Forced Labor on the County Roads
Walla Walla officials are putting county jail inmates to work on public infrastructure, calling the experiment a success and hoping for more 'business'.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Under the guard of Barney Collins, the prisoners who are serving sentences in the county jail are now being worked on the county roads near the city. At present they are clearing the road near the garrison. Nearly all the county thoroughfares leading to the city have been worked by the prisoners and the roads have been greatly improved. As soon as all the improvements planned by the commissioners have been completed the prisoners are to be turned over to the city authorities to work on the streets in the city. 'We are very much pleased with the experiment,' said one of the commissioners today, 'and we would not care if a large number of others would break into the county jail so that we could put them on the roads to work.'
“We would not care if a large number of others would break into the county jail so that we could put them on the roads to work.”
The utilization of incarcerated labor for public works projects remains a contentious civic issue, reflecting historical cycles of labor exploitation and the ongoing debate over how municipalities handle infrastructure and crime.
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