Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-12-02

last clause as your minority man does |
that contract the lessees agree to put u
the east work shops for $4,000 complet,
and agreed to work $50 hands while W
were doing the same-whichwas part {
the consideration of making the buildin
both with the Directors and us. The con
tract says, as also the law fixing the leas
Said Directors are to make such repair
and improvements as may be needed, 4
facilitate and meet the requirements Q
said leSseesy Consequently they could no
charge us for the labor until their i'm
'prOyements were made. Your minorit,
man says we are asking you to abate thi
labor account from Juue %, 81, to Janu
airy, 1868. This your committees wei
know is not true. That is the amour
which your Directors, who were actin!
at thetime the fire occurred, asked you
HOnors to abate-we have never said t
any one that we would accept thu
amount as settlement of the matters il
in controversy, but we have said tC
your committees that if your Honor:
would give us SOC, on the dollar of whaI
we actually lost, we would settle it with
out any controversy. This | am sure will
be fully substantiated by many of your
committee. 1t may be proper, just here
to say word in answer to the circular
of slang and miscellaneous, made by this
same minority man to your Honors, al
your extra session last SamEner. This
thing had no date to il. Your minority
man, in that harangue, says the Iessees
have made off of the State some ST., 600,
actual "gouge money" We can only
say that all the work we did for the
State of Tennessee was done by
Contract with your Directors, and upon
written specifications and the work had
all been completed, received BY your
Directors, and the same reported to your
Honors and the money necessary to pay
for the same appropriated by you, and
the entire matter settled long before this
minority had anything to do with
your prison matters; consequently we
are unable to say whether the circularOf
your minoritysman was intended as a re-
Duke to your Directors or your HonOrs
in allowing the lesees to get this gOuge
money, we have the satisfaction to say to
the public, that the action of the Direc-
tors, sustained, as it was, byyour Honors,
was a full Vindication of our faithful
compliance with our contracts.
1t may be asked, who this minority
mau is -? and how he came to be APP
pointed by the Governor for Director a?
This is exactly what we asked the
Governor, who answered that he did not
know him at ali that his appointment
was made at the request of others, and
was recommended by parties who are
now in this city, and who can explain, nc
doubt, why his appointment was asked,
and what object and motives there was in
his appointment, and as to how faithful
he has been in trying to accomplish that
object; his circular of slang, of last sum-
mer as also his minority report and the
testimony of both sets of Directors with
whom he has acted, bear witness. His
only object was to get rid of Ward and
Briggs, that other parties might be
served. He says in his minority report,
many Of these hands can be worked to
an advantage on railroads; he does not
ask you to allow US to so work them.
We would be greatly obliged to your
HOnors for such privilege. As to who
this minority.man is, we can on y say he
is from Ohio, and came to this State in
the capacity of one of those incubl
known to army men by the name of suit
lers, which means man who sells paper
collars and mean whisky to the soldiers
and is supposed to be sharp enough
to win the soldiers money after making
them drunk. Again last spring, and just
after we had finished putting up our
machinery a second time, your HonOrs
passed resolution asking or requesting
Governor Brownlow to turn out Of the
penitentiary 353 of the cOnyiets, anC
those to be turned out-and we Onl y say
what can be proven when we say that IN
that general pardOning nearly every me-
chanic or man who was valuable to u:
was released We have n number Of aih
davits on this subject which do not rehec
much credit upon the Warden then II
authority, Mr.. McElwee This minority
man, had Just been appointed and was
also about all the time counseling and
adyising-great misfortune for the STATE
he was not found soonor-the State
would have no trouble about interest OF
her bonds, nor in regard to any fnancia
matters, had your authorities had the
benefit of the wisdom Of your minority
Director. The contract says the 'LeseeE
agree to hire, and do hereby hire all the
able convicts on hand or that may here
after come into the prison during thei
lease" Now does any sensible man pre-:
tend to say that this was no damage Il
us to take away men we had spent nearl,
two wears in training and give us new
ones or none, and men who know nothing
and was it no infringement upon oui
contract Would any set of men VIII
have any sense, come to your State anc
expend an amount of money necessar.
to put up machinery, buy msterial neces
sary to carry On business of such mag
nitude as is necessary to conduct you
penitentiary, with the chances G
hands all being turned out any day an
their entire capital and outlay lett use
less2 Certainly not We ask you
Honors to think of these matters and as
yourselves how you would like such n
arrangement were you in our place. A
we ask in the matter is justice. We re
ceiyed a note from your Directors, Oh
and Robinson in October last, saying
1--WE would consider it formal deman
| for a settlement of the quarter endin
| October Ist, 1868" We answered, say
ing we were "ready to settle whenever
suited their convenience to call at GU
ofics, and if, upon settlement OF account
it was found we owed the State, we wei
ready to pay, and ON the other hand If
should turn out thev owed US we hope
they would be able to do likewise. "
have heard nothing farther in regard
settlement. If this is failing, and retus
ing, your minorityNman is right IN say
ing we refuse. We are still ready, YOr
minority -man undertakes to give yC
some figures in regard to your priso
showing amounts appropriated since Il
10Th of May, 1866, to November Il
| 1868, and needed to pay off indebtedness
| The lease, as has been stated to 20
Honors, was made August, 1866, SIN
which time there has been appropriate
to the penitentiary as follows:
March 8, 1867, 5000
November 10, 1867, $500
March l3, 1868, 55,OC
Making, total, $146,O(
Out ofthe above amour the first Dir
tors under the lease report to your Hon.
that they paid old debts, which had
, erued before the lease, S5O,OO0 wh
, leaves $4,000 properly charged
to the present system and mana
! ment. Of this amount there has b.
t about 500 900 expended for new bui
t ings. of which your minority man ma