The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-03-29
USE OF CONVICTS
ON ROADS GROWS
Proportion So Employed Has In
creased From 1.3 to 13 Per
Cent Since 1885.
LEASE SYSTEM IS PASSING
Report by Uncle Sans investigators
Shows Steady Decrease in Num-
ber of Prisoners Employed
in Shop Work.

A steady decrease since 1885 in the
proportion of cOnvicts in the United
States employed in miscellaneous work
under lease and contract and u marked
increase in the proportion employed
for the benefit of the state ON high
| shown in statistics just published by
the office Of public roads and rural
engineering of the United States de-
partment of agriculture.
These statistics are included in De
partment Bulletin 414, which reports
one of the first exhaustive studies
made in this country covering the ad-
miniStrative, engineering, economic,
convict road camps. Representatives
Of the United States public health
service co-Operated with the special
lists of the department of agriculture
in making the studies. The systems
adopted by the several states are dis
cuSSed and recommendations are made
for the achievement of greater eff
cheney in operation of the convict
camps and conduct of the road work.,
Systems Are Classified.
The systems of convict labor ure
classified in the report as lease. con-
tract and piece-price systems, under
which the labor of the cOnvicts is for
the benefit of private individuals or
corporations, often in the manufaC-
ture of commodities; the public-ac-
count system, under which the convict
made goods are sold by the state; the
state-uSe system, under which the
goods are manufactured only for use
i'll state institutions; and the public
works and ways system, under which
the labor of the cOnvictS Is devoted
to public structure and roads. The
latter system has grown i'll popular
ity, ii is pointed out, because ii makes
use of the convict labor with Il mini
mum of competition with free labor,
contributes fairly lasting benefits to
the whole community, affords health
full and even somewhat refOrmative
to the cOnvicts and re-
duceS congestion in penal institutions. |
The most satisfactory use of the sys-
TEN, in the opinion of the departments |
road specialists, is under state rather |
than county administration. Since |
1850. the report shows, the percentage |
Df convicts in Il large number of rep
'eSentative institutions working under |
lie publiC-accOunt, State-uSe and pub
ic works and ways systems, has in
,reased from 50 to sc per cent, while
he proportion engaged in road work
llone has increased from 1.3 per cent
o nearly l3 per cent.
Fitted for Outdoor Labor.
C0nVicts should not be indlScrtn-
nately put to work on roads, it is
pointed out. Only those who are phySi-
ally fit for the work should be en-
'loyed. 1t may be even desirable and
practicable in many instances to re-
erve assignment to the Open-air work
IS reward for good behavior. Physi-
ally and by former mode of life,
satisfies cited in the report show,
lbout threefOurths of the average
lale prison population is better fitted
or outdoor labor than for shop work.
n practice, when all considerations
re taken into account, it has been
ound that from 25 to 80 per cent Of
ne male inmates of prisons are avail
bic for road work.
The employment of state cOnvicts
n road making, the report shows,
rst became general in the South in
le early nineties. Such use of state
lnvicts has been made by Northern
nd Western states, however, mostly ,
uring the last ten years. [