The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-01

the city sherlu, beg 10 report they IOlnQ
the books, two in number neatly. and. as
far as they could Judge, correctly kept.
Charles r. Heron,
K. O.. Cabaniss,
Committee
The undersigned committee Of grand
jurors, appointed to examine the books
OF the clerk Of the city count beg leave TO
report that they have examined the same
and find them correct and neatly kept.
r /. Mccall
Chairman.
A. Nee. Duncan,
William p. Hunter.
Convict Camp No. IA special commit
tee visited camp No. l and made careful
inspection cf the premises and coavicts.
The committee found the place in good
order-the grounds well kept and the quar-
ters in as fair condition as ii rs possible
for the present sheds to be maintained.
The kitchen and storerooms are well
looked after. The sleeping quarters need
ventilation and in the hospital the same
lack Of space is painfully apparent. The
suggestion has been so often made that
new quarters should be built for the
greater security and better management
of the convicts that it is Unnecessary TO
urge 1t again. 1t Is enough TO say that this
need is increasing every year. Your com
mittee would suggest greater care in the
selection Of provisions. one box of meats
in the storeroom was not up to the stan
dard Of good, sound healthy food.
The committee made careful inquiry
into the condition of the convicts laid up
from the effects OF frosthitten limbs. This
is a matter pitable in the extreme. It
cries out to humanity for redress. There
are at present twenty-one men disabled
from cruel exposure on Friday, Dec. 28
1894, the coolest day of the season. Many
Of these men are suffering severely. They
are perfectly helpless and their cond ton
appeals to the most obdurate. Four OF
these unfortunates have been carried to
the Georgia Innrmary and seventeen now
lie on their hard board beds. in camp.
wrapped in blankets, full of pain, enact
ated and disabled. The fact that the
county has assumed the guardianship Of
these people makes the case more pitiable.
Our public officials have the power abso-
lutely to force these creatures into any
kind Of hardship. This fixes the response
bility for their welfare and proper treat
ment most unavoidably upon US and urges
that none but just and humane
men be selected to guard and direct
them.
The convicts in the hospitals can neither
walk nor stand. They are unable to wear
shoes. They lie chained and huddled to-
gether, suffering from what, in this eli
mate, is a most unusual affliction, but
which, at the same time, is slow ana GER
tain torture. Some of them VIII lose FIN
gers ana toes. Their feet are swollen and
discolored;- large gaping wounds are dis
charging blood and mucous, and in two or
three instances the men show signs OF dis
tress and general prostration. Most of
these conVicts have been laid up for three
weeks. Many of them will be on the sick
list much longer. Aside from the fact
that the county will be deprived of the
labor OF twenty-one men for so long a
time, humanity demands investigation of
this painful and unfortunate episode.
1t is not believed that any official would
be so blind TO decency or humanity as to
order man, of his own motion, to break
the ice and work all day in the water with
the thermometer far below the freezing
point. And yet from lack of authority or
through serious misunderstanding, this
very thing has been done. The rigoTs of
that Friday in December, memorable al
ready as the coolest day in seven years.
will never be forgotten in this camp. II
is not too much to say that twenty human
beings will carry to their graves the scars
of Prostitutes, resulting from that expos
ure-
The guard in command OF the squad of
eleven conVicts which stood ankle deep in
the old Casey canal most Of the day was
Oficer Morehead. The chief in charge OF
the convict guard is Capt Hughes. The
latter claims that he ordered the squads
into the canal and bitches on the morning
of Dec. % in accordance with the instFuc-
lions of the county engineer. Mai. Bland
ford informs your committee that when he
realized that it was rapidly growing colder
he sent word to the guards to withdraw
the men from the water. He claims that
the guards had this authority in this emer-
eency without any such order from him
self However this may be, the fact re-
mains that the men worked in the water
a great part of the day and were not with
drawn until late in the evening. The next
day they were worked on the banks of the
canal alone.
The painful effects Of the frostbites be-
gan to be felt one week later 1t is proba-
Bile that imprudence in putting their froz-
en- and benumbed limbs to the fire aggra-
waited this malady, but the effects are pain
full and apparent and may be prolonged.
In the camp hospital are seven of these
manned convicts. Ten more who worked
in the mud and slush of the ditch by the
side of the new Casey canal on that cold
Friday Dec. Is, and who seem TO be as
badly afflicted as the others, are confined
in one corner of the regular sleeping
quarters 1t is unfortunate that these men
should be compelled to stay with the reg
ular force at night, but in the present
eramped condition Of the camp and the
distressed state Of the men this cannot b.
avoided.
The grand jury would recommend that
the guards be given discretion in such
emergencies to avoid cruel exposure of
the men, and that officers of Intelligence,
humanity, and prudence be employed, to
whom such authority may be intrusted
We recommend, further, thai the county
engineer be authorized to withdraw the
convict forces from the canal during the
wet seasons of the spring and fall when
high water impedes the progress of their
work and during severe spells of the win
ter when the lives Of the men are endan-
gered. 1t is believed that during such
times the force may be used TO adNant 2 %