Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-01
THE STATES CoNvTTS
AND STATE DEVELOPMENT.

The following appears in the Dan
vile Register:
DANvILLE, VA, June 90, 1885.
Judge Waller n. Staples, Christians
burg, Va.:
Ny Dear Sir,-Believing that some
system Of internal improvement is ne
cessary to Virginia, and will greatly
advance the success Of any party adj
vocatiDg such plan of development as
will commend itself to the sense and
interests of the people at large, beg
leave to respectfully submit to you, as
one of the prominent citizens Of the
great Southwest, which will be so en-
riched by development, the following
views on lin my opinion) this vital
question, which have been submitted
to and endorsed by many Of our friends
here and in Richmond.
( 1t occurs to me that the present use
Of the conyicts within the walls is
detrimental to the good Of the State in
various ways. Fer instance, you take
q bad man, send him to the peniten-
tiary, and not only work him in compe-
ttion with the honest mechanic while
there. but teach him trade and send
him home at the end Of his term to
compete with his honest neighbor for
the rest Of his life. thus setting a
premium upon crime. Almost every
neighborhood in the State has an
example of this sort. This is only one
of the hurtful influences. Numerous
others suggest themselves to thinking
men and il is unnecessary to mention
them here.
Our sister States North Carolina and
Georgia are striking illustrations of the
great wisdom Of the employment Of con-
victs for the development Of State and
the rapid end permanent enhancement
Of taxable values and increase Of popu-
lation therefrom, and prove beyond
all question that State can make no
better investment than to furnish her
convicts to her counties free-and
feed, clothe, and guard them, and look
to her increased assessment for remu-
neration.
There are now three lines Of railroad
which it is proposed to bnild across
the State-all chartered and all in a
more or less advanced stage of con-
struction
The first commencing on the Poto-
mac; thence through the Northern
Neck to Fredericksburg; thence to
Orange Courthouse and across the
Blue Ridge to Harrisonburg.
The second commencing at Rich
mond thence through Powhatan and
Cumberland to Farmville thence
through Charlotte and a portion of
Campbell to Lynchburg; thence the
Lynchburg and Southwest railroad to
the North Carolina line.
The third commencing at deep water
on James river; thence through the
border counties ria Danville and Wythe
Vile, and on to the Kentucky or West
Virginia line.
These three lines Of proposed road
run through thirty-three counties, only
fifteen of which now have railroads.
There yet remains to be built Of these
roads about $50 miles, and there are in
the penitentiary convicts enough to
grade $50 miles Of railroad per annum
or to complete the three lines Of road
in three years.
| suggest, therefore, that these con-
victs be furnished by the State to the
counties through which those roads will
pass, and that they be fed, clothed, and
guarded by the State provided that
the counties shall pay the other ex-
pcnses necessary to complete the gradu-
alton, taking stock in the roads there
for, and then mortgage for sufficient
amount to put on the superstructure
and equipment, which ought not to ex-
coed $4,000 per mile (; and let the State
provide, further, that whenever any
county shall sell her stock in the road
which runs through her, and is thus
built, she becomes liable to and pays
the State fair hire for the convicts
used in grading.
Thus in three years an immense
amount Of development will be accom-
plished, and a vast amount Of farming,
mineral, and timber lands will be OPEN
ed out and much immigration invited
in--all of which must rebound, Of
course, to the great good of the State.
1t is an acknowledged fact, and a
very painful one, that those counties
which have no railroads have lain dor
mant since the war, aud that our only
steps towards progress are in those
counties which have railroads.
The building Of roads in Virginia
(since the war;, so far as | am informed,
with the single exception of the Dan
vile and New River, has been accom-
plished with alien capital, and, conse-
quently, just as much as possible for
the benefit Of said capital regardless Of
the interests of our people.
If the roads mentioned above are
built as suggested, they will build up
our waste places, develop Virginia for
Virginians, and thus keep for ourselves
and our children the heritage which
our fathers left us, and we will not be
driven ahead of progress and develop
ment as the Indians are driven ahead
of civilization, as we all know to be
the rule along those lines Of road which
are built by foreigners. 1t is idle
to say that such an employment Of
convicts is in competition with honest
labor. Such is not the fact, because
unless these roads are built in this way
they cannot be built at all. The roads
themselves will furnish employment to
many hundreds of men beside the con-
victs, and many thousands will find re-
munerative work in the many and va
rious enterprises which will be opened
and permanently prosecuted in the
"new" country which the roads will
open.
This scheme, in my humble judy
ment, offers something tangible to the
Democratic party Ia want long felt by
it), and shows to almost every man
where his vote will gain him something.
The opening up Of the State means
employment and money-getting to the
L. l. L