Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-10-18

81, 900, and had been in default for some
Nine prior thereto.
| Another contract of the same chayac-
ter, which was executed Sept, II, 1885,
was operated until Oct. IS, 1887, and
then assigned by the commissioners of
the penitentiary, and in consideration
of taking the assignment of this contract
the contractor was awarded by the COM
missioners of the penitentiary a second
contract for the product of the labor
| and service of twenty-five able-bodied
convicts," to continue until Oct. I, 1894.
| This second contract seems to have
! created some doubt in the minds Of
the commissioners as to its legality, and
upon it was made the following indorse-
ment: 1.-The foregoing agreement is sub
| Ject to the nugatory action Of the legis-
| lature," and signed by the contractor
| and commissioner; and this is the only
piece-price contract operated under prior
| to the summer of 1889. This contract,
while in form of the piece-price con-
tracts, has always been treated by the
| penitentiary officials as one of the old
style contracts for the labor of so many
| convicts, executed long prior to the
| adoption of the amendment. No &C
count has been kept of the product of
the labor of conviots under this con-
tract, and it has been treated in all re-
spects as one of the contracts executed
prior to the adoption of the amendment
In 1899 the commissioners commenced
operations under what is known as
''piece-price" contract, a contract for,
as expressed in the contract itself, 1.-The
product of the labor and skill of prison.
ers in the penitentiary." The constitu-
ton declares that it shall be unlawful to
'let by contract the labor of convicts,"
and this ''piece-price" contract meets
that inhibition by contracting for 1.-The
product of the labor and skill of prison.
ers." The distinction between the two
contracts is the same MS that long known
to have existed 'twixt tweedle dee and
tweedle dunn" The piece-price contract
provides that the prisoners shall be kept
employed at manufacturing. out of ma
terial to be furnished by the contractors.
and with tools and appliances also fur
nished by the contractors, such articles |
as are provided for in the contract and |
lat such piece price rates to be agreed |
upon by the parties hereto as will net |!
the state of Illinois IS cents per day for |
each prisoner employed"
NO DIFFERENCE In CONTRACTS
Under the piece-price contracts no !
such piece-price rate are agreed upon by |
the contractor and commissioners, but !
the prisoners are worked identically as |
they were prior to the adoption of the !
constitutional amendment, and at the !
end of the month, when the contractors |
are to pay for the services of the prison |
ers, the book-keeper Of the penitentiary |
figures up how much Is due from the |
of r,,rch
and then he makes out bill to the con-
tractor for making so many articles at
such price per article as will equal the
number of men employed and charged |
for at 55 cents per day. Under the con-
tract for manufacturing harness, saddles,
collars, ETC., no piece-price rates are
agreed upon as between the contractor
and the commissioners, no record is
kept of the amount of work performed,
and at the end of the month the book
keeper of the penitentiary charges the
contractor with so many men for so
many days, and then makes out bill
for the making of SO many hundred
dozen of collars at $50 per dozen as
will equal the amount to be charged to
him for so many men at IS cents per
day. No record Is kept that a single
collar has been manufactured during
the month, and so far as is known to the
penitentiary officials the convicts may
have been employed on saddle work
continually, and vet at the end of the |
month the whole sum charged up for
manufacturing collars at so much per
dozen. Under the contract for cooper
age, rattan chair work, monumental |
work, pilasters and mouldings, the bills
are made out for "hooping barrels" and
the bill must show that a sufficient num-
Der of barrels have been hoped at 10
cents apiece to equal the sum paid for
all of the convicts under the contract |
employed on dozen different charac-
tiers of work for the entire month.
HOW CONTRACTORS ARE CHARGED
Another feature of this piece-price
contract is that some contractors have
contracts for piece-price work, so called, |
and also contracts executed long prior |
to the adoption of the constitutional
In this event, at the end
of the month, the prison officials charge |
him up with all of the men employed
under both kinds Of contracts, without
any knowledge on their part as to
whether the Convicts We're worked under |
the one contract or the other After
charging him up with all the men en- |
ployed under both kinds of contracts,
and assigning by their process of book
keeping all of the men employed to fill
the quota of the contracts executed prior
to the adoption of the amendment, they
then take the number of convincts that
are left and make out bill for making
collars or "hooping barrels" or making
shoe bottoms for sufficient sum to
equal the charge at SO much per day for
all the convicts not employed under the
exec,,fed nror tn Nov 1898 |