The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-08-21
THE representative.
ITS COURSE DEFENDED AS TO
THE STATE PRISON TWINE.
EDITOR PRESTON TINES:

EDITOR PRESTON TIMES:
Last week you quoted the Alexa n
dria Post News in criticism of Igna-
titus Donneliy's attitude towards the
prison Irvine. There are few facts,
that may have some bearing on the
case. which the Post News man omit
ted; and which with your permission
will undertake to supply. First of
all, Mr.. Donnelly has no quarrel with
the prison Irvine factory as an insti-
tuition, but for some time he has been
training his guns on the management
of the plant. and as propose to show,
not without good reasons.
No man acquainted with the history
OF the Saltwater factory can for a mo-
ment doubt Mr.. Donneily's loyalty to
it as state institution. l feel per-
fectly safe in saying that had it not
been for the persistent and heroic ef-
fort OF Mr.. Donnelly and the State
Alliance, there would be no factory at
Saltwater to-day. Donnelly origin
ated the scheme and introduced the
bill in the state Legislature providing
for its establishment. After the bill
passed Donnelly and other members
of the Alliance forced the commits
sion, appointed for that purpose to do
the duty and put in proper machinery.
Then in 1892, when the managers
put so high price on the first pro-
duct as to virtually keep it off the
market. Donnelly, as president of the
State Alliance, appointed a commit
tee to wait upon Gov. Merriam and
see what could be done to get the
Irvine before the farmers and save the
life OF the prison factory. The Coy
ernor arranged conference between
this committee and the prison factory
managers, and the result was a reduc-
tlon in price Of state Irvine and tie
plant saved. The last year the fac
tory still in precarious circums tances,
Donnelly through THE REPRESENTA-
TIVE continued to battle for the state
factory and all this work, remember,
was gratuitous and from Minnesota's
most talented son. Furthermore
Irvine was handled by the Alliance
without profit all over the state.
Local dealers handle Irvine for a COM
mission and this the state could not
afford, SO they used the Alliance
gratis.
Now on the other hand let us con-
slider the management Of the factory
| and their work.
l have already alluded to the almost
prohibitory price they put on their
product In 1892 and how they were
brought down by Mr.. Donnelly's COM
mittee.
Then last winter they made a kind
OF a double barrelled report to the
Legislature which raised guffaw of
disgust and derision all over the
| state. They admitted that the plant
had been somewhat Of a success, but
at the same time they opposed Irvine
making as an employment for con-
yicts. They said it didn't fiji them for
business after they were released.
Now what next. A bill was passed
| last winter providing for the purchase
OF additional machinery, ostensibly to
| increase the producing capacity of the
| prison factory. But when this new
machinery was put in, the old was
thrown aside thus making scarcely
| any increase in the capacity OF the
| factory. But the end was not yet.
Tarbox & Co., concluded thatit would
| lnure to their benefit to contract with
WV CoNCS w uSO UuO RCOUlC w Ill ULlC
| pen in the manufacture of shoes. al
though free labor was starving in the
| Twin cities.
So contract was made and two
hundred convicts were hired out to
Tarbox q Co., to compete with free
LABOR all over the country and only
sixty-fve were retained to make Irvine
| for the farmers and compete with the
| Irvine trust. Do you see the sable gen.
tleman in the wood-pile?
But there is still more. I under
stand that the raw material for this
years Irvine manufacture was pur-
chased last winter, and we all know
| that other expenses Of production
were as we'll known last spring as now,
yet the prison managers, instructed
to furnish Irvine at cost, made no
price to the farmers of the state until
the latter part Of June. Waiting to
see what prices the Irvine trust ad-
vertlsed! Why should they do this if
they intended to sell at cost?
Now let us briefly consider this howl
against Donnelly. [ have already
enumerated some of the many gratui-
tous efforts put forth by the Sage for
the establishment and maintenance
of the state factory. His work found
ed the institution and sustained it fu
it's infancy, and now when the plant
| Is firmly on it's feet and has the en-
basement of the whole state he goes
TO the managers and sOlicits an adj
vertisement from them for The REP
REsENTATIvE, which is the official or
gan of the Alliance, who have to a
man stood by the state factory
through thick and thin.
. In this way Mr.. Donnelly hoped to
De of great service to the factory and
TO the farmers Of the state and to do
1t for less than the state could procure
such servive for else where.
Was there anything wrong in his
| proposition? Would it not be the
| basest ingratitude to refuse his offer?
II not then there is no such thing as
ingratitude and the word should be
Immediately blotted from the diction-
airy. But the managers refused and
thereby convinced Mr.. Donnelly that
they were not anxious to sell Irvine;
and to prove this he contracted with
q firm in Chicago for Irvine and he
has been furnishing it at lower price
than the prison managers with con-
| Wit labor Hamlin V. POOre and 9TH