The record-union., 1893-03-07


port read.
The reading of the minority report was
being proceeded with, when two-thirds
of the members left the Assembly cham
Der. Mathews of Tehama moved a call
of the House, which was ordered. The
proceedings were subsequently dispensed
with, and the reading of the report con-
cluded.
The minority report was refused adop-
ton almost unanimously.
The majority report was adopted with
out debate. Bledsoe, Vann and O'Keefe
opposed it, the two last-named because
they thought the whole testimony should
be printed.
FOLSOM JUTE PLANT.
There was rather a warm debate in the
Senate last evening over Ostrom's bill to
establish jute plant at the Folsom
Prison.
The bill came up as a special order.
Mr.. Ostrom offered amendment so as to
make the bill read that jute bags be
manufactured exclusively. and that the
words 'jute goods be stricken out. Be-
fore the amendment could be voted on,
however, Senator Williams moved that
the enacting clause of the bill be stricken
out.
This brought Mr.. Ostrom to his feet
with a speech. He considered the San
Francisco Senator's motion discourteous,
unjust and arbitrary. 1t was not a manly
way of doing business. he said, and he
hoped the Senate would vote the motion
down.
Burke asked Ostrom if the manufacture
ofjute bags would come in contact with
any other free labor, and received an an
swer in the negative. He then asked if
it were not fact that the farmers would
be greatly benefited by the passage of the
bill, and this time Ostrom replied aflirma-
lively.
DIDN'T WANT IT.
Senator Seymour took the floor and
made speech against the bill. 1t was in
evidence III the cordage inquiry, he said,
that the prisoners at Folsom had all they
could possibly do for the next two years.
The appropriations contemplated by
measures now pending in the Legisla-
ture We're running high into the millions
and all useless ones should be eliminated.
y new jute plant had just been finished
at San Quentin. and he anticipated chat
the State would soon have a cumbersome
surplus of bags on hand, considering the
fact that some $4,000 of them were left
over from last year, with only one plant
in operation.
Mr.. Ostrom replied at length to Sey-
mour. The reason why bags were left
over, he SAID, was because of the ex-
traordinary policy of the Prison Directors
OF charging the same for prison made
bags as dealers charged for the imported
| bags. Worse than that, he said, the
directors demanded cash payment anC
would only deliver the bags at the Sal
Francisco wharf, whereas farmers coulC
| buy Calcutta bags for the same price, OIL
! June payment, and delivered at their re
| spective depots. The idea of having
bags made by prison labor in the frs
place was in order that the California
farmer would not have to pay the heavy
| duty on imported bags-it was intended
as
BENEFIT TO THE FARMER,
But had not proved to be such. II,
] Cudi ecu GiIstI btiO L lloOll ltl4NGlOLS w CA'
under the influence of what he termed
| the '.jute ring" Something like $4,000,
600 bags were consumed yearly in Cali
fornia, yet only 100000 were made here
All the rest had to be imported. Witt
the new plant at san Quentin the prison
output would be 100000 sacks, and
his bill were to pass the works could in
crease the output to 5000, 900, thus reduc
| ing the drain on the farmers pocket
that is. if the State would sell the prisol
bags at a reasonable profit instead of a
at present.
Senator Simpson spoke against the bill
taking the ground that the prison-ba
industry had proved itself failure, an
that the manufacture of some other articl
should take its place.
Seymour made another speech agains
the measure. and Ostrom another for il
both reiterating what they had said be
| fore.
Then vote was taken, and the Senat
refused to strike out the enacting claus
by vote of % noes against II ayes. Os
trom's little amendmentw was then adopted
after which the bill was ordered ell
crossed.