The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-01-25
SOLD INTO SLAVERY
FIorida's Convict System Amounts to
just Exactly That.

utor to the Herald says:
Four hundred and thirty men. women
and children were practically sold into
slavery down in Florida the other day.
They were not actually sold. but they
were LEASED" for a year, as they are
every year, to the highest bidders. They
were convicts, it is true, but their bond
age is one that inspires a sense OF horror
in the breasts of those who believe in
America as a haven for the oppressed.
The state of Florida is a party to this
human traffic. leasing its criminals to
contractors, who. in turn. grow rich by
sub-leasing them to mine owners.
Slavery still exists in the United States!
The traffic in human souls is still car
ried on In some of the southern states,
and is sanctioned by the state laws. Only
the other day, at Albion. Fla, 420 men,
women and children were sold into a
bondage worse than death. and the state
of Florida is today the richer by $4,000.
To be sure, these poor wretches were
convicts, and had broken the laws. But
they were none the less human beings
You might have had some difficulty in
realizing this could you have seen them
as l saw them in al 1.-The misery of their
hopeless, squalid detection And they were
bought, body and soul. for the period Of
one year. The state sold them to four
contractors, who had made the highest
BIDS. Next year they will have other
masters.
They have no penitentisry in Florida,
and so the convicts are sold into slavery.
To build penItentiaries means the expend-
iture of money. and this the legislators
are not willing to vote for, even were
the property owners willing TO be thus
taxed. So the state OF Florida. instead
OF providing accommodations for its Grim
inals, derives a pecuniary benefit from a
form Of traffic which is appalling in this
age Of civilization and in this land Of the
free.
II isn't called slavery in Florida. There
Is no auctioneer 10 cry: How much am
I offered for this mann" There IS no bid
ding and raising Of bids. The bidding has
already been done 10 the state officials.
lLQ LIl1 Eit&EE lt}A has Dttil hi4t~H@p w y -
to the highest bidders. Oh. no, It Is no,
the selling OF slaves. they VIII tell you.
The scene I witnessed was merely the
annual division
Every year this is done. Albion is the
headquarters camp for the state con
victs, and for several years previous 20
my arrival gangs Of shackIed wretches
had been coming in from the various
phosphate mines and turpentine camps
where they had been shaving during the
past year. There were 40 OF them. all
told. crowded into the foul. miserable
little stockade. And there were EtiH more
20 come. as the books show that on Jan
uary Florida had 81 state oonvicts.
The others were 70 BE driven up later
driven IS the word. for they are handled
ike cattIe-and the "dlvisioa" made when
convenient 20 the parties most Interested.
which. OF course. does rot mean the con
victs themselves
They were a pitiah4e lot. a. I found
them, huddled against the stoclcade Some
were black and some were white. some
men. some women. and few were chli-
drer- They had been convicted Of nearly
every crime fl TIE calendar. from petite
larceny up TO murder. arson and rape. the
latter three capital oTenses n Florida.
These sTave- offenders rad escaped TIE
fun penalty q TIE law. either through
some technlca}l;y o. TIE ciemency Of -
governor. scuse booked ss thozgh they
wished TIE law had taken is natural
ocurse-
I-ey we're ranged s!olr the rtorkads.
where they haa besa hus6ied togstAe-
for two days ard nights. Ike 80 many
sheep driver % the slaughter pen- They
rad becn crowded tozetEer THO = stock-
sde bull; for less thar oze-half Ire rurn-
Der. and fully 20 % the nuzibe- had been
compelled % sleep OF the cosd g-oun6.
with ihs frosty ar ard clear SKY for =
hzanks-- StfiI thss ray have been better
than ras ths ios = ihe oiherr. wao gers
resrea iuto the Isfle bEsl5ine. hreafsinE
ths souI saa putrfa air ever ard ore-
again
Tne couvsrt clothes were iattered -aEE-
Many os The zs= were v4sAoEt shoes