)un '30
THE PRISON NEWS
VOL. IV
PUBLISHED MONTHLY, BY THE STATE PRISON DEPARTMENT
THE STATE’S PRISON, RALEIGH. N. C., FEBRUARY 1,
Ш0
No. 2
CONTRASTING MEWS OF FARM
LIFE IN NORTH CAROLINA
Diversification and Ownership vs.
The Tenant System
DY COL. FRED A. OLDS
Soon after tin- Civil War. Horace Greely
the famous editor of the New York Tribune,
wrote a hook with the tolling title of “Ton
Acres Enough”. This meant that a real man
could make a real living on ton acres of
land, (ireely had that as a slogan, hut he
had another one also, “(Jo West, Young
Man!” And no end of young men took it
as their very own slogan too. There follow¬
ed one of the greatest migrations to the
western area of these United States from
the eastern section which this world has
ever known.
Now that is a preface to a really truly
story, not in 1870, hut in 1020. When
Charles 15. Aycock was Governor, the writer
heard him say, in an eastern county that if
North Carolina had never planted a cotton
seed the State would he much better off add¬
ing that cotton has been the prime cause of
the tenant system, so great a curse to most
of our eastern area, a system which react-,
ed unhappily on landlord and tenant at the
same time, by stifling initiative land owner¬
ship, the growing of food crops and the
production of cattle, poultry, etc. Years
passed and the writer heard Governor
Bickett say the same thing. The one-crop
system and tenant system were held to be
a clear curse.
During the month of September the
writer was on his way to an eastern county
in a bus, which was well filled with people.
A white man got aboard and in a voice quite
far from a whisper told the drab story of
his own life during the 42 years of his
existence. The writer sat beside him. In
brief he said he was a tenant, had 25 acres
of land at $20 a month and a cabin. lie
was required to cultivate all of it in 15 crops,
10 acres each in cotton and tobacco and 5
in corn. He had no garden except a tiny
“patch”, no poultry, no cow, and he and his
wife, a year younger than he had never
“drunk any milk.” They were fortunate
in having never had children. Neither
could read nor write, nor had they been
to school for one minute. They had one
book, a Bible, which had been given them.
They did not affiliate with any denom¬
ination which believed in “schooling” and
GOOD BEHAVIOR IN PRISON
DOES IT PAY A DIVIDEND?
I recently overheard a conversation be¬
tween a “long-timer” and another party.
They were discussing the matter of paroles.
The “long-timer” began his sentence in
11*22, having been given thirty years. He
had made a model prisoner from the be¬
ginning, always hoping for a parole, which
seemed to be a ship never coming in. He
always adhered strictly to the prison rules.
He was known for his good behavior.
It seemed during this said conversation
which I overheard, that the above-mention¬
ed prisoner was about to lose hope, main¬
taining that if good behavior and true re¬
pentance gets anyone out of prison, that he
had earned his freedom. The other party
gave the party of the first part some
mighty good advice, telling him his time
would come; to continue as he had and have
faith. Within the week this prisoner was a
free man again.
Suppose he had given up hope, become
careless in his work and did not respect his
superiors? He would have been lost. He
only served about seven or eight years on
a thirty-year sentence, but he had truly
repented, had made up his mind to do the
right thing — and he never deviated from
his intention.
Don’t think, boys and girls in and out
of prison, that good conduct doesn’t pay —
it does. Character is your all — conduct
follows character — you are being watched
every day. Every prisoner hopes to make
his time “the short way” and you can do
it only by good behavior.
A prison is not built for the? purpose
of CREATING criminals, but to REFORM.
Only a few days ago I heard a youngster
say he was going to have pay for the time
he stayed here. I asked him how he meant
that. He replied that he was going to steal
an automobile as soon as he got out — and
then steal some more. I talked to him and
tried to explain the only way — THE RIGHT
WAY OF LIVING. He has not repented,
and when a man, boy, woman or girl in¬
sists on wrong-doing, they may rest as¬
sured they will come to a bad end. If this
boy keeps that “payment” thought in mind,
he will surely and swiftly regret it.
This item is headed “Good Behavior In
Prison, Does it Pay a Dividend?” If we
are expecting a parole or a pardon, (and
most of us are) lets remember that good
behavior will be the deciding factor.
W. T. McC.
HOW PRISON PROBLEMS ARE
VIEWED AT WASHINGTON
STATE PENITENTIARY
We are glad to reproduce the following
worth-while article which appears in the
February issue of Agenda, published at
the Washington State Penitentiary, Walla
Walla. Washington, under the title, “Jonah’s
Rumble”, by 1 21' 51) :
No practice could be more unbusiness¬
like or fundamentally more unsound than
one based upon the theory that a convict
is ready to be returned to society because
he lias served a certain number of months
or years in prison, or that he is not ready
to be released merely because he has not
served a definite, specified period of time.
Inmates of penal institutions are general¬
ly released upon a basis of time alone, with¬
out much consideration as to progress and
improvement. However, now that we are
maintaining more than 500,000 prisoners
and our crime bill exceeds five billion dol¬
lars each year, more constructive thought is
being directed toward some effective sub¬
stitute for the ox-cart system that has con¬
gested our courts and over-crowded our
prisons.
Payment of wages, credit for good con¬
duct that will reduce the duration of im¬
prisonment and improvements of a simi¬
lar nature, are meritorious and commend¬
able from every angle or viewpoint, prin¬
cipally because they promote and help to
create a more favorable environment. Yet,
none of these added incentives can produce
their greatest good until definite provision
is made for effective segregation.
Close observers agree that the dawn of
a new era in penal practices is approaching
and will soon spread its protecting rays over
the palatial homes and sacred bungalows
of organized society. Suspension bridges
and towering sky-scrapers were once only a
dream that was laughed to scorn by mil¬
lions who observed that it had never been
done and, since there was no precedent for
such things, they would not be convinced.
But the joke, if joke it be, about the dream
was the fact that it rested, fundamentally
and basically, upon a solid foundation and
soon became a i*eality for the relief and
benefit of mankind.
Right or wrong, selfish or otherwise, it
is true that society is not interested in the
welfare of prisoners and convicts and, there
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