| Near Bainbridge |
| Jan the 22nd 1864 |
| |
| To his Excellency Joseph E Brown |
| |
| Sir, |
| I have taken the liberty of
addressing you to call your attention to a matter that bears heavy on
the poor in this community There is in half a mile of my house over a
hundred negroes engaged in grading the S A & G R Road {Savannah,
Albany & Gulf RR}. They have been here for the last six
months and it will take them twelve more to finish the road at this
point. The only thing to be complained of is that they are consumers
and not producers in this time of great scarcity. What they consume
makes it difficult for the poor in this immediate section to get
supplies. The contractor is a gentelmany man, and his efforts to feed
his laborers are praiseworthy, if he was not depriving the poor in
doing so. I conversed with the contractor a few days since and asked
him if it would not be advisable for him to stop his work on the road
and go to producing for the resent, he replyed that he was under
contract and subject to be fined if he did not complete the contract
to time. |
| Now Sir I am a stockholder in
this Road and I know this part of the road cannot be finished before
the war ends. Is it right to have such a number of negroes consuming
in this time of scarcity when they might be producing, and if it is
wrong is their a remedy. |
| Respectfully |
| C Curry |
| {Noted on the reverse
that it was answered on Feb. 2, but the reply is not given.} |
|