The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1906-03-10

MtS. to the state University at
Fayetteville, hired to wait on the
table at the dormitory, stayed
there his four years and gradual
ed and is now reaping the fruits
of his determined will.
| know of another boy who,
after having gone as far as his
little country school would carry
him, went to town, hired to the
sheriff to feed the prisoners and
clean up the Jail in order to pay
his board while he went to the
public school. He remained
there three years. entered the
contest for an appointment in
the Naval academy at Annapolis;
secured the prize went to the
great naval school and gradual
ed and is now in a foreign land
as representative of the United
States.
| tell you young men, If you
have the proper manhood all that
is needed. | say, is a determine
ton to win.
Another question of direct in
terest to farmers is the system
of working convicts. ! believe
the convicts ought to be worked
on the public roads of the state.
This is no new idea with me;
more than ten years ago when |
was a member Of the State Sen
ate | introduced a bill which was
passed by the Senate but defeat
ed in the House, that required
all persons convicted Of misde-
meanors who could not pay their
fines and all felony convicts for
short terms to be worked on the
public roads. Take a district
like ours with four counties; this
bill required all the convicts from
all these four counties to be
worked three months in each
county during the year. If you
will examine the criminal court
records of this district you will
find, by putting all the convicts
in one county to work, there will
be a sufficient number of hands
to justify the different counties
in employing guards and over
seers. l believe that this plan is
perfectly feasible. Look at the sit
uation now; the state hires them
out to contractors at fifty cents
per day and feeds, clothes and
guards them herself, the con-
tractor in turn hires the convicts
out to the railroads for $1.75 per
day who make a profit of their
labor or it would not hire them.
That being the case, the citizens
of the state can certainly pay the
guards and overseers and feed
and clothe the convicts and make
money working the roads. Turn
pixies and roads built by the con-
victs would be of first grade.
Build them so that future gener-
atoms would reap the benefit of
the improvements. Look at the
public highways of Rome, built
more than two thousand years
ago, yet are in fine state of pres
ervation today. What we need
in this country is good roads;
turnpike the roads over this
county and one mule will pull
what four do now. The money
that you now levy and pay for
working the public roads, if the
roads were worked by convicts,
could be turned into your school
fund and enable you to run your
schools in the country districts
three months longer in the year
in addition to what you run them
now.
The convicts as they are now
worked on the railroads are in
competition with honest labor,
while if worked on the public
roads of the state they would be
working for the public good, as
they work for the state. | think
this is a question demanding the
thought and attention of the leg
islature and one that ought to be
discussed and considered at this
time.
Now few words in my own
behalf. | am a candidate for the
office of Circuit Judge.
There are no political issues
involved in the race for Circuit
Judge. All that a candidate for
that office can promise is that he
will faithfully discharge the du-
ties of the office which he seeks,
and, so far as is in his power, to
see that the law is enforced.
| pledge you that if am elect
ed your Circuit Judge that 50 far 7
as is in nv power the laws of