The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-31
SENT ON THE COPIES
ANTI-CoNVICT RESOLUTIONS FOR
LEGISLATORS.
BILL is NOW LOOKED FOR.
To PREVENT EMPLOYMENT OF
CONVICTs NEAR THE CITY.

Question of the Ability of the State
to ConstitutionaIIy Enact n Law
Multiplying Convict Contract
Raised-It Is Discussed by an At
torney-Depends Largely Upon
whether 1t Is Specifically Set
Forth That the COnvicts Would BE
EMPLOYED Mt the MiII-Haven Com
pany's Plant
Clerk of Council w. F. Bailey adj
dressed to the Senator from this dis
trict and each of the Representatives
from this county yesterday morning a
COPY of the resolution adopted the night
before by the City Council, touching
the employment of convict labor by
the Mill-Haven Company. The legis-
lators are requested to secure the
enactment of law that will render it
impossible for the company to employ
this labor.
Discussion has arisen as to the abil-
ity of the Legislature to constitution
ally enact a law multiplying the con-
tract into which the MiIl-Haven Com
pany has entered. Some question this
ability and it may prove nice point
for argument when the debate upon
the measure that will doubtless be in
troduced opens.
The MiIl-Haven Contract.
IT do not know whether the contract
of the Mill-Haven Company is with
the state or with a direct lessee of the
convicts," said an attorney. to whom
the matter was submitted yesterday. Il
fancy however, that it is a case of
sub-letting. and that the Mill-Haven
Company has not dealt directly with
the state. In such an event the COM
pany would not have as strong an
argument to use before the Legisla-
ture as it would if the contract were
with the state as one of the parties"
But would not the lessee who sub
let's the convicts to the Mill-Haven
Company have a chance to put up the
argument that the company might If
the state were one of the parties to
the contract" the attorney was
asked.
Location of COnvicts.
He answered in the affirmative, but
did not think an argument from the
sub-lessee would have quAe the same
force. i question: ne Shius lhdl Inc
contract sets forth specifically the ex-
act location for the employment of
these convicts, so that the state would
not be vitiating one of it's own con-
tracts to enact a law rendering 1t inn
possible for it's convicts to be employed
by their lessees within a certain dis
lance of the jurisdictional limits of
town or city, unless with the consent
of the municipal authorities.
81 understand that Chief Prison
Warden Moore visited the MILE ayen
plant and gave his approval of the ar
rangements for the care of the con-
victs the company would employ. All
well and good, but l do not see that
the state would thereby be bound as
by a contract to permit the employ
ment of the convicts there.
May Affect the Opposition.
This inspection and approval of the
warden can, in my opinion, be used to
some advantage by the Mill-Haven
Company before the Legislature, should
it be inclined to combat the passage
of the bill that VIII be introduced"
The attorney, who has no inconsid-
cradle knowledge of legislative meth
DDS, expressed the view that bill
resolution would scarcely pass. He
does not favor the employment of con-
Victs within or near the city limits. to
the detriment of free labor, and dis
cussed the prospective measure merely
to show the difficulties it may encoun-
ter.