Letter to the Alabama Legislature from William E. Fort, chairman of the Statewide Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System.
In the letter, Fort asks that a date be set for the end of the convict lease system during the current gubernatorial administration. (The legislature had set a date just after the next governor would take office, which some feared would result in an indefinite delay.) Fort stresses that the Committe...
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Alabama Department of Archives and History
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| Online Access: | http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/12341 |
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Electronic |
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Alabama Textual Materials Collection |
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Alabama Department of Archives and History |
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Alabama Department of Archives and History |
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Alabama documents |
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Alabama documents Letter to the Alabama Legislature from William E. Fort, chairman of the Statewide Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System. |
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Alabama documents Fort, William E. (William Edwards), 1875-1942; State Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System (Birmingham, Ala.); Alabama--Politics and government--1865-1950; Convict labor--Alabama; Prison reformers--Alabama; Prisoners--Alabama; Prohibition |
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In the letter, Fort asks that a date be set for the end of the convict lease system during the current gubernatorial administration. (The legislature had set a date just after the next governor would take office, which some feared would result in an indefinite delay.) Fort stresses that the Committee is "not even remotely influenced by union labor," and he draws parallels between convict lease and Prohibition in his discussion of the moral and economic aspects: "While we conceive this convict leasing as a moral issue and it is our conviction that no amount of economic pressure would justify the state in committing a wrong and immoral act, nevertheless we understand the loss of revenue to the state thru [sic] abolition of the lease system must be carefully considered. After a great deal of study and consultation with the neighboring States, all of whom have successfully abandoned the system, we unhesitatingly assert that the lease System is in the final analysis both wasteful and costly. You remember in the prohibition fight the opposition claimed that we could not abolish whiskey without a revenue substitute. But we knew whiskey was wrong and cost the State more than the revenue it produced, and so we went ahead and abolished it - and we are much better of than before." |
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Q0000117408Q117408Letter to the Alabama Legislature from William E. Fort, chairman of the Statewide Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System.In the letter, Fort asks that a date be set for the end of the convict lease system during the current gubernatorial administration. (The legislature had set a date just after the next governor would take office, which some feared would result in an indefinite delay.) Fort stresses that the Committee is "not even remotely influenced by union labor," and he draws parallels between convict lease and Prohibition in his discussion of the moral and economic aspects: "While we conceive this convict leasing as a moral issue and it is our conviction that no amount of economic pressure would justify the state in committing a wrong and immoral act, nevertheless we understand the loss of revenue to the state thru [sic] abolition of the lease system must be carefully considered. After a great deal of study and consultation with the neighboring States, all of whom have successfully abandoned the system, we unhesitatingly assert that the lease System is in the final analysis both wasteful and costly. You remember in the prohibition fight the opposition claimed that we could not abolish whiskey without a revenue substitute. But we knew whiskey was wrong and cost the State more than the revenue it produced, and so we went ahead and abolished it - and we are much better of than before."1923 September 101923-09-101920-1929Fort, William E. (William Edwards), 1875-1942; State Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System (Birmingham, Ala.); Alabama--Politics and government--1865-1950; Convict labor--Alabama; Prison reformers--Alabama; Prisoners--Alabama; ProhibitionTextCorrespondenceState Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System (Birmingham, Ala.)State Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System (Birmingham Ala.) recordsSPR380Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130EnglishThis material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.600 PPI TIFFhttp://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/12341 |
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Letter to the Alabama Legislature from William E. Fort, chairman of the Statewide Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System. |
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Letter to the Alabama Legislature from William E. Fort, chairman of the Statewide Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System. |
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http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/12341 |
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ADAHvoices12341 |
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http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/voices/id/12341 |
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1816185821770809344 |