The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-14
WITH GRAND JURY
COMMISSIONERS WANT TO CONFER
AS TO REFORMATORY.
CONFERENCE WAS ASKED FOR.
TO DISCUSS COST AND PLANS OF
INDUSTRIAL FARM.

No Opposition to Resolution an6
Anxious to Do Their Full Duty.
Plenty of Time in which to Call
Election and Yet Conform to the
Requirements of the Law-ROads
Surfaced and Graded During the
Past SIonth-COmmissIOne Asked
to Act as Collecting Agency-Re-
fusaI to Pay n Claim May End in
Lawsuit.
The County Commissioners have in
vited a committee from the grand
jury of the Superior Court to meet
with them. at such time as the grand
jury may suggest, to consider questions
relating to the election to determine
whether a reformatory for youthful
criminals shall be established in Chat
ham county.
This action was taken at the meeting
of the commissioners yesterday after
noon, at which all the members of the
board were present, and the special
presentment of the present grand jury.
indorsing the presentment on the same
subject returned by the last grand
jury, was read. The resolution for a
conference was offered by Commits
sioner Moore and was passed without
a dissenting vote. There was no dis
cussion, all the commissioners seeming
to be perfectly willing to carry out
their duty. They desire in the first
place, however, to be appraised fully of
the best methods of conducting the re-
formatory and to be placed in possess
sion of some information as to it's pro-
bable operation and expense.
If the election is called within three
weeks, there will still be time to give
thirty days notice when it will be held,
as the presentment of the grand jury
on the subject was made Feb. 25 and
the law requires that the election be
held within sixty days from that time
The report of County superintendent
of Public Works and Roads w. f.
Chaplin showed that $500 linear feet
of the Montgomery road was surfaced
with shells during last month and that
in addition to this about the same
number of linear feet had been graded
The clerk of the board was authorized
yesterday to advertise for bids for fur
nishing sufficient quantities of shells
! to complete the surfacing of this and
other roads, the improvement of which
is now in contemplation.
Some of those who have employees of
the county among their debtors seem to
be anxious to transform the board of
County Commissioners into a collect
ing agency-in emulation, possibly, of
the similar effort recently made with
the Mayor and aldermen of the city. An
application from a lawyer asking the
commissioners to use their influence to
collect a debt was received at the
meeting yesterday and was referred to
the chairman of the board, with power
to act
! The county attorney reported adj
versely upon the request of Judge Bar
row, of the Superior Court to be fur
nished with missing copies of the SUI
preme Court reports. Col. Cam sug-
gested, however that the judge was
not without a remedy in the premises,
as the law required that these reports
be furnished him by the state and that
this had never been done. A bill of the
ordinary of the county, for stationery
and supplies bought by him for use in
his office, was ordered paid.
Contracts for county supplies, be-
ginning with April and continuing
over three months, were awarded as
follows: Groceries and grain, ]. e.
Grady & Sons; fresh beef, Sommers &,
Winkler; bread, Fred Schwarz; coal,
Herman Coal and Wood Company;
wood, d. P. Elliott; shoes, E. A Well
& Co.
A bill from NJ. L. Lilienthal was
turned down by the committee on ac-
counts, acting on the advice of the
county attorney, before it reached the
commissioners, Constable Lilienthal
has been acting as special officer at
coroner's inquests and contends that
under the law he is entitled to 81 for
serving each coroner's jury. His claim
is for about $40. The refusal of the
commissioners to pay this bill will pro-
badly result in a law suit