The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-12-11
HAS FAITH IN HONOR SYSTEM.
Sheriff Tracy Gives Results of His OBJ
servations.

only true way to try and help men down
and out, and hoping to benefit someone
less fortunate than himself, the writer
has tried to give his experience in the
following paragraphs, both with the old
method and the new, says Sheriff f. I'll.
Tracy of the Washington county jail in
"The Delinquent" for November.
| Up to the year 1906, all persons COM
mitted to the county jails in the state
OF Vermont We're compelled to spend
their time in idleness; they came from
their terms of Imprisonment weak physi-
cally and mentally. Many times they
We're discharged in mid-winter, poorly
clad and penniless, and sometimes miles
from home, with no alternative but to
beg, steal or get drunk.
The legislature of 1906 passed prison
labor law to be tried in county Jail,
that allowed all persons committed for a
breach of the peace, for being tramp,
| or for intoxication to be confined in the
/ county jail in the county in which the
offense was committed, and to be EN-
| ployed outside the walls of said Jail UNI
der guard. The law fixed the price per
day to be paid said guards. 1t also pro-
yided a penal board, consisting of the
assistant judges of the county court,
the sheriff and the supervisor of high
ways for the county, to make rules for
the employment of the men.
The legislature of zoos also provided
that all persons committing a crime not
felony, where the term of imprison-
ment did not exceed one year, should be
confined in the same place and worked
in the same manner.
The penal board of this county Wash
ingtonl began in the spring of 1907 the
experiment of working the men outside
the walls of the jail, the state taking all
the money earned by the men; after
nearly six months the result was almost
failure. One day the sheriff called one
of the men into the Jail office, and had
heart-to-heart talk with him; as the
result the "honor" system was tried, and
for over six years it has been success
At first it was tried with local men,
or men whose home was here or whose
people lived in the state, but gradually
it has been used with men from all parts
OF the world, and for the last three
years only one man serving time has
been refused the chance to work with
out guard.
The men are all compelled to work at
laborers' work. No matter what his pro-
fession or trade in life has been, he has
to do the work of common laborer.
The reason for that is, that this is a
strong union center, but in this way we
have had the support of the various la
Dor unions. The pay for laborer in
this section is 81 per day. Under our
system the penal board has taken 81
as the share for the state, and has al
lowed the men to have the balance
earned. During the last six years we
have worked over 200 men outside the
Jail: The men start from the Jail be-
fore Z o'clock in the morning, taking
their dinner pals in hand, and work
sometimes two or three in a place, and
very often alone, scattered over radius
of IL miles, and during this time we
have never lost a man. During the first |
three years we had three try to es-
cape, but during the last three years |
none has made the attempt. These men |
go TO their work dressed like the ordi- !
nary laborer and no one not knowing |
them would for minute suspect them |
to be prisoners.
The Jail office has become an employ |
ment bureau, and it has been said many.
times by corporations and Others EN-. |
ploying labor that they preferred them |
to those to be found outside. As a /
rule they have been careful and prudent |
with their savings. saving their money |
for their families, and we had many a /
man serving sentence of from three /
TO six months or year support his /
family and keep them from charity, |
while serving his sentence. We have |
man at this time whose sentence expires I
within week, who is completing /
years term, who has supported his fam
lily in this way and at the same time
earned more dollars for the state than
has been paid the jailer for his keeping
No prisoner is denied the privilege in 1
the evening of going to the newsstand 1
TO buy the daily paper, or TO the tobac-
co store to buy his tobacco, or to any
other store to purchase what he needs.
In this little Jail, carrying from 80 to
80 prisoners, we have been able to re-
turn to the state treasury over $4,000,
besides buying all the clothing worn by
the men while at work, paying all car
fares in going to and from their work
and all other expenses.
We know we have seen some men start L
with new purpose In lie, going out Il
to try and redeem the past. The locking
Of cell door is an unknown quantity
with us.
One of the methods used, to which we
attribute much of our success, has in
,luded two little cards which we have
,alled the keys to the Jail. The first is
! little pledge which the men are asked
% sign when committed. 1t runs as fol-
ows: Ia
Montpelier, VT, - 10.
IL hereby freely and voluntarily prom
sc and agree that while am a prisoner
confined in the Washington county Jail
,r employed as prisoner outside of
he walls, / viii abstain from the use
Il intoxicating liquor of every kind and
haracter; that | will not play cards
or money or for any article Of value;
hat | will not break any of the laws
f the state; that will not violate any
f the rules of the JAIL and that will
t all times conduct myself as a gentle
man,"
The other is little card used as an
and is given by the sher