The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-03-07

ment Of the labor contracts, undc
! which the negroes arc held as slaves
the other magistrate recently went mt
the newspaper business, and being ia
mlllar with the system. in all it's details
determined to put Il stop to the enslavc
mcnt Of the colured men, If possible
He published in his paper a CAREFUL,
/ Worded editorial, which revealed th,
facts in outline.
one OF the first men TO build q stock
! AIDE in Anderson County was w. A
Neal, who was afterwards made Su
perintcndent Of the State pcnitentiary
He got his convicts from the Stat,
prison at Columbia, and confined then
IN stockade built on his farm, four OF
live miles from Anderson.
Your correspondent was unable to
learn whether or not Mr.. Neal placed
in his stockade with his convicts an,
free negroes. At any rate, his expert.
ence with this kind of cheap labor must
nave been very satisfactory, for his ex.
ample was promptly followed by Other
planters.
y. >. Fowler, who owns many farms
IN the county, and who now has be
tween four and five hundred negroes
on these plantations, hurried TO Colum.
Dla and got lease from the prison di-
rcctors. He brought back convicts
and soon improved the system by shut
ting up in his stockadc other negroes
who were not convicts.
MIR. Fowler is a model farmer, and
II he had lived in South Carolina be-
fore the war would have been yener-
ally admired as a humane and consid
crate slave owner. He treats the ne
groeS well. If they are i'll, they are
gwen the best Of medical attention If
they are well they get plenty Of hearty
lood, SO that every one of th m NAV
40 a hard days work. It is true that
lhcy are shut up at night in q stockade.
or, at least, nave been, Until the grand
jurors began their investigation. 1t is
true that there are bloodhounds around
Mr.. Fowler's stOckade, and true also,
that his guards sleep with weapons
within reach. But for all that he is a
careful aud kind man to his negro
lahOrerS.
MIR. Fowler it was who originated, ,
with the aid Of his lawyers, the con-
tract Ut der which colorcd men are held
III slavery. Ii he alone had used that
contract perhaps it would not have
oeen so hard upon the negroes. But
other planters got the blanks, induced
negroes to sign the agreement, conlin-
eo 'hem IN the stockades, surrounded
them with guards and bloodhounds
and abused them shamefully in many
other ways.
When MIR. Neal secured the appoint-
mcnt as Superintendent of the State
penitentiary, his friends in his home
county prepared to reap rich harvest
by getting their labor for a mere moth.
ing and reducing their system of em-
ployment to the plan III vogue before
the war. MIR. Meals nephew, A. L.
Newell, got a few convicts and built a
stockadc six miles from Anderson. Mr..
Neal's cousin, j. Beiton Watson, was
able to get group of cnnvicts aad also
built stockadc. Others who benefited
by these, convict leases we've w. @.
hammond, Mr.. Ncals bonlsman p.
Is. Alien, and Julius Miller. Each of
these men erected strong s:ockadcs,
placed their convicts under guard, got
other negroes and placed them also
under guard.
There is much secrecy concerning
the names of.thc men who, not having
convict leases, built stOckaLcs and con-
tined negroes in slavery without even
the color Of the law. But one Of these
illegal stockadcs has been visited by
the grand jury. 1t is that of Elias Ma
geo.. built on his land in Anderson
County, near the Georgia line. This
man has no cOnvic.s, but scores of
slaves. He gets his negroes most of
them imprisoned for .lcbt-in Georgia,
taking them out Cn bond from various
Georgia courts and carrying them into
another State to work on his farms.
Persons who ought to be well ac-
quainted with such matters inform
your correspondent that there are
scores Of less extensive stockades in
Anderson County. The records of the
prison at Columbia, however, show
that the only persons in that county
who arc entitled to get State convicts
under lease are J. S. Fowler, w. @.
Hammond, p. b. Allen, j. Is. Watson
and a. II. Newell.
Only few weeks ago w. S. Newell
brother of the man who has the convict
lease with the State board of prison
directors, was arraiyncd in Anderson
County court for murder. He had shot
down one Will Hull, who had been for
months confined in his stockade by vir-
tue of the terms of the remarkable
labor contract originated by Mr.. Fow.
Ter. Hull was not Il convict and never
had been. lie was a free negro. New
ell secured his hold on the man by
buylng up claim for debt against him,
and held him in the stockadc to work
out tho money it is alleged Hull owed.
According to the negro slaves on