The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-07-17
TENNESSEE CONVIC1S
Bloodshed May Follow Their En-
ployment at Brioeville.
STRIKING MINERS WELL ARMED
They Seem Determined to Drive
Convict Labor from the County,
While the State Of1cials Declare
Their Intention to Support the
Contractors.

Contractors.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, July IL. = The
cause of the assault on the convict labor
colony at Briceville, Anderson county,
dates back some months ago, when the
miners at that place struck, and as
neither side has made concessions the
mines have been idle. About thres
months ago the owners signed con-
tract with the Tennessee Manufacture
ing company, which is sub-lessee of
900 conyicts, to mine their coal at so
much per ton.
sent from Nashville to Briceville, and
work was begun on stocksde, the in
tention being to send $50 more convicts
in . few days. Work progressed rapidly
and the additional men were to have
been sent Wednesday, but, as stated in
these dispatches, 800 armed men over
powered the guards at Briceville and
compelled them to put the convicts on q
train and remove them to Knoxville.
Superintendent of Prisons Wade hap
pened to be in Knoxville and he tele-
graphed the governor that the situation
was serious. In consequence Governor
Buchanan and Warden Blevins, with
Commissioner of Labor Ford, started
for the scene.
Contractors VIII Have State Support
The state officials declare their inten-
tion of maintaining the new branch
prison at all hazards, as there are five
other branch prisons, and if they backed
down at Bliceville similar trouble would
inevitably follow at these. Governor
Buchanan, Warden Blevins and Com
missioner Ford will go among the men
personally and endeavor to make an
amicable settlement. The troops and
conyicts will, however, go to the scene
on the same train, and if it becomes
necessary the convicts will be marched
to the stockade under military protec-
ton and guarded as long as necessary.
News from the scene is anxiously
awaited, as the free miners are heavily
armed, and at last accounts were deter
mined to drive the convict labor from
the county. There is also large con-
ylct camp at Coal creek, four miles from
Briceyille, and an uneasy feeling is re-
ported among the free laborers, not only
there, but at the other branches.
An Appeal to the Governor.
The following message was received
at the state capital from the scene of the
trouble.
To Governor Buchanan, Nashville:
We, the miners, farmers merchants and
property holders of Briceville and Coal
creek and vicinity, assembled to the
number of 500, who have come together
to defend our families from starvation
and property from depreciation and our
people from contamination from the
holders of convict labor being intro
duced in our works, do hereby beg you
to prevent their introduction and thus
avoid bloodshed, which is sure to fol-
low if their taking our livelihood from
us is persisted in. Answer"
!. The governor, with about 120 state
soldiers under his command. arrived at
the mines at noon. In a speech to an
angry mob this afternoon, Governor
Buchanan said he was not there to dis
cuss the convict lease law, but to see
that the law was not overridden. The
discharged miners are well armed and
the outcome is doubtful.