The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-09
SICKNESS WAS MUCH LESS.
AMONG COUNTY CoNvICTs TT DE-
CREASED THREE PER CENT.

Average Percentage of sickness
During Last Fiscal Year Was 5.5
Per Cent as Compared With So
Per Cent for the Year Before.
County Commissioners Order Me-
mortal Resolutions on Death
of Commissioners Guckenheimer
spread on Minutes - Report of
Superintendent Chaplin an Inter-
esting Exposition of Progress in
Drainage and Road Mal1ing-Coun-
~ Has 27.5 Miles of Paved Roads.
The March meeting of the Board of
County Commissioners was held at the
court House yesterday afternoon. The
meeting was made interesting by the
adoption of memorial and resolutions
touching the death of the late Commits
sioner Guckenheimer, and by the annual
report of Superintendent of Public Works
Chaplin.
The memorial resolutions upon the
death of Commissioner Guckenheimer were
read by Clerk Dillon just after the COM
missioners filed out of the inner and pri-
vate Office and took their seats around
the big table in the room that is the scene
of the boards public deliberations. There
were present at the meeting Chairman
Dale Vice Chairman Lathrop and Com
missioners Lyons and Simkins.
The resolutions spoke in high terms of
Commissioner Guckenheimer public SER
vices, of his zeal and devotion to principle,
of his careful and painstaking discharge
1e l,
officer and a man. The grief of the board
in his loss and the loss that the communi-
ty has sustained were expressed in feeling
terms. The resolutions were ordered
spread upon the minutes of the board, orr
a page especially devoted to that purpose,
copy sent to the family of Commissioner
Guckenheimer and published in the news
papers of the city.
Supt. Chaplin's report gave an interest
ing resume of the work of public improve
ment in the construction of roads and
the digging of canals laterals and bitches
that has been carried on during the year
ending Feb. l. 1t enters into a detailed
description of the manner of guarding and
feeding the misdemeanor convicts of the
county and of the various employments
in which they have been engaged since
the close of the iast fiscal year.
The number of convicts in camp on Feb.
!, 1899, was 240 while on Feb. of the
present year there were in camp 275, an in
crease of 80. The percentage of sickness
among these prisoners varied from 3S
peT cent. in April of last year to S.3 per
cenC. in tie preceding February. 1t is "a
matter somewhat strange that September,
generally regarded as one of the most I'M
healthy months in the year, should have
shown one of the lowest percentages of
illness among the prisoners, "A per cent
The monthly average of sickness during
the year was So per cent, a decrease of 8
per cent. from the preceding year.
The cost of guarding the prisoners DUR
ing the year 1899 was $13, 232. 43 and the cost
Of feed ng, S6,S29.79, making total for
both charges of $2Q,O62 ~ The average for
each prisoner during the year was S79.14
being a saving of 1888 over the average
for the preceding five years.
During the year the various gangs of
prisoners slushed 1867, $50 linear feet of
ditching and dug 1888 linear feet of new
ditching.
THE most important drainage work.
says Superintendent Chaplin in his report,
was the completion of the Buckhalter
canal, on April %, to station 25O its juno
ton with the Lamar canal, which was
deepened to a distance of about $500 feet
in order to allow it's waters easy access
into the Buckhalter canal and thence to
Its natural outlet, the Salt creek. Later
ais to the Buckhalter canal have been
laid out and work is being pushed on
them as rapidly as circumstances will
permit"
During the year 24,750 linear feet of ce-'
ment gravel were laid on the Augusta
road. With this addition the surfaced
roads of the county, with their length,
are as follows: