The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1912-01-18


deed. i am informed by our State
Highway Commissioner that on mac
adam roads the difference in favor of
convict labor is $1,000 per mile over
free labor, thus reducing the cost of
roads Of that character from $4,000
per mile to $4,000. while on sand-clay
or gravel roads the cost is about the
same, because on roads of the latter
class the cOnvicts have to be separated
and more guards are required. and
this is the exact point my plan is in
tended to meet.
Pcnitcntiary Shoe Contract.
The contract made some years ago
by the state with the Davis Shoe Com
pany, by which the convicts were
hired TO work i'm the cOmpany's shoe
factory in the penitentiary. will ex-
pire on the LIST of May, 1918. The
board of directors of the penitentiary
has advertised for bids for the hiring
Of convicts after May l, 1913, which.
when received. will be submitted to
this General Assembly for acceptance
or rejection. and thus the future pol
icy OF the State will. of necessity. have
to be considered and determined.
have gathered much information upon
the subject, part of which will be
found in pamphlet gotten up by Mr.
Rives b. Hardy, my assistant secre-
tary. which will be laid on the desks
of the members, and which shows
what other States are doing with their
convicts, and the information not con-
tanned in the pamphlet will be set out
in this message.
There are in the penitentiary about
l,242 convicts, of whom about 1900
are able-bOdied: at the State Farm
there are about 275. of which only
about seVenty-five are able-bodied. as
the farm is used to recuperate and
build up those who are not in good
health; and. as already stated. there
Il
whom may be said to be well and
strong. OF these, seventeen are in
Bedford and sixteen in Chesterfield
working under a law which was in
torce prior to the passage of the
Iassiter- Withers bill. And there are
IN the Penitentiary ninety-Six women
who with about 500 long-term men
and and Convicts more or less des-
perate, cannot, with proper regard
for the communities into which they
must go, be worked on the public
roads.
Favors the Colorado Plan.
The salaries and board of guards
under our present system constitute
large part of the expense of work
ing the convicts. and realizing this
and the benefit. moral and physical,
TO the cOnviets two States Colorado
and Oregon, have adopted plans of
working convicts on the public roads
without guards. I am more familiar
with the plan adopted in Colorado
and Will briefly outline it,
A convict in the penitentiary of
that State is allowed for good be-
havior one month for the first year.
two for the second. and so on up to
the sixth year, in which he is allowed
six months. and stands at that for
the remainder of his term. When he
is on public works, in addition 10 the
above he is allowed ten days in every
month for good behavior and eff
cient work. and Governor Shafroth
informed me that all the convicts, on
account of this extra allowance, were
anxious to work on the road and that
they did faithful and efficient work.
Before leaving the penitentiary all
who are willing to do so take an oath
and promise on their honor not TO
escape or attempt to escape; they
are not shackled in any way and the
men who direct the work are not
in camp is a trusty who has a rifle
which seems to be used TO keep peo-
pie on the outside from coming in
rather than for the prevention of
those inside from going out.
The Governor informed me that
the cost OF working a convict under
these conditions was about 25 cents
A day. and that the percentage of es-
capes was less than under the old
system.
I am not sure that the con-
victS I'm our penitentiary could be
worked in this way with the good
results obtained i'm Colorado, but
inaSmuch as we could, under the
Colorado plan, after the first
year. work 1900 convicts on our
public roads for about $135, 900,
think the plan worthy of trial.
OF course. for the first year the
equipment Of every camp of fifty con-
victs would cost about ST. 500, but as
the State already has equipments for
fifteen. only fifteen more would have
TO be provided, at an expense of about
$37,5o0
Favors Road System.
In view of these facts. / earn
estly recommend that the author
tiles now controlling the camps
bc vested with disCrciiSn. after
experimenting with one or more
camps without guards and find
ing conditions satisfactory, to
adopt the Colorado plan and put
under IL all the cOnvicts working
OH the public roads. In addition
To the inducements offered by
this plan, the punishment for es-
cape or attempt TO escape might
be increased.
IL ia needless for me to say,
after what I have written, that L
am heartily in favor of working
as many of our convicts as pos
stble on the public roads, leaving
the locations of the camps to the
State Highway Commissioner and
the superintendent of the peni-
tertiary, who should so arrange
that prisoners from county and
city jails might readily and con-
veniently be added to the near
est camp, thus increasing the
number of workers without in
any way adding to fixed charges.
/ am sure that in addition to the
benefit derived from their labor.
crime and the number Of Jail prison
ers would be greatly reduced and a
corresponding reduction OF criminal
expenses would result.
AS before stated, some 500 convicts
could not be used on the road force,
and of these some will be needed
for the limestone plants if your body
shall decide to manufacture ground
limestone for the advancement of our
agricultural interests. Some forty
would be required to make clothes
for the convicts, and in this the wo-
men could be utilized; some for work
on the State Farm and the remainder
might be hired for work in the peni-
Tertiary upon such terms and sub
Ject TO such limitations and conditions
as may be agreed upon.
Or the COnVicfS NAV no arnnI0u-