The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-11-20

us. We have her consent to use the con-
yicts by act of the Legislature, and we
also have her contract in writing through
her officer and agent to the same effect,
and we intend to stand upon our legal
rights, until either the Legislature re-
peals the Act granting US the labor or
until the courts shall order us to surren-
der the convicts.
We are the more resolved on this
course, because medical committee,
consisting of three well-known and skill
full physicians of Edgefield, to wit: Hon.
Fl. A. Shaw, now member Of the Leg
islature, E. NJ. Burkhalter and G. S. Mer
riwether, have this day reported, after
careful investigation, that the health of
our convicts has much improved of late,
and that the whole of them are capable
of performing the ordinary labor required
of the ordinary laborer-except six who
are resting in the yard-not one in the
hospital, and only one death during the
last month, from heart disease, of con-
vict formerly injured on the Edgefield
and Trenton Railroad, whence he was
returned to the penitentiary as worthless,
but was deemed good enough to be sent
to our road. We feel confident that the
narrowing experience we have acquired
will prevent US ever having any more
scurvy among our convicts.
In reference to the grave charges which
have been preferred against either US or
our agents in the public prints, we say
boldly once and for all, that we invite
impartial investigation by the courts or
by committee Of the Legislature. Our
self-respect as men,..to say nothing of our
pride of character as citizens, would have
prevented us from Intentionally wrong
ing or permitting the convicts to be
wronged. Moreover, we have had and
still have deep, direct, personal and
pecuniary interest in treating the con-
victs we'll, so as to get our road COM
pleted. For these reasons a just or gen.
erous man would think the terrible sick
ness and mortality among them had suf-
ficiently distressed our feelings and en-
barrassed our enterprise, without also
making US the recipients of wholesale
and undeserved abuse.
More convicts died in the penitentiary
last year than died on the Greenwood
and Augusta Railroad, and about as
many died in the penitentiary last year
as have died on our road. We have also
been reliably informed that the general
symptoms of the disease which has
proven so fatal to the convicts on both
the railroad and in the penitentiary du-
ring the two last years have been identi-
cally the same-general debility, erup-
tions and dropsies of the lower extremi-
ties, alternating with chronic diarrhea,
which are attendant symptoms of scurvy,
according to all the medical books.
Now, as the health of the convicts in
the penitentiary this year has been ex-
ceptionally good, and as the health of
our convicts has been wretched, especial
ly that of the last lot of seventy-fve we
received without medical examination in
April last, the public can draw its own
inference as to how the mortality ceased
SO suddenly in the penitentiary and why
it broke out so alarmingly on our road
Immediately afterwards.
When so many convicts died in the
penitentiary last year, no clamor was
raised in any quarter concerning it, but
when only about the same number have
died this year on our road, and died. too,
of diseases contracted in all probability
to a large extent in the penitentiary, or
in the jails, before being sent to US, a
great hue and cry is heard all over the
land.
Our company got its first hundred con-
yicts from the penitentiarv on the Oath
of September, 1877, and as our own sur
geons examined each one before receiv-
ing him, they were for the most part
very healthy lot of laborers, among whom
only six deaths occurred, even when
counting several who were killed for try
ing to escape during the first eight
months that we had them, say up to May,
1873.
But after we obtained second lot of
fifty convicts on the End of May, 1878,
the sickness and mortality among them
soon developed at fearful rate, and
when we got still third batch of forty
more, December the 9th, 1873, the NOR
tality again swelled to an undue proper
ton. However, it is but the simple truth
that when we received the second and
third patches of convicts above mention
toned, Mr.. Parmele, the then Superin-
tendent of the Penitentiary, strenuously
objected to our taking them, because, as
he said, most of them were badly diseased
and would die on our hands. We unfor-
tunately failed to heed his counsel in our
eagerness to get labor of any sort. They
have died, as he predicted they would, in
great numbers, but the last lot of seventy
five received from Superintendent Lips
comb, on the 9TH of April, 1879, have
died at far more appalling rate, consid-
ing the time we have had them, than any
of the other lots.
In August, 1878, Superintendent Par
mele visited our Stockade No. at time
when there was nearly as much sickness
and as many deaths among the convicts
as there were at Stockade No. S in Au
gust, 1879, when Superintendent Lips
comb visited it at our request. Superin-
tendent Parmele highly praised the
general plan of our stockade as we'll as of
our management of the prisoners, both
sick and we'll, saying we were doing q
better part by the convicts in our tempo
rary country quarters than he could do
for them in the permanent quarters of
the penitentiary. Although our Stock
ade No. 5, in its appointments and
discipline, is almost duplicate of Stock
ade No. 8, which elected the warm
encomiums of Superintendent Parmele in
1878, yet Superintendent Lipscomb was
not satisfied with anything he saw at
Stockade No. 5 in 1879.
In submitting this statement of facts to
the public, we claim that if mistakes
have been made they were unintcntional.
2. That convicts have always been well
fed, and generally we'll clothed.
8. That the Sccretary's minutes show
that the Directors have issued every
order and used all due vigilance to. pre-
vent cruelty, hardship or inhumanity.
4. That the mortality was due largely
to previous condition Of convicts, and to
disease beyond the pale of medicine.