The use of convicts as laborers on the railroad was a new idea fraught with uncertainties. It was thought that convicts needed to be motivated in order to work diligently, therefore an incentive was created. As a reward for good behavior, the Ministry of Justice decreed that eight months of labor on the railroad would count toward one year off a prison sentence. In addition, a prisoner would receive a daily wage of 12.5 cents. This could be used to buy `luxury' items such as tobacco or to bribe guards. Political and other non-criminal exiles were given two years off for each year of labor on the railway.
On the Mid-Siberian this program proved highly successful and it was hoped to stand as a model for other rail projects. However, the attempt to use similar inducements on the Ussuri Line was not as successful and changes were required. Thus, the use of exiles did not materialize as the panacea to the Trans-Siberian's labor problems.
