Personal and Confidential.

February 18th, 1920.

Mr. H. B. Varner,
Chairman State Prison Board,
Lexington, N.C.

My dear Mr. Varner:-

I am in receipt of the copy of your letter which you wrote to the Hickory Chair Manufacturing Company on Feb. 17th. Inasmuch as you sent me a copy of this letter I take it that you desire an expression of opinion from me on the subject matter of the letter.

I have given to the question of establishing a small plant for manufacturing paper chairs in the State Prison very serious consideration, and I have reached the conclusion that it would be a very grave blunder to do so. This conclusion is based upon several considerations:-

1. I think that there is real ground for the contention of the manufacturers of chairs in North Carolina that they ought not to be put in competition with convict labor. Of course, if the State Prison of North Carolina should be the only prison that engaged in this work its output would probably not affect the market, but suppose every state prison in all the forty-eight states should go into this business you can at once see that this might be a serious menace to people who are engaged in manufacturing chairs with hired labor.

2. To establish such a plan would be to invite the opposition of the State Federation of Labor which strongly protests against any action of this kind. The manufacturers might be willing to overlook the matter, but the people who work in the furniture factories of the State would deeply resent it. I am satisfied that any such action on our part would arouse the hostility of the entire State Federation of Labor.

3. In the presence of a real doubt about the matter I think that we ought to pay some attention to political considerations. Such an action on our part at this time would have a most unfortunate effect on the political situation in the 7th, 8th, 9th,10th, and 5th Congressional Districts. The people are in a very excited, nervous condition. They are rather looking for something to knock, and I think it would be a grave political blunder to give L. L. Jenkins a stick of this kind to use on the head of Zeb Weaver.

4. I have the utmost confidence in the sound business judgment and patriotism of every member of our Board. I appointed you because of this confidence, and my association with you during three years has steadily strengthened my confidence in you. But all of us must realize that we have been doing some things that would bring on a certain amount of criticism. I was in favor of doing them although I knew that criticism would follow. I knew we would be criticized for selling the State Farm. I knew we would be criticized for purchasing the farm near Raleigh. I knew we would be criticized for letting Mr. Jewell have some convicts, but despite this knowledge I most heartily endorse everything that the Board has done in these respects, and stand ready to defend this action any time, anywhere. But these things make the present time a most unfortunate one to bring on any more criticism, and I do not think we ought to take action that I am sure would invite a storm of criticism from every furniture manufacturer in the state when there is a doubt in our minds as to the ultimate wisdom and justice of our course.

In view of all these facts and circumstances I very earnestly ask the Board not to consider further the proposition to make chairs in the State Prison.

Very truly yours,

[unsigned]

TWB-HC

Same letter to
W. M. Sanders. Southfield
Frank Gough Lumberton.
B. F. Shelton Speed.
A. E. Smith Mt Airy.