The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-03-06
THE ANDERSON SCANDAL.
If Abuses Exist the Guilty Per.
sons Will be Punished

The Charleston News aud Courier
has interviewed Govern or Nj. b. Nc
Sweeney in regard to the stockade scan
dial in Anderson County, and he replied
as follows:
The matter was first brought to
my attention by an anonymous letter
from Anderson County. The letter
was evidently written by some igno-
rant person. 1t detailed horrors among
so called slaves. | sent the letter to
Solicitor Bogys, with instructions that
he take the matter up at once and make
a thorough investigation. This he is
doing. a few days after this the
editorial in the Anderson Mail appear
ed Now am not in position to say
whether the editorial or the letter
caused the investigation. But fur
ther investigation IS going to be made,
and believe the proper parties Will
be punished. | do not know whether
the crimes SAID to exist should reall,
be charged against the stockadc owners
OF Anderson County. We must re-
member that there are always two sides
to question and this undoubtedly has
two sides. Our opinions must now
therefore, be drawn from cx parte
statements. When the trial comes up
those men accused of imprisoning
negroes under warrants of false arrest
will employ the best attorneys in the
State, and the complexion of the case
may be entirely changed. / have every
reason to believe that Solicitor Boggs
is going to do his duty, and all the
other officers, for that matter. If the
Investigation, however, is not what it
should be | shall conduct an investi-
CATION myself, paying for it out of the
contingent fund. The matter is a
serious one and cannot be cried down.
| look upon it pretty much as / do
lynching. | have always used every
power to protect man from mob
and will continue to do this. The
Legislature just closed appropriated
$4,000 for expenses incurred in pro.
tccting negroes from mobs, or more
politely, harm. l am ready TO give
twice that amount TO protect mans
life. If the men in Anderson County
are guilty of doing what is charged
against them they should be hunted
down and punished. l believe that
some white men work negroes pretty
much as railroad contractors work their
mules or horses. In Anderson the
negroes have been imprisoned and
beat, not because they were negroes
but because they were ignorant. / be.
lieve that if the thing is not stopped
white men will also be imprisoned.
No more convicts, however, will
be leased TO private parties after De
cember 81, 1901. In cases of this
kind where person would lease {
convict or convicts contract would bt
drawn up between the lesse and the
State. The lessee would bind himself
to treat the convict or convicts hu
namely. But have known these con
tracts TO be broken. About two years
ago Superintendent Neal, of the Peni
tcntiary, reported to me that convict
who had been leased to someone in th,
upper part of the State, had returned
to Columbia on account of bad treat
ment. The convict was badly bruised
and manned.
"I believe in exposing crime, bu
there is such thing as giving to-
much publicity to matters of this kind
If the conditions are aired too mucl
before the investigation begins, pre-
judice may enter and the situation re
solve itself, in the eyes of many, t
the view Of white man against
negro. Too often in such cases justic
is not DONE"