Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-09-08

cent while child labor under 16 years
OF age increased by more tan 127 per
cent. Curing the next decade the
growth was not SO rapid but from 1890
to 1890 the growth was again in eX-
cess of 81 per cent. This makes it ap-
parent that the evil should be eradi-
Gated from the state in order that it's
citizenship may continue on the
same high plane so much Wanted.
Secured Legislation.
During the last session of the leg
islature the State Federation of Labor
with the allied reform movements, Sc
cured law providing that no child I'M
der sixteen years of age shall be en-
ployed at dangerous machinery and
that children under fourteen years of
age must attend school of a certain
standard during twelve weeks of the
school year. The law is faulty con-
|structed and oftentimes depriyes the
child of the opportunities sought for
it by the organization instrumental in
its passage. Therefore one of the
great endeavours of the state fedora
ton during the coming session of
the state legislature will be to have
a law enacted more In accord with
the most perfect laws of other states.
The state federation has placed itself
on record as favoring the abolition of
child labor for remuneration under IA
years and requiring the school at
tendance of all physically able child
rem under the age Of sixteen during
the entire shool year.
Convict Labor Evil.
can effort will also be made to cor
rect the evil of our present contract
labor system of the state Organized
| labor believes that the best interests
of the convicts require them to per-
form labor, but they object that those
employed shall be employed under a
system that not only regulates the
price of the product of the free manu-
facturer in like industry but also the
price of labor entering into such free
products.
1.-THE free laborer is not injured be-
cause Of the labor performed because
under a perfect and well regulated
form of society all willing men should
undoubtedly have the right to labor
and society is benefited by the employ
ment of all willing labor. 1t would
therefore follow in a perfect system
that the amount of products of the per-
feet system would not be augmented by
the labor of the convict. Free manu-
facturers and free labor are only iniur-
ed through convict labor by the pecul.
iarities of the system giving the CON
tractor unusual opportunities. For in
stance the contractor is not required to
| furnish buildings, is furnished the heat
and the light, Is relieved of insurance
and other incidentals that are con.
siderable burden upon the free manu-.
| facturer and is furnished the labor un.
der The care Of the state for a per diem
usually for one-third to one-fifth Of that
paid by the free manufacturer.
Convict Labor Not Equal to Free.
"It is often times claimed that the
labor of two or three convicts is re-
quired to equal that of one free labor
er and this is urged as reason for
the extreme low figure of the hire of
the convict. Statistics, however,
gathered by our national bureau OF
statistics from all of the penal institu-
| tons of the country prove that in real
ity ten convicts perform the labor of
4 eight free laborers under the contract
| system, thus at once proving the great
advantages of the contractor in the
I price of his produce over the price
of the product of the free manufac-
turer.
i Effect Is Injurious.
"That this competition is injurious
to the free manufacturer is well evil
'Ident from the fact that ordinarily in
those lines Of goods manufactured in
penal institutions the free
manufacturer is driven from
Call for and insist on getting