The Washington times., 1925-07-02
DAVIS MAY END
PRISON LABOR
SYSTEM
Competition Hurts Business,
sTSecretary Says, As He
Starts Campaign
BY HARRY WARD.

Secretary of Labor James j.
Davis has begun a campaign to
wipe out entirely the employment
Of prison labor in competition with
free labor. While he does not ad-
vecate idleness in the penal insti-
.tutions of the country. he believes
they should provide for the vocation
al training of every convict in a
useful trade at which he could find
employment after his RELEASE.
"I would not have prison-made
goods marketed even for Govern
ment use," Davis said.
The Labor Secretary had the
Bureau of Labor Statistics compile
figures covering the subject or con-
vict labor and he was startled to
find that OF the S4,761 convtcts
whom the Bureau found in the
State and Federal penitentiaries,
less than 10000, or only about 10
per cent. were working outdoors on
public highways and public works.
az was startled to find out how
many of these prisoners were
turned over TO contractors who pay
the State a ridiculously low amount
per day for the labor Of these
prisoners, and still larger numbers
who were working for contractors
under a piece price system. which
is even worse" Davis declared.
UnderseH Markets.
These men are working at an
industry which has no educational
value for them, which is not fitting
them to earn an Independent live
lihood after their term in prison.
found they were running sewing
machines, putting out : 10000 900
workers shirts year, to enable a.
convict labor contractor to under
sell in the markets and th5ls bank
rupt outside shirt makers employ
ing people trying to earn an honest
living. These prisoners were throw
ing people out of work and making
them easier victims to the condi-
lions which create more convicts
for the contractors.
81 found these convicts making
3.349 1903 pairs of workers trousers.
1913 per cent of which were sold
in the open market in competition
with free workers. I found them
making 5.759, 140 pairs of shoes.
thrown onto the market to close
more shoe factories at time when
legitimate shoe manufacturers were
throwing their employees out of
work"
Secretary Davis claims that not
orly is this an unfair advantage
given to prison contractors at the
expense of the criminal of the State,
but It makes practically impossible
any reform in the treatment of the
convict himself
1.-THE prisoner who sews a false
label in a prison-made garment, in
dicating that it was made by an
outside manufacturer, knows that
he is forced to become a liar and
a cheat" he said. IF Cur jails
and penitentiaries teach a man to
lie, what can we expect Of that nan
WREN we set him free?"
Davis thinks prisons should be
taken out of the cities and placed
out in the country. where the in
mates would be removed from the
air and environment that had
wrecked their moral fiber.
A Moral Menace.
"I find that of the $76,O00, 900
worth of work done by convicts in
penitentiaI1e. in one year only ST.
100000 represented work on public
highways" he said. Let the pris-i
orers do something for society that
society needs-build roads where
roads are needed-and not work for
Another individual or firm which
is itself more of a social menace
than he wasi
The convict labor contractors who
put 12,000.000 workers shirts on
the market to close shirt factories
ard throw thousands of people
out of work are no less a moral
menace because the law does not
brand them criminals. You put the
individual criminal convict to work
for a bigger criminal and then
wonder that you have not reformed
him."
IF we really want to empty our
jails and penitentiaries we ought to
begin with the child" he added. al
am told that so per cent of the
population of our jails, penitenti-
aries and other similar institutions
come from the ranks of SOC, 900 neg
lected and under privileged child
rem. We spend literally billions of
dollars II furnishing and caring for
our criminals and detectives and
enforcing the criminal laws. Might
it not be well to devote some of
these billions TO rescuing the neg.
lected child before he or she grows
uDtO iOin the OutlaW raOkS2p