The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-01-24

THE TALE OF THE TUB.
Warden StOrdock Tells How Tubs and
Pals Can BE Manufactured by
COnvicts.
THE solution of the prison labor question i'm
Minnesota seems to me very simple" said Warden
Storoock. when asked to state his ews my
hobby is the manufacture of tubs and pals.
LET take peep into the future and see
precisely what obstacles there are in the way of
carrying out the law the inspectors have advised
the legislature to repeal. l am convinced that
about half the prisoners in this prison will he
transferred to the ST. Cloud reformatory under
the provisions of the law. 1t is safe to say that
the population of this prison will rot go above
400 for the next six years. From this number sub
tract about 100. That number will include the
old infrm and about 70 convicts employed
about the building in different departments.
There will stll remain some 800 convcts to
provide for
THE pr son is situated in peculiar location
in hollow. When the spring floods come por
ton of the bank below the wall is torn down every
year. In some places retaining wall has been
rendered absolutely necessary and in other places
it will be needed. For 800 feet back of the
Prison there s at present nothing but board
eether there is about 1850 feet of wall to be
built. l e. innate that this VII emp'o- $50 con-
victs for two years. 1t will require about 600
cords of stone. All that t will cost the state is
the value Of the stone and cement and the SALARY
of one foreman SO. 900. The whole cost of build
ing this wall and of maxim the excavation will
to cover miscellaneous expenses. safe estimate
for hO1 10 % shall not ask
for special appropriation for that purpose be-
cause the legislature has already appropriated
$50 600 a year for permanent improvements and
as there are no other improvem ents to be made
'ept the building Of school house the
$50 600 for two years will be sufficient. With the
other $50 men make pa Is and tubs. There
is only one objection made to this industry in
the East and that is it requires large storage
Now it happens that storage room is precisely
what we have n abundance. The machinery will
cost $40 900.
ITO make success of a manufacture by the
state the labor must represent so per cent CT the
industry. and the material must be cheap. The
material in this case is near at hand: there is
other industry of the kind in the state. and tubs
and pals are known to the trade as combination
goods. There is no trust but there is no compe-
tition. The whole trade teri, tory is framed out
among a number of different concerns.
THE entire cost of the material for ordin-
airy three-hoop tub is 2O4 cents. The Wholesale
price is So cents. so that the amount Of labor
presented in the manufacture is nearly 80 per
cent. The trade is easily learned and all the ma
terials for carrying this business easily OBJ.
tainable here.
Now during the winter months there is time
when the men cannot work the wall During
that period could try experiments-making
mats. horse nets. toys and things of that kind
and in the course of two years, by the time the
wall competed we could have some intelligent
answer to the problem.
1.-THE state has already appropriated $4,000 for
the purpose of securing mac hinery and if the
legislature will add to that amount S35 900 feel
employed and at the time make start in
system.
Il have talked with the jobbers in the two cities
who, by the way, are selling more pals than we
could possibly manufacture-and they have de-
cared that they would willingly do their trading
with us. In this way, without emf Toying any
travelling agent we could dispose of our product
at market prices without coming into serious COM
petition with other concerns"
Warden Stordock has evidently studied the tub
and pail industry and has all the figures down to
the smallest detail, to show that his figures and
Journal.
Biddy,s Principles.