The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-01-17
The P~enitentiary About
B~ankrupted.
THOROUGH EXAMINATION
shows $4,000 OF Assets Against sIl0,.
600 Of Liabiliues-Nearly Twice ~
Much Land Leased ~ the Couvicss
Can Culuvase-Thc New Elcctf0&a1avs
TO be Decided Upon By b Demo-
ratio Election Caucus Next Tuesday.
Damage From the Heavy sI.es.
Messenger Bureau
Raleigh, n. c.. January Is.

Raleigh, n. c., January Is.
There is deep interest in the views
Of members OF the legislature as to
the new election law and franchise
amendment TO tae constitution. There
will be no con stitutiona convention.
AS TO the louisiana law. 1t is liked be-
cause of its entire frankness. II simp-
ly excludes the negro. That is all there
|, in Ii. The only question Is, is that
law constitutional. Senator Justice,
chairman or the Judiciary committee.
said today that while it might be years
before the constitutionality Of the
Louisiana law is tested In the courts,
an immediate test will be made as to
North Carolina; that Senator Pritchard
will make this. He has said he will do
so as soon as the law is enacted. OF
curse the legislature has no fear OF
him. Then again the state supreme
court must be taken into account, par
ticularly as to one of its justices, who,
it seems, has aid he thought the Louis
lana law unconstitutional. But four
out of five of the legislators appear to
favor the Louisiana law.
Next Tuesday the democratic caucus
will settle the question as to how many
superior court districts there viii be.
Last night the matter was before the
caucus until a late hourt, but no agree
ment was reached.
The sleet here increased last night,
on the trees. These were loaded to the
breaking point. Many wires are
broken or crossed and the electric cur
rents were cut of by order of Mayor
Powell. Some fifty foot poles fell.
One man was hit by a falling wire and
stunned.
Next Thursday the new buildings of
the institutions for the blind will be
thrown open to the public.
EX-Cougressmon Buck Kitchin Is
an aspirant for the position of railway
commissioner.
The examination of the books. etc,
OF the penitentiary does not appear to
show available assets to exceed $40, 900,
while the liabilities seem to approx
mate $11O, 600. Truly the fusiOnists
have put the state in a bad position SO
far as the penitentiary is concerned.
Superintendent Day of the peniten-
tiary was interviewed today regarding
that institution. He said: The
trouble is that the p~enitentiary has only
600 convicts available for farm work.
Yet the state has rented 10000 acres of
land, which Is in seven farms-on the
Roanoke river, near Wilmington and In
Arson equity. The 600 convicts can
work 275 horses, each horse being able
to cultivate twenty-five acres, or a total
of say 5000. This shows that the
state is paying for 1000 acres Of land
it can't use. AS l say, there are seven
farms, each with a supervisor. Then
there is the enormous cost Of trans
porting convicts to these disjointed
farms. The cost of guard, is~50 per
cent greater than il there were only
one farm. If all these farms were
punched into one is would save $15.-
900 a year. No farming save on bot
tom land is profitable with this class
OF labor. The rents now aggregate
$11 900; in other words we are paying
something like 5000 for land we can.
not possibly use, and which with oul
force We are actually unable to Guilt
vate."
1t Is the opinion Of experts that the
Northampton, Halifax, Cape Fear and
Arson farms should be given UP. ever
III the state has IN nav rho laaaa mnnav