The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-11-26

TIE DATES
Of the receipt of the convlcts by the persons
employing them. The COlletun Phosphate
Company received theirs. August b, 1870; the
September 10Th, 1877, 50 on May 3D.. 1875,
40 ON the 5th December, 1878, 10 on April
Sth, 1870. and y ut another time: the Edge
field Railroad 81 on August 18th. 1878, IL
Barnwell and Blackville Railroad 3G within
the last five months; the Air Line Rallroad5l
OH the 18th July. 1879: Thomson q Lyman
II on the Union Gold Mine 10 on
-; John e, Seesers 81 since January y ~,
ed) l35, about eighteen months ago. During
last summer
were made regarding the treatment Of the
|convicts obtained and employed by the
Greenwood and Augusta Railroad. The
stockades near the savannah River were
~uuently BY Drs. TreZcvant, Taylor and Pope,
Of Columbia, all OF whom made reports to the
Board of Directors OF the Penitentiary gen.
orally adverse TO the existing management of
! the convicts. In consequence of these, DR..
Pope was instructed to visit the place where
the work was In progress, and remove back
to the Pcnitentiary the men unfit for duty.
In pursuance OF this order, On the 10Th Oi
Scptcmbcr, he, with the assistance OF DR.. Il.
J. McKie, selected and took back twcnty.SlX
men, two of whom died before and one short
ly after reaching the Pcnitcntiary. SubSe.
Gucntly all of those In the employment OF
the road were
ORDERED BACK
with the exception Of Il very few, This latter
order the Board of Directors OF the railroad
decided to ignore on the ground that tho con.
victS had been granted them by act OF the
Legislature, and could only be taken AWAY by
that body. This Is an outline OF the facts OF
the general hiring out Of the convicts, and
the dispute between the Greenwood and Au.
gusta Railroad and the Loard Of Directors OF
the Penitentiary. My instructions were to
investigate the working OF the entire system
of the leasing of convicts, and lay the result
before the public in the Ncws md Courier.
Inquiry showed, however, that
ALMOST THE ONLY SERIOUS COMPLAINT
has been against the Greenwood and Augusta
Railroad, and / have devoted nearly my ell.
tire attention to that particular point. No
one one, but those i"n o wh1 nhHe e fHc dimcaiIv In o s@ nh
talnipg truthful statements regarding tho
merits of disputes OF this nature. People
take sides us their Interest or impulse die.
tate, and see transactions only from their
own respective standpoints. The difficulty Is
enhanced by the high character Of the dis
putantS. When two men,, neither OF whom
can be suspected Of intentional falsehood,
make Numerically different statements re-
garding the same thing. there is little clue ia
the real truth. The only way out OF the diff
ticulty Is to give
TIE C~NDISPCTED FACTS
on the one side and the other, AS already
stated, the Greenwood and Augusta Railroad
cccived
THE FIRST LOT
OF one hundr convictS on the Goth Septem.
Der, 1877. From that date the men were kept
steadily at work, quartcrcd in Il stockade
built for them near Green wood, on the Green.
| yttIo md l,olpnhiu RnilrDnl q Sbnrt ITSto pca
below NInety-SiX. This stockadc was built
on the model of those subsequently erected,
which will be described hereafter. Capt. c.
c. Cahill took charge In October. Fifteen OF
the prisoners had escaped previously. Up to
the LIST January. 1873, q period of three months
only one convict died. On the LIST Of Febru-
airy, 1878. the quarters were removed to Gen.
Bradley's place, several miles away from the
former one. From the lSt of January to the
lst Of March some cighty-four tonvicts re-
naming, none died, the new stockade, SINH.
lar to the former one, having been occupied
during q month OF the time. During, March
the deaths were two. During April they In.
creased to three. This left on the Sd of May,
1878, somewhere about scventy-flvc convicts,
some having probably been lost.from various
c fuses, such as discharges, escapes and par.
dOns. On that date
AN ADDITIONAL FIFTY CoNYICTs
were received. In May : died, in June and
In JULY. On the 9th of July the stockade
was again removed several miles nearer to
Augusta, near Dorn's Gold Mine. on Mr.. Pat
terSon's place. This stockade was no larger,
50 far as | could ascertain, than the former
ones. 1t was occupied from July o, 1878, to
the 18th OF April, 1879, and the deaths during
that period were, in August 10. in September
Q, in October ! in November ., In December
3, in January 5, In February 2and In march
a. On the 9Th of December, 1878, 40 additional
men were received. On the lst of April the
camp was removed TO u point very near the
Savannah River. the other terminu of the
Greenwood and Augusta Railroad in this
State. and In April 10 moro men were recciv-
ed, and