El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-10
NEEDS
4 PRISON
MANAGER
Convicts Cost More Than
Texas Can Stand and the
Prisons May Be Sold.
BETTER TAKE THEM
ON TRIP, SAYS MAYES
rSTIN. Texas. May 1O.-This ad-
y vertisement might be published
- by the state of Texas

A rSTIN, Texas. May 1O.-This ad-
~ vertisemeut might be published
= by the state of Texas
NVanted-General manager for a run
down prison system About 4OVO men
employed. Thorough -knOWieuse OF
farnine. manufacturing and various
Orher lines Of business required OF sue
cessful applicant SalaIS' f4VOO pei
annum.'
is now being made TO solve the DlSSesE
fiscal problem il has ever had 10 deal
with 1t is that of lifting the pen1ten-
placing il on a solid financial basis
Preliminary to the enactment OF a re-
FORM a committee of the lawmaklnS
bOdv is now conducting an VeSLlgatlOn
OF the different phases and features OF
the system in the hope OF determining
the cause OF its financial enDarrdss-
ment and to arrive at the pest melnod
Of remedylng that deplOraDle cOnQluOn
While this inquiry has not yet been
finished, the members OF the commit
tee are unanimous in arriving at the
conclusion that the thing mos needed
is a capable general manager Of this
large department of the state govern
ment. II is proposed to pay such
man a salary of $4,000 pc rannum- He
win perform the duties that are now
looked after by the state board Of pris-
Systematic Work Needed.
Capitalization and systematiZing are
badly needed, 1t is claimed, TO place the
peniUentiary system on selI-Susraln-
ing basis To carry out this idea the
dicatiOns that it faVOrs the sale OF all
the properties now en- braced IN the SyS-
tenn ana the reest ablishment OF an en-
Crely new prison at some central pGlnL
in the state. At present there are TWO
penitentiaTIes-On at huntsville and
the other at Rusk- There are also
number OF socalled convict farms, ag-
greg0 ting more than $4,000 acres CT
land, scattered through the BrazOs
valley territory Of south Texas
May sell All Properties.
It is probable that the proposition
which the cOmmitte viii submit to the
legislature viii. in brief, provide for tho
sale and abandonment OF the prison
buildings and factories ar huntsville
and Rusk and the sale of the sugar
cane ana cotton plantations in the
lower BrazOs river country. 1t IS esIl-
mated that the proceeds from these
sources viii be approximately $500
coo. With this sum and an additional
appropriation OF S2,Zi5,OOO II IS pro-
posed TO purchase $4,000 acres Of land
in the vicinity OF Waco, erect build
ings and factories thereon and convert
the new site into complete and mod
ern penal institution Besides operat-
ing the big farms with cOnV1ctSs IL IS
planned TO employ them in various man
ufacturing plants. such as cOrtOnseed
ell mill, meat packing plant and can
Owes Nearly S2,OOO,OoO.
The indebtedness OF the penlteuuary
system at this time is more than ST.
100000 Practically all OF this has been
create during the administration Of
governor o. 3. COlQuitt and the present
board OF commissioners 1t is claimed
by men who were Identified with the
management of the system during the
administration Of governors J. D. Say
ers and 5. ". T. Lanham that 1t was
maintained on a more than self-susJ tain
ing basis during those periods
The hard financial straits in which
the system now finds itself are due
largely TO series of unfortunate cir
cunSIanceS more Inan 70 unWlSe man
aEement, IT Is stated The adjustment
OF the contract system as applied to
convicts also had a lot to do with the
loss OF revenue 1t is estimated that
this reform measure caused a falling
off of approximately 100000 per an
mum in revenue The loss from the
destruction OF the sugar cane crop by
freeze was S500,0O0 Fire caused losses
aggregating 500. 600. The new law pro-
viding for the payment of daily wages
TO cOnVicts who are employed upon the
plantations and in the Industrial estab-
HShmentS of the system required an
outlay OF $Z25,0OO per annUm-
The legislative investigating commit
tee is composed OF lieutenant governor
VIII H. Mayes, senator John G.. Willacy,
senator r l. Warren. repreSen tat1yes
r. b Humphrey, L. TiuOtson and ".
o. Diffy. 1t has taken the testimony OF
Ben Cabeu, chairman of the board Of
penitentiary commissioners, and q num-
Der OF other officials and employees Of
siOns at Austin. Huntsville and Rusk
Its members also visited the convict
plantations
Better Give Away Railway.
1t was developed by testimony that
the state railroad. which is owned and
operated as a part of the peniJentiary
system, is a constant money loser.
The state Of Texas would be much
better off financially if il had given
away this railroad to some one sew
eral years ago" Mr.. Cabell informed
the committee.
The line runs between RuSk and Pal
estine. It viii probably either be sold
or abandoned
Another bit Of testimony showed that
the cost per capita OF maintaining the
prison population at Rusk above the in
come of that institution was 1858 per
annum, and at Huntsville S495 per an
num-
1T would be cheaper for the state to
take the COnvicts on a tour around the
world than to maintain them at Rusk,'
says lieutenant governor Mayes.
In order to provide for the present
pressing financial needs Of the pcuiten-
uary system, the legislature at its re-
cent regular session made an apprOpria-
uon of $3.50. 600 for its use and also
authorized the issuance of S2,O00.fO9 If
bonds These bonds viii be purchased
by the state from the available public