Evening journal., 1897-05-15

built each year twenty miles of such
roads, or 200 miles in ten years. There
by every main state road in this cOun-
ty. from Naaman's Creek TO Duck
Creek, would be furnished with smooth
macadam roads, almost a paradise for
cyclers. a comfort to every user or
traveller and a subject of just pride to
our county, to say nothing of the in
creased value of and benefit to our
farm lands arising from good roads,
Winter and Summer A cheap and
durable material also could be furnish
ed thereby for the streets of every
town in the county at low cost to the
consumer, and yet at paying prices for
work-house labor.
Such labor would come in competition
withnO considerable outside class of Ia
bor, for not many wOrkmen outside are
ambitious to become stOne-breakers.
This condition is not dream, but po-
tential reality, actually attained else
where. This, however, is only one of
the possible uses of convict labor, and
is thrown out merely as a suggestion.
In one of the Western States the work.
house is located on a farm and is self
sustaining. The time has come for us
to act. We must do something. The
Jail at New Castle is over-crcwded and
inadequate. Money spent upon it would
simply be thrown away. 1t would be
cheaper to build anew outside of any
| city or town than to attempt to re-
model this old building. There is a
/ proposition now before the Legisla-
ture to buy and equip at a cost OF
many thousand dollars, a quarry miles
away from the Jail, to transport con-
visits too and from the quarry, morn
ing and evening. This would involve
large expense and would be supreme
folly. There is only one safe method
Let the old Jail go. Select a new site
build new, modern and ample building.
adapted to present prison methods
Take the management Of the work
house out of politics, absolutely ant
forever.
We confess to an intense and abid
ing interest in this subject; our pena
system is a blot and a disgrace. Dali.
contact with the system makes one
blood boil with indignation. 1t shoul
be blotted out at once and forever. Gu
present efficient and cOnscientiou
sheriff (Flinn) said to me only yester
day that if ] could see the workings G
the system daily, as he sees it, / wOul
be more indignant. The sheriffs ar
not at fault They cannot make
clean thing out of that which is inhei
, emily rotten and corrupt. Every effoi
! ! at reform under the present system wi
: be stricken with moral paralysis.
1t is our highest duty then to ac
and to act promptly. We owe it to th
prisoners; we owe it to society; we oW
. it to ourselves. We should help Iii
r the prisoner out of his idleness an
: vice and give him decent, helpful an
il reforming employment. Society d
r mands that we should remove tn
; moral plague spot and wipe out II
vice-breeding, prison herding method
s. of our crowded prison pen. We owe
r to ourselves to see that our county
e placed, at least in touch with. if not Z
+ a level with the Christian civilizatiC
r of the closing years Of this nineteent
century.
u We ought to have the courage to {
j. this work, even if it cost us evel
) penny of the 100000 and returned
d not one cent, but when we can do
y and save the entire plant in thirte'
n years, thereafter reduce the prison co
'e one-half. it becomes a burning shan
+. to halt one instant in the good work