The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-09-07

| vote and some bad white mon wh
should not. The devil Is not dead
Not very long ago ] troubled mysel
and spent some money in getting ;
white man pardoned out OF the chain
gang because his poor wife importuuet
me. lie hadent been ont month be
fore he got into another row and wa,
put in the calabOosc. There were two
COWS In the pound near the calaboost
and next morning when tho marsha
went after Pat to take lin before the
mayor Pat was not in, but the COWS
were. The devilish rascal had got 9
skeleton key and unlocked himself ou,
and locked the COWS in and now nv
frlends joke mo about Pat and call hin;
my pet and | am out OF tho pardon
| business. Well, now that mar is rot
tit to vote, for he has deserted his
family and won't work
Ihc negro paper says that Richard
Price, Governor Atkinson's faithful
body servant, stole the governors gold
watch the day he died and now Ian
gulshes In Nenman jail. Don't that
cap the climax A good old negro by
the name OF Moody died here few
days ago and was buried with great
ceremony. His sons came from abroad
TO attend the funeral and one Of them
was 50 overcome with grief that he de-
clared he could not bear to SEQ his
dear old father put down in tho cold
cold grave and so he staid at the house
to weep and mourn. But when the
family returned he had stolen the old
mans best clothes and every thing else
Of value and gone of on the train.
Well, | don't think that his sort
should be allowed to vote, do you?
One table in this prison report sur
prises me and that is the great in
crease OF burglaries over simple lar
ceny by the negroes. Seven hundred
and n1nety-twO convicts are in for bur
glary and only 250 for larceny. sup
pose tho explanation Is that for small
stealing they are sent to the coInty
and put to work on the
public roads. For Lhe unmentiona Bile
crime or It's attempt there are lis con-
victs. Judge Lynch does not get them
all by q long shot.
The prison report is interesting and
instructive reading and shows the
most careful and humane treatment
OF the convicts. The commission
with General Evans at its head, are
all kind, Christian gentlemen and no
State in tho Union can show u better
record OF it's prisoners, both male and
female.
But it is impossible to keep up with
the lies and ISLANDERS that are circu-
lated by Northern politicians and
Southern negro editors and educators.
1t Is all scheme to get money from
the Northern dupes. Even as notable
q woman as the wife OF Booker Wash
ington, who is chairman OF the execu-
tive committee OF the National Asso-
,,fo ts<,,, ,,f Vol l.
published address, THE white people
young colored girls and yet the white
people themselves are to blame tor
this condition of affairs, for In this
convict lease system the girls and wo-
men not only worked in the field with
mon, but arc shut up at night in the
same cells with them. Can you ex-
pcct poor, ignorant colored girl to
be pure and VirtuOus when she is shut
in night aftor night with a man"
General Evans writes me that no
such condition exists in Georgia, nor
has ever existed, and that for ten
years past the female convicts have
not even been worked on farms with
the men, but have been leased to sepa-
rate contractors who work none but
the women on d farm. The women
(about sixty in number) work together,
eat together, sleep together and arc
absolutely separated from men and
boys and are on entirely different
farms. These women are not confined
in cells at ali, but live In a house far
more comfortable than they lived in
before their conviction. The men and
women DO not meet at oil at any time
or anywhere.
10 fhot What {;o
can that woman make? What can
Booker Washington say about it? He
had better say something about 1t, for
he has had the support and encourage
mCnt OF the Southern people and he
will be held responsible for such malig-
uant slaEders.
This report shows that 40 per cent
OF the cOnvicts can read and write.
That 45 per cont arc married.
That 80 per cent arc between the
ages OF seventeen and twenty -seven.
That only forty were In slavery be
fore the war and only eighteen are
old enough to remember what slavery
was.
This report shows over 1000 colored
convicts, including the county chain.
gangs, and 600 OF these are from Ful.
ton county. Atlanta seems to bo q
good nursery for crimo.
Another singular table In the report
Is called the table OF recio. lists, u
which means, | suppose, the "return
ers." There are 269 serving q second
term AZ q third term 6 a fourth term
and d fifth term. They seem to like
tho business. A good whipping OF
two or three good whippings would
have stopped all those recidivlsts. II
o man likes one kind OF punishment st
we'll as to go back to it, 1t would be
we'll to change it and let him try an
other.
But let Ms keep on agitating and dis
cussing and let no man boast that he
knows it all, for he doesn't.
BILL. ARP.