Basically, this meant Parchman was like a business for the state of Mississippi. It was like a business that used slave labor the state made money without having to pay for anything, including workers' salaries. In fact, one year, Parchman earned $180,000 for the state of Mississippi not including what it had to spend on itself. The Governor of Mississippi, James K. Vardaman, even said the prison was run “like an efficient slave plantation.” This hurt other local businesses, which did have to pay their workers and other costs.