The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-29
THE PEONAGE CASES Col. Frank c. Caffey Writer 8
 Letter on Subject.

The following letter appeared in The New York Evening Post of Saturday last over the signature of Col. Frank G. Caffey, formerly leading lawyer of this city, but now living in New York. His friends here will be much pleased with his admirable effort to relieve the honor of his native State from the opprobrium that has been unjustly thrown upon 1t by certain harsh critics North.
 Here Is the letter:
 To the Editor of The Evening Post: Sir-The peonage cases in Alabama have left no doubt in the public mind that peon- age has been practiced in that State. The extent of the practice and the degree in which It Is representative of Southern Sinh ciSinSation , are aspects of the episode on pers may well be in doubt. Is 1t sporadic and confined to a few localities merely, or Is It So general as to be typical Of the standards of right and decency throughout the entire State?
 The United States grand jury at Mont somery, after a session of more than two months Investigating these cases, ad- port, when it's significance Is ascertained, throws some light on this inquiry.
 Alabama Is divided by the statutes of dicial administration. into three districts: the Southern, composed of ten counties, the Middle, composed of twenty-five coun- tlcS, anu t1e NOTlleTn, cOmDOSeQ or Lnlr- ty-two counties.
 The population of the State, according to the census of 1900. is approximately 55 per cent. whites and 45 per cent. negroes, distributed among the districts as fol- lows:
 southern. Middle Northern. White ....1l2.yS5 305,344 5S2, ,725 Negro ....146.2n 3S5,72S 295, ,3OS
 The percentages of the .aces in each dis trict, reduced from this able, are as fol- lows:
 Southern Middle Northern. Negro .. :. .. ......17.7 466 S5.7 The grand jury says in it's report that
 Tn two counties in the district crimes nave been committed by some eighteen persons, by which citizens of this State and of the United States have been sys- tematically despoiled of their rights and liberty, confined and made to work, and not infrequently cruelty treated We have diligently sought to ascertain, as far as the time and facilities at our command would permit, whether a like condition of things exists anywhere else in the district, and are gratified to report that the two localities named are the only places where such a state of things ap- preaching 1t exists in this district. . We set out the facts in this report with out exaggeration on the one hand, or ex- tenuation on the other. We think the truest friends to our people are those who E. The great body of the peopIe of this dis trict. save the very few who are lost to all sense of justice and wish to profit by oppression, are violently opposed to these practices.
 Upon receipt of this report the presid- ing judge, Hon. Thomas G. Jones, said to the jury: You have discharged your ed conservatism. 1t should be mat ter of qualification. not cause of jealousy or apprehension at home. that in execut- ing the laws of the United States. you have been able to assist our State in en- forcing protection of the rights of it's own citizens. when, bv reason of exceptional and untoward circumstances. it has been powerless to do so, in particular cases.
 If the report, thus enforced by the en- dorsement of the Judge. is accepted as re- liable evidence, then in that part of the State wherein reside i6.6 per cent of the to warrant indictments for peonage against only eighteen persons. No cne will deny that the facts brought out rl the investigation of these cases were ex- tremely discredita blc to the persons and the particular communities involved. It is equally clear, however. that they far condemnation of the whole people of the Statef Yet the ;reports Of the trials in tn. Northern press and many of the edito- rial comments have been such as to ere ate in the minds of eaders a very black picture of the civilization of the entiI e State.
 Against these eighteen pcrsoHs ninety nine indictments were found. District At torney Reese states that of the eighteen only five were employers of llbor the re- maining thirteen being sub OrdnateS or in struments, such as justices of the peace, CC0S ta h'as and Fu9rds
 The two localities" referred to by tho grand jury are in the counties of Coosa and Tallapoosa. Neither of these is q back belt county. In the former the white population is more than twice. in the latter nearly twice the negro popu- lation. Some of the black belt" coun- ties in the middle district are Lowndes. with more than six times as many negroes as whites; Bullock and Dallas, each with nearly five times as many; Macon (wherein Tuskesee Institute Is situated), with Inore th1n four times as many, and Perry. with more than three and one-half times as many. In view of