The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-02-27
Congressional Inquiry Will Be
Made in Southern Labor
Conditions.
EMPLOYERS TO BLAME.
SHOULD NOT USE THE TACTICS
THEY DO IN MAKING EMPLOYEES
WORK OUT DEBTS BY FORCE
IN A CHAIN GANG.

Washington, D. G., Feb. 27.-The in
vestigation of peonage conditions in
the southern states which the house
IS preparing to undertake is likely to
result in some unexpected develop
mcntS.
There are two or three kinds OF peo-
mage in this country. In the hrst
place the laborer who promises to
perform labor at a specified price and
who refuses to do so may be COMPEL
ed to work by force If he is in a lone
" situation where be cannot appeal to
the law.
In many cases labOrcrs are given adj
vances of cash or supplies, and then
seek to run away without making
good These people can often be held
by civil process on the ground that
they are seeking to get out of the Jur-
isdiction of the court to escape liabil-
ity for debt.
In some cases laborers are right in
seeking to escape responsibility under
an atrocious and cruel contract. the
terms of which they did not fairly I'M
derstand, and which frequently the
employer entirely fails to fulfill. In
many cases the laborers are at fault.
Employer Usually to Blame.
In all these instances it is the nat
ural tendency of the employer to COM
pei a man to work out his debt by
force, and this is frequently possible
in the sparsely settled agricultural
districts, particularly in the southern
states. where the demand for labor is
so great that the employer is tempted
10 resort to extraordinary means to
retain what he has.
In all these ordinary peonage cases
the employer is to blame, because he
uses personal force, which he is not
entitled to do, no matter how honest
he may have been in dealing with his
employees.
This is the condition of affairs
which the house of representative
proposes to investigate.
Horrors to be Exposed.
The prosecutions instituted by the
department of Justice have only touch
ed the edge of the real evil, which is,
first, the existence of laws providing
for Imprisonment for debt, and sec
ond, the existence OF a system of chain
gangs, convict camps, and shocking
penitcntiaries. the real horrors of
which never yet have been adequately
painted.
So long as the chain gangs and ter
rible penitentiarieS were filled only by
negro convicts. they We're sustained
cause of the general belief that the
south must deal, in its own way, with
the race question, and that the negro
must be punished for the least infac.
ton OF the law, for which the white
people were not troubled.
The trouble now is that the chain
gang and the old fashioned penitenti
airy have been applied to the white la
borers from Italy, Hungary and other
European countries.
Made Slaves by Law.
There are many such white convicts
in the south today who have commit
ted no crime which would justify a
sentence 10 hard labor.
A majority of them have violated
contracts which they could not read
Some of them have deliberately attem
pied to defraud their employers. Some
OF them have been made victims OF
INSCRIPTIONS labor agents of theiI
own race in New York and other
northern cities.
In some cases the employers have
been guilty of gross deception. and
after securing the services of these
immigrants have treated them in the
most shocking manner. and have utter
~ failed to carry out the promises
made as condition of their employ
ment.
The serious thing which is about tC
confront the house in its investigation
Of peonage is that these white victims
of an unfortunate system are in the
chain gang by process of law.
They are legal slaves, except wher
the laws under which they are convic
led happens to be declared unConsti
tutional. as sometimes happens. They
cannot be reached by any habeas cor
pus proceedings because their trial anC
convictions were entirely regular.