CONVICT LABOR IN ROAD BUILDING.

The following is from Prof. J. A. Holmes, State Geologist for North Carolina and Secretary of the State Road Association:

THE USE OF CONVICTS IN ROAD IMPROVEMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA.

The use of convicts on public roads has been so intimately connected with the growth of the road movement in North Carolina that it deserves some special mention in this connection. Even prior to the first adoption of the Mecklenburg road law, the general assembly of the State had made provision (1867, 1873, 1875, 1877, 1879, and later, in 1889) for the use of convicts in case any county should desire it. But little was done in this direction, however, until the work was begun in Mecklenburg County. From that day down to the present the use of convicts has been an essential feature in Mecklenburg and in the majority of the counties of North Carolina which have joined in the movement. Indeed, this use of convicts has in the majority of cases been the most important factor in deciding these counties to vote a tax for the improvement of the public roads, and the result of the experiment in this State has been altogether favorable to the system, both in point of efficiency and economy and in the health of the convicts.

The returns from eighty counties in the State show that the average cost of convicts when they are confined in the county jail is a little more than 30 cents per day; whereas the average cost per day per convict, including feeding, clothing, medical attention, and guarding, when they are employed on the public roads, is as follows in several of the more prominent counties: Mecklenburg, using 80 convicts, 20 to 22 cents per day; Wake, 57 convicts, 20 cents per day; Durham, 40 to 50 convicts, 17 to 20 cents per day; Cabarrus, 20 convicts, 42 to 45 cents per day; Buncombe, 65 convicts, 35 cents per day; Alamance, 22 cents per day; Davidson, 20 cents per day; Forsyth, 25 cents per day; and Lenoir, using from 10 to 15 convicts, 15 cents per day—a general average of about 24 cents. In the case last mentioned (Lenoir) only short-term convicts are employed.

In all cases these convicts are carefully described and photographed. They are offered certain inducements in the way of reward or shortening of term if they remain at their posts and faithfully discharge their duties. And with this they are employed on the public roads very much as hired labor would be, under the control of a superintendent or foreman, but without any guard, and they are allowed to remain at their homes from Saturday night to Monday morning. This novel experiment has now been in operation for a year, and not a convict has attempted to escape or declined to labor faithfully, and the result has been a decided improvement in public roads.

An examination of the records of all the counties that are using convict labor on the public roads shows that but few convicts have escaped; that the health of the convicts has been much better when at work on the road than when formerly imprisoned in the jail; that their labor has proved much more efficient than that which

can be hired in the country at ordinary prices of from 50 to 75 cents per day; and that, as these figures show, it not only costs less to use the convicts on the publie roads than it does to employ hired labor, but that, furthermore, it costs less to maintain these convicts when at work on public roads than when confined in the county jail.

The following road law of North Carolina was enacted March 7, 1887:

NORTH CAROLINA ROAD LAW.

AN ACT to provide for the working of certain convicts upon the public roads of the State. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

SECTION 1. That when any county has made provision for the working of convicts upon the public roads, or when any number of counties have jointly made provision for working convicts upon the public roads, it shall be lawful for, and the duty of, the judge holding court in such counties to sentence to imprisonment and hard labor on the public roads for such terms as are now prescribed by law for their imprisonment in the county jails or in the State prison the following classes of convicts: First, all persons convicted of offenses the punishment whereof would otherwise be wholly or in part imprisonment in the common jail; second, all persons convicted of crimes the punishment whereof would otherwise wholly or in part be imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term not exceeding ten years. In such counties there may also be worked on the public roads, in like manner, all persons sentenced to imprisonment in jail by any magistrate, and also insolvents who shall be imprisoned by any court in said counties for nonpayment of costs in criminal causes may be retained in imprisonment and worked on the public roads until they shall have repaid the county to the extent of the half fees charged up against the county for each person taking the insolvent oath. The rate of compensation to be allowed each insolvent for work on the public roads shall be fixed by the county commissioners at a just and fair compensation, regard being had to the amount of work of which each insolvent is capable.

SEC. 2. That the convicts sentenced to hard labor upon the public roads, under provisions of section one of this act, shall be under the control of the county authorities, and said county authorities shall have power to enact all needful rules and regulations for the successful working of all convicts upon said public roads: Provided, The county commissioners shall have power to work such convicts on the public roads or canaling the main drains and swamps.

SEC. 3. That nothing contained in this act shall in any way affect, interfere with, or diminish any convicts granted or assigned to any railroad or other work of internal improvement, either by contract executed prior to this act or granted or assigned by any prior act of this general assembly.

SEC. 4. That in all cases where the judge presiding shall be satisfied that there is good reason to fear that an attempt to release or to injure any person convicted of any of the offenses mentioned in section one of this act, class second, it shall be lawful for the judge to sentence such convicts to imprisonment in the penitentiary, as is now provided by law: Provided, That no person who has been convicted and sentenced of a charge of murder, manslaughter, rape, attempt to commit rape, or arson shall be assigned under this act.

SEC. 5. That in addition to the convicts mentioned in section one of this act, the board of directors of the penitentiary is authorized and directed to furnish to the authorities of any county within the State convicts not exceeding twenty-five in number during any one year for the purpose of working in the public roads in said county. The said convicts shall be at all times under the supervision and control, as to their government and discipline, of the penitentiary board, as in case of hiring convicts to railroad companies. Any county applying for convicts under this act shall erect suitable stockades for their safe-keeping and protection, and shall pay the expense of their transportation from and to the penitentiary.

SEC. 6. That the board of county commissioners of the several counties in the State taking advantage of this act shall levy a special tax annually, as other taxes are levied, for the purpose of paying the expenses of said convicts, building of stockades, etc., and the expenses shall be paid by the counties taking advantage of this act.

