The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1919-09-12
Prohibition Raiding the Jails in
Connecticut
Use Many County Prisoners in
Farm Work
Supply Has Been Constant for
Over 80 Years
JAILS NOW EMPTY
Receipt of New Prisoners Is
Daily Falling
Not Sufficient to Keep Up Labor
Supply
Prohibition Blamed for CondY
tons in Connecticut; Prisoners
Becoming So Few That Jails
May Soon Be EInptied

A Woodstock, Conn.,, news story
under date OF August 81, is to the
effect that the jailcrs of Connecticut
county institutions are crying-not
that the prisoners are in mutiny, but
because Prohibition is stalking
through the land and there are vir-
tually no prisoners. That is, the num-
Der is dwinding so that the pessi-
mists are looking forward to the
time when maybe the empty jails will
Rave to be turned inso road houses,
inns and gift shops or tea rooms.
At the Windham County Jail at
Brooklyn there are but a score in
the cells today in charge Of Tailor
Field, as compared with an average
summer population of so or 100 in
former years. In New London
County at Norwich Jailer Mayne is
boarding only about IS this Julyx
Another marked decrease in patron-(
age.
.Jailer Field of Windham County
is wondering how he is going to
manage his growing crops, for Wind
ham County heretofore has made a
gilt-edge record by turning its jail
population into soil tillers. This sys-
tenn has been in effect for nearly 80
years The delinquent who has COM
| mitted from some local court to the
big stone building expecting a vaca-
ton, soon got rude jar for he was
at once set to work to do his bit
either tilling, caring for or harvest
ing the crops on the 273 acres of the
Jail farm, or, more cruel treatment
still, on farms in the vicinity OF the
Jail. Just what this drastic discipline
means may be inferred from the
fact that as the jail's share OF help
ing feed the world during the. war
years, the management planted
about 70 acres to potatoes, beans.
onions, beets, turnips, carrots, pars-
nips, cabbage and corn. Except in
the case of those absolutely unable
to farm it," every prisoner, male
and female, was kept at work nine
hours per day, six days each week.
during the season. After the harvest
ing was done there might be lull
but in spare moments before that
happy time, the men from the Jail
not only helped in the haying on
their own big farm, but were hired
out to aid the farmers in the neigh
borhood. Then there would be work
for the town or State in building
roads, and when winter came there
would be ice to cut and store Being
a Jail boarder under Captain Field
was no picnic.
In an average year. the receipts
to the county from this Jail at Brook
lyn would be over $4,000, of which
$4,000 would be earned by the pris-
oners-$8.000 would go from the
State for prisoners board and the
balance would be clear on produce
from the Jail farm.
This year, Jailer Field had is acres
Of corn growing, and over 10 acres
of potatoes besides many other va
rieties of vegetables. With less than
score of prisoners for a season for
working Their terms out, and with no
commitments to feed" the Jail pop
ulation going more steadily down
grade now that Connecticut has
climbed up on the water-wagon, the
jail management is up against
stiff proposition.
A similar difficulty, but on
smaller scale, is being encountered
in the lower county of Eastern Con-
necticut where prisoners jailed in
Norwich have always titled a garden
big enough to yield provisions for
that Jail and the other one in New
London, no land being available at
Al.