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

Bradley, and at our own expense
This the superintendent Of the
Penitentiary, Gen. T.J. Lipscomb
admits in his report to the board
of directors, of tho Penitentiary
giving an account, Of his first Wis
it to our stockade on the 21st OF
August last. In that report, which
bears date I'd Of September, 1879,
he says he came to inspect our
convicts, in consequence Of "hav-
ing received a letter from Gen.
P. Fl. Bradley, president of the G.
4 A. r. R., stating that great deal
Of mortality and sickness existed
among the convicts leased to that
company"
The surgeon of the Penitentia-
ry, DR.. Trezevant, never visited
our convicts until the 25th day Of
August, when he was ordered to
do so by Superintendent Lipscomb,
yet both Of these officers, if we are
correctly informed, had been CON-
manded by an order of the board
of directors of the Penitentlary, as
far back as the 22d of April last,
to visit every convict camp in the
State. Why did the superlnten-
dent and surgeon Of the Peniten-
tiary slumber over discharging
this duty so long? They could
not plead ignorance Of the fearful
mortality among our conyicts, be-
cause regularly every month the
superintendent of our road, j.
Cahill, made report to Gen. Lip
scomb of time lost, or worked by
each convict, as we'll as of the list
of the sick or dead since his last
monthly report. The superinten-
dent and surgeon of the Peniten-
tiary ought to be, and doubtless
are, skilled in the best methods to
treat convicts at work on rail
roads, and if either of them had
visited our road in the spring or
early summer bis suggestions
would gladly nave been put into
practice, perhaps, to the benefit Of
the convicts, particularly if it had
been impressed upon US, as it has
been since, that all prisoners long
confined are predisposed to scurvy.
When at last Superintendent Lip
scomb and Surgeon Trezevant did
make reports on our treatment of
convicts, those reports contained
such charges that our company
was sum moned to appear before
the board of directors Of the Pen
itentiary to answer these charges.
On the 18th day of September
our president, vice-president and
superintendent did appear before
the board and made a thorough
showing in written answers and
by numerous certificates of gen
tlemen and ladies near the stock
ade and line of our railroad that
the burden Of the charges were
without foundation. Yet as the
substance Of those charges has
been published in the newspapers,
we respectfully submit that it
would be but fair to publish the
answer to the charges also. Let
all the charges and all the answers
therefore 90 to the world togeth-
or, and we do not fear being ac-
quilted of any intentional guilt
or gross negligence in our treat
ment Of the convicts. Fair play
is a jewel, and both sides ought to
be heard. AS a result Of the in
vestigation by the board Of direc-
ters of the Penitentiary, on the
18th of September it was agreed
by and between the Penitentiary
board and by our board through
its president, Gen. Bradley, that
DR.. Pope, hospital steward Of the
Penitentiary, and DR.. IT,. McKie,
who had been the surgeon in
charge Of railroad stockade No. 4,
should make thorough examina-
tion of all the convicts on our
road, both sick and we'll, and Or
der such of them back to Colum-
bia as they deemed advisable, be-
cause Of being unfit 10 work on
the road, or for better treatment
in the permanent hospital in the
city than our temporary hospital
on the road afforded. Those ply
sicians selected twenty-five con-
victs 20 be thus returned, and they
were promptly returned at the
expense of the company, although
several able-bodied ones were TAX