SEC. 7. That this act shall be in force from and after the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven.

The following is an extract from the laws of North Carolina which were ratified March 11, 1889:

EXTRACT FROM LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA.

SEC. 5. That all persons confined in the county jail, either under a final sentence of the court for crime or imprisonment for nonpayment of fines or costs, or under final judgment in cases of bastardy, or under the vagrant acts, and all persons sentenced to the State prison for a term less than five years, shall be available to the county commissioners for the purpose of working said persons upon the public roads under the provisions of this act; and upon the application of said commissioners to the judge of the superior court, or, if there be a criminal or inferior court for the county, it shall be the duty of the judge or presiding officer of said court to assign such persons convicted in his court to such commissioners for said purposes. And when any county has adopted the provisions of this act, the judge of the superior court or criminal court, or the presiding justice of the inferior court holding any court in any county which has not availed itself of the provisions of this act, may sentence persons convicted of crime as aforesaid to work on the roads in any county adopting the provisions of this act, preference being given to that county the commissioners of which shall first make application for such persons, and such persons may be sent direct to such county.

SEC. 6. That the board of directors of the penitentiary shall furnish the board of commissioners of any county, upon the requisition of said commissioners, not less than twenty nor more than fifty convicts to work upon the public roads of such county. The said convicts shall be at all times under the supervision and control, as to their government and discipline, of the said penitentiary authorities; and any county applying for said convicts under the provisions of this section shall erect suitable stockades for their safe-keeping and protection, and shall pay the expenses of the keep and care and entire expense of said convicts, and also the expense of their transportation from and back to the penitentiary, which said expenses may be paid out of said county road fund or the general county fund, wholly or in part, at the discretion of said board of commissioners: Provided, That when any county shall obtain convicts under the provisions of this act, the said convicts shall be allowed to remain in such county as long as the county authorities may want their service: Provided, The county shall not make default in the payment of the expenses aforesaid: And provided further, That it shall be the duty of the board of directors of the penitentiary to immediately deliver to the board of commissioners of any county that shall apply for convicts under this act such number of convicts within the limits aforesaid as may be asked for, such county, however, first advancing money sufficient to pay the transportation of the convicts and their guard. And any such county shall have preference over any railroad company in the State, any law to the contrary notwithstanding, except where convicts are specially assigned by statute. The following plan for the use of convict labor was published by Mr. James N. Brewster in Good Roads Magazine:

A PLAN FOR THE USE OF CONVICT LABOR.

One of the great questions of the present day is how to improve our public roads. and in its discussion we are often confronted by another, to wit, What is the best way of utilizing our prison labor so as not to come violently in contact with organized labor in any of the several branches of industrial pursuits?

A plan is here suggested for the solution of this second question and for the material advancement of the work contemplated by the first. Most country roads, and many streets within the corporate bounds of cities and villages, may be largely improved by the use of a material which can be produced by the employment of unskilled manual labor. I refer to the broken or crushed stone commonly employed in the making of telford and macadam roadways. Assuming now that many of our prisons are so situated as to be within accessible distance of good stone quarries (which is, in fact, the case), how can we employ our prison labor in the making and distribution of this road material so as to distribute the benefits equitably among the districts near and remote?

Of course a suitable plant for the economical production of good broken stone and its assortment into different sizes should be erected at the expense of the State, and good railway connection, together with a proper equipment of freight cars, must be provided to handle and deliver the material as fast as needed.

This being done, the question of distribution is next in order. The material having been produced at the expense of the State at large, an expense of which each town, near or remote, shares its burden according to the value of its property, it is manifestly proper that each town should receive the road material produced by prison labor at a cost equal, as nearly as possible, to that paid by other towns for similar benefits; for example, Montauk is 150 miles from Sing Sing Prison, while the town of Sing Sing is, say, 1 mile, and if the cost of transportation by rail should amount to 1 cent per ton per mile and the cost of production of road material at the prison should be found to be $1 per ton, it would be manifestly unfair to charge the Montauk consumers $2.50 per ton for material delivered at Sing Sing for less than half that sum. If, however, a uniform price of 75 cents per ton should be added to the cost of production ($1), thus requiring these two towns each to pay not the actual but the average cost of material as delivered at both places, a principle of equity would be followed in which the benefits and burdens would be justly bestowed and general satisfaction insured. In a similar way intermediate places could be served and the price made the same to all localities. I have used the illustration as an illustration merely. The perfection of the general plan of course involves extended and careful computation, so that an average might be determined which should be observed in fixing a uniform price for this material to consumers in all parts of the State.

But the question may arise, would not the indiscriminate distribution of road material in this manner induce some town officials to take advantage of terms which might be to them peculiarly favorable by "laying in" an undue quantity of this material? The price, of course, would have to be pitched at a reasonably low price in order to secure its sale at all, and the suggestion that this price might be taken advantage of by the remote towns to the detriment of the towns near at hand may seem to be pertinent.

Of course it is always difficult and generally impossible to conduct public business with exact equity to all concerned, but I believe that a very simple provision might wholly insure the fair distribution of road material from prison centers without undue favor to any of the towns benefited by its operation. It is this: Let record be made of the number of miles of public roads in each town (exclusive of streets of incorporated cities and villages), the number of inhabitants, and the value of assessed taxable property. Upon the basis of one or more of these factors, as may seem best, let there be determined the number of tons of road material to which each town shall be entitled; it being, of course, optional with each town whether it shall receive and use any of the material thus set apart. This question being decided, the State authorities (or the authorities of each prison district) should cause a circular letter to be sent to the town clerk of each town, giving public notice that there will be held for a certain fixed period, subject to the order of that town, a certain number of tons of road material, stating the price thereof, and that if no answer or requisition is made for said material or any part of it, then the