The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1908-12-22


was started BY irresp onstDle Wo=iEf M ~
who had beensent south by the com
pany, and then. after the usual man
ner Of .hoboes.H had run away from
their work and sought. by their tales
OF slavery to Justify taeif leaving
Several Of these men had them-
selves interviewed for newspaper
purposes but later when 1t came to
making affidavits as to the truth of
their statements they We're forced
to recant woefully and to admit they
were welI-treated while working on
the keys.
When the Florida East Coast ex-
tension was projected. the Florida
STATE authorities ofered TO the rail-
road. which has done all its own
construction work without sublet-
ting single contract. the use of
every convict under sentence. Had
this offer been accepted the road
would have had a sufficient number
OF men at work at forty cents a day
without the Importation of a single
bit of labor.
When the proposition was outlined
to Mr.. FlagIer by his representatives.
he declined to build the road by any
hands other than free American labor
and the work OF bringing in this labor
was begun. AT first the men were
paid s1.25 a day and had to make,
their contributions toward their own
commissary department.. This. as
was found early in the proceeding
was unsatisfactory and within short
time the railroad was paying mini
mam of $50 day to It's men and
was providing them with their food
and quarters.t Figures connected
with the work show that it has cost
the company s1.OS day to feed each
man employed and both Genera Shat
tue and General Brooke of the Unit
ed States Army, on tours of inspec-
ton of the work. declared that the
sanitary conditions of the camps and
of the commissariat for the men were
better than WAS to he found in the
regular United States Army.
1t is a Significant fact that while
the so-calied peonage cases were
pending in the United States court
fully 1900 letters We're received by
the men in charge of the construction
work and of the litigation, written
by men who had been engaged in
building the road and who voluntar-
lily offered their services as Witnesses
to tell of the conditions of the camps
and of the work The government.
on the other hand, had to pay expen-
sive mileage charges and expense ac-
counts for various witnesses that itsl
attorneys Gbrought from long dis
tances. without even establIshiEg 50
much as a semblance OF substantial
tion for its charges.
1t is noteworthy. in connection
with all that has been said and writ
ten concerning the work on this great
line, that each Fall. when construc
tion work is resumed after the hot
summer months more than fifty per
cent of the men who go 70 the camps
are men who have worked on the
line during the previous winters.
The camps in which the men liveI
are provided with well-built bunk
houses. each consisting of a largej
sleeping room with two tiers of hunks
extending down the center and along,I
each side. Each bunk is supplied
with clean bedding and a clean mat
tress filled with cut spouges, and IS!
covered with a mosquito netting.
There is a janitor employed at each
house to make the beds and keep the
place clean. Then there is a camp
eating-house where fresh meat is
served at least twice week. al
though in hot climates meat cannot
be eaten so heartily as in the north.
The houses of the superintendent
and of the engineers are located in
the camps and there also are librar-
les well stocked with papers and
magazines to which the men have
free access. and hospitals. in charge
of surgeons, where all minor cases
of illness or injury are treated. The
more serious cases are sent to the
main hospital of the road at Miami.
All of these institutions are main
tanned by the railroad. which already