Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-11-04
pROIFSTACAINST
An AMENDMENT
1OCONS1ITUT|ON
Strong Objections Raised to
the Proposed System of
Leasing Convict Labor to
Contractors.

the amendment to be voted upon To-
morrow by electors in this state pro-
viding for convict labor, the Ada coun-
ty members of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union. at a joint meeting
at the home OF Mrs. Margaret Rose.
drafted and adopted a resolution plain
ly showing their opposition to the
amendment as proposed.
y The resolution Is as follows:
1--WE, the members Of the w. c. T.
u. most vigorously protest against the
amendment Of the constitution in re-
gard to convict labor in our penal In
stitution and we hope every citizen in
terested In the welfare Of humanity
will vote against this injustice to the
unfortunate wards Of our state and also
as a protection against laboring men
who are endeavoring honestly to pro-
vide for their families.
Should Be inter- related.
ut is wrong for both state and con-
vict to have them kept In idleness and
we favor and recommend all public in
situations should be inter-related. The
inmates of the penitentiary should
manufacture things that are used in
other state institutions. In the Juvenile
reformatories there should be raised
vegetables. fruit, ETC., which could be
evapcrated or canned for all the insti-
tutions.
None of the things manufactured in
state institutions should be on the mar
ket for sale. We do not believe the
public should expect institutions to put
on what is called a paying basis
That is evading a duty that society is
organized for.
Prison slave labor should not be
made profitable for individual or cor
poration, and We will vote against it
BECAUSE we think free labor should not
have to compete with convict slave
labor, believing that the convict's wife
or mother should have whatever profit
his necessary labor creates"
What Prison Writer Thinks.
The members of the order will vote
almost solid against the proposed
amendment The question is raised,
Why cannot states properly handle the
evils arising from unfair competition
Of convict made goods? by a well
known prison writer, William Phillips
who says, in explanations:
First because the crazy quilt legis-
lation of separate states does not end
the evil itself. Suppose two neighbor-
ing states permit the sale of prison.
made goods on the open market by con-
vict labor contractors, and suppose one
of them passes a law abolishing the
contract system and executes 1t and
the other does not? The contractors
will ship goods from the former to the
latter state and the injury of employ
ers and employees in free plants goes
on, for the demand for the under
priced convict made commodities Is
always greater than the supply.
Consider next the business aspect OF
leaving this problem to the states.
When one state passes a good law
against the exploitation of convicts by
private interests, the manufacturers IN
that state are still obliged to COM
pete with the prison-labo contrac-
tors IN the state that continues to sell
its history and elect the governor in
the labor Of it's criminals to private
manufacturers at bargain counter
rates. The market for the product OF
both states is common and nation
wide. Convict labor is cheap; that Is
why 1t is SO eagerly sought. And the
product of this cheap prison labor
completes with the product of higher
paid free labor; thus the business man
Of a state where good laws exist and
are well executed must carry an un-
just business burden.
Even If some states do rightly pre-
vent the exploitation of convicts by
private interests and the lowering OF
the standard of living Of their wage
earners by convict competition and
other states do not prevent these in
justices, still the nation at large Is
injured vitality, for IL the convict dur
ing his Incarceration is exploited In
stead of being reformed he re-enters
society on his release, no more useful
a member OF society than when he
was imprisoned. The lowering Of the
standard Of living of groups Of wage
earners Is an evil fact not only by the
state in which they live, but through
the country.
More than this. the haphazard ef-
forts of separate states to end the un-
fair competition of convict labor are
an economic wrong to labor through
out the whole land; for convict-made
products anywhere lower the mark e,
price of free made products every
where. II contractor in one state
can make goods by cheap convict labor
and sell those cheap convict made
goods in common market with the
business man who must employ free
labor to make the same goods. the lat.
ter business man must reduce the
wages he pays to free labor to com.
pete with the prison labor. contractor
This Is proved by the experience Of
New York, which In 1897 put an enc
to the contract system in its penal IN.
stitution. but 1t is still flooded w,tl
the convict-made goods from othel
states. 1t is for this reason thai
Theodore Roosevelt when governor, II
gone Of his messages to the legislature
said: ''Under the present laws non,
Of the products of our own prisoners
Care put upon the market to compel,
with the products OF free labor, bu
sths products of convicts of othel
states and countries are brought intt
this state and are in competition with
Vthe products of free labor. AS und.,l
Athe decisions Of the courts the state |.
72nOwerless to nrevent this 4 IN IN III