The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1923-01-25
PRISONERS MUST
BE PUT TO WORK
Blaine Sends Notice That
Huber Law Must Be
Enforced.
WILL HELP FAMILIES
Earnings of Prisoners Must Be
Held for Support of Depend
ents on men in Jail.

Sheriff Fred Pabst of Kenosha
county must work out an intelligent
plan to put prisoners in the county
jail to work and the money which
they earn must be given in part for
the support of the people dependent
on them.
Governor Blaine this morning sent
out from Madison letter to all sher-
ifs in the counties calling their at
tention to the so-called Huber law,
providing for the employment of Jail
inmates and the sheriffs are told that
they must acquaint themselves with
the provisions of the law with a view
of intelligently enforcing it. He de-
clared that he had received COM
plants against sheriffs failing to en-
force the law which justified the re-
moval Of some of the sheriffs for
their neglect Of duty.
The Huber law enables sheriffs to
farm out prisoners in the jails in or
der that their dependents may re
ceive some support, and that the
county may be relieved Of the ex-
pense. The governor in his letter
said that the law was founded upon
a wise public policy, but he asserted
that sheriffs were in some instances
abusing its provisions. He asked
that they study the statute and exer-
else care in applying it..
Pabst Says, "Tickled to Death
Il will be ficEled to death if we
can do that very thing,H was the
comment of Sheriff Pabst when he
was told of the order of the governor
today. "What is more will find
some way to farm out every one of
them who can properly be put to
work. 1t certainly will be better for
US and better for the inmates of the
Jail to have them at work"
How many are working now?" was
the question put to the sheriff.
"Well, we have a couple of them
working about the jail helping to
clean up the various departments but
outside Of that there are none of
them working and none of them are
earning anything for the support Of
their families the sheriff continued
'None of them are being farmed out
for regular work but we will welcome
the chance to carry out the sugges-
ton of the governor"
Stone Pile Not Popular Here.
Working prisoners from the county
Jail has never attained a really high
popularity in Kenosha county al
though a few men have been farmed
out from the Jail in other years and
have been forced to work for the sup
port of people dependent upon them
1t is admitted that the prisoners have
not felt that such plan was a
really workable one and most of them
have been willing to spend their time
lolling on Jail bench rather than
working.
Efforts to have prisoners do high
way work on the county roads has not
met with the best possible results
Other men do not seem to be overly
anxious to work with the prisoners
and the plan has usually fallen dowr
on this account. With the large
amount of farm work to be done II
Kenosha county it. is possible thai
Sheriff Pabst will be- able to worl
out plan which will make the en-
ployment of prisoners profitable tt
the county and to the people depend
ent on these men,.
The sheriff had not as yet received
the formal communication from the
governor today but he declared him
self in complete sympathy with it.