The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-05-09
Law Proposed by Labor
Union Agitators Condemn.
edin Conference Report.
NEXT MEETING WILL
BE HELD I'm BUFFALO
Address by Woman Lawyer ons
OF Features OF Night Meeting.
Note of Appeal to Federal
Government to I'm
prove Certain
Conditions.
THRoUGHOUT the sessions Of tha
National Conference of Chari.
ties and Correction yesterday

"HRoUGHOUTt the sessions Of .ha
National Conference of Chari.
ties and Correction yesterday
u there was a note OF appeal ia
the Federal governments for tle
relief OF conditions that are seriously
retardng those earnest workers strlv.
ing for the uplift OF humanity, ths
echo last night being an urgent re.
quest to Congress not to pass the law
which. prepared, 1t was charged, by Ia
Dor union agitators. provides that pro.
ducts manufactured in penal and res
form Institutions shall not be allowt
ed to compete with goods made by men
and women upon whom there is no
stain or criminal guilt.
Members of the conference vera
urged to use such influence as they
had upon their representatives in Con.
gress to oppose the measure, on the
the penitentiaries state OF idleness,
which would prove harmful to society.
Give Convicts Square Denl.
The report Of the committee on crimi.
nails, their punishment and reforma.
ton. the general topic of the evening
session. maintained that one-half OF
the reformatory and prison inmates ara
a abnormal and should be imprisoned for
life. Speaking for the committee,
Chairman W. Fl. Whitaker. superin.
tendent of the Indiana reformatory, de-
clared that friendship. love and the
spirit of the square deal.'' IL applied
to these unfortunates, would mean the
salvation of 80 per cent. of their mum.
Der. The brutal handling of convicts
was condemned. the denial of liberty
being cited as the sole punishment that
should rightfully be administered to
felons and youthful offenders.
/ A 4 tt,D ,trY,Hv -
program, an attractive feature was the
address by Mrs. Ellen j. Foster. of the
| Department OF Justice, an authority
on prison conditions. She dealt espe-
cially with the idea that the guard
who, after all, shapes the destiny OF
! the convict. should be selected with
regard to HIS moral fitness.
Mr.. Frank Fl. Nibecker. of Glenn
Mills, Fa., made a brief address.
Buffalo Gets Convention.
Official announcement was made by
Secretary Alexander johnson that the
committee on time and place had Sc
lected Buffalo as the conference city
for 1909 The choice was between Buff
falo. Denver. Oklahoma City and Los
Angeles.
DIR. j. Fl. stolper. OF Oklahoma. ask
ed unanimous consent to offer a rcso-
further effort to have Oklahoma City
named. but there was instant objec-
tion. The conference voted unani-
mously to confirm the committees act.
An incident out of the ordinary oc-
Cured while Mrs. Foster was speak
ing. Aroused by her eloquence. an un,
known man with long White beard
! shouted something by way OF approval,
but 1t was uninteHigible. With the
swiftness of a trained orator, Mrs,
Foster mildly replied that she did not
understand. When she concluded the
stranger who caused the interruption
arose and apologized
The work of the conference will be
concluded on Wednesday night. On
Thursday the members will go to
washington, to be received by Presi-
dent Roosevelt at the White House at
noon. A large number have an
nounced that they will make tho trip.
The Day Meetings.
The establishment by the United
States government of a Public Health
Department and the appointment OF
board of control for the management
of United States prisons We're advos
Gated yesterday at section meetings.
DIR. Walter Lindley, of California
speaking at the public health session.
said that the conference should urge
Congress to provide a proper health
department, even II 1t was necessary
to amend the Constitution. In dis
cussing the discipline and employment
OF United States prisoners, Mr.. Whit
taker maintained that congressional
committee was not qualified to look
after the conduct of penal institutions
members OF which had little personal
knowledge of the work.
Miss Harriet F'ulmer, superintendent
of the Visiting Nurses Association, 5of
Chicago. In an address before the public
health section on THE Relation of Bad
Housing Conditions to the Charity
Worker" said that inferior living quar-
ters came next to intoxication as one
OF the causes Of poverty.
PENSIONS Live Topic.
The special meeting OF the day. de-
voted to statistics, was perhaps the
most interesting. the features being a
paper prepared by Mr., Frederick =.
Hoffman, statlstician OF the Prudential
Life Insurance Company, in which he
attacked the system of old age PEN
sions and the reply OF Mayor George
A. EIlbbard, of Boston, defending ths
plan. Mayor Hibbard said that he
would not discharge the old employees
| of his city who have Worn away theif
health and energy In It's service.
AT this meeting Miss Kate Holiday
claghorn, or the tenement house de-
| partment Of New York, read paper
on use and Misuse, OF Statistics In
| Social Work.
Dealing with the subject OF needy
| families, Mr.. Porter r. Lee, secretary
of the Charity Organization society
of Buffalo, discussed 5''rhe Limitations
OF Charity in Dealing With unempley.
ed He compared the recent WintNr,
with its army OF idle people. with tor
mer years when conditions we're npEe