Newport weekly independent., 1903-01-23
Urges Rev sion of Law Governing Management of the State
 Penitentiary.
FAYORS THE REMOVAL OF SUPT. HOGINS.
Dwells at Length on the Action of the Pcnitentiary Board In Purch sing tho Cummings Farm.-Favors Fellow-Ssr- wants Bill, Reform School and More Drastic Trust Legislation.

eiuOE l'dNlS IlcSodSC' do 1cdet pS- fore the general assembly in joint session:
 In delivering to you this message it shall be my purpose to indicate to you in brief. concise manner the legisla- tion necessary to better admlnis- tration of state affairs. viewed from my experience of two years as your chief executive, which I hope shall be supplemented by your own practical, conservative experience, to the end that when this honorable body adjourns 1t may be truly said that something of good has been accomplished for the peo- pie of our state, and that our time has not been frttered away in useless and unnecessary work.
 Revision of Law Regulating Peniten-
 tiary.
 The first subject to which 1 would direct your attention and the one which lies uppermost in my heart ana mtna, is a thorough remodeling and revision of the law regulating our present penl- tentiary system.
 Under the present, system, the chief executive of your state is burdened with the entire responsibility of the manage ment of this institution, yet he is cloth, ed with no authority to remove any evll
  where tie responsibility rests, the law should be so framed as to afford remedy
 1 submit for your respectdul con tenn. where the convicts are employed not in the walls of the penitentiary, but at various points in the state, it would be absolutely impossible fer this board, composed of these state officials, whose official duties other than as members of said board are numerous and ardu- rn tn statute regard. and visit the camps. which are. in fact the .penitentiary, and perform management m ilt should be placed in the hands of board of business men, to each Congressional district, subject to the approval and confirmation of the members of the House and Senate com com, board should be authorized to employ, a clerk at fair salary. They should be authorized to do the buying and selling for the penitentiary on competitive bid ding and by sample just as is done in the case of your charitable institutions. Under the present system there are no on under the present management. The financial agent buys at will from any person that he may see proper, spend ing during the year substantially the en- tire product of the penitentiary. It has been clearly demonstrated that the penitentiary can easily be made self l wise the law as that there shall be ap- propria ted directly out of the state treas ury a sum sufficient to defray the run, require that each and every dollar earn ed by the penitentiary be turned into the state treasury to the credit of the ey thus appropriated be paid out only on auditors warrants. just as any other appropriation is expended.
 As it is, the penitentiary has become o where and no accounting can be had of their transactions have but atoa to ot Gall ian that has recently occurred, which will give you an idea of how things are be- ing run to the detrment of the state cotton had touched the lowest point that market has known this year, the present financial agent sold 75o bales of cotton to the GeIrge han ayrT raylor cottnn o1 man advised him that to hold the cot ton one week it would be worth s1;5oo ore t9 f ba the boaSd had ed him to sell it. and it must be sold at all hazards. An examination of the rec tiary board does not disclose any such order in board meetings.
 The superintendent s,,nn1 had had only been in ra office snort wtbof tune nv ~neh nre to direction from the board as such, or without consultation with any member Arkansas Brick & Manufacturing Com. pany TO men, making the number of men required by their contract, name ly $oo thus placing them under the Pulaski Chancery Court, there to re- main for the life of this contract and ing this contract so as to keep it up to the required number of 300 men. He not only does that, but he permits this private corporation to hire to the Little S- tional men over and above the 300 pre- scribed by their contract. for $1.50 a a dollar a day for each convicts ser vice. while the state receives only fifty cents. and at the same time guards fention 'dI to the n men This 9e 9eo1Ga men at say, was over and above and in addition to any number that this corporation contract, He permits them to hire in all to the said railway company 336 men, 120 men outside of the. contract the remainder he had furnished them superintendent; thus he enabled this cor poration without ever turning it's hand of convict labor of the state:
 If you give your chief exec utive, whether, myself or another, the intendent and remove nina him at wi will. then the spirit of their dreams and a super lUIeDucDt or tile lfel1lLcntETy WILL De aD- pointed who will at least be willing to carry out the policy of the administra- tion. who does not think it popular and the proper thing to thwart and throttle the desires of the chief executive.
 Purchase of Convict Farm.
 Tn connection with the penitentiary and it's reformation the most important matter for your consideration. and one which has engaged my attention more closely than any other, is the purchase of state convict farm. It has always been one of the expressed policies of my administration to purchase con Vfct farm accessible to the city of Little Rock upon which to work the state conVicts.
 Under the act of 1897. the legislature. in extra session, attempted to vest the power of purchasing a farm in the pen itentiary board. The penit, ntia- ry board for the last twelve n, 1nths have made repeated efforts to have sub mitted a farm suitable for the purpose of working convicts upon it. In this .ffort I have joined most heartily and cordially wherever I thought the pur- chase was a suitable and desirable one. Within the last few months several propositions have been submitted to the board, and within the last sixty days the purchase of farm has been made. ar1 la sod hot is tx,,nx