, 1891-08-19
PRISON M FREE LABOR
THE WRETcHEs IN STRIPES A BONE
OF CONSTANT CONTENTION.

The Statesmen of Our Land Seem Inca
pabie OF Handling "A Very Simple Prob
iem-To Lessen the Burden Of IdIenrl
They Increase the Army of IdIers.
There is slavery and oppression il
tennessee more cruel than that which
existed prior to Lincoln's emancipation
proclamation. The fourteenth amend.
ment abrogated the law allowing the
holding of chattel slaves, but the law Of
competition, founded upon and upheld
by the greed of ~capis0lism, has rivetei
the shackles of the wage slave until they
cut to the bone, and the governor and
militia nave taken the place of the slave
driver and bloodhound. The cries OF
hungry women and children are met
with high sounding destinations about
"the honor of the state" and the sacred
ness of q contract with convict sweaters
is offered as a substitute for the bread
which has been snatched from honest
and law abiding miners.
Tennessee furnishes another example
of the operations of an economic system
which saves at the spigot and loses ut the
bunghole. The question of convict labor
seems to be too much for the southern
statesman, as it is too much for the
Yankee, and the makeshift of employing
the prisoners at self supporting work, on
the plea that hui n saving is made for
the taxpayers, has almost destroyed the
principle mining region of Tennessee
and thrown the state into n condition
very near to war. Can it be that legis-
lators and other public officials are so
dull as not to see what a mistake their
policy is, or are the brides OF convict
sweaters SC great as to overcome all
sense of reasoning in the minds Of men
who hold the responsible positions?
1t is customary for the defender Of the
present lease system TO say that 'it is
absurd to hold that two or three hun
dred convicts can upset a whole indus
try in which thousands are employed
as in mining. This shows n ~lanentable
ignorance on the operation Of economic
law. If one mine in n district embracing
twenty mines is enabled 10 produce coal
at n low rate through the employment
of convicts, the owners of the other nine
teen must force the cost Of their coal
down to the figure mad by that one
If left to operate naturally the COMPETE
tive system inevitably pulls the wages
in an industry down to the lowest figure
paid by any operator in that industry.
Hence the comparatively few convicts in
the Tennessee mines not only displace an
equal number of free miners. but surely
reduce the price paid for mining in the
whole district.
-
L cannot find consolation for the de-
plorable condition of the Tennessee min
ers in the fact that they drove the militia
out of the region, nor in the further
statement that the sentiment of the bust
ness public is with them (the miners).
We have not yet reached the period Of
open and general revolt against capital
ism, and it is ever a question of time
when the representatives Of government
chat Is the upholders of present iniquity)
will triumph over any protest, no matter
how formidable mt first, the workers
long ago lost faith in that thing called
public sentiment. Public sentiment is
with the under dog only while he whines;
when he begins to bite he must either
quickly get from under or lose that
moral support"
-
Governor Buchanan, of Tennessee,
was sworn to uphold the laws of the
state, which carries with it a respect for
the states contracts; but it is singular
that he, who 80 highly regards the plain
face of law, should hustle so dill
gently to find a way to get around
another law which prohibits the calling
out Of the soldiery in cases lk that in
the mining regions. In his talks On the
subject, especially when he made the
bluff that he would lead the militia
against the miners himself, he plainly
showed that, TX most governors and
the like, he forgot soon after election
day that the men without wealth or in
huence, the workers, who are only men
n day in the year, are entitled in their
homes and employment to the considera-
ton and care of the state as well as the
property interests of the capitalists.
-
The great spa who so loudly
applaud the governor of Tennessee for
or bad-are as insincere as he is. 1t
makes all the difference in the world
whose OK is gored. When a bad law OPP
presses the poor man he must suffer and
obey because it is the law. But when a
law interferes with the sweet will of one
of these choice creatures they are not
bound to respect it. Look at the case
of the New York papers which vio-
lated the law relating to publishing