The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1904-09-09
MR.. r. n. pEYToH
Has Something to Say About Squire
Hayes Article on the Work
House Matter.
Editor Herald

Editor Herald:
In answer 10 Squire Hayes write-up
In your paper Of the 10Th. l wish to
say have been member of the Work
House Board OF Commissioners for
eight years and there has been num-
erous changes of superintendent and
guards. and any and all of them will
| bear me out when say / have always
told them and insisted that they should
be fed and clothed well. at the same
time to get the best work possible out
of them. As have. myself, during
the Civil War. been prisoner seven
months. / have always advocated
humane treatment to prisoners and
would be far from allowing any devia-
tion from this. Speaking of i'll treat
ment, l wish to say Maury county
Work house prisoners have been better
fed and better clothed by long odds
than the Confederate soldier ever was.
Squire Hayes says among other
things that ''the Work House Board
declared that every word of the testi-
mony of the prior witnesses was true
in every respect and that the Court
Committee reported it correctly and
Work House Board publicly announced
it to the crowd. +" | publicly an
nounced for myself, had no right to
disbelieve the testimony of the white
witnesses. but did not believe a word
of the colored witnesses.
Now as to Decorating the Sabbath.
| will say, Monday before we finished
grading the new road | told Judge |
Gordon ct. al, we could finish grading |
by the following Saturday night ana |
4 bAx oil
it could not be done. | announced to |
the guards and prisoners that if they
would hurry and finish said road, we !.
would reward them with a fine barbe- J
cue and allow them day extra time.
This stimulated them and agreeable
to my idea the work of grading was
finished and the prisoners did on sun
day, receive their feast of a barbecued
lamb and shoat. and so far AS whiskey
or other strong drink being on the
ground, there was none, but keg OF
cold beer was there and the prisoners
were given dipper each along with the
barbecue, and we say emphatically
there was the best of order and no mis-
on any ones part-further-
more the prisoners were not under lock
and key to partake of this sumptuous
east as Mr.. Hayes would have you
believe. | say was there and there
)nly to carry out our part OF the agree
nent and to see the prisoners enjoy
he reward of their faitful weeks
work and L am responsible for 1T.
Squire Hayes says ''he is infoI med
hat some of the guards have made
Iades with the Commission for their
positions. | wish right here, so far {
IS am concerned, to denounce this
statement as absolutely false, and to
lemand of Squire Hayes the name OF
lis informant. No man has ever
attempted such dirty work with me {
md l hope never Will. The community
,nows full we'll the class of prisoners
We have to work with, for sample Sam
,ago and Will Martin, two men, who s
When the guards attention is In an
ther direction from them, Will with 6
deliberate murder in their minds,
ssault the keeper with hammers and ;
t they did not kill him outright it
vas no fault OF theirs, and Sam so e
tated to Officer Goad, when he went {
0 Nashville for him. Talk is cheap
We have managed the county's bust {
ess the very best possible, ana ii one
,ould canvass the county from one
nd tosthe other and see the miles and
lilies of good free macadamized road y
hey would not be so ready to con-
emn. t
AS to the statement o. the cost OF
[. 10 per day for the hands, | refer to o
le report of W. B. Turner, Work b
louise Commissioner, which shows Q
hey cost fraction less than 80 cents y
er day above boarding and clothing ?
lem IN jail. D
If these innocent prisoners deserve
etter treatment than they have been q
citing, I would recommend Squire f
huron or Squire Hayes to the posi-
on. This will close my newspaper 9
Respectfully.
r.. Fl. PEYTON. liz