The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-02-11
HOW TO EMPLOY THE CONvICTs.

funds RI comm the road, and. tneFe-
fore the work done by the State a
not vet been Of any u
HYDE County. A temporary option
has been given to certain parties look
ing toward eauipping and operating
the road which option. the Board
says, may or may not amount 10 any
thing. OF course. the stock which tne
State owns for grading the road Is
not worth the paper it is written on.
Second: The Board says that four
teen miles of the Elkfn & Allegheny
road has been graded and ironed. The
State has invested $4,000 in this
work and holds stock in the company
for that amount. OF course the stock
is worth nothing. The Board says:
'"This road is opening direct communi-
ca ton to the rest Of the State. reach
ing the counties beyond the Blue
Ridge, and to that end, seems to be
Of prime importance and to justify
the use Of convicts on the work"
Third: s~3S.50o.O0 has been invested
in convict labor in grading the States
| Vile Air Line Railroad. It says the
| cash value OF the States investment
in this road is unknown. 1t has no
cash value.
Fourth: The State is using convfcts
to the value Of $11,S0O at work on the
Transcontinental Railroad. The Board
says: Eighteen conv1cts are still en-
ployed in grading this road for which
the State will receive additional shares
of stock. We can place no present or
future value Oh this stock"
Here re have in these three rail
roads. the following amounts:
Mattamuskeet Railroad IS s~9,7e5.0o
Elkin n Allegheny go. $40, 900. 90
Statesvilie Air Line ....:. 3~8,50O.OO
Transcontinental -....... 1880. 90
S 90
This was how much we had spent
on these roads up to the first Of the
present year. The work is still going
on and we are spending a thousand
dollars a week more in building these
roads. One third Of the deficit in the
State Treasury is due to buildine.thesa
railroads. II the ~convicts. who work.
ed, building the roads for which the
State gets nothing but stock that will
never have any value, had been hired
out to build roads for counties needing
them. the deficit in the State Treas
ury would be $29o.o65 less than it is.
It Is for the Legislature to say
whether h penitentiary shall con-
tinue to build railroads, which will in
ure to the enrichment Of private
parties and continue to make = de-
ficit in the State Treasury by reason
OF such giving away Of convict labor
whose support and maintenance and
guard are paid out OF the penitentiary
fund; or for the ~penitentiary to quit
n to build county roads and ge
; Into business OF road building. We
are making some progress in roaG
building, blu it is very slow in com
parEon with what we would make il
we were to stop using able bodied
~conricts to raise peanuts and cottor
: and build railroads for private parties
and let them work on the count,
: roads You may talk all you pleass
about building roads and what tn
: State IS going to do in road building
. in the next four years. but, excep
y what IS done IN the more progressiv,
counties. road building will drag un
less %convicts can be employed in build
= ing these roads, nj eve In the richie
II and more progressive counties, tn
- work will lag unless they can &c
convicts to build them.
The way to stop the deficit an,
build roads is to stop building rail
:. roads n put convicts. to buildin
= good roads. requiring the counties t
- pay the State for their construction.
10 LONG STEP FORWARD.
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