The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-11-05
PEARL BUTTON INDUSTRY.
How Convict Labor is Used to Man.
ufacture Pearl Buttons-The Pro-
hibitory Taxa Scoop of the
European Stock.

/
In his review of the political situation
in Illinois, Frank A. Richardson, of the
Baltimore Sun, gives this bit of political
information concerning new industry
Does any one know phrase of the adj
vocates of tariff robbery more hackneyed,
more threadbare than the depreciation of
the convict labor of Europe coming in COM
petition with the American workingmen
No speech of tariff robber, no written
utterance would be considered complete
without this. As to convict labor the
American working-man is as much opposed
to coming in competition with it in America
as in Europe President Harrison in his
letter of acceptance made reference to the
establishment of the pearl button industry
as one of the blessings which followed the
Mckinley bill. But he said nothing
about the pearl button industry established
in the United States being carried on by
convict labor. 1t may interest the Ameri-
can workingman to know that the four
greatest pearl button factories in this coun-
try are established in penitentiaries, and
the "honest sons of toll, as the Mckinley
ties say, are convicts. 1t would be wrong
to say they are the benefciaries of this tar
iff created industry, for which heavy tax
is laid upon the people. They are not the
benefciaries, for they get no wages. The
benefciaries are the men who contract for
their labor, and who out of the enormous
gains made thereby are heavy contributors
! to the Republican campaign fund. One of
these tariff protected manufactures is To-
Gated in the penitentiary at Chester, in this
State. Sixty able-bodied convicts are
working there might and main making pearl
buttons, and the number is now to be in
creased to hundred. The men who are
realizing colossal profits from this enter
prise belong to Republican ring in Chicago.
The members of this ring always open their
pocket-books when called upon for cam
paign contributions, and are very active in
paying for transparencies for Republican
meetings with hig gh-tarif notices All the
facts in the case have been brought to light
and the workingmen of Illinois are finding
abundant food in them for reflection.
A Scoop in Pearl Buttons.
A most interesting bit of history in con
nection with the tariff tax on pearl buttons
has within the past day or two come to the
knowledge of the Democratic State com
mittee. 1t should he known, not only in
Illinois, but in every other State of the
Union Nearly every man and woman,
nearly every boy and girl in this wide land,
uses, ON some portion Of his or her clothing,
pearl buttons. Is there any fair reason
why all these millions Of people should be
charged advanced rates for these necessary
articles simply that a few score Of men
shall become rich through the manufacture
of them? But for the story: 1t seems
that after the election of 1883 assured a
Republican executive and Republican
Congress, and it was known u robber tariff
would in consequence be enacted, the
''friends of the American workingmcn' be
gan to look around for soft snaps. Two
of them seized upon pearl buttons as their
prey. They organized syndicate and took
into membership several influential Rcpub-
! lican politicians who had u 'pull' on tariff
/ legislation. It was arranged to put a prac-
tically prohibitory duty on pearl buttons.
This being understood, the two originators
of the scheme hied themselves across the
Atlantic, rushed into Austria, where there
is the most extensive pearl button industry
in Europe, and made contracts for the en-
tire output of the manufactures for six
months to come, offering extra inducements
for an increase in the capacity Of the manu-
factories to the fullest possible extent |
Similar contracts were made wherever it
could be done with all large concerns in
other parts of Europe. The conspirators
had their enormous supplies safely housed
on this side of the Atlantic when the Me
Kinley tariff went into effect, and no one
but those concerned can imagine the enor
nous profits divided between them.