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Show OPPOSED TO CONVICT The agitation started in Salt Lake City 'by the Salt T..ako Federation of Labor and the Socialist party, against the use of convict labor upon tho public roads and al the State Fair grounds Is to be taken up by the Trades & Labor Absembly and tho Socialist local-1 of this city. Labor and Socialist leaders of this city say that, unless- some attention is paid to the protest now being made by organized labor, a boycott of the Utah" State fair may be effected at the state convention of organized labor la-bor in Ogden in September. The protest which baa been started in Salt Lake City is against the use of convicts on state work at a time the Socialists claim, thousands of men in the state' are vainly seeking employment, Officers of Iho labor unions of Salt Lake City estimate that at the present time more than two thousand men are out of work in that city who are willing and able to work. The protest of the Salt Lake labor unions began afbout ten days ago when a gang of state convicts were taken to the stnte fair grounds and put to work repairing the buildings and the grounds. A committee, appointed by the Federation of Iahor and 'the Socialist So-cialist organization, galled upon Governor Gov-ernor William Spry last week and made a formal protest against tne action ac-tion of the stale. Tho commlttoc claimed that In giving the work to prison labor an injustice wafe done to free labor and that the state should ta.kc some steps to relieving the present pres-ent distress of the working class in Salt lAike Governor Snry told 'the committee that the appropriation had been madj by tile state for the improvement work-which work-which the convicts were doing and for this roason It would be impossible to employ free labor to make tho improvements. im-provements. ' The executive pleaded that it was merely a matter of economy econo-my on the part of the staloj that It vas deemed expedient to make use of the convicts In building roads and i7..iking imnrovonients because It wa3 cheaper. The appropriations made for the work, he said, were not largo enough to employ fr'eo labor. Tho governor's aftltud'c;"jvas not a satisfactory ,ori,b f4 the . qqmml'ttee, The fact was attested' by the protest meeting held Sunday In Liberty park whon the governor and the state authorities au-thorities in general were severely criticised try a number of speakers, . who contended that It was the duty I II III I T"l TT of the state to assist In securing employment em-ployment to the many men who are without jobs. Speaking of the action taken, by the labor unions of Salt Lake city, William H Gerrard. president of the Ogden Trades and Labor assembly, said this morning that he most heartily ap- proved of It. "Organized labor is at all times.op-posed times.op-posed to convict labor." said President Presi-dent Gerrard. "While the matter has not yet been taken up by the Ogden Trades assembly, It will be discussed at our meeting and some action will most likely be taken to aid tho Salt Lake organizations In their fight against Che use of prisoners on public pub-lic works. When honest men are out of work all over the state it is not right that convicts should be used to ' perform necessary work. Convict labor, la-bor, by taking away the work needed by honest men, makes more convicts. Al the preseni time men who are out of work are arrested as vagrants and put to work by the city breaking stone 'to build roads because it is cheaper than to give them Jobs as free men When a man's arrosted a few times for begging because he can't get work, you make a criminal out of him. If a man has no employment he has to either steal or beg. If It is a crime to beg, he might just as well steal and besides it's more profitable When the state finally takes him In charge it uses him to make more criminals crim-inals by taking away moro men's Jobs. "That's why we1 are opposed to con vict labor We don't want free labor to hav3 to compete with it There can be little doubt that the labor organizations or-ganizations of this city will1 Indorse thewactlon of Salt LaJe and that an offoFl will be made by the unions ail over the state to stop the use of convict con-vict labor on public works The matter mat-ter will most likely be fully thrashed oiit at the state convention In September." Septem-ber." oo |