The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-08-16
THE PENITENTIARY SCANDAL.
Finding of the Investigating Committee.
s Columbia State, August 9Th.

which, at a liberal estimate from Cne
testimony before us, could not exceed
! $4,000 from the crop Of 1898, which
would necessarily leave loss of S1O,-
562.32 from farming operations on
those two farms.
3. AS to the general financial affairs
Of the penitentiary proper and the use
and disposition made Of the assets,
etc., we are constrained to report that
the Investigation has brought forth a
state Of affairs which is not credita-
! BILE. In the first place it will be found
by a close examination Of the testi-
mony taken that the directors knew
too little of the affairs Of the ins5itu-
I! ton and were too subservient to the
will of the superintendent. The fact
(; that there were about 81 800 Of Rags
dale notes in the bank with the peni-
tentiary endorsement representing
convict hire for two years on Mr..
Meals place, while the directors
thought the hire had been paid, shows
that their knowledge of the affairs ci
the institution was entirely superb
cial. The fact that they paid him $40
a month stable rent for six years and
two months for allowing penitentiary
horses to stand in the stables, where
they were kept purely for his conven-
ience, and now profess not to know
they were paying it is another eyi-
dence Of the somnolence of their
faculties when appro wing accounts.
They either knew that such was the
case, or they did not know it. If
they knew they were paying it, they
were deliberately yielding to Mr..
Meals desire for money, to which he
was not entitled, and were therefore
culpable, or, if they didn't know it,
they were approving and paying an
item monthly for several years which
was wrong and never found out.
Either supposition is sufficiently hu-
initiating. We would note here that
We know Of no law authorizing the
directors TO keep lot Ct horses and
carriages for the use Of the superin
tendent's family, and we regard it as
an unwarranted extravaganza. The
evidence here is that the bookkeeper
had to use his horse on penitentiary
business, for which the State fed him
in part, while the horses for whose
stable rent We were paying handsome
ly were being used by the superinten-
dents family. The evidence is that
there was stable room for these horses
at the penitentiary. The custom Of
entertaining largely at the peniten-
tiary grew up also under Mr.. Neal.
Crowds ate there free at the bounty of
the State, making the taxpayers their
hotel keepers, and exercising thrifty
instinct to get all they could at the
public credit. Unfortunately the
board of directors set the example by
boarding themselves there, thus add
ing to the pay allowed by law the fur
ther provision of hotel bills. In JUS
tice to the board, however, we will
say that after this investigation was
begun and that matter was brought
out they decided to discontinue that
practice and pay their own board.
This is at it should be. The lavish
entertainment there, though, vas such
| as should not be tolerated again.
Politicians, contractors, State consta
bles, and personal friends all found a
welcome and good cheer there. The
result has been that the institution
came to be considered as place where
any accommodation desired could be
had, and as result We find many
things to report as wrong. We find
that he has given away many articles
produced by the penitentiary to promi-
nent men, such as bookcase to Con-
gresham Latimer, furniture to D. H.
Tompkins, Secretary of State, and T.
j. Cunningham and S. P. J. Garris,
directors, and Senator Tillman, who
also got carload of brick, which he
says Neal gave him, but which Neal
says he sold him. Most Of these arti-
cles Neal processes to be ready to pay
for, although he had never charged
himself with them up to the institu-
tion of this investigation. Mr.. Garris
also got a carload Of brickbats and
some pigs and turnips, for which Mr..
Neal does not think he should pay.
Garris had been anxious to settle the
pig bill, but could not get it made
out, and the other items were mere
presents and they contend were worth
less. We do not think it wise, though,