Evening journal., 1913-08-02
INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CONVICT LABOR.

W l. have received from the National Free Labor
Association, of Broadway, New York city an
organization of manufacturers and employees to
minimize the competition Of prison goods with
the products Of free labor the following letter:
TO the Editor of THE EVENING JOURNAL
Dear sir-Dhe excellent editorial 'Convicts as
Agrcuturists' in of your recent issues, prompts
us TO send you the enclosed. The men at the New
Castle County Workhouse leased to Messrs. Open
helm & Co.. manufacturers of trousers, New York
firm. which also holds a prison labor contract at
the New Jersey state Prison at Trenton"
The enclosures referred to articles written by
Julian Leavitt convict labor problems. One
Of outdoor work for conyicts and describes convict
labor system which benefits the prisoner the
State and the prisoners family Mr. Leawtt
who is authority penology. says it should
be used in all the States. He insists however that at
the present time twenty-four States have systems
which benefit only few private contractors who want
money than they need. Delaware is placed among
the twenty-four.
We do not think that the average Delawarcan he
lieves that IL is right to be using our prisoners to
iaten the purses of New York contractors and tl
throw upon the market in that State prison-made
garments which will not permit The contractors to
sell here Al the time until something better is
provided. that system doubtless will be continued.
II brings TO the trustees substantial amount of money
with which to defray the expenses of maintaining the
institution
our opinion is that the people Of Delaware rather
would see the prisoners working for the benefit of The
public aud their families than for that OK New York
contractors. Ia fact, it already is planned that ass
many of tho, convcta be trus out of he in
sttution under guard shall be used for road-buildug
purposes. There has heen hitch in the arrange
for such work, but the Levy Court an likeli-
hood will have things in shapo TO put that plan
into execution Sooner lator public sentiment
doubtless will compel the trustees to find something
better than contract labor for the other employees.
The trend OF prison reform Is in favor outdoor
noyment for men and prisoners and II VIII
come here in time just as il has Other States
Indoor. employment hrutaiaes and breaks the health
Of conyicts matter how well they may he housed
or treated There rs a deadly sameness about it all
that never fails to have depressing If nc desruc-
tive effect Outdoor employment builds NO the phy-
steal mental and apirual wen being Of tho convict
and gives him interest I'm lite that results nstnc
lively from close communion with nature.
OF course men who fatten upon prison contracts viii
deny these things II is 10 their interest to do so But
experience in the progressive States in our Union and
also in some of the nations In Europe has shown that
conyicts do much better and that the percentage af
reformation is much higher when they arc employed
outside The contract system in dealing with the labor
Of convicis must go. later. Il has been
abused henously in many states that 1t has been
brought into disrepute in most of them. In some Of
the States the public is getting the benefit of cony,t
labor the public roads In others that benefit is
being obtained through penal farms Whatever the
specific method may be- The underlying motive is 10
get the conycts out into the free air and sunshine
and to permit them to obtain inspiration from the
fact that they are working Tor the mrc
benefit which carries with it certain amount of
benefit to themselves and their families. and not inn
INJURED within four walls and sweating their lives out
for the benefit Of individuals corporations that
have no interest in them other than the money they
can coin from their sweat