The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-05-15
As He SEES US
A Northern Mans Views Of the
Chain Gang in
ORANGEBURG COUNTY.

URHaVQEDONG VSVsss as
Mr.. Beers Engaged in the Lumber
Business in Orangeburg County
Writes an Interesting Letter to a
Connecticut Newspaper. He Thinks
We Have Solved the Problem for
Dealing With Lazy Negroes.
The Hartford, Conn, Courant says
Mr.. Geo. A. Beers, formerly Of Bris-
tol. Conn, but now engaged in the
lumber business in Rowesville, S. c.,
writes interesting Of what he has
seen in South Carolina with reference
to the manner in which the whites
deal with the idle or vicious negroes:
The chaingang, he thinks, is adapted
to the needs Of that section and IS
operated without inficting undue
cruelty or hardship upon the men
sentenced to serve time N its RANKS.
After living in the South Tor IWo
month in community where the
whites do not number over zOo ana
the blacks are at least ,loo, ana a1Oer
having had an average OF AZ negroes
enonIoyed for that time. Mr.. Beers
nnts forth his ideas in regard to the
peoro On the chaingang. The negro
viii not work more than he is oblig-
ed to in order to keep body and soul
together and he has no idea Of the
future and no care for it. If he has
reasonable amount Of rice and hon
ey today with a little pork fat to help
it out he is all right and the morrow
may take care of itself.
It goes without saying that in every
community in the South there are a
large number of idle negroes VINO
will not work under any consldera-
ton and in many cases, most for that
matter, they are young men. 9he old
time plantation darkey has practical
" ceased to exist and there are
grown up in his place a modern ne
gro who was taught to believe him
self as good, or a little better than
the whites, and it is from these the
vagrant class is drawn that make up
the men who work on the changing
From vagrancy to the conmlsslon n
of small crimes is but a step snd II
seems Mr.. Beers says, that the South
has solved question as to what to
do with class that will not work
and is a constant menace to the civil
welfare Of the communities, in way
that is right for this section. The
North is considering the question
what to do with the "rounder" anc
the idle moderately vicious person:
in order to escape constant conylc
ton in the courts with the attendan'
expenses.
The judge of every local court il
South Carolina corresponding to Con
necticut police and justice courts i'm
poses an alternative sentence for tht
crimes that come under her jurisdic
ton. He give $40 or 20 days on thu
chaingang, or proportionate penal
ty for the offences that come befor'
him. When a negro goes to jail h
is kept there only long enough to Fl
him out with striped suit and thel
he is turned over to the county com
raissioners, who place him on chain
gang and he is sent with his gang t.
some piece Of country road and pu
to work.
Practically all the roads in Soutl
Carolina are country roads and, unit
recently, were not much better thar
cartpaths, but during the last few
wears many Of the roads leading from
one large town to another have beer
put in fine shape. 1t is no great jol
to work roads in South Carolina a
the land is practically level and al
that is necessary is to run the roat
machine along the highway ant
scrape the sand into the middle O.
the road and then, with the men o.
chaingang, open the bitches down t
clay and cover the sand with a coat
ing Of clay, which hardens and make
q good road surface. The gang op
Grating in one part Of the State pu1
into good shape in four days nearl!
a mile of road. There were Is of thu
men chained together, four TRUSTEES
wearing the stripes, but no chains
and four white men who acted a:
roadmakers and guards.
The county of Orangeburg own!
the equipment, which consists Of one
big wall tent, l6 by 20 feet, a small
er tent for cooking, two old stoves
hunks for the men, eight mules, the
necessary wagons for transportatine
baggage from place to place and 6
road machine. Altogether the in.
vesmtent on the part Of the county
may be $1,000.
-Four men are paid wages but even
white men do not earn big pay in
this county and county commission
ers, who by the way are elected by
the people, receive $500 year ex-
cept one Of their number who is road
commissioner and who is paid $500.
Itwas Sunday when Mr.. Beers Wis
tied the camp and the men were
resting on their hunks, which were
strung along the two sides Of the
tent. AS it was cold day a stove
had been put up in one end Of the
tent. The pipe was run along crotch
ed sticks to the other end and the
interior Of the tent was comfortable.
All the men wore chains attached to
each ankle and these chains were at
tached to short ones, which in turn
were attached toe long one and these
held all the men on one side OF the
tent together. The chains are never
taken off day or night.
Practically all Of the men were
under 25 years Of age and they did
not seem to feel their degradation IN
G<o