The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-11
HOW coNvIcTS ARE TREATED.
A STORY OF THE CRUELTIEs PRAC-
TICED AT THE DADE MINES.

Pouring Water Down the Nose In
iii a Convict Is Almost Strangled.
Things Brushed Up when Commit
tees Go on Inspecting TOurs-Rob-
ert stitb, Who Was Sent Up With
the Eastman Rioters, Tells the
story-Mr. J. W. Hunt Gives Him
the Name of a Conscientious and
/ Hard working Negroes
J Some pretty harsh stories about the
/ treatment of convicts in the penitentiary.
! especially at the Dade coal mines in the
northwestern part of the state, are com
| ing to light every now and then when a
convict is released who has grit enough TO
| tell the story of how things go on without
4 the fear that any other retribution. will
/ follow.
1t is not often that the stories of con-
vict are believed, but now and then one is
/ found under certain circumstances whose
statement can be pretty well relied on.
| Robert Stith, who was convicted as one
| of the Eastman rioters and sentenced to
the penitentiary for life was pardoned by
! Gov. Atkinson a short time ago, and is
now in Savannah. Stith's pardon was Sc
| cured through the efforts of Mr.. J. w.
Hunt of the firm of Peacock Hunt & Co,
by whom he was formerly employed. and
who brought him to Georgia from North
! Carolina as a hand in 1874.
Stth was employed as turpentine hand
| in Dodge county. The day of the Eastman
riot when Harvard was killed, Aug. D,
/ 1852, he was in Eastman on an excursion.
| The evidence in his case was conflicting,
and he says his conviction was due to the
testimony of two witnesses, both of whom
had some grudge against him, as he was
at the depot fully a quarter of mile away
from where the killing occurred at the
/ time. The sheriff of the county, gave some
! little testimony in his favor, but II appear
ed his memory failed him, and II was
| somewhat doubtful.
| Mr. Hunt, who has known and employed
/ Stith for years, gives him the name OF an
honest, straightforward and hard-Work-
| ing negro Knowing this of him, Mr.. Hunt
| believed that he was innocent OF any con-
/ nection with the Eastman matter, and
| some time ago interested himself in secur-
ing a pardon. He did this through a petit
ton signed by a number of well known
| people of Eastman, including the judge
4 and solicitor under whom Suth was con-
| Victed. This petition was sent to Gov.
! Atkinson and Stith was pardoned Sept.
y, 1895 He went TO Tennessee, where
ne remained for some time. after which
/ Mr. Hunt sent for him to employ him in
| the turpentine business.
Edmund COX, VINO was sent 10 the mines
from Atlanta for murder, was the boss
| or warden under whom Stith was en-
ployed. Cox, he says is tyrant and prac-
tees several forms of cruelty. He does
| not complain particularly of any cruel
| treatment to himself, because he says he
worked as hard as he could, and always
| made it a point to do nothing which would
| attract any attention to himself.
But he tells a startling story of spe-
/ cies of punishment which would rival
some of the methods employed by the
Chinese in the awful barbarties which
| they infict upon criminals. In many In
stances for slight infringement of the
| rules, he states, Cox will order four Of
the big convicts to hold a prisoner down
| while another will have to pour water
| down his nose until he is strangled almost
TO death, when the culprit is released and
| allowed to recover if he can. This oper-
alton, he says, he has seen gone through
with as many as two or three times
in one week, and in one or two cases he
states the men were rendered entirely
worthless by this method of punishment
The other common form OF punishment,
of course, is whipping with the strap,
and Stth states the men are often whip
ped until they are almost insensible and
their flesh is cut and lacerated so that
they cannot stand. During two entire
years, he says, he never saw the light of
day except on Sundays, being kept down
in the bottom of the mines Many Of
/ the men are made to work in damp places
where the bad air makes it impossible
for them TO stay for any great length of
time.
Inc men, SUN says, get Just enough TO
eat to sustain life, except when the legis-
lative committees or other visiting COM
mittees, come around when little more
food is put in the pals. He made some
extraordinary statements with regard to
the brushing up and putting things in
order when these committees were eX-
pected. At such times, he states, clean
slips are thrown over the black and dirty
! mattresses on which the men have to
sleep, but these slips are put by for a
year as soon as the committee has COM
] Investigation
Members of such committees are never
permitted, if the chief warden can help
it, to hear any of the complaints of the
convicts, and if complaints are made, he
states, the committeeman are always in
formed that the convicts are lying, and
1 it appears to be taken for granted. The
committeeman, he says, are never taken
into the damp places with filthy air,
where many of the men have to work,
and which soon carry many of them to
Mr.. Hunt was surprised and shocked
when Stith accidentally made some
statements to him about the treatment
of the convicts and being convinced that
| Stiths statement was true he conSid-
cred it should be given to the public.
! especially in view of the fact that an in
| vestigation of the convict camps is eX-
| pected to be made within a short time.
Stith has nothing to gain or lose either
! way by his statement, and Mr.. Hunts
| only interest was one of humanity, it be-
| ing considered an outrage that human
| beings should be compelled to undergo
such treatment without anything being
done to correct the evils.
OF the seventeen negroes sent up for
| life on account of the Eastman riot, Stith
is the only one who has been pardoned.
| There is a belief. however, that two
others, Bob George and Gus Gibbs, both
! of whom are known here were innocent
| of any connection with the crime Five
| of those sent to the Dade coal mines have
died, and five are stin there Five were
| sent to the Chattahoochee Brick Com
pany's works. and two of these have
died.
THE CENTRAL'S BILL FOR OIL.