The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-03
PRISON LABOR DEAL
STARTSSCANDAL TALK.
Rumors Intimate That Board
of Control Was Influenced
by improper Motives.

Is Minnesota to have another board
of control scandal?
For several days there have been
runors Of charges rejecting on two
members of the board of control In
connection with the award Of the con-
tract labor at the Saltwater peniten-
tiary.
Last Saturday the board of control
announced the award of the contract
for a term of ten years to Roscoe H.
Bronson, of Saltwater, covering. the
employment of 225 men at the Still
water prison in the manufacture of
shoes. The basis of the contract is the
piece-price system, and the board in
making public it's action said the new
contract meant return Of SO cents
per day for each man actually employ
ed, and that this was the best con-
tract for prison labor in existence in
any state in the Union.
Almost simultaneously with the an
nouncement of the new contract ru-
mors became rife that the board had
been Influenced by improper motives in
making the new contract. 1t was
charged that some members of the
board were financially interested in
the ENTERPRISE to exploit the new con-
tract, and that the old contractors.
the W. B. & w. G. Jordan COM
pany, had not been treated fairly in the
award of the new contract. A reporter
of The Globe saw w. G. Jordan,
but he refused to talk The street talk,
however, has continued, and about the
state capitol the award of the new
contract has been freely discussed in
it's various phases.
What Board Member Says.
A member Of the board of control
was seen last night, and, while he did
not wish to be quoted as speaking for
his associates on the board, he en-
phatically denied that there was any
basis for the criticisms of the board.
.'The contract which the board has en-
tered into with R. H. Bronson, of Still
water, was offered to the Jordan COM
pany, but its members refused to ac-
cept it's terms," he said. THE Jordan
company, it is generally understood,
has been purchased by Bronson and
his associates and they are prepared
to fulfill the terms of the new contract
when it is effective, Sept. 80. The
board HrSt advertised Tor S1qS Tor the
employment of the prison labor on
shoes and received but one reply This
was from Bronson, but the board de-
cided not to accept its terms. We ne
gotiated with the Jordan company, but
it declined to comply with the contract
as offered, inasmuch as it required a
guaranty that certain grade of work
should be done by the men at Still
water that would net the board 63
cents per day per man. understand
that Jordan and Bronson figured to-
gether, but Bronson finally accepted
the terms offered by the board, and It
will result IN better contract for the
state than is found in any other state
in the Union. We understand that
Jordan is aggrieved at the action of the
board, but can see no reason why he
should blame the board of control. We
understand that control of his COM
pany has passed to Bronson and his
associates
The w. B. & w. G. Jordan company
succeeded to the old prison shoe con-
tract and the machinery in the prison
for the manufacture of shoes by pur-
chase at the assignee's sale of the
Union Shoe company's assets. 1t has
had the contract since 1866 term of
ei gft wears.