State Prison Facts. . . The Honor System Does Much to Bring Self-Respect to Prisoners
Raleigh, April 26—In the face of a gain of 107 prisoners during the first nine months of the present fiscal year, thee has been an increase of 210 in the number of honor prisoners and a gain of 223 in the number of convicts employed in road construction and quarry work, according to a cumulative report for the third quarter made public by George Ross Pou, prison superintendent.
On June 30, 1925, the prison population was 1,363, with 588 whites and 775 negroes. On March 31, 1926, there were 1,470 prisoners,620 whites and 850 blacks.
At the close of the last fiscal year there were 379 men employed on the roads and in the quarries. This had been increased to 602 by March 31,1926. In September, 1925, there were only 20 men in honor camps. There are now five such camps with a total of 125 men and, in addition, 328 prisoners in honor class at the central prison, the two farms and six construction camps, making a total of 507 out of the 1,470 convicts. Superintendent Pou and Dr. J.H. Norman, warden-physician, are much pleased with the success which has extended operations at the honor camps and have in view the operation of at least one of the three farm units altogether with men in honor grade.
It has become generally accepted in penal administration circles that the honor system, properly and broadly used, does more to bring to the prisoners self-respect, self-restraint and self-confidence than any other one thing. The placing of a man in honor grade, Superintendent Pou points out, is only a stepping stone to the prisoner’s reclamation to society as a good citizen, by which he will become an asset, rather than a liability.
Superintendent Pou and Dr. Norman last month established three new honor camps, one at Morehead Bluffs, one at Gorman and the third under Pisgah Mountain in Transylvania County. The two officials traveled some 3,000 miles during the month in carrying out the added work attendant upon the establishment of the new camps. The other honor camps are near Zebulon and in Bladen County.
Selection of proper advisory officials has much to do with the success of honor camps. Few escapes have been recorded in the past few months, only one in the past 60 days. When prisoners are committed, they are informed of their new duties and of the regulations and customs through lectures by Deputy Warden H.H. Honeycutt.
They are given to understand that the prison officials are as anxious as they that sentences be served in the shortest possible time and that the rules which all prisoners must obey are for their benefit. The prisoners, once assigned to cells, are put to work, the nature of their duties given them parallel as closely as is possible the work in which they were engaged outside the penitentiary.
While work, and plenty of it, is the lot of every able-bodied convict, there are hours for recreation. In the road camps,10 hours constitute a day’s work, while the hours usually are longer, as is the usual thing on privately owned and operated farms. Recreational activities outside of work hours are encouraged, as long as they do not interfere with the duties of the convicts. The routine is accepted philosophically by most of the convicts, Superintendent Pou reports, with only occasional complaints of mistreatment. These usually come from convicts known among their fellows as “bad eggs” and “their own worst enemies,” he added.
The position of the prison superintendent is a peculiarly difficult one. In addition to the executive and administrative duties imposed upon most institutional heads, the incumbent has general supervision of more than 6,500 acres of land under cultivation and must purchase supplies, equipment and fertilizers for the several huge farms; purchase and distribute food supplies for nearly 1,700 prisoners and employees; purchase and distribute all clothing, supplies and materials for the nearly 1,500 prisoners, and inspect regularly the 14 camps, which, in itself, requires a trip of more than 1,000 miles. These are only a few of the duties and responsibilities, but illustrate the difficulties, since the farms and camps are scattered from Morehead Bluffs on the coast to Belva in the mountains near the Tennessee line. Each prisoner in each camp must have food, clothing, equipment and other supplies, which makes the problem almost 14 times as complex as if the men were concentrated at one point.
The report contains high praise of the fine work being done among prisoners by various persons interested in the welfare of the convicts and their relatives on the outside. Mention is made of the work at Caledonia farm by Mrs. Lawrence, Mrs. Kitchin, Mr. Josey and others. At Raleigh, especial mention is made of the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wethers, Mrs. W.H Bond Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Loomis Godwin, Mr. and Mrs. White and others. The prison officials co-operate in every way possible. Each week, for instance, a list of the newly arrived convicts, with addresses of relatives and friends on the outside, is furnished a group of interested persons in Raleigh and, through them, contact is maintained with the unfortunate families of men behind the bars.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Monday, April 26, 1926
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