The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-10-08
Rirh'> Rail Road Revelations.

INV 'AN a
~convcrsant with Ill the facts in reference
to the treatment OF the convictS. Aitcl
SOME preliminary rrmarii$, VIC asked
him to naMca statement concerning tho
~couviclS now Il: work on the Greenwood
and Augusta Railroad, to which lac re-
piled:
"Wc,i: ! do not know what ini0rma-
ton Won desire. ] will answcraly lucs-
ticu You may ask
Quc>tion-I presume, Mr.. Rich, that
Won have seen the comments OF TIC
urwS;arrrS in reference to the treatment
of ti,,. convictS now ut work on The
Greenwood and Augusta Railroad.
An>wlr---IcS; l have seen what the
N,yrs um} TuVricr and the Register have
said, and ! pronounce their statements
in the main untrue.
q. In what particular arc they incor-
rect?
\. refer particularly to the incorrect.
ness Of the report in connection with INC
statement that some Twenty-Five or thlr-
iv prisoners We're returned to the pciIi'
.cntiarv last week. None Of them were
blind or Spccchlc>S when the. left camp
hui three Of them were i'll i PROSTATE
condition from general debility. the
authorities of the road objected L" the
. sending of these three back to the penn
Tertiary from the fact that they Thought
they were unable to make the trip.
! O. When did YOU receive the last lo'
OF prisoners? :,
\, About the first of last April.
q. What was their condition?
.l Nf,,- Of tlnI1 J"n IE
broken down, diseased and totally UNI
for service. Ont OF tic ScNciftF-lN'
hands received at that time there were moi
more than twenty-five GOOD ilall1S. ON
crs did some work, whito 4 very consid-
rrablc numbe: did no work at ALL
among this lot who cid lis no good was
! Nct:,rycv. We didn't want him back.
Tho Eoarl of directors had done all tlicy
could to Get him pardoncd. lie never
worked, and finally died of GrIel.
O. ABOUT how many did nc work? -,
i. Twelve or fifteen OF the last lou qua
no service at all. They never pretended
10 work, and about twenty-five OTHERS
! have never earned their food.
O, Who excused these men from ser
vice: you. or the physician? ~.
4. ! did it myself. 1t was plain thai
many of them were unable to work. 1t
I.t'iilN w '''''''
| wasn't in them. ,
@. Did the convicts have sufficient
medical treatment, and proper nursing
when sick
\. Yes: DR.. Thos. J. Mackcc, ono OF
tl,c best physicians of EdgcIicld County,
an old army surgeon in the Confederate
service, visited tho stockadc during
April, Nav and June. Since then the
s;ncLade was moved. DR.. Mcrriwcthcr,
IN excellent physician, now has charge
OF the sick. lie visits them twice i day.
The sick are waited OF by the conra-
descent convicts. We have plenty Of
medicines. They are administered by
a white man, whose duty it is to give q
general supervision to the sick.
- q. With what diseases arc tho conrlcts
moro generally effected?
4. Except tho chronic cases, there were
moro cases Of diarrhCa and scurvy than
ANYTHING else. There were i few cases
of fever. The Scurvy was produced dur
ing the extreme dry weather, when 1t
WAS inpossiblc to secure vegetables. We
were compelled to feed principally on
dry peas, bacon, bread and molasscS.
O.. Is 1t true that hundred and
twcn,v-ivc oat of two hundred have
died? :,
\, No. sir. I can not however from
memory give the exact mortality. 1T
was very great, though.
Q. How do you account for that great
mortality?
A. In consequence Of SO many discas-
cd hands having .rcn sent 10 us from the
ncnitcntiary instead of healthy and able
bodied men. Some of the best workers
now on the road arc of the first lot, who
were strong and healthy when they cane
to us, and have done work continuously
from that time to the present.
q. Why did YOU not at once return the
diseased hands to the pcnitchtiary? ,
4. Because the State authorities had
notified us that they would not receive
them back or exchange them?
O, 1t seems, however, Mr.. Rich, that
YOU have just sent back a number.
How is this?
A. 1t is true that We have just sen:
back Il lot Of our sick. The State author
tiles made 4 special order in this instance,
which order had long been desired by the
Railroad authorities.
@. What is the present physical condi-
ton of the convicts?
A. Very good. We have now only
about fifty, all of whom are doing work
on the road. with a few exceptions. Three
or four arc doing duty in camp, cooking,
cleaning up. &c. We have no sick now.
Two in the ward are complaining, but
they are about able for duty.
9. Have the State authorities visited
the s,ockadc, and il so, how often
A. They have been there four times.
Colonel Parmcle was there i'll August,
1873; Col. r. J. Lipscomb i'll August,
1879; DR.. NrcZcvant anne 4 few days
later. lie came, it is said at the sugges-
ton of Colonel LipScomb. DIR. Pope
canc in September last. These are the
only visits which VIC have received from
any State officials since we commenced
work. Colonel Parmclo expressed him
self as we'll satisfied. He gave us great
praise for cleanliness, prison manage
mcnt, and the condition OF the hands, AL
though the mortality was nearly as great
ut that time rs il has been at any time
since, The other visitors made no OK
preston in my hearing.
Q. How arc the prisoners confined at
night?
4. They are kept by shackle chains at
taciled to long chain running the whole
length of the sIockade. They sleep on Il
platform covered with straw, and have
blankets. The sores of which the ncwS-
papers are making so much complain:
are confined exclusively to the scr0iulous
or diseased men. There is moi Il man
now in the Stockado with sore legs. In
fact, there is not Il sore anywhere on any
Of them, although it is alleged that We
beat them so badly. We have Il company
of as fat and sleek skinned negroes as can
be found in Abbcvi!lc County. They
work hard and do so c~hccrfully, and look
better and healthier than the negroes Go
on the streets Of .Abbevillc. The Railroad
Company is ready and anxious to be i'll
vestigatrd at any and al Times.
q. Have many convicts escaped lately?
a. No, sir; they very seldom attempt
to escape now. Our system OF guarding
them is so complete, that they cannot cS-
cape. Seven or eight have been killed in
their attempts to escape Since we com
is o than amy other guardslnan has
killed.
@. What arc the prospects for finishing
the Railroad?
! i. We are bound to finish it. We dom
intend to stop until it is finished. The
State authorities have promised 10 in
crease the number Of our cOnvicts TO one
hundred in December. We have abouI
thirteen miles to finish. The hcavics'
work has been completed. The piers o
the bridge arc now being built. Three
piers arc finished.
A: this. poiat Mr.. Rich begged to be OK
cuscd, as he had business elsewhere, ant
left Us.
The Bond Decision.
We bavc devoted much of our space t
the decision of the Supreme Court o
the State in the Boud case. We hop,