The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1893-01-13

be made Profitable 20: the state to take con-
troll ci and worl, her own conyicts.
The present lease expires on the seventh day
az Man 1898. in less than four mon tbs. 40 not
believe IL desirable 10 continue The lease syS-
ten ana I do most earnestly recommend tne
enactment OF the necessary laws At the earnest
day possible 70 enable the state TO take charge
Of the uenitentiary and the labor of the con
victs at the expiration OF the existing lease.
There will be paid into the state treasury ny
the lessee for the ten years just closing more
than S"75 0O0. | suppose IL viii not DC ques-
toned that q large individual fortune has oeen
accumulated Independent Of this amount. l
submit that with proper management uhoer
reasonable laws. the state might control ana
work her own prisoners with at least equal sue
cess, and at the same time have guaranteed
humane treatment with proper food clothing
medical attention. etc.
1t Is desirable to remove the penitcntlary
from it's present site, and will in all probability
soon become necessity. As the number OF
convicts increase with our rapidly growing
population il will be found that the buildings
must be enlarged and machinery added 10 EN-
ploy the number that must be worked Wlthlh
the walls and the grounds now owned by the
state viii prove inadequate 10 meet the de
mand
l recommend the purchase OF ample grounds
before they advance in value. well located,
accessible to the city of Little Rock, embracing
IL possible. brick clay, building store and tim
Der that may he used in the erection OF a new
penitcntarv with convict labor. y new pen
itentary should be built well supplied with
manufactures suitable for working our own
crude and raw materials, timbers for furnl-
ture, wagons, vehicle and other purposes; cot
ton for all heavy goods and clothing for con
yicts. hat and shoe factories, to be supplied
with home material, cotton seed oil mills,
machinery for cutting granite and marble, etc
l recommend such change in the present
statutes as will enable the state to transport
her own cosyicts from the iails to the peniten-
tiaIy through her own agency, connected with
the penitentiaTy management. Under the ex'
istng laws, the sheril5 deliver the convcts to
the penitentiary authorities and in 1891 it cost
the state an average OF S515 for each convict
brought 10 the prison. In South Carolina
where the state runs her own prison and the
warden sends a guard for convicts, the average
cost for the same year was 81. II each. In Texas
the state lets contract for conveying prison
ers and The costs under the existing contracts
is al - each. 1t win be seen that ii costs
Arkansas nearly seven times much 10
lodge one prisoner lin the penitentiary as it
costs South Carolina, and more than twice as
much as it costs Texas. 1t is due to the tax
payers that this unnecessary expenditure of
money should be dispensed with, whether there
is a change made in the management OF the
penitentiary ana the LABOR OF the conFlcts or
not.
| also recommend that convicts after being
discharged be furnished transportation over
most direct railroad or river route to their
homes or places Of conviction. This is due 10
the community in which the prison is located,
and more promising in the efforts CT reforma
tion Of those discharged.
II would greatly reduce the number Of short
termed conyicts as we'll as lessen the expense
~ MI p~ Ct i'm
$50 worth were classeG petit larceny, and
made punishable with adequate fines. l will
take occasion to refer again III this subject
under the head OF public reads.
As far as possible the young conFicts should
be kept and worked separated from older and
hardened criminals.
The following is table showing the ages Of
convicls, when committed who We're in the pen
iteniiary December !, lS@.