Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-01-24
OUR STATE PRISONERS.

| mayor Johnson In Denver Times
There are confined IN the Colorado
state penitentiary about $50 human
| beings; i74 of this number are able
bodied men. capable of doing a days
work. They are housed up together.
In comparatively absolute idleness, o
big expense to the state, and their
enforced idleness curse to them.
| selves. How much better it would be
II these men were put to work ON
| some beneficial public works. such as
building roads and bridges in the
| mountains. or great reservoirs for the
storage of water. In such works as
these they will not come in eompeti-
| tion with free labor, for the reason
| that private enterprise cannot under
take the building of such works ans,
the statecertainly cannot afford, at
present, to construct them by an out
lay of money. The state has not
enough money on hand at present to
pay It's necessary running expenses
Legislators have as rule refrained
from legislating on the subject for
fear of mourning the enmity of labor
We do not believe such would be the
| case. Laboring men are not unren-
| sonable about such matters. If ii was
proposed to put them at work in the
departments of labor where they
would compete with free, Industrious
men, then it would not be wise. But
in building roads and reservoirs there
Is no competition with free labor. On
the contrary, laboring people and ey.
l,k Th,h ole t. A.
| rectly and indirectly benefited. or
| course, prisoners who are desperate
characters, who are convicted of the
| most heinous offenses. should not be
trusted outside the walls of the peni.
tentiary. But in the lighter grades
| of crime 1t could be made operative.
a law could be framed so as to place
| a premium upon good conduct by re-
ducing the length of confinement and
| also making escapes and attempts to
escape, higher grades OF offense than
| at present.
AS now kept, these prisoners are a
| public charge. on the rich and poor
alike of the state The laboring man
| and the capitalist must each pay his
proportion of the tax sufficient to
| guard, house, clothe and feed them
The prisoner is able to work and yet
| this ability is entirely thrown away
and lost.
The roads through the mountains
would be a blessing to all who live in
the mountains and know what the or
| iinary mountain roads are. With this
kind of labor to construct them, 1T
would pay to have them built in the
best and most substantial manner.
| Tor, outside of the expense of a few
additional guards. these roads would
| really cost the state not cent more
| than the present cost of taking care
| OF these prisoners. The same as to
storage reservoirs.
| Think of the vast advantage around
our mining camps to have the wagon
roads put in permanent first class
shape. How much more easily large
brings wealth and permanent valu-
able improvements to the state. New
York, North Carolina, California and
New Jersey have tried the expert
ment and find it both satisfactory
and profitable.
Cannot some of our solons in the
present legislature frame and have
enacted law along these lines? Let
some one assume the task and poryc
himself both "A benefactor to his
state and humanitarian to the pris.
oner and convict.
loads could be hauled over smooth
and better graded roads? Roa IS H.
they have In the mountains OF swift
erland and Italy would induce tour
lists to come in larger numbers to our
mountains to enjoy the magnificent
scenery.
The reservoirs would prove of nm
told value to our agricultural regions
by saving up the vast quantities Of
flood waters which now ilow to waste
and out of the state.
In addition to these ntllitarian and
economic reasons there is the human.
itarian side of the case. 1t would be
q Kindness to these men to allow them
to work out in the fresh air and in
Gods own sunshine, instead of keep
Ing them cooped up in Jail walls with.
out proper exercise. The loss of lib
erty, the loss of freedom, Is surely
enough penalty for most of the crimes
Tor which men are punished. Why
add to this enforced idleness, close
confinement and lack of fresh air and
sunshine?
Let all offenders be surely pun
ished. but, let 1t be done in hui
name manner. More especially SO. If
the humane method at the same time
Bead Of Jade Found in an Old Aztec