The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-12-09


good behavior; that "a have escaped; 4
have died : one was shot in an alteration
with guard, and l. was drowned;.6 are
designated as trustees" who should,
prior to May /, 1875, have been dropped
from the records as Escaped" making a
total of 167 discharged during the. year,
and leaving 322 in confinement on the
31st October, 1875, Of which number 3l8
are males and 4 females.
am gratifed to state that great inn
proyements have. been made during the
past year in the management Of the PEN
.itentiary, especially in the cost of main
tanning the prisoners. On the 18th of
April, 1876, Col. 7. w; Parmele was ap-
pointed Superintendent, and on the 1st
iof May, 1875, he entered upon his. duties.
"a proper system of accountability for all
supplies furnished the Penitentiary was
at once adopted and enforced. A set of
books was opened in which the ccounts
have been. entered, and, written reqnisi-
:tions for supplies and vouchers for all
expenditures are now on file for the veri-
fcation Of all accounts. All supplies
received have been invariably weighed,
measured, or otherwise taken account of.
The results of these, obvious measures of
good management have been ,unmistaka-
File ;. '..,' ~ 49,. r'';':a = .tfi
| While.the number Of convicts has been
greatly increased, the entire cost of main
tsining this increased number has been
greatly reduced: Thus for the month of
April, 1875, with an average number of
convicts of 243, the pay roll Of guards
and employees was s1,426.78; while for
the. month of September, 1875, with an
average number Of convicts of 300, the
pay roll of guards and employees was
81, ,225.35. For the month of April, 1875;
the, cost of; groceries. and beef was S.
028.57; while for the month of Septem-
Der, 1875, the cost of the same items was
81, 1,027.15; the per capita cost for the
former month being 1884, and, for the
latter month $3.42., 80, r.: .a;;.-:
Notwithstanding many disadvantages,
the financial condition of the Penitentia-
~, at the close Of the year, was eminentfy
satisfactory. The failure; of the South
Carolina Bank and Trust Company caused
q loss of .$493. .92 in cash. Owing to the
deficiency of the receipts under the levy
of taxes made for penal and charitable
institutions for the Last year, together
with the failure of the South Carolina
Bank and Trust Company, {, the: sum Of
$4,000 in unpaid warrants remain now
on hand. These warrants, together with
the income derived from the sale Of bricks
made by convict labor, will, however,
fully meet all the outstanding indebted
ness of. the last fiscal year.
In the interior economy and discipline
of the institution many wise changes
have. been made. The more youthful
are now separated from the other inmates,
and constitute what is known as the Re
formatory Department" in which they
are regularly instructed every day by
competent teachers; and their time occu-
pied in such ways as to remove them from
the decentralization of constant association
with other and more confirmed criminals.
In the employment of the conyicts III
labor all has been done that was possible
under existing, laws. An attempt was
made to raise corn on lands near this city,
but owing to the late period at which the
work was begun, and.the severe drought
of the midsummer, comparatively little
was realized from this labor, though
enough was done to demonstrate that,
under ordinary favorable conditions,
such work can thus be made available in
greatly reducing the cost Of maintaining
The institution. Besides this; between
5000 and $4,000 worth of bricks'have
been made. ..s,'".a;2 ~ ;.ff . ~ ::
,,But the most advantageous use. of this
labor cannot be made while the present
restrictions Of law are in force, and | most
earnestly recommend that authority be
qiven, by change of the present lawJto
the Directors to employ, this labor in
such ways' as they may deem most 'advan-
tageous, provided it does not come" into
direct competition with other ;labor.:'i!o
q certain degree every man competes In
labor with other men, but it will be easy
to find employment for the able-bodied
inmates of the Penitentiary, which will
not sensibly effect the price OF amount of
the employment of other laborers. The
cost of maintaining our conylcts, now a
heavy burden, will thereby be greatly re-
duced, and the welfare, physical and
moral of the convicts will be promoted.
/ do not recommend an increased: Hap-
preparation for the support Of the Penl-
tentiary for the present year.. On the
contrary, if authority is given to the Dl-
rectors to employ the. labor OF the con-
victs, as above, recommended, shall re-
commend that the the appropriation be
reduced to $4,000. If such authority is
not given, I shall recommend that the
appropriation be continued at SAC, 600
and that So 900 of this sum, ,iif 80 much
be necessary, be used in constructing q
new roof for the South wing of the Peni-
tentiary,, and for putting q, roof on; the
NORTH wing, and for other permanent re-
The. past indebtedness Of the Peniten-
tiary contracted prior to October 81, :,
1874, Is, nominally, $S7 1889: - :,
In connection with this subject, i call
attention to the report of pardons; re-
prieves, and combinations granted by
ME since December 1, 1874, which i
herewith transmit, agreeably to the re-
uuirenaents of section II of article. III OF
the constitution. In. discharging this
most onerous and painful duty of my
Office, have endeayored faithfully to
redeem the promise made i'll my inaugu--
rsl address. The whole number of par
dons and combinations granted by me
III, to November /, 1876, was thirty.six'
With scarcely an exception, all apphca-
tions for pardon or Communication have
been referred by me to the Judge who
tried the case, and, as will be seen IN
nearly Or quite every case, my action has
had the sanction of the Courts and best
citizens Of the State.
At this point 1 also call attention te
thu matter Of rewards for the capture o.