Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-02-16
RULING RADICAL
Attorney General Stead Holds All
City Supplies Must be Bought
of Penitentiary.
UNDER THE NEW STATE LAW
Townships, Counties, Villages and
School Districts are Likewise
Affected.

In letter written by C. NJ. Tinney,
sales manager of the state board of
prison industries, States Attorney
Scholes of Peoria county has been
notified that Attorney General Stead
has interpreted the law, regarding the
employment of convicts and the pur-
chase of the output of the penitentiary
factories, to mean that all cities, coun-
ties, towns, villages, school districts.
must hereafter purchase their supplies
| from the state penal Institutions. The
letter also calls the attention of the
states attorney to the fact that he will
be expected to enforce any violations
of the law, called to his attention here
after. Mr.. Tinney says;
The board of prison industries di-
| reefs your attention to the provisions
of an act passed by the 43rd general
assembly, entitled, An Act TO regulate
the employment of convicts and pris
oners in the penal and reformatory in
| situations of the state of Illinois. and
providing for the distribution of the
products of their skill and industry
Sections IL and II.
Your attention is particularly di-
rected to sections II and 8 of the law
The concluding portion of section II
says: No articles so manufactured
shall be purchased from any other
source, for the state or pubic insti-
buttons of the state or any political
divisions thereof, unless said board of
| prison industries shall certify that the
same cannot be furnished upon such
requisition, and no claim therefor shall
be audited or paid without such certi-
ficate'
Attorney General Stead holds with
ex-Attorney General Hamlin that the
term political division includes cities,
villages, towns, counties and school
districts
May he Enforced. $3.50
He also holds that under section If.
no articles manufactured by the pris-
ons of the state can be legally bought
| from any other source by the public
| Institutions or political divisions of the
state, unless the board shall certify
that the same cannot be furnished on
! the requisition which the law pre-
scribes may be made therefor. The
penalties of section &c may be enforced
for the violation of section IA. and it
is the duty of the states attorney of
and county in which such violation &C
ours. to enforce it,
What They Manufacture.
Accompanying the letter is a list
of the articles manufactured in the
state penal institutions as follows
Furniture, desks of all kinds, teachers
desks and tables. pupils desks, draw
ing tables. bIackboards, map racks,
bookcases and stools, manual training
school tables and manual training
| equipments and school furniture of all
kinds. sash doors and interior finish
! for public buildings, election booths,
| tables, boxes, and marker pads, boots,
shoes and slippers, brooms of various
kinds. barrels. pals and camp equip
page. iron and steel mattings, wire
screens, iron park ratings and fences,
woven wire bed springs, iron beds and
hospital material, registers, radiators
and ventilators, sewer covers and in
lets. CRATE bars, slice bars, pokers.
etc. for furnace rooms. wagon and
/
utensils. hardware, hosiery and cloth
ing of all kinds, brick. cut stone and
macadam. and all kinds of printing
for state officials and institutions.
VIII Have Far-ReachinE Effect.
If the opinion of the attorney general
holds good it will mean that all sup
plies for city, county and township
must hereafter be purchased from the
state penitentiaries. This means also
that merchants will lose thousands OF
dollars annually in supplies that have
hitherto been purchased from them.
While he was in Office, Mr. Hamlin.
as attorney general. wrote an opinion,
which SAYS: The political divisions
of the state include cities. villages.
town. counties and school districts.
He also says that it includes road and
! bridge districts. which would mean
that highway commissioners must buy
their supplies from the same place.
Section IL.
Section 10 says: ION or before the
1st of October each year. the proper
loficiaIs in the state and in political
divisions thereof. shall report to the
said board of prison industries of Hi
] nois. estimates for the ensuing yea
lof the amount of supplies required TO
be purchased by them that can be fur
nished by the penal institutions of the
state. The said board of prison indus
tries of Illinois is authorized to make
regulations for said reports, TO provide
for the manner in which acquisitions
shall be made for supplies. and to pro-
vide for the proper diversification of
] IL. s-.a,ts.rias Of sid ranaI inetirIi-