The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-20
PRICE OF CONVICTS
WILL DE INCREASED BECAUSE OF
DEMAND FOR THEM.
REQUESTS NOW IN FOR a77
BASIS OF DISTRIBUTION 1 CONVICT
TO LOO OF POPULATION.

Active Demand from Counties VIII
Increase Price of COnvicts to
Lessees-They Can Afford to Pay
SIP "a Month for such Help-PrisOn
Commissioners Back from State
Farm-ExamIned MiIIedGe willie
Editor to RumOrs He Printed.
Whipping of Women to BE AbOl-
ished or Used Only I'm Extreme
ernOr.
Atlanta, Aug. 19-Thirteen counties
have applied to the Prison Commission
for short term convicts to work on the
public roads, as allowed under the re-
cent act of the Legislature. These
counties and the number of convicts
to which each will be entitled are as
follows: Troup, 81; Fulton, 1O6; Bib,
As; Coffee, la Jefferson, 16; Thomas,
Is; Coweta, %; Clark, 16; Monroe, IS;
Ware, 12; Johnson, 10; Richmond, 40,
and Lee, 8. Total, 377.
1t may be that some of these coun-
ties will get one more convict than
the number named. The basis of di
vision is population, one convict be-
ing allowed to about LOO of inhabit-
ants. In the event that any county
has a remainder of population APP
preaching that number, it may be an
extra convict will be allowed. This
point has not yet been acted on by the
commission.
Several other large counties in the
state are yet to be heard from. 1t is
said this demand from the counties
for convicts will tend to increase the
price to the lessee to whom about 1900
are absolutely necessary. The lessees,
it is stated, can afford to pay $50 a
month, or $24O a year for the men be-
fore it will be cheaper for them to use
free labor.
The indications are, therefore, that
the price to be paid will be considera-
bly, above the minimum fixed by the
Legislature, which was SITS year.
Back from state Farm.
Commissioner Thomas Eason of the
Prison Board returned to-day from Mil
ledgeville, where he has been with
Chairman j S. Turner, making an in
vestigation into affairs at the state
farm, as the result of the recent whip
ping of Mamie DeCris. Editor Vaughn
of the Milledgeville News was exam
iued by the commissioners with regard
to certain rumors which he printed.
No lie,
cuss any of the details of his visit to
the farm.
He was asked about a card published
in one of Atlanta's afternoon papers
this afternoon, and signed by DR.. I.
H. Adams, surgeon at the farm. in
which DR.. Adams declares that whip
ping is bruta1izing and a degrading
punishment, and that he does not APP
prove of it.. His only duty he states,
is to say whether a prisoner is physi-
cally able to stand such punishment.
Mr.. Eason's only reply was: 1.-THE
time for him to have made those state
ments was yesterday when we were
there" There are many applications
before the commission for the places to
be vacated by Supt. Foster and Deputy
Warden Ailagood, and the commission
will decide on two new men within the
next few days.
Punishment for Women.
The commission is discussing the
matter, at the request of Gov. Terrell
of making a new rule with regard to
the punishment of women. The Gov
ernor has asked them to correspond
with the prison commissioners of other
states and to get all possible Informal
ton on the subject after which a new
rule regulating the punishment of
women will be prepared. Whipping
will be done away with altogether or
will be used only in extreme cases.
want Nuisance Abated.
Gov. Terrell to-day appointed a COM
mission under a resolution OF the
Legislature which has interesting du-
ties before it. The resolution provided
for the appointment of a commits sion
consisting of the state geologist, COM
missioner of agriculture, attorney
general and two citizens of Union and
Fannin counties to investigate the
complaints that the fumes from the
copper smelling works of Ducktown,
Tenn, fifteen miles across the line, are
destroying the trees and vegetation in
those counties, and to suggest what
measures can be employed to abate
the nuisance, if any.
Gov. Terrell named w, F. Gambler of
Union county, and John H. Witzel, or
binary of F'annin county, TO act with
the states officials named.
The State Board of Education did
not meet to-day to take up the ques-
ton of uniform text books as was ex-
pected on account of the sickness of
Secretary of State Phil Cook. The
meeting will be held in the next day
or two
There were many representatives of
book publishing concerns around the
Capitol to-day awaiting to hear the
boards action, and they are still wait
ing.