Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-19
THE PRISON LABoR PROBLEM.

Among the problems with which the
Nebraska legislature is expected to Crap
pie is the question Of making the peni-
Tertiary sei~f-sustaining without creating
ruinous competition to free labor. In
the effort to solve this problem the Ne
braska legislature is by no means an
exception. other western legislatures,
notably those Of Wisconsin and Illinois,
are confronted by the same question:
A bill introduced in the Illinois legisla-
ture provides that the penitentiary con
victs shall be set at work at the manu-
institutions, whose officers are to be for
hidden to buy I'm the open market when
they can be supplied from the prison.
The bill also provides that county insti-
tutions will be allowed ard expected to
buy prison-made goods. The theory of
the bill is that little machinery or mo-
tive power shall be used in the prison
Industries, but that hand and foot power
may be used to the utmost. Under such
conditions the output will be curtailed
and limited to articles which state in
stituhons are most in need Of.
Governor Lafollette of Wisconsin de-
clares in his message that while 1t Is
essential for the welfare Of ~convicts
that they shall be employed, it is equally
important that they shall be employed
in some line of industry which will en-
able then to carr a livelihood in that
line of industry when discharged from
the prison. In other words, peniten-
tiaries arc not presumed merely to be
penal institutions, but also r~eformatorles
and compulsory mechanical training
schools wherein criminal and vicious
classes are taught how to earn a live
lihood by honest toll.
Here is where the line is drawn be-
tween contract convict labor and state
convict labor. Under the contract sys-
tenn the aim and object is to get the
largest amount of labor out Of the man
regardless Of Its effect upon his physical
or moral condition. The contract labor
taskmaster becomes in reality the slave
driver. When c~onv.cts are employed
directly by the state the products Of
convict labor will cost more, but the
conVicts will he dealt with more leni-
emily and with a view to their future
reclamation as law abiding and useful
members of society.
The experiment to supply the state in
stitutions with clothing, boots and shoes,
and household articles Of necessity is
worth trying, but its success will depend
largely. If not wholly. upon the capacity
and strict ' integrity of the officers
charged with the supervision Of penal
~refornlatories.- We apprehend, however,
THAT the Nebraska penitentiary will
never become sel~f-sustaining until con-
vlets are classified and the dangerous
criminals are separated from those con-
victed for minor crimes, whose careers
give promise of reform.
For the latter class a reformatory de
voted to farming and cattle raising
would hold out the surest, promise OF
self support. Such farm reformatories
are about to be established IN several OF
the southern states. A penal farm would
enable convicts not only to feed and
CID the themselves, but also to raise q
surplus of grain, wheat and live stocE
to pay the cost of supervision, guarding
and housing. Grain and cattle raised
on the penal farm would, moreover, no
come in competition with free labor
since the price of these commodities Il
este blished in the worlds markets an(
the surplus raised on penal farms would
be an infnitesimal part of the world
supplies of food products.