The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-10-02
AN OPEN LETTER.
HUNTSVILLE pENlrsNrlARy.
A Published Statement Denied-Ths
State will Probably Lose heavily
by the Deisait of the Hunts
willie Contractors - The
Governor in Error,

HsNrsvILLE, Tex, Sept. as.-IEditor
HERALD. I'm the 81. Louis Globe.
Democrat OF August %, appssrs the
following special dispatch:
"AusrIN, Aug, 81 Rumors reached
here that Still Bros, CONTRACTORS in
the Huntsville brapch of the State
penitentiarv, had failed to comply
Win Their contract with the State by
not making payments when due, and
that the peuitentiary board had called
ON their bpndsmen To make good tho
amounts due, -he Glabe-Denlocrat
cor espoudent called on the governor
10 day and asked lin, as a member
oil the ponitentinry board, how the
matter stood, The governor said that
sun Bros, owing to dull times, had,
IKE otnor contractors, been unable 10
sell their goods manu- sctured, and
the State had eytenoed their time for
paying with the consent of their sura-
ties, with tho understanding however.
that tho State would hold me bonds.
tBen responsible for any loss. The
governor thinks everything will come
out all right, and saws the
State will not lose anything In sny
event."
The governor Is In error in saving
that the bondsmen OF Still & Bro ara
vet held and thai "ths State Gill not
lose anything in any eyent.n The
hondsmeu are not held, and XStili a
Bro. do not make good The amount
they are in arrears, tho State will lose
1t, In proof OF this 1t is only necessary
to set out all the facts, to-wit:
The superintendent and tho peni-
tertiary board, by uoglecting to COM
pei Still d Bro. to comply With the
terms OF their contract, allowed that
tirA to run behind six OF
eight months in their payments for
labor Of convicts furnished them by
the State. The amount reaches up inc
The thousands, as they employed about
40 eonyicts, aud is rapidly increasing
Still & Bro. had given bond, to b.
sure, for the payment of the labor OF
the convicts under contract to them
monthly, but the State had also bound
itself to collect every month. INSTEAD
OF spplying TO Still's hon8emen Il
make good the frat months arrears
Inc prison authorities permitted tn,
srm to make default in payment
month after month, thereby vioiatinl
| itsown obligation To collect mentally, a,
sailed for by the contract. When The
bondsmen were applied to, and asked
to 80 down into their pockets for TIA,
| amount due the State from still &
Bro They coolly informed tn.
| prison officials that, since the Stat,
had neglected TO collect monthly o
Still ~ Bro, as per contract, theN
| did not con aider themselves bound
and would moi pay. This lett TIN
| prison people in dilemma, to escapt
| from which they were corupa led Il
resort TO the expedieut Of iaaing
lien upon the machinery and book &c
couRts OF Sill Il Bro. Tn,
machinery 2ad fixtures arr
not worth over $1,000
At TO their book accounts, / have u,
positive information, but they aro SUD
posed TO be ANAL, as they cannot sel
their manufactured goods. Tniz liel
Ia all the security the State hss for th
| thousands Stils & Bro. are la arrears
In taking the liou, strange as IL ma,
seem, tho manufactures of the tirn
were not excluded in thu len, and tso,
70 now lign 10 be Levied upon b
outaida creditors. Ittnerefors Apo n
plain that instead OF the bondnmen BIZ
ing responsible, they consider them
solves az "not bound' to pay, upo9 III
ground that the STATE ksd OeeR guilt
OF negligence. II the matter ever tind
its way lAto tho courts, IL will Their
appear PLAN, even to tho governor
that the State CANNOT escape "losin
in any ovsnt." Those who are inter
osted will do we'll to "keep au sye
upon these penitoptiary matters.
ONE VINO KNOWS.
p. s.--If this is tho case with on
contractor, how ~ it with tho balance
The governor seems TO couple thel
all together.