CONVICT LABOR FOR ROAD WORK. 89 
For camps where a supply of running water is not available a 
simple shower device may be improvised by attaching a spray head 
of the type mentioned above, to a faucet or cock in the bottom of a 
5 or 10 gallon can so arranged that it can be raised by means of a 
rope running through a pulley attached to the roof. 
When running water is available it is proper to provide more than 
one shower fixture, and experience indicates that one fixture for 
from 7 to 10 convicts is a desirable proportion. The use of bath 
tubs is to be discouraged. The shower bath is more convenient and 
more sanitary. 
Wash troughs for use in connection with running water should 
not be provided with stoppers, but should act only as collectors for 
the waste water, and the convicts should be required to wash their 
faces and hands under the running water from the faucets. Troughs 
may be made of wood lined with galvanized iron or of a heavier 
weight of iron alone. Unlined wooden troughs should not be used. 
One faucet should be supplied for every 10 men. 
Kitchen sinks may be of galvanized or enameled iron. The space 
under them should be left open. 
CAMP SANITATION. 
DISPOSAL OF EXCRETA. 
The Pail System. 
Pails are used extensively throughout the country for the tem- 
porary reception of human excreta and when used properly are 
peculiarly well adapted to the needs of guarded convict camps. 
Galvanized metal pails with tightly fitting covers and having a 
capacity of about 3 gallons are commonly employed. About 1 pint 
of a solution of coal-tar disinfectant is placed in each pail. 
In some of the camps, pails in the proportion of one to every five 
men were brought into the bunk houses immediately after the pris- 
oners had been chained for the night, the chains being arranged so 
that the men could move for a distance of about 6 feet from their 
bunks. After the prisoners were ordered "down to sleep/ 9 any 
man who wished to use the pail was required to attract the atten- 
tion of the guard by raising his hand. 
It is evident that when the pails are allowed to remain for a long 
period inside the bunk houses, they become quite objectionable. 
Some of the camps had the pails removed and emptied at intervals 
during the night and at other camps they were brought in at 8 
p. m., used, and immediately removed, cleaned, and placed outside 
the bunk houses. They were again brought in at midnight and 
