The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-03-06
"A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MoLEIIII.L.'

ncn WitHIn snort time the entire
facts of the so called Slavery cx-
listing in Anderson County are dcvc!
oped by Court and jury, the pc"p"
Of the United States will be able TO
view the yellow journalism of the
Riiu1riphM NorM 1wri"W in its
true light. They VIII not only see
clearly t.lat this paper has discovered
q "marc nest bu. that its staff cor
Respondent by base misrcprcsenta-
tions, ha, cndcavorcd to give his paper
greater circulation and himself greater
no:o.ic:y; and ;hi;, :0o, a: tho expense
Of those who extended him every
courtesy aud aided him in ascertain
ing the true conditions OF the negroes
working under the so called "slavc
contract. They will discover that
having turned deaf ear to the rccitals
of true conditions by honorable, law
abiding citizens, and shut his eyes to
evidences which gave the lie to the
existence Of an unlawful condition Of
slavery he betrayed the confidence OF
che honorable men who received him
as gentleman and srcatcd him with the
utmost respect. He stated TO these
men that the conditions scarcely war
rantcd an article in his paper, but
with the characteristics Of Judas he
went out quickly, and slipping among
the negroes, most, if not all, of whom
had been convicted Of fclonies, talked
to them through stockadc fences, and
cleaned from them the material for his
ealumnious articles.
1t will be found by the evidence
adduccd before the Court and jury that,
with but very few exceptions, the nc
grOcs who have been worked under the
so-called slavery contracts were either
convicted and sent to Jail in default
Of bond, or were charged with crime
and sent to jail in default Of bond TO
await trial. These negroes, rather
than remain in Jail, would send for
the owners OF these farms and stock
AIDES, where convicts are worked, and
voluntarily agree to sign contract to
work under State convict rules, we'll
knowing what those rules require.
10 thus release them from prison was
doing them kind service and at the
same time saving the County the G.
pcnsc of dieting the prisoners. This
plan Of releasing these unfortunate
negroes from jail nccessitatcd the CON
tract which is styled the slavery
contract" and the reasons are obvi-
Gus. The planters freeing them from
Jail were forced to become their bonds
men, and their only protection was to
look these men up at night and keep
them under guard during the day to
prevent their escape.
Many negroes signing these con-
tracts were of those who gave liens on
their crops for supplies and unlawfully
disposed OF them, and to avoid prose
cution signed these contracts in con-
sideration of the payment of the
claims against them by the planters.
AS rule all of these negroes wcro
treated with kindness and proper con-
sideration. They had the best medi-
cal attention when sick and plenty to
eat and wear when we'll, and in every
instance allowed reasonable wages for
their work.
Many white men, criminals, or un-
der Indictment, have mado appiica-
tion to these planters begging to be
taken from Jail and allowed to work
under State convict rules, but it :,
cone dcred unwisc to work whites and
blacks together, and in the interest of
law and order none have been accepted.
Instead of being slavery, as depicted
by the North Amcrican, it amounts
simply to working these unfortunate
men for fixed period, under State
convict rules, at their request and for
their benefit. This plan gives them
an opportunity to earn something for
their families and provides them with
the means to employ lawyers to defend
them.
1t is doubtless true that one or two
of the planters Of Anderson County
have used this contract in securing a
few laborers who were not convicts nor
under indictment, but instead of there
being thousand negroes "cnslavcd
by these contracts in Anderson Coun-
ty.' as tho North -imeyican asserts,
from the best information obtainable
there were scarcely more than dozen.
and as soon as Judge Benet made it
known that these contracts we're
illegal, every man was turned loose or