Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-14
IA POLITICAL TWIST
Being Given to the Employment Of
Convict Labor in Washington
ON THE CITY STREETS AND ALLEYS
Cleveland's Pocket Veto of q Bill That
Would Have Stopped 1t.
REPUBLICAN CAPITAL MADE OF 1T ALL
rrRom A STAFF CORRESPONDENT

| rFRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT
| WASHINGTON, Sept. 13.-In their desire
to find some means to abolish the employ
ment of convicts upon the public streets 10
! the District of Columbia, the labor organi'
cations of the District bid fair to furnish
| involuntarily good deal of good matter fol
| the campaign uses of the Republicans. In
| the history of their efforts to abolish the
system which is being brought out, it ap-
pears that law prohibiting the employ
ment of convict labor by the Government
directly, or indirectly through contractors,
was unanimously reported favorably by
committees of both branches Of the Forty
ninth Congress- first session, was passed by
both branches, and was killed by President
Cleveland by what is known as "pocket
veto."
The bill provided sthat in all advertise
ments for the erection or construction of
public buildings or other public works, or
for materials to be used in their erection,
construction or completion, and for all sup
plies of every description to be furnished
for the use of any departments, and in all
contracts made under or in pursuance of
such advertisements there shall be inserted
condition that no convict or prison labor
whatsoever, or the product thereof,
shall be employed or used upon any
public building or other public
work, or in the manufacture fany articles,
materials or supplies contracted to be fur
nshed therefor, and there shall also be in
serted id said contract the further condition
that 10 person who is not bona fde resi-
dent within the limits of the United States,
and who has not declared his intention to
become a citizen thereof in the manner pro-
vided by law, shall be employed in the
erection, construction or completion OF any
public building or other public work; that
any willful breach of any Of said conditions
by any contractor shall authorize and work
Forfeiture of the Contract
and shall constitute a complete defense
in bar against any claim or action against
the United States tor the recovery OF any
sum or sums under said conditions, and it
shall be the duty of the officer letting any
such contract, upon being advised that any
contractor has knowingly violated the terms
of such contract, to declare the same
forfeited"
Looking further into the literature OF the
subject, it is found that President Cleve-
land was opposed to the abolition of convict
labor on Government work, and declared in
favor OF such work in his message to Con-
gress in December, 1886, In which he argued
that the Government should possess prisons
for its own criminals, instead of
distributing them among the penitentiaries,
as by that means considerable cost of main
tanning them in State institutions would be
saved, "snd by employing them in the
manufacture of such articles as were needed
for use by the Government, quite large
pecuniary benefit would be realized in
partial return for the outlay"
In this Mr.. Cleveland, curiously enough,
appears six years ago to have run counter
to the discoveries of Commissioner of Labor
Peck, of New York, who has caused the
free traders so much unhappiness by his
declaration that the result OF the tariff bill
is an increase of wages. In the report by a
committee or the Democratic House of the
Forty-eighth Congress, on the bill above