The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-08-02
OPEN LETTER TO F. M. SIMMONS

RALEIGH, N O., July 20, 1895.
T. N. Simmons. E q Chairman State
Democratic Executive Committee,
Raleigh, N. c.:
SR:-Your various letters, written
from the Democratic headquarters,
and signed by you al Chairman of the
Democratic party, ask, or demand, a
large mass of figures and schedules, all
of which are usually found in the
printed reports of the Superintendent
of the States prison. When the time
comes for me to make my report, &C
cording to law, l will make 1t by the
direction of the law and not by the
direction of the Chairman of the Demo
cratic party in North Carolina. From
that, you or any other individual, can
g the information which you pretend
to want.
Bu5 there is some information which
YOU call for that l can give you with
out hiring an exera book keeper, and l
shall proceed most. cheertully to do so.
You want to know about the planta-
tions operated by the penitentiary, and
the rent, or lease money, contrac. ed
to be paid by the State.
Well, there is a farm known as the
Halifax Farm. Is was leased from
certain individuals under Democratic
management, and is now costing the
State for rent under the Democratic
contract about 81, 600 a year. A large
amount was expended upon it in the
way of clearing and improvements.
Most of it is a dangerous bottom on the
Roanoke which cannot be diked and on
which crops cannot be safely planted.
It never has been worth the rent, but
it was saddIed upon the State to be
cleared and ditched, and for royalrents
paid to the fortunate lessons. After it
had been improved, cleared up
up and taken out of the wilderness
and buildings put upon it by the State,
General Matthew W. Ransom, Of the
county of Northampton, notified the
Superintendent of the Penitentiary
and the Governor of the State, that
the Democratic Board had taken the
lease and paid out uncounted thou
sands of dollars in the way of improve
ments and rents, and all this they had
done on property to which they had no
title; that the lease was void and
worthless, because there was a mort
gage on the property, and the mort
gagees did not join in the lease, and the
mortgage had been foreclosed, and
General Ransom, Or his son, had be
come the purchaser of the farm at the
mortgage sale. And, after the State
had improved and rescued it from the
wilderness, it turned out that it had
belonged to General Ransom or his son.
Of course the State ought not to com
plain about anything Of this sort, be
cause we should submit to anything
for the sake of good government"
And for the same reason complaint
should not be made about the Arson
Plantation. Your Democratic board
Il do not mean your returning board,
but the penitentiary board made a
contract for the lease of about 2, 800
acres of waste land, consisting Of rookie,
gullies, and overflow bottoms, some
old turned-out fields and a considerable
quantity of growing wood 1t stood
right thick. Il was easy to cut; a man
of your size and build, properly dealr
with by the law and duly disciplined,
could cut two or three cords a day, but
while we cut the wood, we cannot cut
the railroads on the freight;
quently when we are cutting wood, we
are working for the railroads and
thereby making a fusion with you and
the other managers of the Democratic
party and probably assieting to enlarge
your campaign fund. This contract
provides that the State may buy this
property for about, aa I remember it,
$25 600, but the contract made the
State pay, and isnow making the Stale
pay, by way of rent, every year nearly
6 per cent. on $40, 900. lam informed
and I believe that it was valued fol
taxation at some four or five Thousand
dollars Wnen the State took hold of it
am further informed, and I fully be
lieve, that it could have been bought
for six or seven thousand dollars.
am further informed, and believe, that
it was not at that time paying a net
interest or income at 6 per cent. or
s.. 600. These figures may not be prob
ably accurate, but since you are aftel
information, suppose you search thr
tax list for the year 1895 and 1896, anC
suppose you get some statements o.
estimates, as to the net rents that /