Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-02-16

bring his party back into power.
Mr.. Wise If was q mechanic
never would be afraid Of convict COM
petition.
Mr.. Carter: am sorry that you are
not. But i will give you a problem
How long could you carry on q bust
ness and pay your men sl,5O day Il
somebody else was competing with you
and employing men at forty cents
day? Now, ask you that.
Mr.. Wise: ! viii answer you when
get the floor.
hIr. Carter, upon reviewing the
whole bill, concluded that it was en-
titled to the support Of the members Of
this House. and be earnestly and ably
insisted that the amendment OF MIR.
Waddill should be rejected.
1.-THE CLAMoR."
Mr.. Wise did soon afterward get
the floor, and was opposing the bill, du-
ring which he spoke Of local " "clamor "
on this subject, and Mr.. Carter inter-
rupted him and declared that "it was
not local question that it was one Of
the great questions Of the country, aud
was potential in every State in the
Union.
Mr. Wise 1t is not heard OF 10 my
section of the country. We have no
boycott.
Mr.. PoLLARD's AMENDMENT.
After Mr.. Wise's speech against the
bill, Mr.. Franklin (Republicau) followed
on the same side, and then Mr.. Pollard
offered the following amendment as to
who should be entitled TO have these
convicts at forty cents day, &C.: To
add in after the word subscribers,
in line 3, OF section 4, " or to any rail-
road running through two or more con-
tiguous counties having no railroad
therein, whether any county may have
subscribed to such road or not"
MIR. wADDILL REPLIES.
Next Mr.. Waddill got the floor, and
devoted most Of his time to Mr.. Carter,
charging that the latter would do the
honest laborers of this country "a gross
piece of injustice, and that it was very
well Mr.. Carter did not answer ques-
tions. ] wouldn't either if were in
his place. would halloo stop thief
all the time | would fix attention on
somebody else in order that | myself
might escape"
TIE REPUBLICAN RECORD.
Mr.. Munford got the floor and warm
" attacked the record Of the Republi-
can party of Virginia on the question
of convict-labor. lie charged that
these contracts, this labor system which
they now decry. were never entered
into until the Readjuster party got into
power in Virginia.
Mr.. Waddill said that until his party
came into power they the Democrats)
actually ran penitentary store here in
Richmond.
Mr.. Munford: Not by contract.
Mr.. Waddil: Then it was worse still.
Mr.. Munford: But not until the Re-
publican party is driven out of power
do we see all this concern about honest
labor. Then they begin to court the
votes Of the mechanics and working
classes.
Mr.. Munford said that he did not be-
lieve that any plan could be put into
operation so beneficial to the honest
working classes of Virginia as that pro-
posed in this bill. by it the country
would be developed and the party be
able to fulfill its pledge. lie heartily
favored the bill, but not Mr.. Pollard's
amendment.
The amendment was rejected.
AYEs.-Messrs. Bolen. Brown. Cornett.
Dlckenson. Downing. FentreSs, Hurt. Hyl.
Ton. Johnson. W. III. Jordan, McCandlish.
MCClintic, Mathews, Mack, Oglesby. Pol
ard, smith southworth' and hr. speaker
NoEs.-Messrs. Arnold, Brandy. Black.
Burks, Cardwell Carter, Chalmers. Girls
mond, rsbney, Dunlop Echols. tiggat,
Harris Hay. HOge, Holladay, {. +. Jordan,
W. ]. Jordan Leftwich, Lghtner Martin,
Moss, Miller, Munford, Noblin, O'Bannon.
Patton. Porter, Powell, Rice, Roberts,
Ryan, saunders Stribling. Taliaferro, Terry,
Tillar, Van Doran, and Wescott-39.
Mr.. Ryan moved to strike out in line
3 Of section "to which counties are
subscribers"
Rejected.
HOW TO BE PAID.
Mr.. A. Fulkerson offered the follow
irg amendment Insert in line s of
section 5, after " in, the words law
ful money Of the United States"
The amendment, in effect, required
the hire Of the cOnvicts worked on local
railroads to be paid for in lawful money
instead of in county bonds.
Mr.. FulkersOn claimed that the
penitentiary is now self-sustaining, and
be doubted the propriety of passing
the bill. lie thought the first question
TO be considered was how to punish the
criminals with the least possible ex-
penSe to the State. lie had inveSti-
gated this matter. He had been to a
prominent shoe firm, who acknowledged |
that they got their cheap shoes from
northern prisons. A furniture-dealer
had acknowledged that their cheap bed
steads came from the same place and
so it seemed that other States were
working these convicts in this way.
Mr.. Fulkerson had the floor, when |
about 8 o'clock he gave way and the
House adjourned.