The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-06-25
Convict VS.. Free I.nhor.

Before the industrial commission now
In session, and which has gone pretty ex-
tensively into the question of trusts, Mr..
John T. McDonough, secretary of state
of New York, recently appeared He
proved to be quite an interesting wit
ness on the subject of convict labor and
its effect on free labor on the outside.
Entering minutely into methods, past
and present, in vogue in the prisons OF
his state, Mr. McDonough made the fol-
lowing statement, as reported in the
Journal of the Knights of Labor:
Prior to Jan. l, 1897, the system In
vogue in New York prisons was known
as the piece price plan in the working of
convicts. Under this plan articles were
manufactured at given price per piece.
Another system in other prisons in the
state was to allow the head of the prison
TO purchase goods and make them up and
sell them in the open market Both of
these systems were objected to by manu-
facturers and workmen outside the pris-
Ons, as the prison price really made the
market price. In one prison $500 pairs of
shoes were turned out daily. at a cost of
so cents n day for the labor The bust
ness was regarded as profitable for the
prisons, and they actually began to bid
for prisoners from all parts OF the coun-
try.
Contractors made money out of the
system, and IL was said that the police
We're instructed In Albany, when the
number Of prisoners were not sufficient
for the work on hand, to arrest more
men, and 500 had been offered as a spe-
cial reward for a long-term prisoner In
good condition, Under the changed sys-
tenn the number of prisoners from the
city of Albany has fallen Off greatly
Under the old system shoes were made
for and cents n pair in the prison, and
then went Into competition in the open
market with free labor.
Under the provisions of the constitu-
ton since the ist of January, 1897, no
prisoner is allowed 10 work on anything
that Is sold in the open market, but the
work is only furnished the state and
reformatory Institutions. The insane
aSylums of the state have o, 600 inmates,
and are the best customers of the prison
ers. The articles are paid for but in no
case are they allowed to be sold In the
market in way to affect the price
OF other similar articles.
The number of prisoners now In the
prisons indicates the desire for prisoners
In order to make money out of them has
stopped, for in the past three years the
Increase of prisoners had not kept paca
with the population. All the prisoners
are now kept as busy as formerly and
learn more trades because they do more
hanP%ork now than formerly. I'm
der the new system, he said, there is
also more opportunity to reform the pris-
Oners, and there was not the incentive for
fraud and corruption when prisoners were
source of profit to the contractors
There was great opposition to the MAX
Ing of this change backed, up largely bv
the influence of the contractors profiting
by the old system, and by some prominent
and weH-meaning men who believed that
under the changed system the men could
not be kept busy and that insanity would
increase among the prisoners to a vast
extent; also that the expense to the
state would be increased. The fact under
the old system was that in ten years the
state had deficit of IS, 10000, while un.
der the new system, under way for the
past three years, 1t is believed that the
prison will soon become entirely self.
supporting, but at the present less money
is being lost on this account than for
merly.
He did not believe in using as much
machinery as is now the custom In even
the New York prisons. He thought there
should be no machinery in prisons for in
creasing production
IT has been repeatedly charged by labor
organizations that men have been rail-
roaded to state prisons on false and friv-
Olous charges solely on account of the
profits expected to be made from their
labor, most of which was appropriated by
greedy contractors, the state not receiv-
ing nearly sufficient for the maintenance
of the cOnvicts. OF course this charge
was strenuously denied by the contractorS
and their friends. Mr.. McDonough's
statement appears to amply verify its
truth.
Great and needed reforms have been
Instituted in prison management in New
: York state, thanks to the earnest and
persistent agitation of labor organiza-
lions, but there still remains vast room
for improvement. Not much relief how
ever, will be afforded to those industries
affected by convict competition until ev-
cry state in the Union has reformed its