The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1902-02-08
MISSISSIPPI
NOTES OF PAST AND CURRENT EVENTS.
BY KATE MARKHAM POWER.

RoN AOA uA6SuoolOh VI thC lioS-
ter of the "penitentiary Investigation
now In progress before a joint COM
mittee appointed by the House and
Senate to investigate the affairs Of the
penitentiary and its management, we
feel constrained to give it brief men
ton in these columns, despite the fact
that every newspaper reader in the
State is familiar with the matter,
through the publication reports of the
daily sittings Of the committee. More
than a little bitterness has already
oeen engendered by this matter and it
is spreading daily. Nor is this un-
happy state of things confined to
those directly concerned-their friends
and kindred, employees and acquaint-
ances even, are taking sides, and it
bids fair to spread it's baleful influence
to the utmost confines of the State.
Just who is right and who is wrong
n how far along these paths the &C.
cused have travelled no man Is pre-
pared to say, and unless things hurry
up a little 1t will be some time before
Cah bC i Will any Nv
gree Of accuracy. There is one thing
as sure as that the sun rises and sets
each day, and that is that the men
composing the committee mean to do
their duty, their whole duty and moth
Ing but their duty, regardless Of in
jury to themselves or their political
futures. They are among the States
best men. Most of them are men of
extraordinary ability, of deep learn
Ing and of wide experience; of incor-
ruptible integrity. 1t would be a rash
man who would dare to appeal to them
for anything save justice. Their po-
sition is exceedingly difficult, the du-
ties are unpleasant, the labor onerous
and the responsibilities great. No
money could pay some of these gen.
tlemen for the painful experience of
serving on this committee. And yet
they must do 1t, at their States be-
hest, and they must do it we'll. They
have no desire "to prosecute or perse-
cute" any But from careful in
vestigation last summer they are con-
WINGED that there is something rotten
In Denmark" Cor the penitentiary)
, and they are determined to trace it to
its source. No men in Mississippi re-
greet this state Of things more than the
gentlemen of the committee, we feel
assured, because the honor of their
State Is precious to them, and they
! would join in universal rejoicing to
find things straight and clean, and
Z ready for the light of day, in the Mis-
Z sissippi State p~enitentiary. That the
=, entire blame for the present unsettled
state of affairs does not lie with the
present management alone we, in
common with many others, feel con
fident. Things have too long been rur
j. in Mississippi as though we were al
: one great, big. happy, careles family
Such management, whether in big Of
little families, usually brings dire re
suits in Its train. The writer believes
another cause of confusion and com
: plant to lie in the fact that for 81
many years so much of the prison!
clerical work was deputed to suci
convicts as were found competent t.
u assist in Office work. Strict business
{ methods should be the rule in all Stat,
u institutions. 1t will save, in the end
" much labor, possible loss to the State
and certain embarrassment to those il
. authority at these various places man
aged by the State. The Senate ant
House, fully recognizing the import
q ance Of these Investigations, deter
d mined last week to hold no more after
noon sessions pending the investiga
O ton, SO the public sittings of the com
mittee are held each afternoon in tn
Senate chamber and are heard by al
D interested public. The ~sergeant-at
r arms spent most of last week in jouI
y neying on highways and into byway
IS to serve subpenas on two or thre
y score of witnesses who are needed b.
n side or the other.
The Grenada Sentinel tells us tina
:. En glish sparrows continue to multi
ply, despite all efforts at the extint
ton, and when they prosper othe
birds are dying out or are driven GU
by them. An Illinois sparrow hun
has just ended, and as a result fou
tons of sparrows were killed. TIL
ct hunt was INDUCED in by two partie
"a of farmers, twenty men on each sid
h The victorious party brought in 13
100 birds. while the losers bagged II
sc 600, a total of $4,000.
in The State has lost a great physical
y, and a good man in the death at h
t: home in Brookhaven Of DR.. ]. Wesle
lis Martin on the 25th of January at tn
of age Of 80 years. An immense concours
of those who loved him, and the thir
~ and fourth generations of those who's
W. physician he had been followed his r,
mains to their last resting place in tn
IS town he had loved so well and serve
IT. 30 faithfully.
ny On Monday, May 81, Yazoo City adj
ed one more cause for rejoicing to IL
VI 49, us-k kL-k l-- ----l. 49, L.