The periods of commitment by the judicial authorities were as under:—
| Males | Females | Total | ||||
| Three months or less | 20 | 5 | 25 | |||
| From three to six months | 1,443 | 242 | 1,685 | |||
| Over six months and under two years | 3,535 | 359 | 3,594 | |||
| Two years | 1,599 | 85 | 1,684 | |||
| Total | 6,297 | 691 | 6,988 | |||
Of the offenders enumerated above, 4,445 or 64 per cent. had been detained in a Labour House before, and 2,293 or 33 per cent. had been so detained more than three times, while 5,865 or 84 per cent. had been in prison. Further, 1,253 or 18 per cent. had been recommitted to a Labour House within twelve months of their last discharge from the same.
Most of these Labour Houses are situated in the open country, and follow a mixed economy of agriculture and industry, though the number of men who can be employed usefully in farm work would appear to be small. The following statement of the different modes of employment in force in 1908 comprises young people detained for reformation, in addition to the adults committed by judicial process for disciplinary reasons:—
EMPLOYMENT OF DETAINEES.
| Males | Females | Total | ||||
| Average daily number of detainees | 8,775 | 1,275 | 10,050 | |||
| Average daily number employed | 7,290 | 904 | 8,194 | |||
| Character of employment— | ||||||
| 1. For the Labour Houses— | ||||||
| (a) Domestic work | 1,524 | 372 | 1,896 | |||
| (b) Agriculture | 551 | 32 | 583 | |||
| (c) Other work | 642 | 85 | 727 | |||
| Total (a), (b), (c) | 2,717 | 489 | 3,206 | |||
| 2 For the Provincial Authorities | 1,903 | 88 | 1,991 | |||
| 3. For the Public Authorities | 105 | — | 105 | |||
| 4. For officers of the establishments | 124 | 23 | 147 | |||
| 5. For outside persons— | ||||||
| (a) Agricultural | 704 | 21 | 725 | |||
| (b) Industrial work | 1,737 | 283 | 2,020 | |||
| Total (a), (b) | 2,441 | 304 | 2,745 | |||
In considering the industrial methods on which the Labour Houses are administered, it may be well to bear in mind the principles which are applied to Prussian penal establishments in general, for they apply to these institutions. A recent official statement upon the subject runs as follows[60]:—
"(1) The requirements of the individual establishments, and of the prison administration in general, are as far as possible to be supplied by the prisoners. All domestic work is to be done by the prisoners; clothing and articles needed for bedding, etc., are also to be done by them, and to this end weaving shops are provided in some prisons. Repairs to buildings, works of rebuilding, extensions, and new buildings are to be carried out by prisoners, who are specially to be used in the construction of dwelling-houses for the officers.
"(2) The production of useful articles needed by the Imperial and State authorities is to be encouraged as far as possible, and this branch of work increases every year. Tailoring and other equipment work for barracks and hospitals are largely done to the order of the War Office, also furniture for official rooms for the State Railway Administrations.
"(3) Criminal prisoners may be used for agricultural improvement works on behalf of State and communal authorities, and also of private persons, provided at least a year of their sentence has expired, their conduct has been good, and the remainder of their sentence does not exceed a year, or in exceptional cases two years. With their consent correctional prisoners who have served six months (and in exceptional cases three months), have been of good behaviour, and have not longer than two years to serve, may be similarly employed. Criminal and correctional prisoners may not be employed together; and they must be kept apart from free workmen. In order to prevent injury to free labour prisoners may only be employed in the manner stated if the works in question would not otherwise be executed for lack of free labourers, or because the high wages of the latter would make the works unprofitable. Under the same conditions, prisoners may be put to agricultural work. These works are done in all the provinces of the Kingdom, and the following works are executed in particular:—
"(a) Moor land is cultivated in order to the settlement of farmers. Thus the reclamation of the Augstumal Moor, in East Prussia, 3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) in extent, is in an advanced state, and seventeen settlers have already been established there and provided with houses. The Kehding Moor, in the Stade district, has now been prepared for settlement, and five colonists are established. The Bargstedt Moor is so far reclaimed that settlers may now be taken; fifteen holdings of 12 hectares (30 acres) each are contemplated. In the Eifel district 75 hectares (185 acres) of the High Venn plateau, over 2,200 feet high, have been cultivated, and the first settlers established.
"(b) Shifting sand dunes are made permanent.
"(c) Marshy ground is drained, damage done by inundations is made good, water courses are diverted, and channels dug.
"(d) Fiscal domains are put into an efficient condition.
"(e) Vineyards are planted for the State on the Moselle.
"Experience has proved that prisoners can best be employed on such works in gangs of from forty to sixty, under a chief overseer, assisted by a sufficient number of warders." "The prisoners," says the official document, show themselves to be willing, diligent, and apt in their work; their productivity is inferior to that of free labourers only at the beginning of their employment, and later it is equal. There is no difficulty in maintaining discipline, and attempts at escape occur very seldom. On the other hand the employment of small bodies of men under the superintendence of one or two petty officers, especially if it be in agricultural work, in which it is almost impossible to prevent contact with free labourers, leads to serious abuses:—bribery, insubordination, rebellion against the officers and even gross acts of violence have occurred. Such small bodies of men, therefore, can only be employed in exceptional cases where the conditions for the maintenance of discipline are specially favourable.
"(4) The other prisoners are to be farmed to entrepreneurs by public contract for the carrying on of industrial work. Care must be taken, however, that too many prisoners are not allotted to a single employer, and that the number employed in a single industry is not disproportionate to the number of free labourers engaged in the same industry. Since 1869, the number of prisoners employed by industrial entrepreneurs fell from 73 to 27·2 per cent. in 1903,[61] and a further decrease is probable owing to the extension of the work done for the State authorities. Several establishments have entirely discontinued the employment of prisoners in that way. By the restriction of factory work, the individuality of the prisoner can be better studied in the choice of employment for them, and the justification is taken away from the complaints made by free workpeople about the illegitimate competition of cheap prison labour, used by capitalist employers. At the same time, the prison budgets are less satisfactory than formerly as a consequence."
"(a) Moor land is cultivated in order to the settlement of farmers. Thus the reclamation of the Augstumal Moor, in East Prussia, 3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) in extent, is in an advanced state, and seventeen settlers have already been established there and provided with houses. The Kehding Moor, in the Stade district, has now been prepared for settlement, and five colonists are established. The Bargstedt Moor is so far reclaimed that settlers may now be taken; fifteen holdings of 12 hectares (30 acres) each are contemplated. In the Eifel district 75 hectares (185 acres) of the High Venn plateau, over 2,200 feet high, have been cultivated, and the first settlers established.
"(b) Shifting sand dunes are made permanent.
"(c) Marshy ground is drained, damage done by inundations is made good, water courses are diverted, and channels dug.
"(d) Fiscal domains are put into an efficient condition.
"(e) Vineyards are planted for the State on the Moselle.