
shall tend to the preservation Of health,
or to the manufacturing, without the aid
of machinery, of such articles as are
needed in the public institutions of the
state, or such other manual labor as the
superintendent shall direct, which shall
not compete with free labor.
The public account system and the
piece price system are both permitted,
but the contract system is prohibited.
The total number of prisoners employed
at one time i'll manufacturing one kind
OF goods manufactured elsewhere in the
state is limited to per cent. of the num-
Der of free persons employed within the
state on that industry. There is a fur
ther limitation that the number OF pris-
oners employed in all of the prisons in
making stoves and hollow iron ware or
boots and shoes shall not exceed 100 in
either of such industries.
These provisions include some very
radical changes and innovations. The
system of grading and classification has
heretofore been almost unknown in this
country, except in the two great re-
formatories at Concord, in this state,
and at Elmira, in New York 1t is now
incorporated in the New York law and
made applicable to all state prisons. 1t
is so great a step in advance as almost to
seem revolutionary. The most ardent
prison Teformer hardly expected to see it
adopted for many years.
The adaptation Of the labor system TO
the three grades is also novel. But It is
philosophical and ought TO work well.
The incoFrigible, or third grade, pTis-
ouer is 10 be employed at mere hard la
Dor, because it is supposed that he is TO
remain in the prison, and to be able TO
earn his living is of no special i'm
portance. Men in the second grade are
soon. and are to be so employed as 10