The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-26
HUNTSVILLE JiIL
 IN BAD CONDITION  Prisoners Blankets Not Aired
 for Years EVERYTHING WAS FILTHY Captain Eugene Northlnston Has sol- diers to Aid in .,uttins it in a Sanitary condItion-very
 Unhealthy.
EVERYTHING WAS FlL1HY
BY FRANK H. BELL.

When the grand jury was making it's report in Huntsville. recommending the impeachment of the sheriff, the chief of police and the mayor, it failed to look into one matter which demands attention.
 This matter Is the condition of the Madison county jail, and the condition of the prisoners hunks and bed cloth ing in the jail. When the soldiers first arrived at Huntsville, the jail was in a most horrible condition and the filth could literally be scraped off of everything around the prisoners quarters.
 The bath tubs in the jail were crusted with dirt in many places, and they had to be thoroughly scrubbed and scraped out before they could be used by the soldiers. Details were put to work clean ing out the jail, and before -the boys had been there more than. three days the interior of the building presented an entirely different appearance
 Dr. Northlngton's Inspection.
 Dr. Gene Northington, detailed for duty with the company under command of Captain Brown, made thorough in- spection of the Jail. and discovered a state of filth that no one would believe unless they made a similar inspection.
 One prisoner who has been confined in the jail for three years stated that during that time his bed clothing and blankets dad not even been aired, much less cleaned or changed. These blankets were taken out and the filth was found crusted on them an eighth of an inch deep. They had to be taken out, aired. scraped and cleaned before Dr. Northing- ton would allow them to be again placed in the hunks. This was found true of the blankets and bedding of at least dozen prisoners, although none of them had been confined the same length of time as the one first mentioned.
 In the jail there is an alleged crazy man, evidently about 65 years old, and who Is perfectly harmless and seemingly sane. He talked rationally and seemed rather an interesting old man. There is a crazy negro woman in another DOT ton of the jail who it would seem should be sent to an asylum. She mutters all day and all night, and her eyes have the far-away look of the people gone mad.
 What Rev. Culver Said.
 The Rev. Frank P. Culver, the Meth odist minister and a member of the grand jury, was taken through the jail on last Thursday by Captain Northing- ton and shown the condition of things. He was shown where bread and meats had been thrown through the windows by the prisoners and allowed to decay, causing awful odors. He stated that rare ly in his life had he seen such a condi- tion even in the worst of jails, and that he was absolutely astonshed. He said that he intended bringing the matter up from a humanitarian point of view in sermon in the near future, and that he would try to have the condition of the jail improved
 The people of Huntsville were very much astonished when they were told of the condition of the jail, and several prominent citizens stated that they would take the matter and have 1t remedied 1t possible. Architectuarlly the jail is one of the best in the state, and could easily be kept in good condition.