The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-10
GUERRY TAKES A NEW TACK.
MAKES CHARGES AGAINST PRISON
COMMISSION.

Asserts That Through Contract
Made in 1S0S State Is Losing Hum
dreds of Thousands of Dollars.
Pledges Himself, and Calls Upon
Col. EstiIl and MIR. Terrell to
Pledge Themselves, to Make Full
investigation If Elected Governor.
Prison COmmi ssiOners Make
Prompt Reply and DenOunce
Guerry's limitations of Fraud as
False.
Atlanta, May 9-In a card addressed
to Hon. ]. H. Estill and Hon. J. NJ. Ter
rell Hon. Dupont Query this after
neon makes an attack upon the Prison
Commission. He urges prompt reply
from both candidates. His card says
in part:
1T appears that in 1899 penitentiary
convicts were leased to a party or
lessee at a figure so low, namely, at
So per capita, per month, that such
lessee has ever since then been sub
letting them for about twice as much,
namely, about SIG per capita, and that
in this way the state has lost and is
losing hundreds of thousands of dol
lars that she has sorely needed and
now sorely needs to pay her needy pen
sioners and deserving school teachers,
and which have been reaped by this
lessee as enormous profits.
In connection with this manifest
wrong to the state, there are now GER
tain rumors afloat, that may be true
or not, involving some officials who
have duties to perform in relation to
our convicts and the leasing manage
ment and care of same.
Should l become governor, 1 will
urge the General Assembly to prompt
~ and thoroughly investigate this en-
tire subject with a view to ascertain
ing why such convicts were leased for
such grossly inadequate consideration,
and to discovering whether any such
o1ncers have been guilty of negligence
or corruption as such, and with a
view should any fraud be established
IN the making or procurement of such
lease, to have the same declared void
and the moneys wrongfully received by
such lease recovered and the Offend
ing officials appropriately punished.
will you?
Should the General Assembly re-
fuse to act in such matter | will ex-
ert all the constitutional power of the
executive on the subject to secure the
rights of the state and have justice
otherwise done in the premises.
viii you?"
The commissioners Reply.
Replying to the foregoing in a card to
the publisher tomorrow, the members
of the Prison Commission say:
This commission has had it's trans
actions examined into and advised
upon by every Legislature since it was
constituted and shall not wait for
either of the gentlemen named above.
or Whatsoever may be the next exec
utive of Georgia to urge the investiga-
ton of every official act of each mem
Der of the commission, but will of
its own motion request the Legislature
to give this department a further thor
ough and stringent investigation in or
der that the base insinuation contained
in this letter may be refuted
"All facts connected with the lease
of convict labor in 1898, with the names
of each bidder and amount offered and
bids accepted were reported to the Gen
eral Assembly of 1898, and widely pub
lished, and any rumor or insinuation
that there were negligence or corruption
connected Herewith, or any fraud in
the making or procurement of any
lease, so far as either of the present
commissioners is concerned, is ma
liciously false and deserves this de-
nunciation.
Mr.. Eason was not then a member
of this commission, but the other two
signers were. Joseph Turner.
Clement A Evans
Thomas Eason"