New-York tribune., 1900-05-07
PRISON MADE SCHOOL FURNITURE.
GOVERNOR GIVES CoGENT REASONS FOR
FAILING TO APPROVE BILL WHICH
WOULD PREVENT ITS MANU-
FACTT-RE.
FACTURE.

Albany May CSpeciaD.-One Of the CHEZ
measures left unsigned by Governor Roosevelt
was one presented by Senator George A DAVIS
of Buffalo. practically prohibiting the manu-
facture OF school furniture in the State prisons
Of the State. The Governor was asked 70 sgn
this bill by some representatives q working
mems unions but the other hand John NC
Mackin. Superintendent OF the Bureau of LABOR
Statistics appeared in opposition 10 the bin
taking the position that if il was signed the
State prison convicts would be prohibited from
working at other trades. and thus the system
OF prison labor would be broken down II ls
believed that John 7 McDonough. Of Albany.
also contributed 70 the Governors resolution
to defeat the measure. Hr. McDonoUgh was q
member of the Constitutional Convention, and
there favored the present article % the Consti-
tuition which prohibits The State Prison authorl-
ties from selling the labor product Of the
labor Of the prisoners. but providing that The
products Of their labor may be disposed Of 70
the State any political division thereof, CT
for TO any public institution owned OF man
aged and controlled by the state or any poIiti
cal division thereof
The Governor in his message on the measure
says:
II may be that too much machinery Is used in the
prisons for the purpose OF Increasing PTocuctoIas
profits by running prison factories and iz worth
while Legislature seriously 70 consider ne
Pennsylvania law o. 1857, which provides thai IN
certain public institutions OF the State only tcot or
hand power machinery shall be used
The present system Of the control o. convict labor
in this State has been recommended within ten
days by the National Industrial Commission az
Washington in its report 10 Congress the system
the other States in this country. This NsT-YO-k
system. which is thus recommended tor adoption By
the other States. Is its fOTbddng the
sale OF prison made goods in the open market il
competition with free labor doing away with the
contract system and competition in market prices
and limiting the OF the products OF prison labor
to the institutions Of the State itself.
An extraordinary feature OF the results achieved
in consequence % this system has been the steady
falling off the number OF cO1vIctS n Our prisons
since the abolition o. contract labor Thus. since
1875 there has been falling of OF nearly 2se il
the total number OF prisoners in the enitentiaries
and State prisons Of NeW-YoTk State. Moreover. IN
the three State prisons in the year there has
been a decrease in the number OF insanity cases
The same Constitution which abolished the contract
should b. Ian provide FOR the employment OF prts-
work FOR the State and its public insJfIu-
tions for any political division Of the State
any public institutions OF such political division
We cannot afford prohibit the employ InenJ o.
the convicts productive labor OF kinds. and
therefore il is the last degree unwise and i'm
proper to pass a law favor particular n
ployent thus in effect discriminating against all
other classes OF Ia bor and entering upon course
Of State action which If consistently followed would
work revolution Of feeling that would tend 70
instate the very system which We have with such
infinite pains abolished