The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-08-16

after, but these are not all. mere are
1850 more az work IN the county
chaingangs, making total OF 1850, or
whom 85s are whlte5 ten are white wo-
men and 215 are negro women.
OF the state conyicts for felony sO7
are guilty Of murder or manslaughter,
915 for burglary or robbery or lar
ceny. 237 for the usual crime. The rest
are for most any other crime In the
catalogue Most of them we're labor
ers. but note that twenty-seven did
nothing and eighteen were preachers.
Ninety per cent OF tho negroes are be-
tween the ages of fifteen and forty, and
knew nothing of slavery. Only l per
cent are the old slaves who are over
sixty years old. Two hundred and for
ty.four Of them are serving a second
term. Thirty are serving a third term
and a few a fourth and fifth term.
They seem to like it. One thousand
and twenty Of these convicts are from
three ounties-Fulton, Chatham and
Bbb. AS Thomas Jefferson said THE
influence of cities Is pestilential to
good morals" It is especially so with
negroes The large majority Of the
negro convicts are from the cities and
large towns.
Twenty years ago there were LOO
negro convlcts and 80 per cent of
them we're wholly illiterate, could
neither read nor write. Now he have
4,300 negro convicts and "a per cent
can read and write. How is that?
Does education lessen crime or in
crease it? Mr.. Stetson, the state sta
tistician Of Massachusetts, says it "in-
creases crime not a little, but i'm
mensely," and he proves it. 1t GER
tainly does among the negro race in
Georgia.
1t is curious to note that we have
two counties in the state-White and
Gilmer-that have no representative
among the convicts. There are four
counties-Towns, Pickens, Banks and
Dawson-that have but one each
There are three counties-Union, Muir
ray and Rabun-thathay out two each.
How is that for good morals in our
most northern mountain counties,
where the schoolmaster has not been
abroad in the land to any alarming ex-
tent.
No. the truth is, that education Of
itself neither lessons nor increases
crime. 1t depends on the moral train
ing that the boys get either from his
teacher or his parents or his early as
sociates, but If his environments are
bad his education makes him a more
dangerous citizen, for it enables him
to cover up and conceal his crime or
to escape from punishment in some
way. 1t is like throwing pearls before
swine to give the vile and vicious an
education, but we can't pick them be.
forehand and so all must have a
chance.
But II was a lawmaker l would
put some penalties upon bad citizens,
uIon the idle and vicious, whether
white or black. We do not allow them
to have .Aeir names in the jury box.
They cannot try man for crime nor
set in judgment upon his civil rights.
Why should such men be trusted with
the ballot? Why not let the same
commission that makes up the jury
box also make up the ballot box? If
some good negroes got in and some
bad white men were left out, il would
be rewarding merit and putting pen
atty upon bad citizens. Alabama and
Virginia have this question before
their conventions and we hope they
will consider it wisely and give en-
couragement to good citizens, whether
they be white or black. Good conduct
should be the test. 1t is more impor-
tant than education or property. Let
us purge the ballot box just as we do
the jury box. Purge it once a year
Put such colored men as Gassett and
Joe Brown and Tribble in and leave all
such white men as Pat Banks out
4Jon't shut the door forever on good
negroes.
By the way, wish somebody would
hunt up our cook and send her home
She is not a settled oman" and is
just gallivanting around till her spell
is off. have to get up before l feel
like it and fire up the stove and then
call the girls and they get a good
breakfast in half an hour. Biscuit and
coffee and hominy and fried eggs and
beefsteak are good enough for any
body, but I will have to discharge ouI
cook and hire her over again and leave
out the spell privilege.-Bill Arp, in
Atlanta Constitution.