The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-08-23

FREDERICKSBURG WuOs SbEhuR6 10
say, organized q persistent lobby
against it. A new bill was then intro
ducad, appropriatiDg a different
amount. The bill passed, despite the
opposition, but was soon spirited away
by the dainty touch Of some soft hand,
and now lives only as a spectre of
some forgotten dream which haunted
the present management whenever an
account was to be made. Superintend
n Le6z9r begged for appropriations
during his term of office, and secured
them and used them. IL ia strange he
was 80 bitterly opposed to them as he
was when he was to be superseded by
another. When the penitentiary was
turned over to Superintendent Smith
it was in the condition almost of q
busted" farmer with all the trials and
trlbulations ahead of him in the q
agement of his eff airs. He had to
buy everything, when he could and
where he could on long time and
long prices. In the face of all these
difficulties, the showing made in his
report is remarkable.
The number Of escapes has very
much decreased.
The sanitary condition has been i'm.
proved and the death rate reduced.
Discipline has been maintained, and
the management of the convicts has
been firm, but humane. They have
done satisfactory work and have made
and harvested the largest crops ever
made on the farms; and for the first
time in the history of the institution,
at least, since farming operations be-.
gan, the assets were sufficient to pay
the Indebtedness. Had cotton not
been extremely low, a handsome profit
would have been the result OF the op
erations of 1897.
Your obedient servant,
CLAUDIUs DOCKERY,
President of Board of Directors.
Report Of Superintendent of the State
Prison for the year 1897:
To THE Hon 5RABLE BOARD OF D1REo
TORS CT THE NORTH CAROLINA PENI
TERTIARY:
In pursuance of Chapter 219, Section
5, sub section s of the Acts of the Gen
eral Assembly Of 1897, requiring an an
nual report from the Superintendent OF
the State Prison, / respectfully here
with submit my report for the year
1897: In December, 1897, I had an in
ventory taken on all the farms. This
inventory was handed to the board at
your January meeting and as the re
ports from the several officers Of the
institution had not been completed
these reports mainly consisting Of sta
tistics-the report was referred by your
board to the chairman, Mr.. Claudius
Dockery, to complete. Asa part of my
report would necessarily cover three
months of the former management from
the 1st of January, 1892. to the 1st Of
April, 1897 q did not take actual
charge until the 1st of April, 1897, Mr..
Leaz5r remaining in charge, and con
sequently and necessarily spending a
great part of both farm products and
money on hand) Mr.. Dockery wishing
to deal fairly, employed the clerk of
the former board to make out so much
of the statistics and report az could
only be gotten from the books in the
peni.entiary. / had an inventory pre-
pared in March, 1897. That inventory
very greatly from that Of Mr..
Leazer, for the reason, his report was
made on the last of December, 1896,
and three months later when ! took
charge there had been q great many
changes made. The supplies on hand
were nearly all exhausted, and the
property on some of the farms had been
transferred to other places; for in
stance, the Castle Hayne farm is stated
in his report as having seventeen hund
red and seventy two dollars and fifty
cents worth OF live stock on hand. |
did not find anything there on the 1st
of April, 1897. The farm was aban
doned before I took charge. I found
the central penitentiary in fairly good
condition as the main body. The front
part of the building had never been
completed, and was partially boarded
I'D with rough boards and very I'm.
slightly. I had this completed and
greatly improved. Most of the work
was done with convict labor and with
little expense to the Safe, except
for material. I also constructed the
Criminal Insane Department. l found
oDIy q small garden near the building.
I enlarged the garden and it was of
great assistance in feeding the convicts
at the Central Prison. found most Of
the machinery badly cut of repair, and
- -r~Ray~ Cr1wrIU re = b an