The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-04-02
Evidence Placed in Hands OF Con
gressional Labor COMMITTEES
Shows How Prison Toilers Are
Dsed1 to Pile Up Fortunes "a
Detriment Of Free Workers.

Used to Pile Up Fortunes "a
Detriment Of Free Workers.
II WASHINGTON. D. c., April 4 1.. -
Sensational evidence charging that 6
mammoth trust is exploiting prison
labor throughout the land and that
this combination corrupts officials.
degrades convicts, destroys free in-s
dustry and denies a living to thous-
ands OF workingmen and women, has
been laid before the house COMMITTEES
on labor bymanufacturers,s sreformefs
and Representatives OF organized Ia
Dor. ~ ~ s55#ss = s.
fls& In support Of bills which II made
law, would practically aboliAh inter-
state commerce in prison-made goods
the terrible extent and effect Of pris-
on labor were clearly shown by men
and women in all classes of. life and
all parts of the country. s .es sl
Il That Judge Watson of the appel
late court of Indiana, is stockholder
and director in the Reliance Sterling
Manufacturing company, otherwise
known as the prison trust. !" was
charged by A. B. Salant, a shirt man
ufacturer. It was also related that q.
warden in New York has made $1O.-s
900 Commission" in one year for.
selling prison-made goods and that
another 3 in Kentucky was dismissed
for receiving bribes from contractors.
s Controls Penitentiary Output.
This powerful prison trust, accord.
ing to the testimony, controls the
contracts of II nenitentiaries and res.
formatories. 1t pays New Jersey
convicts as low as 26 cents for nine
hours oe labor. 5...ss s3ss
One hundred prisoners, working at
machines, turn out ten million hand:
kerchiefs year which are sold In the
open market at four cents less per
dozen than it costs firms employing
free labor to make the same article.
It was estimated that the output Of
shirts made by convicts yearly is IL
100000. or Is per cent OF the entire
industry zss .sssssst
Rev, J.. Burkart, ex-chaplain OF the
Baltimore city Jail and house of corr
rection, emphatically denied the as-
sertion made by some that convict
industry teaches trades to the pris-
oners and prepares them for work
after being released. He said that
most Of them are employed at making
goods done by women workers out-
side the prison Walls ssg#
He also declared that the contract
ssystem brutal In the extreme, being
tSWOrses than peonage or chatteF slav-
Iery The prisoners. he said. are driv-
en- from early morn until night, leav-
Ing no time to improve them morally.
mentally or physically. ~. 49,
Reduces Free Men to Poverty. {
| Arthur T.. Holder, who with Thoa
F.. Tracy, represented the American
Federation of Labor at the hearing,
gave the following incident In his
| experience as an organizer showing
how convict labor affects free work
ers: .sSs. @5s s
up here, in little place called
Mdioute, in northwestern Pennsyl-
vamia, last summer, went to q large
chair factory, amongst the employees.
I tried to induce those men to form
a local Organization, and those men
told me, with tears collrsing, down
their cheeks. Mr.. Holder. it is OF no
use: we are down and out: we are
simply living upon bread and uno-
lasses; we have to live two families
in a small home. where formerly we
used to have q home Of our own:
our. wages came down to 31.35; from
$1.35 1t came down to $1.25, and from
$1.25 it came down to $1.15, and from
$1.15 it: came down to 81 and Hast
summer we were working for 90
cents day. II. 5st.. 8s
B. a. Larger. secretary Of the Uni
ted Garment Workers OF America
told the committee that convict labor
threatens the livelihood of 10000
women organized in his union. He
said: gE 81 I
In the Trenton penitentiary they
| make corduroy trousers. such as are
made by our best class of firms man.
ufacturing that grade Of goods. and
they ship them complete fors50 cent1
a dozen. Our price on that claA OF
goods is s1.75 a dozen. -
Henry e. Wise. OF Wise Brothers
shirt manufacturers, said that tlle
competition Of penal labor has forced
them to reduce the number OF theil
employees from 5000 women 70 1ee
Rome sTramway Men Strike.
ROME, Italy, April The strife