The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-10-11
s,rn,ne Star and Catholic Messenger.
Ha~ ORLEANS. SUNDAY OCTObEh IL ie'A
youths in the Prisons and Psn,tsntiaries.
ONE or THE CAUSES WHICH SENDS THEM
THERE.
IAppIetonl

While the Philadelphia grand jury were
making their usual visit last month to the
prison and penitrntiary, they were amazed
as the large number of young men, of from
seventeen to twenty one years of age,
whom they found imprisoned for crime IN
the young criminals, that most of them had
never been instructed 10 any trade, and
that, when they had applied for an oppor-
tunity to learn, they had been rejected oy
employers, on the ground that only email
number of apprentices could De taken' sne
grand iury came to the conclusion that
thew had ciiscov ered an evil which required
acme action at their hands. What that
action should be, we suppose, was not ex-
actly clear to them. They could not indict
the superintendent of the County Prison.
nor the young men, but they determined to
at least say something. So, in their pre-
sentiment to the Court Of Quarter Sessions,
they inform the honorable judges of what
they consider to be the cause of the Ia
inevitable state of affairs which they bad
discovered. They say: ''The principal
reason for this, in our estimation, is the
arbitrary action of the trades unions, etc,
in limiting the number Of apprentices in
proportion to the journeymen employed,
under the plea that there would be an
overplus of ekiiled labor. They claim the
right to restrict the number of apprentices,
which, in our opinion, is very arbitrary
anu WTUQR. "0 arc uoSCE ONCioboCnSo AL
mechanical labor, for, upon inquiry, we
find three-fourshs of our mechanics are
imported from foreign countries still, the
cry of trades unions is, "Too many ap-
prentices'" consequently more youthful
inmates in the County Prison and peni-
Tertiary"
AS It did not occur to the minds of these
Jurors that what was every arbitrary and
wrone' on the part of the trades unions
might possibly be illegal also, they content
ed themselves with recommending "ths
establishment of industrial schools for the
training of the youths in different mechani
cal pursuits"
Never having been grand juror in the
city of Philadelphia, we are ignorant of ths
peculiar ideas of state policy which govern
the reasoning of snch officials, but, if they
are generally of the pattern of those above
menti0ned, it is to be hoped they will no
spread to any great extent. If it is Every
arbitrary and wrong" for tradesmen to com
bine for the purpose of preventing young
men from obtaining useful employ ment
whereby the youths become criminals, VIII
first rob society, and are then, at it's ex
pense, supported in reformatOry institu
lions, it would seem reasonable either t.
request the trades unions not to do so an.
more or to pay a suitable tax for the sup
port of the prieons. We cannot believ
the trades unions are yet such CO ordin
ate department of our government that
is necessary for society to establish indus
trial schools in order to preserve ever
monopolizing bylaw which they may sc
fit to enact.
OF course, it would be hardly fair to as
Pennsylvania grand jury to find a. ira
bill for conspiracy against working me
while the great corporations of that Stat
go on their way from month to month fz
ing the price of coal by proclamation br
after they have looked into that combina
ton, we hope they will turn their attentio
to the clearly illegal trades unions them
selves.