usses the
convict lease system, and shows that the sentences of Negroes in the
South are double those of white men for the same offenses; that for
petty larceny a Negro may be condemned to the criminal class for life,
albeit he had to steal or starve. He shows that the criminal machinery
of the South is frequently used to nullify the Negro's right of
suffrage; that no hand is extended to lift him up when he falls, and
no effort is put forth for his reformation, and for this reason the
South turns out one-third of the criminals of the whole country; that
Massachusetts expends $20 per capita upon the children of her public
schools, while Mississippi with a heavier tax, expends but $2 per
capita.

In the Evening Star of Washington, D. C., of November 16, 1901, an
exhaustive article on the prison camps of Florida appeared. Although
guardedly, it favored the effort to make the criminal self-supporting,
arguing that as he lives on the public when at large, he should not
be permitted to continue to live on the public when in confinement.
But it admits that the convict lease system is faulty. It says:

"At present, offenders of all grades and ages are thrown together, and
the younger ones learn more evil than they knew at the time of their
arrest, growing daily more depraved and vicious so long as they remain
in bad company. It may be possible, however, to employ most of the
convicts at tasks which will not require their close association,
either at work or in quarters, and if that desideratum can be reached,
the last argument against the leasing of prisoners will be met, and
the system will be continued indefinitely, such minor matters as the
corruption of inspectors, of which Alabama has complained, being
capable of rebuke through legislation.

"There are now thirteen camps in Florida, each one of which is
technically a State prison, and they are under the watch of a
supervisor, who must visit them at least once in sixty days, examine
the buildings, food, clothes, and bedding, question keepers and
convicts as to work, punishment and health, enforce compliance with
the laws and report to the governor every month. All leases are for
four years, and the only cost of its criminals to the State are the
salaries of supervisors and a sum of $300 a year for chaplain service.

"The country expends at least $200,000,000 per annum in maintaining
its convicts. In the city of New York alone, the annual assessment for
that purpose is