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Gen Wagoner Swayne 

Courtland Ala
August 15 1867

Sir
Mr J M Goodfellow wrote to you some time back and as you have never answered his letter and as I am one of the Labors interested in the Business he wrote to you concerning I take the liberty of addressing you. In the first place Mr Jones your agent in Courtland took the management of the crop that belong to Mr Goodfellow the first of January last to secure the Freedmen and at the time there was Forty three Bales gined out and ready for market. But instead of his sending the cotton to market he gave Col Ashford permission to ship the cotton at that time it was selling at from 25 cts to 30 cts per pound and at the time they hauled the cotton from the Farm they made the Freedsmen believe if they would hurry and get the cotton to Courtland they would be paid out of the Forty three Bales they were hauling as their contract bound all the crop for their Labor. they having the first Lien, some of the cotton was not gined at that time and your Agent Jones contracted with Ashford to Gin the cotton the last of January as Ashford had taken possession of the Farm but instead of gining the cotton immediately he did not have it gined until the last of March then the cotton was in the hands of another agent and he never shiped it until April late Then he sent it to market and says he received Two Thousand One Hundred and Sixty six dollars and paid some of the Hands he says sixty cents on the Dollar and some not so much and paid Ashford an account out of the money one Hundred and Thirty dollars for Gining the balance of the cotton and he bargined with Jones to do it for Forty dollars. I want to know of you if you will permit the Labor to be swindled out of their justly earning For swindle is the only word I can use to convay my meaning for swindle is so plain

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