The possession of large industrial and agricultural properties and the frequent undertaking of various industrial experiments have complicated the finances of the system and have proved costly to the penitentiary and state treasuries. At Rusk the state owns iron ore lands, and between 1883 and 1909 the chief industry of the penitentiary at Rusk was the iron industry. Construction of the first iron furnace at Rusk began in 1883 and it started operations in February, 1884. Owing to faulty construction, however, the product was only from eight to ten tons of pig iron a day instead of an expected twenty-five or thirty. The new lessees of the convicts and industries at Rusk were forced to terminate their contract on account of the failure of the furnace, and the furnace was blown out in September, 1884.1 In 1885 the legislature made an appropriation of $50,000 to assist the iron industry, and the furnace was started again in November, 1885. Because of the insufficient demand in the state for pig iron, foundries were established for the manufacture of finished products. The cast iron pipe foundry began operations in January, 1887, and a general foundry made castings, iron fronts for buildings, sad irons, pots, kettles, sash weights, etc.2

Another blast furnace was erected at Rusk in 1897-1898, but before this time the fundamental technical weakness of the East Texas iron industry was apparent. This weakness was the absence of fuel and limestone. When the industry was first started the timber supply for the making of charcoal, which was the fuel, was near, but in time the readily accessible supply of timber was exhausted, and it became necessary to go farther and farther away for-it. The lime rock, which was needed for smelting, was also brought in from a distance.1 In 1902 the penitentiary board for the first time pointed out that the penitentiary at Rusk was not making expenses, admitted that the charcoal iron of East Texas could not compete with the coke iron of other iron-producing centers, and recommended that the iron industry should be abandoned by the state.2 A change of administration occurred, however, and instead of abandoning the enterprise, the legislature appropriated $150,000 for carrying it on, and a new fifty-ton furnace was erected. Ill luck immediately attended the revival of the industry by the failure of the blowing engine to work. In 1906 charcoal was given up for coke, and this change of fuel made necessary a rebuilding of the furnaces, which in turn led to a suspension of operations for a time.3 Conditions for the iron industry grew more unfavorable in 1907 and 1908, when freight rates on coke advanced and the market for the iron products slumped as a result of the panic of 1907. The result was that the pipe foundry was closed, and the furnace was blown out.4 Under state operation these enterprises were financial failures, and in order to make the showing that they did, the convicts were overworked.5 During Governor Colquitt's administration the furnace and pipe foundry were leased for $5,000 a year, but the lessees surrendered their contract after having paid one year's rental and having expended $30,000 on repairs.6 The iron industry at Rusk represents an investment of more than $200,000, and it now stands an idle, rusting mass.

1 Biennial Report of the Penitentiary Board, 1884, p. 12. 2Ibid., 1888, p. 12.

There was also erected at the Rusk penitentiary a factory for the commercial manufacture of boxes and crates, and at Huntsville there were constructed a machine shop and foundry, and factories for the manufacture of boilers, sheet metal, wagons, and furniture. The box and crate factory at Rusk were closed down in April, 1914. The furniture, wagon, and cotton goods factories at Huntsville were burned in 1911, but the furniture and wagon factories were rebuilt in a temporary manner and with much less producing capacity. Fires in the penitentiaries in 1911 and 1913 wiped out many of the industries and caused property losses estimated at $390,892.1 The penitentiary has had difficulty in marketing its products, owing to the objections of the labor unions to prison-made goods competing with the products of free labor. All of the industries, other than the iron industry, are apparently capable of successful operation at the penitentiaries, and the most enlightened principles of prison management call for the employment of the prisoners in some useful and instructive occupations.

1 Ibid., 1896, p. 16.

2 Ibid., 1902, pp. 11 and 106.

3 Ibid., 1906, pp. 12 and 94.

4 Ibid., 1908, p. 13; ibid., 1910, p. 17.

5 House Journal, 34th Leg., Reg. Sess., p. 299.

6 Ibid., p. 444.