The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-04-01
STATE 70 WORK PRISONERS
For Years II Has Been the Practice
to Lease All convicts Out to Priv
ate Contractors, Who Abused Them
Without Mercy.

ATLANTA, Ca. March 3l.-The
convict lease system, which has pro-
dueed 50 much graft and cruelty dur.
ing lis existence, ends in the State
Of Georgia today. The law which
win produce this great reform. and
which was passed by the General
Assembly in extraordinary session
last September, will go into force to-
morrow, Secretary Goodloe Vaney,
Of the prison commission, has for
several weeks past been engaged al
most constantly in preparing every
detail for the coming into force OF
the new convict law that takes all
the eonvicts out Of the hands OF les
sees forever and turns them over to
the state itself-their owner.
Under the new law all felony con.
yicts shall be turned over to the
Prison Commission after today, in
cluding those now in the hands Of
lessecs and those hereafter convicted
All misdemeanor conviets not work
ed by the counties upon their roads
shall also be turned over to the Com
mission. Counties desiring to use
convicts in building roads, bridges,
and other public works shall apply
to the Prison Commission for their
present Quota, in writing, not later
than February IS Of each year. After
the pro rata share Of each county has
been distributed to those desiring
them, all countries wanting more
shall have them on another proper
tionat scale. After the second dis.
tribution, municipalities desiring
them shall have them at 500 per con.
vict per annum. State farms are
to be leased for FIVE years or purchas-
ed, il possible, where convicts may
be worked. State institutions need
ing labor may have fifty convicts
each. II all these means Of dispos-
ing Of convicts do not absorb the to-
tai number in the Commissions
hands, then the Commission and the
governor are given authority to dis
pose Of the remainder as they think
best, on work wherin the contractor
Is not interested in the amount of
work the convict can do per day, and.
for a period not to exceed twelve
Thus ends a system, wrong in prin.
:iple and frightfully abused in pract-
ee, and thus is dealt to private con-
ractors accustomed to reap the fruits
II this obnoxious system, heavy
slow. Under the old law there was
10 penitentiary in Georgia; there
we're no warehouses. No prisoners
we're kept in jails, but at every term
II court persons who had been con-
,icted OF offences for which impris-
,nment is the penalty in other States,
we're sold as slaves to whoever de-
ired that kind of labor, and the
money went into the public treasury,
These convicts were leased" to any
me who was willing to pay, And
'ther persons who were convicted of
,ffences punishable by fine were
leased" to any person willing to pay
he fine and permit the prisoner to
work. out the amount at fixed rate
# wages,
Genral Thomas H, Ruger Of the
United States Army then military
,overnor of Georgia, without any
uthority from the people Of this
tate, inaugurated the convict lease
ystem in 1868, by hiring out to the
rst responsible bidder two hundred
4 the FIVE hundred convicts then in
he penitentiary. The others were
ired out soon afterward either by
i'm or by Governor Bullock. This
yas done at that time because Of the |,