The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-01-04
FUClTIVfS SAY THEY
WERE HELD AS SLAVES
Northerners Bring ~eeonaga
CT arge Against Carolina Rail
road Camp Bosses.
WORKED Al GUMS POINT
Thrown Inso ~Guardhouse When They
First Tried to Run Away
Could Not Pick
Jobs.
WORKED Al GUMS POINT

New York. Jam. with i tale OF
slavery. heartless cruelty and Illegal
peonaGe that rivals the stories of the
sutferinga OF refugees from Russian
penal camps In Siberia. seven young
northerners have returned from rail-
road camps in North Carolina. where,
they had been enticed by false promises
last October.
When they attempted to escape they
We're pursued by armed guards, cap
tured and taken TO q local court.
charged with obtaining money under
false pretenses in that they refused TO
work out a charge OF $l3 for transporta-
ton from New York. They were SEN
fenced to twenty days on a local
chain gang and forced to don the
stripes of criminals.
Thousands of Gases.
More than 5000 northern white men
are said to have had similar narrowing
experiences in connection with the con-
struetion OF the South and Western
railroad, a branch OF the Seaboard Air
Line from Masion, N. c., TO Johnson
City, Tenn.
The men who arrived here had the
satisfaction of going before a United
States grand jury at Charlotte. n. O.
and giving testimony which resulted
IN the Indictment of the Carolina Con-,
.struction company, Mayor Radcliffe. of
Marion, N. c., Deputy Sheriff II. G..
Baker, who has been active in guarding
lle construction camps, and three Nf,
me Gompany's employees. superintend-
ent j. G. Porter, Foreman Cherries,
CRAWFORD and Foreman Drinkard, wto,
We're charged With conspiracy to CONF
init peonage. The paid q fire
OF $1,000, with the understanding that
charges against Mayor Radcliffe and
Deputy Sheriff Baker be dropped.
At RevoIvers Point.
Burke acted as spokesman for mo
party and thus told the graphic story,
of their suffering:
With a party of twenty 1 went
south, arriving at Atapas, n. G.. on DC
tober is. The lex day we were
marched six miles through the nouns,
tains to Spruce Pine, N. c..
We were told to report to Char,oz.
he walking boss. He was
on a mule and carried a biy
revolver.
You fellows take a pick and shovel
and go Into that tunnel he ordered
~ am not a laborer,' 1 protested. I
down here to act as a clerk
You can't pick your Jobs down
here said Crawford. Get down and
dig In that tunnel or I'll send for the,
loEgers.' w
Crawford pulled his gun, ~and.potnt-,
1T at us, ordered: You just march
ahead of my mule into that tunnel and
no more monkey business
Into the Guard House.
Il worked until noon, when in COM
pany with Peter Rollins l escaped from
tho camp. We We're not a mile away
when we We're halted by a man with
y gun. He proved to be Il. G.. Baker. a
Mcdowell county deputy Sheriff. AL
though he had no warrant he arrested
us and drove us back to camp. where
We're thrown into a shack known
as the guard house There We were
neld for tw%enty-four hours with two
armed guards at the door.
Soon young Pappello was thrown
INTO the shack with US. He had been
logged by a foreman and his body was,
! mass of cuts and bruises. They
1nally marched us twenty-five miles
through mud from eighteen inches to
-wo feet to Marion, the county seat.
wv We're held in the county Jail for
eventy-seven hours without a trial
Ihen we were taken before Mavor
Twenty days on the chain gang.
vas his sentence without waiting 10
lear our story, and so we We're p,lt to
1ammering rocks, with ball and chain
to keep us from running
lwaV.