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The principal items of clothing used in convict camps are: Coats, 
trousers, Tests, underclothing, socks, shoes, shirts, nightshirts, hats 
or caps, and such special articles as slickers or oilcoats, rubber boots, 
fur-lined hats, and rubber capes. 
The characters of the more important articles in use are stated 
below, the ranges of prevailing prices are given, and an estimate of 
the limits of durability is made on the basis of reports obtained in a 
number of widely distributed localities. 
Coats, Trousers, and Vests. 
The use of the vest as a prison garment is confined almost entirely 
to the Northeastern States. In these States it is generally made of 
woolen tweed and costs from 80 cents to $1. It is believed that it 
serves no useful purpose and is not recommended for general use. 
Coats and trousers are made of cotton, wool, or part wool, and of 
solid gray, blue, and brown or in black and white stripes. The 
general practice in the Southern States is to provide 8 or 10 ounce 
woolen garments for winter use and 8-ounce cotton goods for summer 
wear. The woolen suits cost about $2.75 each, $1.50 for the coat and 
$1.25 for the trousers. The same weight of goods is used in stripes 
and plain material. It is customary to supply each convict with two 
full suits at one time, and the average wear of such goods is reported 
as from three to six months, depending on the nature of the climate 
and the service. A good rule, it is said, is to allow two of such suits 
per man for a winter season. For summer use the woolen clothes are 
replaced by cotton goods, of which the coats and trousers cost from 66 
cents to $1 each. These also are supplied two at a time for each 
convict, and their average life is said to be from three to four months, 
the coats lasting somewhat longer than the trousers. 
In the South the majority of reports indicate that each convict will 
wear out one woolen suit and two cotton suits each year, and that the 
average cost per man per year for these articles is about $6.50. 
In the States of New York, New Jersey, and New Mexico a much 
heavier goods, in the nature of a woolen tweed, is used. Coats of this 
material are reported as costing from $2.85 to $3 each, and trousers 
from $1.78 to $1.90. But, though they exceed in first cost the quality 
of goods used so widely in the South, it is reported that their fife 
greatly exceeds that of the latter. In New Mexico an accurate record 
kept at the State penitentiary shows a life of nearly two years for 
these garments, and in New York a life of more £han one year is 
reported as the average. Usually the coat is not worn on the work, 
and the trousers are protected by overalls, which cost from 50 to 
75 cents per pair and last from three to six months. Supplies of 
two pieces of each garment are maintained for each prisoner, as in 
the Southern States, and the approximate cost of coats, trousers, 
