The record-union., 1897-01-31

put ten ConvictS at work in order to
give one free man employment on the
outside i'm handling the material after
it had left the quarry, so that in order
to give ten men work on the streets. the
bill proposed to throw ninety free quar-
rymen out Of employment. This state
ment is certainly an e&aggeration. The
object of supplying rock at a nominal
figure is to encourage road and street
improvements that would not be done
at all if the city or county were COM
PEELED to buy the material at market
prices. Under the system inaugurated
at Folsom there viii probably be ten or
twenty times the amount of work on
roads and streets that is now being
done and this will give employment to
hundreds and thousands Of men who
otherwise would not be employed.
There is no desire To interfere with
free labor; ON the contrary, the aim is
to provide more work for laborers, while
also keeping the prisoners at work
Could it be shown that the State quarry
and crusher are depriving owners Of
quarries of business and seriously re-
ducing their working force. the work
ing of convicts in the quarry would at
once be stopped. But such a showing
has not been made and if the use of
rock quarried ard crushed by convicts
be limited TO county highways advan-
tageous to the State and to the laboring
classes, without fnjuring the business of
private individuals.
THE BURDEN BEARERS.
Fresno Expositor: In discussing the
bills introduced in the Legislature pro-
Vldlng for the appropriation of money
for the various HarbOr Commissions.
the Examiner" advises the San Fran
cisco delegation to secure for the San
francisco Harbor Commission it's share
OF the States money and then. speak
ing of the board. adds: THE whole
expense of salaries, as we'll as improve
ments, has been met by San Francisco
through dues levied on its shipping and
commerce. This statement is narrow.
clannish, unfair and an audacious ex-
ample of metropolitan presumption.
The farmers of this State have been
paying State tolls at the San Francisco
wharves on all products sent to com
mission firms there for over a quarter
of a century. When these farmers
bought goods there they have also paid
started from the bay. These tolls went
into the harbor fund and paid for new
Wharves and salaries of employees.
Every interior merchant and producer
has been taxed in this way to meet the
expense of maintaining the water front
Every collector and every wharfinser
under the San Francisco board has baen
legalized leech on what the interior
shipped in, as we'll as on what it took
home. The wholesale importer has
added his wharfage dues to other c)sts
and sold to the interior buyer at a fig
ure fixed accordingly. All the producers
and consumers of the State who have
shipped to and from San Francisco nave
borne the burden referred to, and any
San Francisco wall that her people
have suffered a disproportionate share
of the burden has no justification at all.
THE DREDGER BILL.
Stockton Mail: If there is a bug IN
the dredger bill it should be smoked
out. The Mali some weeks ago sug-
gested that provision should be made
for State interest in the lands re-
claimed. No attention was given the
suggestion, yet on that point is based
about all the objection to the measure.
Unless the bill is broadened and i'm
proved it is not likely to prevail at this
session. 1t possesses too many good
features to be lost.