The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1907-08-22
HOW coNvcTs WE'RE SECURED.

from the officials In charge Of the
State Penitentiary.
A railroad Is being built from
Lumberton TO Hope Mills, In Cum.
berland County, aud the promoters
have been badly in need Of labor.
AS early as last January, and again
In February the officials Of the road
applied 10 Mr.. J. s. Mann, Superin-
tendent of the Penitentiary, for con-
vIcts to work on their road, Offering
TO make the same contract as did
other parties who had secured con-
victs from the State. They were
told that no convicts were available /;
that all had been hired out that
could be spared. The railroad off,
clals then asked If they could secure
some convicts as soon as the con-
tracts they were then hired under
expired.
The authorities at the penitentiary
replied that all the convicts that
could be hired out had been con-
tracted for, The railroad got some
Of the States convicts, but they had
to contract for them through
Florida syndicate, and pay that syn
dictate 9 big profit. We copy below
Q part Of the Robesonian's editorial
on the subject:
"About ten days ago convicts to
the number of fifty were obtained
and they ara now at work on the
Virginia and Carolina Southern, but,
mark you, these convicts were not
obtained from officials of the State
prison; they were obtained through
nonresident Observation-Disclosures
contractors-who charged this rail.
road 10 per cent advance ON what
they pay the State; in other words,
these nonresident contractors get
the convicts from the State-the
State furnishing guards, clothing
and food-for $3.50 per day, and for
these same convicts the Virginia
and Carolina Southern Railroad,
which is being built by home CAPT
tai and which will mean much to
this section, must pay these non
resident contractors $1.72 IL per
day. at q total profit of $500 per
month for the contractors. And at
the time these nonresident con-
tractors hired these convicts to this
railroad they proposed to promise
any number from so to 100.
Although the officers of the Vir-l
ginis and Carolina Southern offered
In January and February $3.50 per
day for cOnvicts, and were repeatedly
told by the State Prison Superinten-
dent that it would be impossible to |
obtain them since all the convicts
had been contracted for, convicts
have since been allowed to work on |
railroads for stock in the roads, the
value Of said stock being an I'M
known quantity and perhaps worth
less.
If what Mr.. Mann stated to the
railroads here be true, how could he |
furnish convicts to other roads |
Why cannot citizens of the State get |
cOnvicts except through nOn-resi-
dent contractors, at a bonus of Is |
per cent? Why could not the Super
intendent Of the State Prison fur
nish convicts to the railway here
when non resident contractors could |
furnish any number from SO to 100,
ordering them sent here, too, direct |
from the State prison? How could |
convicts be furnished to other roads
for stock when the Virginia and
Carolina and Southern could not hire
them for cash, at the prevailing
price?
We have gone into this matter at |
some length because it is a matter
that is of concern to the people of
this section. We should very much
like to have these things explained"
This is peculiar situation, to say
the least, and one that should be ex-
planned to the people of the State.
How is it that a Florida syndicate
can get as many convicts as they
want from the penitentiary, and
home enterprise hardly treated with
courtesy when they make applica-I
tion for convict labor to work on
their road?
The Wilmington Messenger sug-l
gests that Col. N. A. Mclean, the
representative Of the road who made
application for the convicts was
member Of the last legislature and
was in opposition to the Winston
Justice faction in that body, and is
persona non grata with the powers
that be.
LIS 1t true that peanut politics
played part in the situation, or is
1t true that the penitentiary officials
made secret deal with the Florida
syndicate 30 they could farm out the
convicts at great profit to them-l
selves =? The people have a right to
know.