I have your letter of the 14th¹ enclosing one from Mr. Roberts.

I note what Mr. Roberts says but do not know how to reply to his letter. You will recall of course, that at the conference between yourself and Council and the Board of Directors of the Prison it was decided that as no formal application had been made for convicts to go on the Madison work that you would not formally take that matter under consideration. This at least is my understanding of what was done. I am sure, however, that no convicts were apportioned to this work and I am now trying to rearrange the prison contracts in such a way as to put fifty men as early as possible on the Hickory Nut Gap road and the remainder upon a cash contract with the Whitney Power Co. Dr. Pratt informed me day before yesterday that it would take about ten days to get in readiness for the Hickory Nut Gap work, but in a telegram to-day he says that he is trying to make immediate arrangements. I am sure it will be necessary for me to go with Col. Kerr to Hyde within the next two or three days and I have written Dr. Pratt that I could not begin the Hickory Nut Gap work until my return. I am returning you Mr. Roberts' letter² and hope that you will find some way to satisfy them that we cannot undertake this work without taxing the State Treasury. I am of course entirely willing to do whatever the Council of State and the Board of Directors think best to do.