The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1909-05-15


Hates. Lincoln. Nebr. Dear Sir and
Brother; Acknowledging receipt of
your favor of May LIST. l can assure
YOU that your letter contained very
pleasing information. and trust that
the position taken by the Governor
is a correct one, and fair to free la
Dor. whether organized or unorgan-
ized.
The letting of convict labor on
shirts and overalls has decreased the
prices of making these garments, of
which 90 per cent are made by wom-
en-. You can. therefore, realize what
injury has been done to the women
of our country by prison labor. The
Governor of Nebraska will be COM
mended very highly for the position
he takes in this matter.
/ desire to thank the Central Body
of Lincoln. Nebraska, for their prompt
action in the matter of letting of
the labor of convicts for the making
of shirts and overalls. and trust that
the Governors position will be up
held by the other four or five mem
bers of the Board. which II see by
the wageworkerl were not present
when the Governor decided that the
labor of the convicts should not be
let TO make shirts and overalls, and
| trust that the c. l.. U. of Lincoln
and other organizations will keep up
their agitations. making it their busi-
ness TO see the other members who
were not present. and induce them to
coincide with the Governor in his
views
We are making strenuous efforts
throughout the United States to have
the making of garments taken from
the various prisons, In Illinois. it has
cost Us = great deal of money. and
we have by no means yet reached
any agreement with the Prison Board
and the Governor of that state. The
scsioa OF the Governor of Nebraska
is highly eommeniable. and l trust
1t will be copied by the governors of
the various other states where this
class OF work is done. But our work
will rot cease when the garments
are taken from the penitentiaries.
There are several other crafts that
that suffering equally as much as
the Garment Workers are. from the
fact that their goods are also made
in the penitentiary. I believe that
there are roads in Nebraska that will
not be made for the next two hun
drei years 10 come. if they are made
then. and l believe that the labor of
the eoavIets should be used on the
muddy roads of the various states
TO put them in good condition for
travelling. This you'd not interfere
very materially with free labor and
would be a great benefit TO the eoun-
try. In fact, there are some parts
of the country where the condition of
the farmers is not very prosperous
oae. and they cannot afford to have
good roads. and If the convicts were
set al breaking stones and rocks to
make these roads, il would be of in
essiEaaole value. not only to the farm
this proposition could not be carried
then the next best thing. in my
opinion. would be the framing of s
law the same as il is in the state
s>s ~ Nr-A- urha~Sa 81, r,,~SDfS man
ufSeture for the state institutions al
their snppliess and if the supplies
cannot BE made by the convicts, then
Of course, they are purchased on tbs
outside. but in most cases all of ths
supplies are made by the convietS and
in this way il does not iniure tbs
waseSoFker by making an article
that sells for less than one-half o
that AZ which free labor can proiuc,
il, The year of the panic the Stir
lins-Relianee Company made a ne
profit of $500. .oe0 on convict labor an'
sold ese soodS so cheap that not les
than a doEea shirt factories in tn
state of Pennsylvania were compelled
to close. thus throwing out of en-
pioynaent from forty TO FIVE hundre'
girls in every factory. You can read
lily see what injustice it works in tn
garment working industry to the en-
ployes,
am sending you by express pre-
paid. loe posters. showing the ticket
thar are sewed on garments made il
the various penitentiaries. OF cours
these fac SMILES are only few, bu
no doubt. the garments are sold i
Lincoln. Nehr.. as they are in almos
every city of the United States. Ais
ESQ court plaster cases for distribr
4. ,h.ars q