Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-09-28
coURAGED TO WORK.
INDUSTRY RUNS HIGH
Opportunity for Individual Income
Causes Criminals to Devote Them
selves Earnestly to Assigned Tasks
and the Discipline of the institution
Was Never So Good.

Discussing the matter of expense
and discipline in the several charitable
and penal institutions of the state
Herman Grotophorst, a member of the
board of control, gave some interest
ing information that has to do with
the state prison at Waupun. Since the
removal of the boot and shoe factory
ana the institution OF the knitting
works, together with the new system
OF management in regard to the work
expected from each prisoner the earn
ings on the contract with the knitting
company have aggregated $500 per
month in that department alone,
while the cost of maintenance is about
$3.50 for the same period. About 400
OF the inmates are employed in the
knitting works, ana each man is gwen
a certain task by the warden to per-
form each day. When this task has
been accomplished, whatever the
prisoner is able to do in addition, pays
him a certain amount for his own dis
posal. These tasks are set by the
warden within the reach of every
man according to his capacity for
work, and as result there is not a
man working in this department but
can and does have some money at the
end of the month that he can send
home, as is done many times, or if the
man is free from the dependence OF
any one upon him, this money earned
Is saved and given to him upon his
release, in addition to the things that
the prison has always furnished to
the men at that time 1t is well
known that men turned out of prison
without any money to carry them Urn.
til they can find employment, and es-
pecially in the winter time, find their
way back again to the prison doors
about as soon as the mills of Justice
can grind them there.
victs are taking some pride in the
work they are doing and in the obtain.
ing of the money that is paid them
for the faithfulness to the duty i'm
posed. Not alone is the amount of
work being done greater, but there
has never been time in the history
of the prison when the discipline was
as good.
The state receives from the knitting
company IS cents per day for all the
prisoners used by them and some of
these men after performing the work
that is given them as a task by the
warden, make as much as 500 per
month for themselves, while others as
low as five cents a day, but every one
employed gets something for himself
Under this system the prisoners are
anxious to do all that is possible ana
last month there were but two who
had to be punished for insubordna.
ton.
None of the prisoners, unless they
tain amount of work Those that are
not employed in the knitting works
are engaged on the farm or in the
kitchen or in making the numerous
improvements that are adding to the
facility of the institution. Those
used on the farm and around the
yards are TRUSTEES" and because they
are oTt in the open air, are perfectly
content to let the others in the
factory make the money. A new din
ing room has been completed, large
enough to seat all the prisoners ar
one time. The work imposed by the
erection of this, new hospital, shops.
coal sheds, powerhouse, machine
shops and the present construction OF
a new cold storage, gives employment
to the men not in the factory and
saves the hiring of this work.
1t was the hope of the board of con.
troll during the last session of the
legislature, to secure the pas
sage of the OH allowing
the board of control to parole pris.
orers from the prison in the same
manner as is done at present from the
Green Bay reformatory, so that when
prisoner had served half of his
time, the parole agent could find him
a place where he would go from the
prison and be employed at once, but
the governor vetoed the measure. It
is well known that there is need OF
some agency for placing these men az
work and still keep a hand upon them
for a long enough period so that they
will become good citizens, instead OF
going back to the criminal class