The Delta independent., 1911-04-07
The lettere in full follows:

The lettere in full follows:
canon City, April l, 1911.
Mr. Louis Meyer,
Secretary Mesa County Business
Mems Association,
Grand Junction, Colorado.
My Dear Sir
Upon my return to Canon City, l
found your letter of March 20 and
in regard to it l will say that l
am figuring on making arrangements
by which we could send you thirty
five convicts with two overseers, one
of whom is to receive SIS per
month and the other $S5 to be paid
by your Commissioners. 1t will re-
quire an outfit of several sleeping
tents, a commissary tent, blankets,
bedding, cooking range, water heat
er for baths, etc. We will furnish
the clothing for the men from this
institution. We could use convict
as night guard in this camp and in
that way we can save your Commits
sioners paying another man salary
of SIS, so you see that two over
seers will be all that they will have
to pay a salary to. OF course for
grading and surfacing work it will
be necessary for them to have
teams and wagons, however, we can
furnish the drivers for the work.
In case your Commissioners in
conjunction with the Delta County
Commissioners wish to take this
proposition up, | will be glad to
send an officer over there prepara-
tory to- assist you in getting an out
fit together such as we will need, as
il will be necessary for us to have
camp to go TO as soon as the
men arrive. We get a half-rate
railroad fare for these men and
we will send them with our over
seer when the camp is ready.
About the best way to arrange it
would be for the Mesa County Com
missioners to pay the expenses
while the men were in Mesa county
and after they cross the line into
Delta county, the Delta County Com
missioners to take over the expense,
and l would suggest that your Com
missioners have an arrangement.
with the Delta County Commission
ers to handle the men after they
cross into Delta county.
1t is going to be a very difficult
matter to secure such gang of men
at this time. However, / was i'm
pressed with the fact while over in
your county that you need roads
and | think that the Western Slope
is as much entitled to the labor of
the convicts as any other part of tho
state. However, as l stated at the
meeting of the Western Slope De-
velopment Congress. this work in
the past has been largely experi-
mental and now that it is an as
sured fact and is proving a great
saving to the different counties in
which the roads are being built. we
have demands for more men than
we can fill. 1t is possible that | can
send you a gang of men right away
or as soon as you can make ar
rangements, which / hope will be
imm mediately. AS soon as you have
a thorough understanding with the
Delta County Commissioners and
are prepared to make arrangements
for the camp, | wish you would let
me know, as l am anxious to get
the men started as soon as posi-
BILE and / do not want anything to
interfere with my plans.
AS an instance of the economy
of this work, / will state that |
visited our road camp at Ute Pass
day before yesterday and during the
winter the men have done a job of
road work making that with free la
Dor would have cost $4,000. The
County Commissioners of Ell Paso
county figured that it would cost
$4,000 with convict labor and we
find that the work is now done and
it has cost less than $4,000. In
Boulder county where the surfac-
ing road from $4,000 per mile to
, 800 per mile, so there is no aues-
tion about the economy of the prop
osition.
If necessary wire me and I will
send an officer Immediately to as
sist your Commissioners in getting
, such an outfit as you will need.
, Hoping to hear from you at once,
| am. yours very truly.
, THOS. J. lyman, Warden.