Omaha daily bee., 1888-10-18
THAYER FACES HIS ACCUSERS
And Repudiates the Charge of Un-
friendliness to Labor.
VIGOROUS SPEECH TcREloAroN
The True Inwardness Of His Action in
Signing the Convict Labor Bill
His Action on Pinker-
ton Men.
The Governors Speech.

''''N
CONVICT LABOR BILL.
"The fact that | signed the bill extending
the provisions Of what is known as the prison
convict labor bill has been used TO convey the
impression that am unfriendly 10 the labor
ing interests,
Nothing can be more unfounded than
that. Every sentiment and sympathy Of my
heart is with the laborer. have always been
on the side Of those who toll. l commenced
life by going out TO work a farm for 81
month. From that day to this have sus-
tained and advocated the cause of the wage.
workers. and never would do an act that
would impair their rights or their welfare in
the smallest degree. No one has higher
appreciation Of the dignity of labor, or who
will go farther to promote the welfare of
those who are engaged In daily toll than
myself.
''On the subject of convict labor there is
vast amount of demagoguery Convict Ia
Dor is unpopular, and certain unprincipled
men who never did an honest days labor in
their lives, have seized upon the term to
create prejudice and misrepresentation No
honest motives have prompted them; they
care nothing for the laborng man. Some Of
these in Omaha who have harped most on
this subject, and have made the loudest pro-
testation of friendship for the working man,
were together, not long ago, and were pass
Ing the Joke among themselves as to how
successfully they had fooled the Knights of
Labor as they supposed.
THAT the convicts in the pententiary must
labor, is well settled proposition. 1t is
dictated by every human sentiment; it is
dictated by the soundest principles of moral
ity. The best interests Of the state and the
COnyicts require 1T. If they are to be kept
In their cells year after year the state might
as well at once place an asylum alongside the
penitcntlary These views are sustained by
the evidence of all those who have had any
experience with penitentiaries in our eastern
states.
whether the state conducts and controls
the labor of convicts, or hires out that labor
to a contractor, is immaterial, 50 far as any
effect 1T produces in the way of competition
with the labor of free men. i assert with
out successful contradiction, that the labor of
prisoners in the Nebraska penitentary does
not, under this law, compete with the labor
of those outside that institution in this state.
The number OF convicts engaged in produc-
tive labor at the prison is so small that the
supposed competition between them and the
large number of those engaged in free labor
Ing pursuits Is too insignificant to mention
The average number of convicts who are en-
gagged in productive labor at the prison is 205
whose labor is equal to 1913 free men, while
there are 20, i55 free men in this state; or the
convict labor of our pententiary is about
three-eights OF per cent as againss free labor
Of the state.
''lf convict labor competcs with anybody it
Is with the large manufactures. To illus
trate; Some three or four years back 1000
corn shelters were made by our convcts and
were sold to the farmers of the state at 81
apiece. Our eastern manufacturers had been
making these same implements corn shell
ers-and sending them out to Nebraska to be
sold to our farmers at SO apiece, and those
farmers received the benefit Of the reduction
and yet the manufacturers of the did not re-
duce the price of free labor. The Studcba-
ber Brothers, the great manufacturers Of
wagons; the Racine manufacturers OF the
Moline pow works, and others engaged in
making agricultural implements, are mem
bers of an nti-convict labor bill. They
nh m hot fhn lnhN y.nft
victs had compelled them to reduce the
prices of the articles they made while at tho
same time the wages Of their laborers
had not been reduced. The contract
labor bill. which received my signature, was
submitted to the Knights OF Labor for their
consideration, and 1t was amended in several
respects at their suggestions, amendments
prohibiting convicts from making certain
articles; it prohibits their working on stone,
except when the state is to use i; ; prohibits
their making cigars When the bill, after it's
passage through both houses, was presented
to me, ! was informed by a committee Of
knights OF Labor that the bill had been
made in its then present form acceptable to
them. They made no objections to it's pass
age. l noticed that a number Of knights of
Labor, including three of the Douglas dele
cation, two of them democrats voted for the
bill. This fact confirmed the information
which had been conveyed to me, that the
bill was satisfactory to them.
'There are 1873 members Of the two houses ::
1O4 voted for the bill and nineteen against it !;
the balance were absent not voting
Thirty two democratic members of the two
houses voted for John A. McShane for
United States senator; twenty-five OF these
democrats voted for the passage Of the
prison contract labor bill.
"Messrs Miller IN the house, and Caspar In
the senate, both democrats, were strong ad-
vocates' of the measure. The same Mr..
Miller was the president Of the late state
democratic convention. 1t will thus be seen
that three fourthS of the democratic mem
bers of the legislature supported the BILL
which fact shows that it was not a party
measure. 1t will be observed that four-ffths
of the two houses voted for the passage of
the billi showing that it could easily be passed
over veto; for only three-tifths are neces-
eary for that purpose Eighty votes would
have passed 1t over my veto, leaving twenty
to override my objections. Those who have
condemned the passage of the bill have had
nothing to say about the legislature in this
connection, but have centered their dcnun-
Citations upon me alone. 1t thus dIscoses
their insincerity, their hypocricy and dshon-
esty of purpose.
'As to signing the bill hastily, take occa-
sion to denounce the statement as without
the slightest foundation. On the 1lth of Feb
ruary the bill was delivered from the senate
to the house; on the 18th of the same month
1t was read the first time and referred
on the nth referred back to the committee
that it do pass on the 25th, in committee
Of the whole, reported for passage; March
], read and passed, During all that time
tuere was upuuudHb opportunity any Op-
posed to the bill to make known their obec-
tions.
"Some eight or nine days before the bill
did pass, member of the house called upon
me and stated that large number of remon.
strances were TO be presented to me against
my approval of the bill. | replied: Let
them bring them forward at once; let the
delegations come to me now, il they desire
to, without waiting for the bill to pass the
senate stating also that business was crowd
ing upon me, for it was in the closing days Of
the session, and did not want them to wait
till the last moment could hear them ius
as well before the passage OF the
bill as afterwards. l urged that they
send In their remonstrances, or tha
their delegations come to me forth
with. The legislature had been in session
then nearly two months, and it was not ther
known that IT would continue beyond thu
limit of forty days. Bills were pilng up fas
and forsaw that would have no time &c
give any more consideration to that measure
for had examined it while it was pending il
both houses. l also asked the gentlemen
who called on me, why tho remonstrant.