Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-21

| lie works and ways system is that II Is al
ways possible to get an appropriation for
| the support OF the conyicts when there FREE
! quently could not be any appropriation sot-
| ten for public works. and thus a good deal
! of public work is done that would not be
done otherwise.
The total value of all goods produced by
| convict labor during the year investigated
was 300. This sum representa- the
market value-tbat is. the amount for
| which the goods were sold. or, when used
| in the institutions where produced the es-
| timated amount for which the goods might
| have been sold.
In order to carry the work OF the In
| situations. IL was necessary TO employ
/ small number of civilians or free workmen
| TO instruct the convicts and perform GER
| tain skilled labor. AS their labor entered
| into the same product 1t was impossible
| to separate the value of their part of the
product from the total value of goods pro-
duced. It's value however, Is so small as
not to affect materially the figures. OF the
total product, goods having value of S33-
2S0940 were produced in penal Institutions
ind goods having a value OF $685.. PCS in tu-
vene reformatories. Thus. of all goods
produced. 81 per cent were produced in
Juvenile reformatories. AS an average of
81, 1872 convicts were employed during the
year, the average value OF product per con-
vct was $610 for the year.
Value of Product
So far as value of product is concerned.
boots and shoes are the leading industry The
product in this industry was valued at S.
| 527, 500 or 24.9 per cent of the total convict
product In all industries. The other leading
industries In order of value OF product are
farming, 81, $50, S75; clothing, etc, s.. G44.-
511; chairs, tables etc. S23T1. 1903; brooms
| and brushes, 81. $50, S34: roads and highways
| 81 65I, 100; coal mining. 81 1891. 348: binding
Irvine. sl.ol3 252: lumber. $, lo2.032, and
| building trades, S10S4. s3l. In all, eighty
| different industries were found to be
ried In the different prisons and Juvenile
reformatories in the United States.
The convict lease system is in use in only
| twenty institutions, while the public works
| and ways is in use in l66. But the value
! of the production is 1890 1G4 while by
| the works and ways II is only 81, $50. SS7
! Measured by the value of the goods pro-
| duced the contract system outranks all
! the others. producing 40 per cent of all
| the goods produced in this country.
| Reviewing the general question Of con-
Wet labor a competitive factor, II may
/ be said that manufacturers consider such
competition unfair and ruinous, demoraliz-
/ ing to markets and business stability. COM
peliing the reduction of prices below
| fair margin OF profit and often even be-
| low the cost of production. Wages are
| forced to the lowest limit in vain effort
to lower the cost OF production to that OF
] the prison contractor In some cases a
deterioration of quality of material used
and In others an entire abandonment to
/ the prisons of the manufacture of certain
grades of goods has become necessary.
Relative Value.
AS to the relative value of convict-made
goods and those produced by free labor. the
report says:
| "A total of 32S separate comparisons were
made Of this number, in twenty-five com
PARSONS the convict product was considered
| to- be superior to the product of free labor.
| The principal industries In which the con-
wet product was thought in these few in
stances to be superior even to the product
of FREQ labor with which 1t came into COM
petition were brass castings and brass fin
ishings. brick and tile. brooms and brushes,
clothing, and roads and highways. In OLA
comparisons lover one-half of the whole
number) the convict product was considered
equal to the product of free labor. In 155
comparisons the convict product was con-
sidered slightly inferior, and In 124 COM
parsons inferior. The industries in which
the infertority of convict product seems to
be most manifest are boots and shoes and
clothing. Here It should be again stated
that the comparison Is not made between
convict-made goods and the general average
OF goods made by free labor. but between
c0nvict-made goods and the same class OF
goods produced by free labor with which
they come into competition"