The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-02-18
CONvICTs BUILDING RAILROADS

= After the war. when Western North
Carolina had no transportation facili-
ties to reach the other parts OK the
State. the policy was adopted to use
the cony1cts to build the western
North Carolina railroad. After 1T was
built it was given away and the State
got the beggarly sum Of 100000 Tor
that magnificent road. the convicts
have been used to build the Cape Fear
and Yadkin Valley railroad. owned by
private parties. The p~enitentiary was
then a great burden upon the State.
In 1856 Hon. Augustus Leazar. after
wards Speaker Of the House, enun-
ciated tn policy that the time had
come for the State to quit boarding.
clothing and transporting and guard
ing its coovicts to build railroads to
be owned privately. It was a battle
royal. Not only the sections having
convicts working on the roads %
posed the proposition OF Ar. Leazar.
but other sections desiring to have a
piece Of pork out OF the pork barrel
opposed Mr.. Leazar and his sound
policy. But he was right and he won
and the State retired from railroad
building. Since then the penitentiary
has not been OF no expense to the
State, but it has a credit on the other
side OF the ledger.
A few years g there Was a demand
that the State should permit convicts
to build q railroad into Hyde and
| Allegheny counties. 1t was claimed
that these two counties were situated
not like any other two counties and
that il the State would build a rail
road into these two counties it would
not open the door to general railroad
building for private parties. How
ever. no sooner had the Mattamus-
keet work. which cost the State
many thousands of dollars and which
has g been operated as a railroad,
was completed. than other PROPOSE
lions were made for the State to give
ICANASt L]1SVA W O0AlA IAAAk OG&AS.
There is noN on the statute books
hall a dozen acts authorizing the CIV
ing Of convict labor to build railroads
for private parties whenever the State
Prison can spare them. It was a mis-
take to have ever gone into this rail-
road construction by the State, and
unless the State stops the use OF con-
v;cts it will not be long before the
State Prison will again be a burden
on the State and the taxpayers OF
North Carolina will be having to foot
the bills in building railroads in ever
section where the people can secure
enough "pu1r' to get the convicts
One railroad company is expecting t
build a road two hundred miles long
and claims to have a contract will
the State to furnish %convicts, an(
there are others. There are not
dozen counties in North Carolina tina
! have not sections remote from q rafl
! read. and II you ought to build rail-
. roads into Haywood and Iredcll. VIII,
} not build them in Wake and Neck
lenburg? II the system Is not stoppe'
we shall. have log-rolling to see whicI
= county can get the most convicts-
u The State has made no contrae
z with any railroad company TO furnis
it convfcts, except as the State may b
able TO spare them, and this is a mat
ter to be passed upon by the Counc
OF State, 1t IS surprising that tn
Council Of the State and the Legisla
n ture did not read the Constitution {
: North Carolina before permitting COZ
? victs to work for these railroad
ii Every convict employed to build
ct railroad has been employed in dire,
H. conflict with Article 5. Section 4
ia the Constitution OF North Carolin
a Part Of that section reads:
And the General Assembly sha
81, have no power to give or lend tt
ia oroI:t NJ thu Cto%o - 49, o;l -,