Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1898-07-23
The Administration And The RaCeQueStiOn. The
Convict Lease System And LynChing.
THE CUBAN HORRORS AND PRACTICES IN THIS
COUNTRY.-NAUSEATING FACTS CITED
The Exposure Of The Cruelties-Mrs. Keeer Makes A
Strong Plea For The Sufferers

condition with a barrel stave He was
carried back TO the cage aud there died
in tfteen minutes" Another sick man
was hogged who sat down and fell for
ward dead. Some went barefooted in
winter and frosted their feet. Zone
died OF sore leg with maggots in it."
rHIRTV-oNE "DTsAPPRARED."
The number of deaths givez in offici-
al reports do not include the large mum
ber who went out to die-either were
pardoned out because they were sick
and unable to work, escaped or were
discharged. During two years thirty
one convicts mysteriously disappeared,
or were not accounted for. They were
not reported as having died. escaped,
or among the living. One might hope
they were translated as Enoch was.
This class of convicts is termed state
convices. Then there is another class
termed misdemeanor or county con-
victs. The condition of the latter is
pitiable in the extreme.
THAT OTHER SYSTEM.
A few years ago the state adopted
another system for her state convicts
but cannot help thinking the man
was right who wrote to me concerning
it. Don't be fooled. il is the same old
system practically, only under another
name." Before, the profits of convict
labor were divided between the lessees
and the state; now the state receives
the largest share of the profits.
It is said that there is considerably
more criminality among the Negroes
than among the whites" and that
freedom has not done the Negro much
good" When we look at the large
number serving long sentences in the
southern chain-gangs, it would seem
as If such assertions might have some
shadow Of truth.
MOSTLY coLoRED FOLKS PUNISHED.
In Georgia where the white pouula-
tion exceeds that of the colored. the
la tier furnish nine-tenths of the crimi-
nails. Official reports show that Georp-
ia alone has nearly four thousand, two
hundred criminals, nearly all of whom
are young. able-bodied colored men.
including one hundred and forty bows
sixteen years old aud younger. The
labor OF all these convicts Is hired ont
to the high est bidders, who care moth
ing more TOR them than the money that
can be coined out of their flesh and
blood.
THOSE HUMAN LEEoHEs.
1t is not my purpose in this short ar
tiele to show what the treatment of
Georgia's convicts is now, and has bean
ever since they fell into the hands of
these human leeches, the lessees. who
have not only worked and starved ma
ny to death. but they or their guards
have hogged men until death relieved
them of their suffsrings.
Scarcely year has passed since one
Frank Mckay, an old Negro, guilty on
~ OF misdemeanor, was fiogged to
death by an inhuman white guard
named Bob Cannon. The same Snard
who compelled female cOnVicts cOofin-
ed in that same camp to strip naked in
the presence OF the male cOnvicts and
be fogged.
THE INNOCENT WITH THE GUILTY.
After many years of careful investi-
CATION / have found that many of these
convicts both in the penitentiary chain
gangs and the misdemeAnor, or what
is termed county chaln-gangs, are IN
NocENT. will give an instance to
show something OF how a confession
has been sometimes extorted. and
which was related by a responsible
party A poor penniless Negro was
arrested on suspicion of having COM
mitted a murder. After being kept in
jail a long time a confession was ex-
torted from him tby blood hounds. and
IN the presence or grave and a coffin.
prepared by those who were pecuniari,