The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-02-11
Penitentiary Problem.

When Governor Harmon took hold
of the penitent'ary problem he re-
solved to 90 TO the bottom of Il and
settle It, That is his thorougngoing
way Of attending to pubic business.
No subject has given the Governor
more concern nor claimed more OF
his thought and study since the be
ginnig OF his administration than the
solution of the situation at the peni-
tentiary as result of the Wertz law
10 abolish the contracting OF convict
labor
II is easy enough to say, abolish
convict contract labor It is quite a
d fferent question to devise a proper
system Of employment for those in
penal institutions, as other states
have learned by experience in Ike
circumstances. For Satan can find
10 end Of mischief for idle hands in
prison as vel as in the wide and
open world outside of prisons
The Wertz law to abolish labor
contracts at the Ohio penitentary
was passed during the session of
1906. 1t provided that pending con
tracts should not be disturbed but
should not be renewed, and that
means should be provided for util-
izng the labor of prisoners in the
manufacture OF materials for highway
Improvement.
In anticipation of the enactment OF
the WertZ law some G. the expiring
contracts were revoked and new con-
tracts made, the longes to run TO
Feb. IL. 1911 One contract affect
ing 15O prisoners expired Jan. 81 of
this year. A contract to expire July
/. 1909. VII release POO men. Thr2e
contracts will expire in 1910. affecting
100 men, and the contract which
runs until February. 1911. affects $50
men. Meanwhile, the idle house
has been filling up because no new
contracts have been entered into
since the Wertz law was enacted,
Although this condition should
have been forseen-and probably was
during the administration of Gov
crnor Harris, nothing was done by
that administration to bring about a
change at the penitentiary except TO
throw the control OF the board and
the organization. of the prison force
back into the hands Of the pol't-
ical machine that was in control be-
fore.
1t sould be remembered that The
rscrganization OF the penitentiary
was about completed when Governor
Pattison died, and one OF the very
first acs of the Republican lieuten-
ant governor who stepped into his
shoes was to overthrow that Organi-
zation and to restore the old regime.
Thus for more than Two years. the
Harris administrator dc nothing to
carry into effect the purpose OF the
Wertz law.
"A committe, consisting of three
senators and three members of the
house was appointed at the peniten-
! tiary. That commit ee, after a de-
sultory probe Of a few weeks had
! its powers extended so as to make
! inq,lry into the whole subject of
! PRISON reforms prison management
and discipline. Thus another year
Of inaction by The prison board and
state administration was c'oaked
over by the special investigation be-
ing conducted by this committee,
which reported 20 Governor Harris
shortly before the charge OF admin
! istration
This report accompanied by brief
message to the legislature and the
! failure CT the pententiary board to
do anything to carry out the pur-
pose OF the Wertz law, are among
the inheritances handed down to Gov
ernor Harmon by the las Republi-
can administration. along with a
long list of lap-oyer political a2-
| pointments.
! But Governor Harmon Is not
daunted, Instead OF following the
example OF his predecessor he has
applied himself vigorously to the
solution of the problem, just as he
brought up the fertilizer swinde
with a sharp turn by reorganlzing
he state board Of agriculture.
Had Governor Harris applied more
of his time to solving some OF the
pressing needs Of the state and less
time to satisfying the demands Of
a political machine there would not
have been 50 many things left undone
! FOR Governor Harmon to do.
But the new governor gives ample
proof right from the start tha he
IS equal to the emergency.