New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-12
BOWED TO THE LABOR VOTE
CURIOUS REPORT OF AN ASSEMBLY COM
MITTEE ON TYPESETTING IN SING SING.

i
SUGGESTING THAT THE CONTRACT FOX TILE
EMPLOYMENT OF TWENTY FIVE oANVlcTs
RE CANCELLED - AT LEAST 10000
FREE PRINTERS IN THE STATE.
,v,ow THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRInUNE|
Albany, March 11-There was curious inS'' '
tnAav of the cowardice OF legislative comnht'cc
10 curious as TO be worthy OF being descroeo a'
as sample brick Of the kind. IL Is oouou" H. ."
recent wears the members OF Legislature have gwen
a moro udicrous example Of their craven rear Oh una.
modern political DOGGY the Labor Union VOC M""'
ia strangest about this latest exhibition OF tmdiy Is
that II was furnished largely by AsSembymen repre-
senting farming communities, composed manly oi TAX
uayers and with no labor union in their VICINITY
General Austin Lathrop, the superintendent OF
Prisons was the innocent cause OF llis amusing "'o
NJ the Assemblymen. Some time ago he maze u COLI
tract for the setting Of certain amount of type IN sing
Sing Prison. lie intends TO employ twenty h'c men
a. s,eu,c this contract An examination Of the
Tinted States census for 1880 showed him tat tiero
were 1000 printers employed In the state OF new
York and he thought that the increase OF population
IN the last ten years would bring up their NUMBERS
IN $4,000. In any case he could not see that
twenty-five men working in Sing sing fnso"
would dangerously compete with 10000 men
1sborinc outside of il. But sooner had he slgie"
the contract than the typographical unions 'hIo"t"
out the United states rang in denuncia'ioh W nan"
One would have fancicd. from what was sa'u' '''0
every one Of the 1900 men employed IN 'ac o'a'o
prisons were TO be employed in typcsettng ana t'ae
q tremendous competition was to he e''aois"o" "s
the printers Of this and other states
General Lathrop was much surprised at TINS out
hurst especially because it had been his ann "
employ as few convicts possible at any one ""'V'
IN order to reduce to an inapprecaDic itac'on NV
amount Of competition with workhsheh }" 81.
case OF the printers he thought he hal succocicu
beyond danger of dispute. There were many o','o,
trades I'm the prisons, much more largely repicS'i''
among the convicis working in the prison SHOPS
Tho printers l0~ could not be convinced tha'
they would not bo htii cd by the twenty-five me"
working in the State pi~ons In competition VII" '"'
10000 men outside of them
Assemblvman Nolan. OF Albany, Who j. n pi"''''
introduced a resolution for an Investigation by the
Committee on Labor and Industrle, OF the contract
for printing entered into by superintendent L'l"oP
with the object OF learning whether OF not "e 90"
tract could be broken The resolution was passed anu
the committee solemnly took evidence at sing Sins
Prison and in Albany In relation 10 t1c ma''V'' ~
may be added that taxpayers gave their testimony
To-day the committee submitted lis report TO Inc
Assembly The committee makes the following re-
port ,,.., =. ,,.
From the testimony taken. it is evident IN ,ns
sudement OF the committee. that the contract wa t
Nv the prison authorities in good slth ana Wllhh w
limits OF the law requiring suhicent bona 10 man
the state good for services rendered rs 10 the aNl
ment or the continuance Of the contract on the g'Iha
Of non-fulnment on the part 81 the s1m'i ,, '.
iIorato r. Davis Of Broohlyn. II i the judgment ni
the committee that 10 j. matter that rr>', ch'''N
with the prison authorities and not win the ".,9
iaturc But, in order to bring ne naa'"g wiS
recommend that the following concurrent re'oi'"o"
sTesolved ~ the senate concur. That the contract
for printing in sing sing Prison. made on the l't
dav of November. less. hy and between ~ \. hl",H
and I'd Of
Davis Of Brooklyn, and approved Nv Ihc 9,po'i "a
tendent OF Prisons, General Austin Lathrop. be- oS
said prison authorities. declared null ana vold'
The report is signed ty A,,embN
men william c. stevens, nrldg,~. ,"r''l'e
parton. Davis. Burns Everett, Blanchfeld Nolan and
wm 70 the committee gave any reason for It's re
,,arlahle suggestion that superintendent LathrOp
should break his contract for the labor OF t3se 'o
victs the explanation might De ic ,yeD II is obv
Gus t. any reasoning person that 'ie 'aDoi ~ ~ ~
i've cannot possibly compete on Vel the
committee bow to this strange idea Oh some 'aoo'
unions -. .,,, action q, the Committee on
Labor and industries especially worthy OF commen.
Is that It's action may be The ioreruhnci
remunerative labor in the state prisons. If tnc
printers succeed IN stopping Nlc->ct'lne ], ma -
h predIced that the iroonnakers. the caiT-inahers
and other men who are employed in trades al "lHcn
cofvicts ARE employed in the state prisons Win oo
chair making in the prisons. In the end no convici
can be employed AT any trade no niasc' - +be
clear that his labor cannot possibly compete WIN '"o
But are the taxpayers Of the state DESTROYS S oi
sr~nyicts I'm dlencss Perhaps the farmer TAXPAYER
who send ASsemhlyman stevens. ~ Franklin '1uhN
Hssemblyman bridges Of Otsego County Asscmbyman
rchrsstie' ~ Fulton and Hamilton counties Assem-
hlvman Barton. 81 Warren County Nss"hnNn M s
paws Of Livingston COUNTY As>em1iYman kVcre sr
countv are wiling 10 assume that burden Of 100000
annually, that oonviets may live in idieness.