The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-13
Jail Convicts On the Road.

tertiary is now in good condition, and the
reformatories Sor boys OF both races are
we'll conducted and are doing laudable
work. But there Is imperative need for
houses OF refuge and correction for way
ward girls, and as for the jail system, 1t
is simply disgraceful. Men and women
are taken up for all sorts of petty Of
lenses, fined. and, in default, sent to
jail and kept there at the States en-
pense until they pay or serve out their
term. and there are fees at every turn
which the State must also pay. We are
informed that III one of the cities OF
Virginia a man was recently convicted
of stealing SIS and fined s. for the crime
The entire system should be changed
Some measure should be adopted which
will make all such convicts do public
work of one sort or another and so re-
imburse the State as far as possible for
the cost of punishment. That would be
both economical and reformatory. 1t
would relieve the State, in part. of an
enormous cost, and it wouldN prevent a
lot of lazy criminals from loafing in
jail and taking their ease at the public
expense.
Mr.. Withers. OF Suffolk, and Mr.. Las
sitter, of Petersburg. have formulated a
plan for working Jail convicts on the
public roads, which will at least serve
the purpose of taking such convicts out
of Jail and giving them honest and pro-
fltable employment-prohtable to them
selves. if not to the State. Our jails
are schools of crime, and it is far better
to condemn petty offenders to the public
roads than to the public jails.
Their plan in outline is that a state
highway commission be created. the head
OF which shall be competent civil en-
gneer, with suitable salary. In case
any county should desire to avail itself of
State aid under this plan, the State
would undertake to map out the work
estimate the cost. and supply the labor,
SO far as it could be supplied with Jail
convicts, while the county would pay
for the material and the road machinery.
The first step TO be taken would be for
sioner that 1t desired to build certain
road. A blank containing questions
would then be sent to the county authors
ties. filled out and returned to the COM
missioner thus giving assurance that the
county authorities were In earnest. That
done, the commissioner would make a
preliminary survey and give an estimate
OF the cost of material. If the county
should then accept the States offer, the
superintendent Of the penitentiary would
send out his guards to the jails, in that
section and assemble enough convicts to
carry on the work. The convicts would
be guarded while at work and in camp
by State guards, and the work would
| be done under the direction of an engi
neer whose services would be paid for
by the county,
Messrs Lassiter and Withers claim
that the amount now expended by the
State In maintaining convicts in the tails
would be sufficient to maintain them on
the roads and pay all incidental expenses.
Ihey propose thus to organize road
working forces in various sections of the
State, to be transferred from one county
TO another, as the demand may be, and
| eventually to add to the force from time
to time convcts from the penitentiary.
They think that this is the only practi-
cable method of State aid, as the State
is not in financial condition to appropriate
large sums of money for road improve
ments; and that, even If it were in such
position, the supply of honest labor
would be wanting as the farmers now
find 1t impossible to procure enough labor
to carry on their farm operations.
| They say that north of the Potomac
the States are cooperating with the coun-
| ties in road-improvemcnt. and making
appropriations In money. conditioned upon
like appropriations from the counties and
districts. and that south of the Virginia
line the State is giving aid by supplying
convict labor; but that Virginia has taken
no steps in either direction.
The plan which these gentlemen pro-
pose is good in principle and would be
eminently practicable If supply of good
labor could thus be obtained But the
fatal defect is that good labor does not
often go TO jail, ana we fear that the
supply of labor from that source would
be so inferior as TO be utterly inadequate
FOR the purpose.
| However, the plan has this excellent
feature: 1t does not in any way disturb
the present system OF working the roads:
1t does not compel any county 10 adop,
the method proposed, but leaves 1t en-.
tirely optional with the county authori.
ties. 1t opens the opportunity to experi.
ment, and 1t may be demonstrated by ex.
pertinent tina, the plan is good AT an,
rate, one point gained wounl be III,
highway commission, with a competen
'eannasmsef arp the head ot,las iwh dss dr.