Letter to County Manager D.W. Newsom Defending Prisoner Conditions at Durham County Home

jBurhmu (Eomttg Щоте ^3urt]am, jNoriij (Earnlma April 28, 1939 Mr. D. W. Newsom, County Manager, Durham , N. C . Dear Sir; Complying with your request for a statement of the Policy pursued at the County home with reference to the feeding and the working hours of prisoners at the County Work House, I submit herewith the facts as to our program of operation. We call the men at 5; 00 A.M. and serve breakfast at 5;30 A.M. and try to leave the camp by 6; 00 A.M. We stop for lunch at 11;30 A.M. and eat promptly at 12; 00 noon. We leave the camp at 1;00 P.M. and work until 6;3G P.M. These are the hours during summer months. The hot&est part of the summer we stop at 11; 00 A.M. and resume work again at 2; СО P.M., then return to camp at 6;30 P.M. During the winter months we are one hour later going to work, and return one hour Earlier in the evening. We have hauling to do such as coal and sludge at night whenever it becomes necessary for following reasons; 1. When we start hauling coal we do not stop until the car is completed, in doing this it is better to finish the car at night because the traffic is not so heavy. We try to use all pre¬ caution that is necessary in using prison labor. 2. We haul sludge from the City of Durham Disposal plant. We have to move this sludge from the beds at a certain stage of maturity. When it rains, we are delayed from one week to ten days. When we haul coal or sludge after working hours, we give the priso- pers extra time off their sentences. When we work at night, we call for volunteers. We do not compel them to work at night. Sometimes it becomes necessary to bury pauper people of the county on Sunday. When we do bury bodies on Sunday, we give the prisoners extra time for that work. Also there are several similar occasions that call for extra work and we always give extra time off sentences. The County home has a Steward that is employed by Durham County. He looks after and plans all meals that is served to Inmates, Infirmary patients, and prisoners. The Matron helps to prepare the menu for each meal that is served to all departments. Respectively submitted, Supt. Durham County Home.