Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-10-18
CONVICT LABOR.
PROOF OF THE CHARGES MADE
AGAINST GOVERNOR FlFER.


Caldwell & Pierson and Barnum & Bar
mum to investigate the conduct of Gov.
FYfer's prison commissioners, says the
Chicago Times. Mr.. Caldwell being q
Republican attorney and one who had
been in the confidence of the Republican
leaders, simply went to work to secure
the facts as they existed. and his report
is sufficient to prove all that Judge Alt
geld claims and good deal more. He
consulted with Barnum & Barnum, who
are the attorneys for several of the
brotherhoods of railway employees, and
after citing the action of Gov. Oglesby
and outlining the inaction of the legisla-
lure in reference to the convict-labor
amendment. he quotes Gov. Filters origi-
nal message. Then he says:
HOW CONvICTs ARE EMPLOYED.
As to the practical operations of the
state penitentiary with reference to and
since the adoption of the constitutional
amendment of 1886:
In examining this branch of the SUBJ
ject it is important to keep constantly in
mind three dates:
1. The joint resolution directing the
amendment to be submitted to vote of
the people was passed by the legislature
in the spring of 1885.
9. The amendment was submitted to
and voted on by the people at the Gener-
al election Nov. 2, 1886.
3. The governor issued his proclama-
ton declaring the amendment to be
part of our constitution the 22d day of
November, 1886.
All the convicts at present in the PEN
itentiary able to work and not necessary
in the various employments in keeping
up the penitentiary are employed either
under contracts for their labor" or
''product of labor" and such contracts
may be divided into three classes:
1. Those contracts for labor executed
prior to the submissions of the amend
ment to a vote of the people.
9. Those contracts for labor executed
after the passage of the joint resolution
submitting the proposed amendment to
a vote of the people and prior to the
election at which the people voted in
favor of it's adoption by majority of
over 10000.
8. The justly celebrated ''piece-price"
contract for the product of labor" of
convicts, which contracts have been
executed since the adoption of the con-
stitutional amendment.
At the time when these various con-
tracts were entered into there We're not
enough convicts then in the penitentiary
to meet their requirements. At this
time at least three-fourths of the con-
victs working under all of the above
contracts, including the contracts exc
cuted before the adoption of the consti-
tutional amendment as well as since,
l. toI Nd no
penitentiary since the adoption of the
constitutional amendment declaring
THAT hereafter it shall be unlawful for
the commissioners Of any penitentiary
or other reformatory institution in the
state of Illinois to let by contract to any
person or persons or corporations the
labor of any convict confined within said
institution"
VIOLATED THE LAW.
After the passage of the joint resolu-
ton which gave positive official notice
to all that the question whether or not
convicts should be worked under con-
tract was to be submitted to the people
at the election to be held Nov. 2, 1886,
and before that election occurred, the
executed five contracts,
still in force, for the labor of convicts"
dated from August to September, two
of them not to take effect until Novem-
Der of the same year, and all of them
10 be in force and operation Tor a period
of eight years, or until 1894. The cleo
ton at which the amendment was
adopted occurred Nov. P, 1886, and the
entered into a contract
Nov. 10, 1886, Of the same character as
the former contracts for the labor of
twenty convicts for the period Of eight
years. The contract could not be as
signed without the concurrence of the
of the penitentiary. and
yet the 21st day of September, 1887, a
year after the adoption of the constitu.
tional amendment, the contractor under
this contract was permitted by the COM
to assign it to another party,
who filed bond and has been operating
under it since.
The election having been held and the
people having declared for abolition of
convict contract labor, and the govern
prs message having been issued declar-
ing that such prohibition was part of
the constitution, the commissioners, as a
second step in their attempt to keep
convict labor employed, on the 21st day
Of November, 1888, had in their posses
sion contract executed in 1884, to run
until October, 1892, in which contract
was a provision that if the contractor
should fail for period of ten days to
pay the monthly installments of the
contract price the commissioners might
declare the contract forfeited. Under
this contract, Nov. 81, 1888, the con-
tractor owed the state between Sc, 1000
and 81 900, and had been in default for
various sums, ranging from 81 900 to
e8, 900 for more than a year; notwith-
this he was permitted to assign
this contract. the assignees undertook
and obligated themselves as a considera-