CONVICT LABOR FOR ROAD WORK. 161 
This camp consisted of 18 white prisoners and the cost of the 
rations was estimated by the camp officials at 30 cents per person 
per day, which, however, did not include the cost of fresh milk, 
butter, and eggs. The latter supplies were furnished to the camp 
by the county in which the men were at work. 
The estimated cost is remarkably low for the kind of food fur- 
nished, but the camp was located favorably in a rich farming dis- 
trict, and supplies were purchased at an unusually low price. 
A die', such as this leaves nothing to be desired as far as general 
nutritive properties and the pleasure of taste are concerned, but 
it is largely composed of the more expensive articles of food for which 
cheaper substitutes might be found readily. Only under excep- 
tional conditions can food of this sort be provided, and for economic 
reasons its use is quite impractical. 
Following is another menu at one of the eastern camps : 
Breakfast: 
Oatmeal mush; beef hash, or steak, or ham, or bacon, or eggs. 
Bread and butter (without stint). 
Coffee, with diluted evaporated cream sweetened to prevent waste of sugar. 
Lunch (on road): 
Three sandwiches of the following kinds: ham, egg, corned beef, roast beef, 
bacon, or cheese. 
Tomatoes or fruit. 
Cold coffee or tea. 
Dinner: 
Soup or chowder (three times a week). 
One of the following dishes: Roast beef, boiled ham, corned beef and cabbage, 
boiled beef, Hamburg steak, mutton potpie, beef stew, pork and beans, or 
fresh fish. 
Boiled or mashed potatoes. 
Stewed corn or rice, or beans or peas, or some other vegetable. 
Bread and butter. 
One of the following kinds of dessert: Pie, pudding, sweet buns, coffee 
cake, or stewed fruit. 
Coffee, tea, or cocoa, with diluted evaporated cream sweetened. 
This camp was composed of 60 white prisoners. A contract had 
been made for the feeding of the men at the rate of $2.50 a week per 
man (about 36 cents per day), which included the cost of hauling 
all supplies for a distance of about 12 miles. The food was prepared 
and served by prisoners under the supervision of the contractor. 
The articles of food furnished comprise a well-balanced mixed diet 
of considerable variety, with fresh meat in one form or another two 
or three times a day, but in spite of this the prisoners were dissatisfied 
and with just cause. The food was served in an unappetizing manner 
and was poorly apportioned; lunch pails were partially filled the day 
before they were to be used and were allowed to stand in a warm 
place so that the contents soured or became stale; and the general 
