The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-03
TOWNS WON'T BUY
PRISON MADE GOODS
Violation Of Law Keeps Hun
drcds of COnvicts Idle.
Says Commission.
STATE WAREHOUSES; FULL
Cooperation by Officials Would
Help to Make Prisons
Self-suppOrting.

ALBANY. Jan. MANY county. city
and village officials are ignoring the
prison law which requires municipalities
to purchase goods and materials manu-
featured In the prisons from the Superin-
tendent OF State Prisons. according TO 4
statement to-day by the State Commits
sion Of Prisons. II the convicts In tina
State prisons are 20 be kept employed
public officials Of the State. the com.
mission says. must purchase the prison
products.
"The Constitution" says the commits.
sion. makes II the duty Of the legisla-
ture to provide employment for the
convicts and declares that the products OF
prison labor shall be sold only to tho
State or its political divisions. In order
to compete AS little as possible with free
labor the prison industries have beer
diversified under assignments by the
State Commission of Prisons.
1.-THE prison law provides that no
article shall be purchased from any other
source for the State. its public institu-
tons or political divisions. unless the
State Commission of Prisons shall certify
that tho article cannot be furnished. t.
audit or pay for goods purchased with
out such certificate il illegal The state
Board of classification endeavors To fla
prices as near the usual market price fO'
such goods as possible.
state officials generally observe the
law. There lis. however. AN apparent dis
position on the part Of many puli.t
officials to evade the law The records
of the Superintendent Of state Prison
show that up Ia December the cities %;
Lackawanna. Newburgh. North T"uh
wanda. Port Jervls. Tonawauds. Wat Pc
town and Watervliet had madc no
purchases since the enactment "t to-
present law. in 1896. VITA thr except"
of a straitjaclSet purchased lu /" :,
the city OF Glcns taIs had hu'r''
nothing. No purchases had been iuud" h.
the cities Of Oneida sine. 1901. ',.ii'.H'
since 1905, Geneva since lHu>, fu'''.
since 1909. Kingston since 1910. 'i'f'..
jamestown and Rochester since l"i'. nil
Hudson. Little Falls. Niagara H'I'
Oswego and Poughkeepsic since l''
Cortland. Franklin and Fulton count o..
had sent in no redusition FOR 1872 Irt"
to December l.
New Work city Hest Market.
"Of the i66 Incorporated villages Of tie
state only fifteen had made purchases
during the same period New York city
affords the largest market for prison
products. Buffalo makes some purchases
from the state as well as from the Erie
County Penitentary, but Rochestra's last
order for supplies from the State prisons
was in May. 1911. OF the second class
cities Albany, Troy. Yonkers and
Schenectady buy literally, but orders
from Utica and Syracuse are few.
Rochester and Monroe county officials
hold that the Rochestra city charter and
the Monroe county purchasing act on
acted In 1907. which require that cor.
tracts for city and county supplies be
ava rded to the lowest bidder. in effect
nulified the provisions of the prison law
Of 1896.
'In response to an inquiry from the
State Commission Of Prisons Attorney
General Carmody on August IS. 1919.
rendered an opinion that the local statutes
relative to the purchase OF supplies In tho
city OF Rochester and in the county OF
Monroe do not supersedc the prison law,
1.-THE Corporation Counsel Of Buffalo
had previously Contended that the prison
law so far as it compelled municipalities
to pur chase products of the prisons wa
unconstitutional, hut the Attorney.Gen-
eral held otherwise.
Hundreds Of COnvicts ldlc.
AS a result OF the failure OF many
municipalities to observe the law hun
dreds of conyicts In the State prisons have
been idle during the past year TIL"
prison storehouses are stocked with good
for which the demand has not kept pac"
with the supply Cooperation and OIL
servance OF law on tho part of publ
officials in tho purchase OF prison made
goods would go long way toward maj,
ing the prisons self-supporting
There H. no doubt that strict con
| plance with the law by all public officials
would create demand much more than
enough to keep all the prisoners through
out the state fully employed This re
| suit is greatly to be desired"