Evening star., 1933-02-23
PRISON FACTORIES
HAVE BIG BUSINESS
Committee Hopes to Take
Products Out of Private
Competition.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, February 23.-Some SC
factories of a very special kind are
doing a rushing business-as a result
Of the depression.
These factories, reports the National
Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor,
are the factories in the Nations pris-
ons, selling an estimated 500, 1000, 900
worth Of convict manufactures annually
"on the open market. in direct compe-
tition with free industry" The COM
mittee is engaging in a Nation wide
fight to end the open-market sale OF
such products.
Population of State and Federal pris-
ons and reformatories increased stead
Nv both before and after the depres-
sion, the committee asserts. In 1928
this population was 100, ,346; in 1929,
l16,390; in 1880, 20,496; in 1881, 127,-
4e5. and in 1882 an estimated 1872, 900.
Total prison population, including jails,
was probably between 100000 and
10000.
Plenty Of Labor.
"The reason for the rushing business
In the prison factories" committee
spokesmen said today, "is simply that
there is plenty of practically 'no-cost'
labor in the prisons and plenty of pub
lie demand for cheap merchandise"
Not all of the States have factory
prisons and not all Of the prisoners
work, even in prison factories. But
despite this fact and despite the COM
paratively small volume of production
small as compared to total National
production-the committee holds the
sale of these goods on the open market
10 be destructive of individual enter
prise.
In this opinion the committee claims
the support of the General Federation
bf Women's Clubs, the National Asso-
citation Of Manufacturers, organized
labor groups, and other organizations.
Among the committees directors are
Or. John Grier Hibben, president Of
Princeton University, and Gov. Clifford
Pinchot of Pennsylvania.
For many years the States Of New
York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mas
sachusetts, Ohio, the District of Co
hImbia, and the United States Govern
ment have provided that their prison.
made goods could be used only In their
own institutions, could not be sold on
the open market Other States have
restrictions of less stringency.
Force Merchants to Cut
In some States goods are made In
prison factories under contract to pri-
ate individuals. and under the direction
Of private individuals. In others the
States themselves sell the goods on the
open market These goods, the COM
nlittee asserts, are placed on the mar
ket at prices which private industry
cannot meet because of the negligible
cost of prison labor. The goods may
be sold in New York or other States
which do not allow sales by their own
prison factories, with the result that
the fire sale" prices put on such mer-
chandise force regular merchants to
cut prices below profitable margins.
The contract system used to be In
far wider use, but development OF re-
strictions has greatly increased the
proportion of prisoners who are idle.
With the passage In 1929 Of the Hawes-
Cooper act, which enables States to
control sale of goods imported from
prisons outside the State, the commit
tee expects even more restrictions to
be placed on open market sale of prison
factory production.
The Hawes-Cooper act becomes op-
erative next year, and the committee
reports after survey that some 80
States are now considering legislation
to take advantage Of its provisions.