The Caucasian., 1913-07-29
PRISON PROBERs
SUBMIT REPORT
State Of Texas Said to Lose a
Great Deal ofnMoney.
NEVER HAS BEEN PROFIT
Declared That Every State in
dustry Has Been Failure. the
Great Drain. a

Rusk PenfsenttaTy especially
Great Drain.
That Rusk prison alone has cost the
state OF Texas So, 32s, 3o5 50 above its
total earnings and that the indebted
uess Of the penitentiary system at the
end Of last wear amounted to ST, 52S, w
45S OIL. with the cost Of its operation
approximating 81 900, 600 per year, are
statements contained in the report Of
the legislative committee appointed at
the regular session OF the Thirty third thtair1d
legislature to investigate the financial
condition OF the penitentiaries and
submitted to Governor Colquitt at the
extra session.
The report declares that no manu-
featuring enterprise undertaken by the
prison system has ever resulted ia
profit, and that the records kept nv
the system are ''inaccurate and unre
liable /"
1T appears that in the operations
OF farms or factories, items carried In
one account during one period or IN
der one management were carried in
another account at another time or by
other accountants. says the report,
and adds that such q system might
have shown an arbitrary profit wben
careful bookkeeping would have dis
closed the lass OF earnings or loss
Committee declares persons under
twenty one years Of age should not be
sent to the penitentiary, and that the
criminal statutes should be revised SO
as to provide greater uniformity Of
convictions in certain cases.
Following are some Of the alleged
cases of misman agement:
Sale of the output OF the Rusk box
factory III Porto Rico for Is to 20 per
cent less than 1t would have brought
In Texas.
Expenditure OF more than sl2, 600 in
improving rented land, from which the
state derived no benefit
Failure to gin . crop Of cotton On
the Ramsey farm entailing loss Of
SIS, 600.
Expenditure oi SIS, 900. for repair Of
the Clemens farm sugar mill, which is
called an inexcusable and unjustif-
able expenditure Of state funds
Report states that the year Of the
cane crop freeze, which has been used
as an excuse for the prisons bad
luck, : the management received $l79,-
276, and last year when there was no
freeze, only Sill, 481.
tits stated the system has lost in
two years $500 327 in operating state
farms; 800. 900 due to credit opera
tions and other large snms in vari-
ETY. Of other transactions; it has also
spent $3.50, 874 ia improvements
Appointment OF q general superin
tendent; payment Of prison funds into
the state treasury !. revision OF system
Of accounts and stricter regulation Of
farming operations ares among the
committee recommend atoms.
Suppression OF the liqnor traffic in
Texas and consolidation OF the peni.
tentiary system at or near Houston
are among the suggestions made BY
Representative Humphrey Of the legis-.
Iative committee investigating prison
a1fairs, II minority report made BY
him to the governor He declared the
belief that the prison population
world diminish from 4, 900 to I, 500 II
statewide prohibition was adopted.
Harris county, with population
Of Il. eas has 2so prisoners 10 the
penitentiaries, says report, while
Is northwsst counties, al but two 81
which 40 liquor tratdc. andt where the
'popGlation numbers ], 52I. 76o, have
only i totafzof 2o2 prisoners II is
useless 70 try 10 exploin that any 9th
u ctauses than tho liquor traffic is. re-
..sponsible e's
Representative Humphrey says the
record OF the Investigation shows no
evidence Of absolute dishonesty In the
creation Of the prison systems enor.
nous debt On the other hand there
has been serious mismanagement and
the system reeks with inefficient SER
vice. HAtsays; that since the new Law
went into effect the prisons have lost
q, 400, 600
Mr. Humphrey favors abandoning
Rnsk and Huntsville prisons: con
solidatlon Of the system sat or near
the city Of Houston or some other
centrally located point" aorking Of
convlcts Oh state lands; creation 81
board, composed Of! the comptroller.
attorney general and treasurer, to
appoints general superintendent Of
the system q ! salary 81 Sc, 900 per
year; abolI shment Of per diem for
convicts; pay ment of prison funds
directly into the treasury and also the