The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-20

or all State convicts worked by this Company were fourth class. ,..,
 It was to the interest of ,aassS tas Mlh,ns hirb A first class man got four tons oI Sodi t1, per day. edualling f04 tons per month; This at 45 cents per ton, the price ppai1 pai1 free miners at this time 1s9i to lsvIl amounted to $4s.so. Deduct $l4.oo. the price paid per month for a first e,ass convict also ssoo for his maintsenahcs' tsa fourth class convict got one ton per day, 20 tons per month worth siI:V Deduct $9.00 for maintenance and tners mere class convicts got three tons and two prices price pa paid the state were s1o.oo and n.
 7oo gssb DsT onaS sas clohns dhf sos' foSrts class convict whose gross earnings ssms we,s s11.To per month. was just the snss sane as for 2 first class sonvict wnose s'oss Al Pratt mines and Coalburg no con vict was required to get more eoai stata .nan the task assigned him by .ne Iaao hane pened, a convict got more coal man n,s task, the Mining Company paid him Tn money fer the excess. It.. {. .s It is plain to every one that IL was to the Mining company's interest 10 get high classification.
 On the other hand. the state WE ciassifcation. since from g frst-ciass .nnr,ict aha got a net income of s14 per month and from 8 fourth-class cohVic'' nothing. ,, tac, I was physician member of the Convict Bureau, and all convicts at Frau ter M,ner were chased by an associate lnspeS eon. and myself Once a month eacn eon vict was brought before the inspectots, who examined him and assigned .hs convict a daily task for the ensulns month At each chasing Dr. Cunnlng bar fttrniuha6 written StdtchSHts showing the name of each convict treated during the preceding month, the nature of his disease nssaea or conSition of inc the convict at the time. To this ex- tent only did pr. Cunningham "domi. | nate" the classification of SonVic's at | The primary object of this commuht. cation is to offer an emphatic denial 10 | the imputation that my assous,, assoclates ~, | spectors or myself were ooniihsi aie es;ne | As to pr. Cunningham's share in ! originating thetpresent system oi w1rk x, ] the Senate Journal of 1S96-7.
 As chairman of a joint committee on l convicts he wrote a report wRich con- | tains the following (Page 4S5):
 As an illustration of the earning | capacity of convict labor. let us suppose ! that ali convicts working in mines weEs
 cutting coal, and that the pTice the nyice pIire
 paid rsi ''fn free labor. The task of a first | class convict in the Pratt Mines seam of coal is four. tons; the price paid tree asD9s sD9r fS5 psr 1nins fon Therefore fGs the
 7iit'i Wict is ' worth si so. This, of eourss, without expense to the ht opersso1SSrf soS. f,rstn class convicts would earn at the pres | ent price paid free labor an dthe pres ent task Sf the convict; ar 3ou~4 son 4souais | s9So per day, or st2.4S0 per month. | Now, suppose. the State had con. | tract to mine coal at the same pricg i paid free miners, the state paying tn aii expenses of mining now paid by the ne free miner, and the operator paying all l expenses now paid by the operator. The free miners eSpens exp ne.t s o9 ms miners I sup We have sworn testimony that the lss, ;to ter cost is at the rate of S2Ss Ss,i0 ror opt 1to put. to-wit, 1;2oo tons. it would iar tS pe Now. add the maintenance or ooo con s9 7oo and we have the following state ment as the result, to-wlt:
 | Total earnings per .,ssAo oo Expenses for miners
 supplies ....:.S TSo'oo
 | Expenses of main tenance .2,7Oo' oo .as oo IOtdI expense ...'', Nat a.rri,s. s,ss4 70
 This proposition places the State and the nine operator in PsecSsetty Sstween see fres miner and the mine operator
 No wlet us see what the State woulc get under the existing system ana pres. 1 S1S50 each, s5,550, net-whlch IS $s,- l 43440 less than the same numper or convicts at the same task and mining 1 the same amount of coal would earn | if paid for their labor same as the amount paid for free labor.
 These figures illustrate the great
 fore. believe that the law should au- | thorize the State authorities 10 mine
 coal upon the following terms ana
 First. To contract to mine coal at
 an agreed price per ton, put in the
 railroader or loaded in the tram car
 in the mines. | mine coal on it's own account.
 Third. To hire it's convicts, per capi-
 ta or per classification, per montn. to
 mine operators, the State maintaining | Victs.
 We think the relative advantages
 State cannot make satisfactory con
 tracts under any of the above provis-
 ions then to proceed at once to open
 mines of it's own; on laneg 1s,,s owneo ws rer or |
 gard as the most undesirable, because
 1t might seriously cripple the minlng
 business: but should be resorted to as
 a dernier resort.
 To consummate the ends of genuine
 convict reform in this State, to main
 tain in Alabama a convict system com
 mensurate with the high standard or
 this Christian civilization, to maintain
 the revenue as far as possible, conslsI,
 tent with the higher aims or crimindl
 administration, and to do justice 70 dli
 our fellow citizens in the distrioutloh
 of convict labor, we respectfully sus
 gest the following important changes | to-Wit.
 First. the abolition of the county con
 vict system. or its limitations 10 ms.
 demeanors, who shall De prohlolteo
 from working in mines.
 | Second, the abolition of the lease sys'
 tenn
 Third. the just and equitable distri-
 button of convict with free labor; We believe that these ends can DO at l tained bY the enactment into law oi Senate Bill Number 104, and hereby rec | ommend its passage with such amenu- | ments az are necessary to perrect IhS 1 principles"
 1 From the above it will be seen that l ten years ago Dr. Cunningham recos | nized the defects of the lease system ot | working State convicts; thought out | what is essentially the present systehi l and endeaNored to procure the enacL- l .s..f., Nkc III.