The Arizona sentinel., 1896-06-13
YUMA. ARIZONA, SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 1896.
THE CITIZENS CIAP-TRAP.
Something Concerning the Pending
 Prison Labor Contract.


 declares against prison labor. It de clares those who violate the law should not be allowed to work; it believes in the system of herding them in idle ness; in supplying them with club room, fed, clothed and provided with sleeping apartments; all at the ex- pense of the hard working tax payers. In other words it simply holds that when a man steals horse or kills his neighbor, that he should be penned up, and then the man who has been injured by the law breaker, should pay his board, clothing, etc.; that the criminal should not be allowed to work to repay the Territory for main taining him.
 The Citizen is opposed to the prison contract because forsooth 1t says that it will give 150 prisoners labor in dig ging an irrigating canal, which work 
 ought to be given to law abiding citi- zens, who will be deprived of the work these convicts perform. Is this SO? Does not the Citizen know that there are few white men, if any, who could or would work on the construction of canal along the Colorado; that If prison labor was not employed that 1t would have to be Indian labor? and the people of the territory would thus be deprived of it's convict labor, simply to help the Indian.
 This prison labor has never been utilized, neither has the irrigation canal been constructed, or the land reclaimed. Better, far better, if this prison labor was employed in the con- struction of that canal, without charge to the contractors, rather than 1t should remain idle, and the canal not be constructed, for this canal will bring 100000 acres of lands under cui- tivation, and thus provide homes and tracts of land for over 2000 families. This many industrious citizens, who will employ at least 5000 more honest laborers on these farms and then there will be added $5 5,O00,O0O or more of taxable property to the Territory which will reduce the average tax rate. Yes, it would be better to give this prison labor free rather than de- prive thousands of honest farmers land and homes and thousands of honest farm hands honest employ ment.
 The Star don't believe in compell- ing our tax payers, our honest law abiding citizens to work side by side with Indians. We don't believe in taxing honest labor to maintain con victs in idleness. We don't believe in compelling our American citizens to struggle for their bread under the hot broiling sun in digging canals, as the Citizen urges. No; we don't believe in any such thing. But we do believe in taking the law breakers and utiliz- ing his labor in feeding and clothing himself; and in digging canals so as to enable our honest, law abiding, work ing, tax paying citizens an opportunity of securing for themselves farms and homes and to furnish work for others for mechanics in building houses, in constructing agricultural implements for these farms, for building school houses, churches, business houses and aiding all kinds of mercantile business and all kinds of tra6.c. We do believe in all this, and if the contracting oI the convict labor of Arizona will con- trucJ his canal, which will give such benefcent results, then will every true honest, industrious workingman ir Arizona say, let the prison contract stand and compel these violators O. the law to earn their "keep" by labor Let tho canal be built if the contract
 ors should be given the prison labor ! free rather than maintain them 1T jidleness, as they have been for the Hast fifteen years. The "clap trap'' O
 tae Citizen will not be swallowed b1
 "honest citizens" .".-TucSon Star.