Denver labor bulletin., 1917-12-01


ment of convict labor on railroads and
in other industries, Deputy State La
Dor Commissioner W. L. Morrissey
has written a letter to Governor Ju-
Illus c. Gunter giving this opinion
based upon a painstaking investiga-
tion of the labor situation in this
state. The commissioner points out
that there are 900 more unemployed
laborers in Denver today than a month
ago. He holds that convicts should
not be taken from the penal institu-
tions and given work in competition
with free laborers until it develops
that men in sufficient numbers can
not be obtained from the unemployed
to man the jobs.
Recently Commissioner Morrissey
was called into a conference with the
Governors War Council at which il
was urged that conYicts be released to
supply a demand for railroad men.
Later at a meeting of the State Board
of Pardons it was voted that prison
ers who had good records be given an
opportunity to perform regular work
for the railroads.
All these propositions are covered
in detail in Commissioner Morrissey's
letter TO the governor, which is as
follows:
non. JULIUS I. bunleF, IONefuOT OF
Colorado, State Capitol, Denver,
Colo.
Ny dear Observation-Disclosures our
recent discussion of labor conditions
in Colorado, and especially with ref
erence to the advisability of employ
ing convicts upon railroads. made
painstaking study Of the situation and
beg leave to submit the following
facts:
L'irst-Thcre is no shortage Of labor
in Colorado at the present time which
justifies employment Of prison labor
upon railroad construction work as
contemplated by officials Of a Colo
rado railroad. This is particularly
true Of unskilled labor
Before the state permits inmates Of
the pcnitentiary TO be employed as
railroad builders and in transporta-
tinn service, the free employment bu-
reaus under the supervision Of the
state labor department, should be
given an opportunity to supply all of
the workers required to construct the
roads and to man the trains, the rail-
roads furnishing the approximate
number of men needed and the max
imum wages to be paid.
In case il develops that men in suf-
ficient numbers cannot be secured
from the ranks of the unemployed
then and not until then. should convict
labor be called upon to fill the gaps
and tide over the emergency period as
means Of helping the nation increase
its transportation facilities and there
by win the war.
Second-fhe above suggestions ap-
pear to this department to be peril
nent because there has been a rapid
and radical change in conditions since
our interview on the subject of labor
and its bearing upon the employment
of convicts. At the time of our dis
cussion / was of the opinion that no
harm could be done by placing prison
inmates in construction camps and on
the trains for the very good reason
that thirty days ago there was AN adj
mitted shortage of laborers of nearly
all classes.
Instead of a shortage there is now
n surplus of labor, with the exception
perhaps, of men in the train service
Even though the railroads should de-
eide to guarantee that convict labor
would be paid the prevailing rate of
wages and worked under the usual
conditions incident to construction
clm7c - comll,ions ColoInd" labor
would have insisted upon regardless
Of the scarcity of help-there is no
occasion to use prison labor.
Our state free employment bureaus
are now overrun with working men
who are out of employment Scores
Of them would be more than glad to
obtain work in construction camps of
railroads, and in all fairness they
should be given the opportunity to
bid for jobs ahead Of the labor of stats
couvicts For the most part they
are men with families and substantial
citizens. Some Of them state that
they will have to depend on charity
this winter unless they secure work.
The labor department of Colorado
does not believe convicts should be
taken out of prisons and given work
in the face of labor situation which
is not generally known to exist, but
which our Investigations prove TO be
true. For example, cne hundred job
seekers were turned away from the
Denver stock yards in one day. Al
one of our Denver employment offices
IS men applied for work between $3.50
and IL o'clock on November 18th, tho
day the test check was made, OF
these 80 were married. Few of them
were "floaters."
The demand for work has become
so strong that the labor department
has found it necessary to take Frank
c. Cox, superintendent. away from
employment office No. l, and send
him out among the employers of Dem
yer in an effort to secure places for
the scores of men who are seeking
work These applicants. let Il be un.
derstood, are not what are known as
skilled men. neither are they classed
as common laborers.
There are probably n thousand more
laborers out of employment in Den
yer than there were month ago.
This is due to the fact that most of