The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-01-14
VANS AN INVESTIGATIONS.
One of tho Penitentiary Directors
Charges Extravaganza on the Part
OF the superintendent.

One of the P~enitentiary Directors
Charges Extravaganza on the Part
OF the superintendent.
In connection with the report Of the
Superintendent Of the P~enitentiary,
somewhat OF q sensation will be Great
ed by a minority report OF Mr.. T. c..
directors, who charges that the in
stitution has not been conducted ac-
cording to sound business principles, |
aud that he has been unable to get ali
the light he wanted in reference to
the transactions Of the Penitentiary.
The majority report on the other
hand commends the "wise aud sue
'cessful" management of Colonel Neal,
and expresses the belief that the Peni-
Tertiary has a bright financial future.
Mr.. Willoughby says in his report to
the Governor:
AS q member of the Penitentiary
Board of Directors, l beg leave to
make the following report. 1 concur
with the majority as to the condition
OF b property under our charge, but
in so doing 1 do not sanction the man
agement, which / am inclined to think,
from personal observation and the in
formation attainable, is not of that
kind which commends itself to sound
business principles. The want of
economic ideas and the glaring ex-
travagance Is such as should call for
legislative investigation and remedy.
The system of bookkeeping and
monthly statement in vogue in the
institution Is not such as throws light
upon the fiscal transactions of the in
stitution, to those who like this Board,
have only q limited time to examine
and investigate. And my experience
in seeking information from the ac-
countants of the P~enitentiary leads me
to infer that light Is the last thing de-
sirable, 0 that / charge anything dis
honest l only narrate my experience.
The supply of the vast amount of
supplies of all kinds needed for the
~Penitentiary, its farms and camps, it
seems to me, should he let to compe-
tition and awarded to the lowest re-
sponsible bidder, and not left as at
present in the entire control of the
gu oerintendent. The lax manner of
examining and passing accounts by the
board needs Legislative attention, since
the board itself has failed to see the
necessity of reform on that line.
The system Q contracts and hiring
is TO my mind SsA many instances in
violation of the Statute, and there
are irregularities and violations of
law within my own observation which
are perverslve of that good order and
management which the public have a
right to expect of us.
Respectfully submitted,
L. @. WILLoUGHBY,
Florence, S. O., January 9TH, 1896.
THE MAJORITY REPORT.
The following Is the report of a ma
jority OF the Board Of Directors, who
sustain the management OF Sup't. Neal
The report is addressed to the Cover.
nor: -
dear Sir; We beg respectfully In
submit the following report as the
board of directors OF the South CARROLL
n ia ~Penitentiary for fourteen months
beginning the LIST of November, 1894,
and ending the 31st of December, 1895,
the new constitution having changed
the fiscal year to January 1st, 1896,
making 1t necessary that our report
cover fourteen months.
Owing to the death OF one Of our
esteemed members on November 22nd,
1898. Mr. j. M. Sprott, our Board con.
sists now OF only four members, T. j.
Cunningham, j. w. Lyles, s. p. Gar
ris and T. @. Willoughby.
The aggregate receipts for the four
teen months were $147, O60. go esti-
mated value OF crops on hand, $15, 600. 90;
amount due from convict hire and
other sources, 3,242. sd making a
total of $i65, 305 Ia.
The disbursements we're S144, 921. 8S
Liabilities, not including Reid farm.
4,6S7s39 ; making a total OF $I49, 619. 81,
and leaving an estimated balance OF
$l5, 685.27.
We are pleased to say that the
prison is In frst-class condition In
every respect. The prisoners are
being we'll cared for, and every de-
partment shows a creditable manage
mont. We do not deem II necessary
to go into details, as you will find
annexed T., this report a full and COM
plete statement from each officer in
charge of the various departments.
The DeSaussure farm has been paid
In full. The Board thought 1t wise to
purchase the "Reid farm adjoining
the "DeSaussnre farm" and did SO, at
o cost of $3.50. These twoplaces make
o very desirable farm, aggregating
4,7i2 acres, and both places have been
thoroughly equipped with machinery,
wagons, mules, etc, at q cost of about
$4,000. The bottom lands have been
thoroughly dyked, and we believe
capable of resisting freshets. These
farms have been worked this year by
the ~penitentiary for the frat time.
The institution owns seventy-nine head
OF mules and horses, sixty-eight OF
which were purchased this year.
The only outstanding indebtedness
against the ~penitentiary now is the
purchase price az the Reid farm"
We take great pleasure in saving
that the condition OF the penitentiary
In general, under the wise and success
full management OF its superintendent,
Col. w. A. Neal, is all that could be-
expected, and we desire to express our
high regards for him, both as o busi-
ness man and u superintendent of the
p~enitentiary.
In conclusion, allow us to express
the belief that the penitentiary will
begin the new year with q bright fl.
nanoial future, as 1t seems TO us all
necessary improvements, for some
time to coYt4, have been supplied.
Our business relations with the
various Officers and guards have been
agreeable and pleasant, and we desire
to express 10 each OF them our appre-
Of the manner In which they
havg discharged their respective
duties. Respectfully,
we CUNNINGHAM, Chairman.
NLYLEs,