The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-08-16

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what steps shall be taken in the mat
ter. and as Governor McSweeney is
out of town no action will be taken
for a day or two at least. He will
probably submit the testimony, to-
gether with the report to Attorney
General Bellinger for his official opin-
ion. Mr.. Bellinger, too, is out Of
towa. The report, though long, is
clear cut and to the point. 1t covers
q great deal Of ground, but there is no
unnecessary verbiage. Following is
the full text Of the document
To Hon. M. B. McSweeney, Governor:
The General Assembly of this State
at its last session passed a concurrent
resolution to appoint committee of
two Senators and three Representa-
tives for the purpose of investigating
the affairs of the penitentiary' with
instructions to report to you. The
undersigned we're appointed as said
committee and organized by electing
w F. Stevenson chairman. It select
ed John Taylor as expert bookkeeper
and Miss NJ. F. Gibbes as stenograph-
ier. Meetings were held from time to
time. as it was expedient to- do 80, as
is shown by the record herewith sub
,mitted. Much testimony was taken
bearing on the condition and manage
ment Of the penitentiary. The mat
ters examined were embraced Under
three heads: /. The treatment Of the
:conyicts. 2. The condition and man
agement Of the farms and the DISPOSE
tion os farm products. 3. The general
financial affairs Of the penitentiary
proper and the use and disposition
made of She assets Of the penitentiary
proper, including amounts due to the
same.
/. AS to the treatment Of the con-
victs: We find that Mr.. Neal has
always been an advocate Of humanity
and that wherever the treatment of
convicts came under his personal
supervision there is no doubt Of their
kind and humane treatment. One
instance Of very severe whipping is
reported as being given by one subor-
dinate, Mr. J. J. Cooley, for which
Mr. Nealis not responsible. We wish
to commend the methods used by Mr..
Miller, manager Of the Lexington
farm, in this particular: His man
agement has reduced the necessity for
whipping to a minimum, and yet he
gets excellent results. While We know
that the convict must be controlled,
We feel that the dictates Of humanity
require that the unfortunate who is
without character or legal standing
and without friends or hope Of redress
should be treated vita all the consid-
GRAFTON which strict discipline will
allow. We are glad to be able to
report that Mr.. Neal has always shown
his desire to do his full duty by the
convicts fror humanitarian stand
point.
2. We find the farming property in
fne condition, well stocked and well
cultivated; large crops are made. and
valuable improvements in the way Of
buildings and dykes and ditching and
clearing have been made during his
administration. The superintendent
deserve commendation for the ener-
getic and skilful management Of the
affairs and improvements made on the
property, both on the farms and at the
penitentiary itself. The DeSaussure
and Reid farms have been paid for
under the administration of Mr.. Neal.
We are not prepared to say that the
farming business, however, is pro6ta
Bile. There has been, for instance,
for the year Of 1898, an average of 139
hands used on the Reid and DeSaus-
sure farms. The evidence is that they
will pay $50 per year per head when
hired out, making $3.50 net from
their hire. The total products from
these farms for 1898 as reported by
the board was s41, ,O13.95. The cash
returned from the farm produce of
DeSaussure and Reid farms, pages "a
and IL, is s12,735.55; ninety-nine
bales of cotton on hand January 1st,
1899; there was possibly on hand at
that time under a liberal estimate
81 900 worth Of other produce, making
a total of s22,21O.55 accounted for,
and leaving balance of 8,8O3. 40
which must have been consumed.
Now, this crop cost, therefore, the
hire Of convicts, Sc, $50; accounts paid
for the two farms, $20,O69; rent of
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