The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-04-23
LABOR OF CONVICTS.
It Will Not Be Employed Upon
$4,000 Public Highways.
THE PROBLEM is A SERIOUS ONE.

THE PROBLEM is A SERIOUS ONE.
Chain Gang Provision in the NIolster Bill
Not Received with Favor-Iast Week
the Liveliest One of This Session of the
Legislature-Bill OF Interest to Frater-
nal Benefit Organizations - Governor
Pingree and His Scrap Books.
Lansing, Mich, April 13.-It may be
put down as q safe proposition that ii
will be many a year before the state
of Michigan will set its convicts at work
on the public highways. This fact was
very thoroughly demonstrated last week
when the Molster anti-convict labor bill
was discussed in the house. 1t was quite
generally conceded that had 1t not been
for the chain gang provision Of the
measure it would have received more
than 20 votes, although there was no
reasonable hope of it's passing in any
form. This Is the smallest vote that has
been cast for similar bills for number
of sessions, the reason being that for
mer bills did not employ the provision
for parceling out the convicts to the
various counties for work on the high
ways. This was looked upon by large
! majority of the members as a step in
the direction of a return to barbarism,
I and the opponents of the bill drew most
unattractive pictures of the effect that
| the spectacle of convicts, adorned with
| ball and chain, would have on the NOR
ais Of the youth of the state who would
| be forced to gaze upon them. 1t is evil
| dent that the convict labor problem is
| a serious one, and also that the labor
men will have to present some feasible
| plan OF employing the prisoners to adj
vantage before they will be able to Sc
| cure departure from the present mode
of working them at whatever can be
found for them to do.
RObbing Peter to Pay Paul.
The idea has become pretty well
grounded in the minds of most citizens
that, even under the most favorable cir
cumstances, the convict is bound to
compete with his free fellow citizen, and
that it would be simply robbing Peter
to pay Paul to abandon present industries
only to engage in others where the COM
petition would be felt more keenly by
some other branch of labor than under
existing circumstances. 1t has come to
be pretty generally understood, too,
that even though maintained in abso-
lutte idleness the burden Of maintaining
convicts would fall as heavily upon free
labor as it does now.
In its last report to the legislature the
state board of corrections and charities
recommended that greater discrimina-
ton be exercised in the matter of OPEN
ing the prisons Of the state to visitors,
it not being creditabe to the state that
she should make an exhibition for gain,
of her wards. The fee Of 25 cents
charged for admission was declared to
be poor compensation for the injury
done. In accordance with this recon-
mendation, the senate has passed a bill
providing that general visitors shall not
be admitted to any Of the prisons of the
state, and the matter is now pending in
the house. Warden Chamberlain, of the
state prison at Jackson, Is opposing the
passage Of the bill. He says that no
harm has come from the system so far
as his observation goes. The small ad-
mission fee charged, he says, brought
quite q revenue to the state without
harm to the prison, and with great con-
venience to the public. OF the money
received from this source, $500 Is an
nually used for extending the prison IL
brary, and thus does good work.
Demoralizing to the Prisoners.
The board of corrections, however,
makes strenuous objection to the admis-
sion of women and children particular
ly, and in support of their proposition,
point to the fact that at a recent meet
ing Of the Wardens' Association Of the
United States and Canada, a resolution
denouncing the practice as demoraliz-
ing to the prisoners and without benefit
to the public was passed, the only mega
tive vote being cast by Warden Cham
berlain and the warden of an Ohio pris-
on.
Whether the result of election, or the
fact that election is q thing of the past,
has anything to do with the situation Is
not known, but the fact is, as every one
here has noticed, that matters have
taken on a very lively turn during the
past week. Last week was altogether
the liveliest of the session, with the pos
sible exception of the first week Of the
year when the new state officials took
possession of their offices and q goodly
share of their constituents came here to
strike them for jobs. The lobby which
had previously been conspicuous by its
absence, put In an appearance with the
election returns, and legislative matters
generally took on much of the old-time
appearance. The hotelkeepers are be-
ginning to reap the harvest for which
they have long been waiting, and every
body is jollying up along the line. UP
to the 1st of April the session was dull
er than any that can be recalled by the
present generation of Lansing citizens
The signs for the balance of the session
are hopeful inasmuch as all of the inn
portant matters are yet to be consid-
cred, the beet sugar and convict labor
bills being about the only legislation,
other than that Of purely local nature
that has thus far been disposed Of.
The result of the election, especially in
Detroit, has changed the situation not a
little, and it is evident that the so-called
Ill -.