New-York tribune., 1897-11-22
PROFITS ON PRISON WORK.
OFFICIALS SAY SUPERINTENDENT La
THRoP WAS MIsQUoTED.

THE STATE INSTITUTIONS EARNING ONLY ABOUT
Two-FIFTHs OF THE ANNUAL APPRoPRIA-
TIoN-cosr OF MATERIAL NOT REcK-
oNED IN THE FIGURES CREDITED
TO THE SUPERINTENDENT.
Prominent State Prison officials al Sing Sing
and elsewhere state that Superintendent Austin
Lathrop has been misquoted In saying that
the prisons are self-supporting. The pres
ent system Of labor has undoubtedly proved to
be a success, in that 1t furnishes employment
for all the inmates Of the State prisons who are
able to work. but the amount OF work per-
formed, the profits. will have to be largely in
creased before the prisons will be placed upon a
self supporting basis. 1t is only necessary to
examine the figures given with the incorrect
statement attributed to Superintendent Lathrop
to see how far from being In a self supporting
position the prisons at the present time.
The statement asserts that acquisitions have
been received for goods worth more than $780,
600 in the last year and the inference Is drawn
that as 1t costs only 100000 annually to main
tain the prisons. there is gross profit OF about
$250OO0 to the credit Of the new system.
This is regarded as being a good deal like
man doing a retail business OF 5000 year
acknowledging personal expenses Of $1,000 and
claiming the difference a clear proflt
Taking the receipts and expenses Of the pris-
ons as given in the statement attributed to the
Superintendent to be approximately correct, the
cost Of maintaining the several prisons Is $780,
600. and the amount received for goods manu-
factured therein S75OOOO. The cost Of the raw
material from which these goods are manufact-
ured is large. the officials say, as the material
consists Of cloth for the clothing leather for the
shoes hair and bristles for the mattresses and
brushes, costly wood and lumber for the furni-
ture and many other articles that are con-
sumed in the various industries. 1t Is calculated
that for every dollar the State receives for arti-
cles manufactured in its prisons rs cents repre-
sents money expended in the material and 70
cents the value of the work by the prisoners
According to this calculation the profit to the
State upon It's sales Of S16O.0O0 Is something like
Sl9OOO0 which. deducted from the annual cost
of supporting the prisons Of S5OO.000. leaves the
prisons still dependent upon the State for sup
port to the amount of $4,000.
OF course. these figures may vary considerably,
but ii is regarded as certain that the prisons OF
this State have not yet been placed upon an in
dependent basis in the matter Of financial assist
ance from the taxpayers OF the State.
Thus far Superintendent Lathrop and his
subordnates seem to have most successfully
solved the problem OF how to keep the prison
ers employed, within the provisions Of the con-
stitutional amendments. and have even done
more in the fact that the prisons in the first year
OF the new system have earned a sum represent
ing about two-ffths of the total cost OF their
maintenance. and II is probable that all that has
been done meets the most sanguine expectations
Of those who framed the provisions governing
the new system
All the prisoners are employed. many Of them
at trades which will prove useful to them when
they are again at liberty; the citizen industries
OF OF the state are in no way interfered with, and
the prisoners themselves contribute toward their
own support, and the taxpayers do the rest.