Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-08-11
ALL READY AT PEN TO
BEGIN HAULING FLAX
FROM FIELDS PULLED
Plant Will Be Started As Soon
As Machinery Now On
Road Arrives

With lS,006 square feet of cement
floor laid and ready for the installa,
tion of the machinery, the scales ready
for weighing the loads of flax as they
come in, and the flax in the fields near
this city all pulled, the flax situation as
regards the Oregon State pen is rapid.
| ly nearing a close as far as the har-
vesting of the crop is concerned. There
are about 90 acres of flax near CASTOR
which it is possible may be pulled by
convict labor but to do this it would
be necessary to establish a camp at the /
flax field and no definite action has
been taken in this case by the prison
authorities. The last Of the flax with.
In easy distance of the pen will bel
finished tomorrow and then all of the
eonvicts that have been pulling flax
in the fields will be turned to other,
employment.
The eight ton scales for weighing
the flax in the load as it comes in to
the pen were finished last night The
country road roller which has been
working on the hard surface pavement
on the road at the end of State street
was borrowed to roll the approach to
the scales. The scales were installed
along the avenue leading up to the
pen from the end of State street and
II crushed rock base was laid around
the scales for the finishing coat of
top dressing
To lay the cement floor in the old
moulding room of the foundry at the
pen 1t was necessary to excavate and
Deputy Warden Sherwood. who had
charge of the work put the dirt to a
i good use. The dirt was rich in ash and
Mr.. Sherwood concluded that it would
raise good cabbage. Consequently he
mad the dirt screened to remove all
rocks and then spaded up large gar
den patch in the northeast corner of
the prison yard and applied the screen.
lngs as top dressing. They were
then wet down with the garden hose
and now Mr. Sherwood has visions of
Mulligan stews with the component
a parts raised inside the walls.
Il ''lt was necessary to spoil several
yards Of nice lawn said Mr.. Sherwood
But no one ever saw it but one guard
on the north wall and the convicts, who
would much rather see long healthy
rows of carrots and potatoes''
TO show that the prison yard woul,
produce good garden truck Mr.. Sher
wood exhibited, with considerable
PRIDE, his bean patch which occupie
the narrow strip of yard south of IN
ditch along the south wall Of tn
!. prison. Here are green beans of thro
generations so that when one planting
: begins to grow tough another is ius
X coming into bearing. Mr. Sherwoo,
X stated that the cOnvicts secured eiph
X complete bean feeds for the Dmail
X line and the call the main table
X ana when it is considered that il re
x quires 30 pounds of beans to one mea
X II is easily shown that the bean patel
* was n complete success. Not only doe
X 1t provide forage for the convicts bu
x 1t also supplies them with somethin,
y to do and not a single weed is allowe,
x to grow in Sherwood's truck patch
y Peas were also a plentiful crop thi
= year but they are gone now for tabl
2 use through a bushel Of dried peas wer
2 saved for seed next year.
9 The installation of a flax plant i
y the Oregon state pen and the work at
= tendant to preparing the product 70
= the mill has given employment to mean
: ly all Of the convicts who are physical
\ abe to work and the greatest problel
\ Of the pen has been given long ste
toward solution. Heretofore only
few men who made up the road gang
or the brick yard crews had remla
employment and lunches Of idle me
lounged about through the long day
which were made twice as long by tn
n monotony.
y Warden Mimic has been able to civ
" all Of the men something to do an
~ though none Of the work ig heay
manual labor it is enough to give thei
good appetities and is vast help aIon
M lines Of reformation.
VI