The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-12
REPL YOE w. G. ALLEN.
To an Article ''indirectIy Rejecting
Upon" Him as Supt. of the County
Home.

To the Editor: / notice in the col
umns of the Apex News of August 18th
what / suppose is a communication
that indirectly reflects upon me and
which | desire to answer at once. In
this article the following question is
asked:
Why, if there were in the County
Home of an average of 10 people dur
ing 1903. should it be necessary to eX-
pend $582.S6 for whiskey, snuff and to-
bacco? This gives each inmate $3.50
approximately for these ''necessi
tieS?'
These figures are taken from the
annual statement published by the
Board of Commissioners and as pub
lished are correct. But it was not the
intention of the writer of this article
to furnish the truth to the people of
the county, in whose interest the ques-
tons in the article purported to be
asked This is manifest to any fair
man by the significant omissions made
i'm the communications. 1t was intend
ed to impress the people with the al
legation that $5S2.S6 had been spent
for whiskey snuff and tobacco for the
80 inmates of the County Home. Such
is not the truth and is apparent to
any one. The report as published
shows this amount to have been spent
not for the inmates of the County
Home alone, the average number of
which was 70, but also for the use of
the convicts, the average number of
which during the year was 81
This item of expense is taken from
a statement entitled in capital letters,
County Home and Work House
Camp" and the average number OF
convicts or inmates of the Work House
appears on the very next line to the
average number of inmates of the
County Home. This makes 1876 per-
sons who We're furnished with whis-
key, snuff or tobocca for $5S2.S6 for
one year, that is as a cost of about six
cents per week. Less than $1,000 of
this amount was spent for whiskey,
which is administered to the sick, old
and afflicted. only upon the direction
of the County superintendent of
Health
This question, asked as a pretense
for furnishing false information, to
mislead the people is exactly in line
with the charge of Mr.. j. c. Ellington
that it cost Wake county $1,000 to
run the County Home; and my little
truck patch as he called it, when he
knew at the time that out of the
amount named 100 convicts or there
abouts, were clothed. guarded and fed.
During my management of the cOun-
ty institutions, which has lasted for %
years. l have pleased and met the APP
proval of nearly 1000 grand jurors
and the Board Of Charities of the State
and county, to whose reports ! refer,
and have also met the approval of the
various Boards of Commissioners pre-
scented by such men as William r.
Poole, Jesse Norris. w. G. StrOnach, b.
p. Williamson. and others. | am will
ing to trust myself with the 1000 who
have examined my work but / cannot
expect to please those who under the
guise of furnishing information that
the people are entitled to deliberately
miSrepresent the facts and shelter
themselves behind an anonymous com
munication. 1t is a very small man, il
seems to me- who begrudged a prison
er condemned to work upon the roads
or an inmate of the poor house, the
pitiful sum of sixty cents per week for
tobacco rsnuff, or who would wish to
deprive them of the use of whiskey
when sick and in the need of it. T. too
would be ashamed to sign my name
to the article.
w. G. ALLEN.