Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-11
C0MEY GIVES
Continued From Page y

dining room, two dormitories for wo-
men, women's hospital, general hospi-
tai, administration building, laundry,
dining room and mems dormitory, and
store room, all at the insane asylum ;
hospital, kitchen, boiler roc and
stack, cow barns and silos at the tu-
~berculosis hospital.
Mr.. Conley explained that he had
no photographs Of the buildings in
which prison brick had been used and
which had been erected by the state up
on the state ranch, at the school for
deaf and blind at Boulder, the state
normal school at Dillon, Montana State
college at Bozeman, the orphans home
at Twin Bridges and the girls vocation
al school near Helena
What about the 1920 brick you
are alleged to have sold yourself at a
low price,! witness was asked by At
torney O'Conner.
Cheap Brick for Pavilion
These bricks, said the witness, e
used in the construction Of q pavilion
for the city Of Deer Lodge. He said he
took the matter up with the state
board and the board wanted to know
why the state should erect a pavilion
for Deer Lodge and he explained that
the people of Deer Lodge, the women
especially, had been looking after the
and 1t was felt that they were entitled
to some recognition for this service.
He said he told the board he would pay
the state for the cost of the manufac-
ture of the brick required, 81 per
thousand, and the prison could furnish
free labor available among the con-
victs, all other costs to be paid by the
city of Deer Lodge. The board, he said,
authorized him to 60 ahead with the
proposition.
Under questioning by Attorney
OConnor the witness said the state
had sold some brick in the name of
John Berne because the labor unions
were opposing the use of convict made
bricks and the union brickfayers would
not lay brick known to have been made
by convicts.
Under cross-examination by Mr..
Rankin the former warden told some
of the history of the prison brick yard.
He said Conley & McTague had oper-
ated a brick plant during the time they
managed the prison under contract and
that the state bought this machinery
in 1908, when it took over the prison.
He said the state started making brick
in 1910 or 1911 and at that time bought
brick machinery from John Berne. The
state owned no land for a brick plant
but it put the machinery on prison land
and got its clay from Conley & Nc
land, operating that plant for
two years. Then John Berne estab-
lished the brick yard near the prison
which the state bought a couple Of
years ago. Berne had labor troubles.
the witness said, and he advised him to
the plant over to the state.
Mr.. Conley testified that Berne did
turn the plant Over to the prison under
a verbal agreement whereby no rent
vas paid by the state, but Berne was
employed to superintend the plant at
IS per day. The state afterwards built
brick machinery which was placed
the states land and it built a couple
of kilns on Berne's ground. The state
used up all of Berne's clay, he said.
Conley said that Conley & McTague
had previously been operating a brick
yard on the Mason ranch, but had dis
its operation because of the
haul. He said they had
10000 brick there in the kilns which /
turned over to the state In 1910
and 1911 to be used in state buildings,
the state rather than to buy the brick
to reimburse Conley & Nc
with brick to be made by the
,onvicts.
Conley testified that the state now
mas a brick plant at the prison which
had cost about $4,000, but which he
said is worth $4,000.