The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1879-12-03

repeats the act granting Us tn
labor or until the courts shall or
der US to surrender the convicts
We are the more resolved or
this course, because a medica
committee, consisting of three
well-known and skilful physicians
of Edgefeld, to wit: Hon. II. A
Shaw, now member Of the Leg
islature, E. NJ. Burkhalter and G.
S. N erriwether, have this day re.
ported, after careful investigation.
that the health of our convicts
has much improved Of late, and
that the whole of them are capa,
Bile of performing the ordinary Ia
Dor required of the ordinary Ia.
borer-except six who are resting g
in the yard-not one in the hos
pital and only one death during
the last month, from heart dis
ease, of convict formerly injured
on the Edgefeld and Trenton
Railroad, whence be was returned
to the Penitentiary as worthless,
but was deemed good enough to
be sent to our road. We feel con-
fdent that the narrowing expert
ence we have acquired will pre-
vent 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 bysa committee Of the
Legislature. Our self-respect as
men, to say nothing, Of our pride
of character as citizens, would
have prevented Us from intention
ally wrongiDg or permitting the
convicts to be Wronged. More
over, We have had and still have a
deep, direct, personal and; pecuni-
ary interest in"tfeating the con
victs we'll, so as to get our road
completed. For these reasons. 9
just or generous man would think
the terrible sickness and mortali-
ty among them had sufficiently
distressed our feelings and mbar-
rassed our enterprise without also
making US the recipients of whole
sale and undeserved abuse. 3. -.
More convicts died in the Peni-
tentiary last year. than died on the
Greenwood and Augusta railroad,
and about as many died in the
Penitentiary this year aa 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 both on the railroad and
in the Penitentiary during the
two ID ears have been identi-
cally the same-general debility,
and dropsies of the low
er extremities, alternating With
chronic diarrhea, which are at
tendant symptoms Of scurvy, ac-
cording to all the medical books.
Now, as the health of the con-
victs in the Penitentiary this year
has been exceptionally good and
as the health of our convicts has
been wretched, especially that of
the last lot Of seventy-iVe we re-
ceived without medical examina-
ton in April last, the public can
draw it's own inference as to how
the mortality ceased so suddenly
u the Peaitentiary and why it
broke out so alarmingly on our
road Immediately afterwards.
When SO many convicts died in
he Penitentiary last year, no
,lamor was: raised in any quarter
concerning it, but when only about
;he same number have died this
year on our road, and died too of
disease contracted in all probabili 1
~ to a large extent in the Peni-
5entiary, or in the jails before be-
:ng sent to us, a great hue and cry
is heard all over the land. 49,,
Our company got it's first hun
ired convicts from the Penitentia-
~ on the 24th ofSeptember, 1877,
and as our own surgeons examined
zach one before receiving him,
they were for the most part very
healthy lot Of laborers, among
whom only six deaths, occurred,
even when counting several who
we're killed for trying to escape
during the first eight months that:
Mor