The record-union., 1897-01-06

PAS ~ bASOlAAiSS llClQ eAt NAAA~A~ ~AAS R0AAA~~
and holding farmers institutes Is COM
| mended.
The provision for the affiliated colleges
and the beneficence of private indivld-
uals to the institution will, so soon as
general plan of construction is agreed
| upon, give the University all the build
ings it needs. The buildings now needed
he commends to the Legislature.
THE University of California has
funds which it cannot use directly for
improvements, but which must be in
vested for the purpose of producing
revenue for it's support. These funds
are loaned on real property in various
portions of the State, and are exempted
from taxation, SO that 81 100000 of such
funds loaned in any county of the State
would at once prevent the taxation or
property there situated to the extent of
the loan, and of necessity thereby in
crease, not only the State, but also the
county, tax upon other property in such
county not favored by this loan. The
effect of this is easy to imagine; and
| the d1fference between the amount of in
tereSt that will be procured by
! bonds and the amount Of interest
| that will be procured by loan
ing the money under the present system
| should be borne by the State at large,
rather than by the taxpayers of the
county in which the funds are loaned.
| The State itself might take such por-
ton of such funds under proper laws, as
are necessary for constructing Univer-
sity and other buildings, as it is the
guarantor Of the integrity of the funds
| in all instances
| The Governor recommends that there
| be shorter term for University Re-
gents, say eight years. He advises the
passage of laws for government of the
| Normal Schools recommended by a joint
| committee to revise the laws relating to
| the schools He would have a portion
| of the grounds of the Normal School at
San Jose reconveyed to the city of San
Jose Gas being in excess of the needs of
the schooD, that the city may establish
| a High School and library on the
grounds
| RAILROAD COMMISSION.
He advises that such changes be made
in the constitution of the Railroad Com
mission as will give it men experienced
in the law, in business, and in railroad
| matters; that the commission should
| keep its Office open and conduct its
operations daily, and the Commission
ers should follow no other business.
STATE PRISONS.
| Concerning the State Prisons, the
purchase of goods and products of
other States and by our people is dis
| approved in favor of our own products
| and M nj Ia hos Joa
to have State institutions, so far as pos
| sible, buy home products. The subject
is then continued in these words:
| THE competition of Eastern prison
made articles with the products of our
own free labor is a most grievous
wrong. These products are sold in Cali
| fornia without brand or mark to dis
tinguish them. While prisoners should
be compelled to labor, so as to be self
| supporting, thus relieving the taxpay-
ers from the burden of their support,
beyond this point they should not be
permitted to engage in renunerative
work, and their efforts should be SO di-
! rected as TO produce the least friction
| with free labor. That a man out of
Jail, who would then be in competition
| with his fellows, should be fed in idle
ness at the peoples expense when he
becomes criminal Is wrong, and why
the salutary discipline of work should
| give way to the expensive support of
| idle prisoners; why they should be
| turned loose, a prey on society, instead
| of being reformed and taught to main
tain themselves out of jail when liber-
ated, cannot be explained.
California prison labor, as conduct
ed, is beneficial to free labor In some
industries conducted in our State
| Prisons there has been no profit to the
State; still such articles, produced at a
loss even, have acted as a regulator of
prices, and kept millions of dollars in
California which would otherwise have
| been sent abroad to purchase articles
necessary for the use of our people
The jute factory is an instance; but for
! it our farmers would be compelled to
pay such prices as a foreign trust
| might enforce upon grain bags, and
thus hundreds Of thousands of dollars
be spent abroad by reason of the in
creased price paid, which now circu-
| lates among our people. This industry
would have been self sustaining but for
the unwise inhibition of our laws. 1
refer your honorable bodies to the re-
port of the State Board of Prison Di-
| rectors, whose recommendat tions In all
respects I commend.
| Our Constitution requires us to work
the convicts for the benefit of the State,
and the water power at Folsom should
be turned to profitable account to that
| end; but the prison goods of other
States should not find market here,
| and all reasonable efforts and laws
tending to restrict the same should re-
ceive your favorable consideration.
THAT there may be no question as to
| what goods are and what are not prfs-
| n-n1ade, we ought, by law, to require
| all such to have plainly marked or
stamped thereon, or attached thereto,
q designation showing where and when
produced; and this law should prohibit
the sale in California of any prison.
| made goods, except such as are pro-
! duced at San Quentin or Folsom We
have, in my Judgment, as much right,
as matter of State policy, to regulate
| or prohibit the sale of this class of
| goods, as we have to regulate or pro-
hibit the sale of intoxicants or oleomar-
garine.
That laws as herein indicated would
be beneficial to the State no one would
question. That they can be effectively
| enforced through our State Board of
Prison Directors has been demonstrated
by the manner in which the State Dairy
Bureau has driven butterine and oleo-
margarine from competition with the
dairy products of this State
THE number or quantity of foreign
prison-made goods sold here is i'm
| a ic CHI IN a
dix. The sale of these products irnposas