The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-26
BIENNIAL REPORT SHOWS
 BIG RETURNS FROM CONVICTS


 milling, or what not. ,x | The Inspectors are determined, IT possible. to stand between the conVicts ana the greed of contractors.
 | The tables herewith appearing snow l that the mortality has been much less during the two years just ended than it mas ever been in the history or the institution. The health during the and the death rate has been remarka- ply small less than within any two years, at least, in long time.
 | "A few months since, with the ap- Section 4475 of the Code of Alabama. an ordinance was adopted by the Board I of Inspectors providing for the estab- nshment of Reformatory at speigner, | Ala. for negro boys under Is years of age. The section referred to contem-. plates that the boys shall be worked separate and apart from other convicts. upon land belonging to the State, and that their moral and intellectual inn provemsnt shall be continually kept in view. In pursuance of this section and | the ordinance of the Board referred to, quarters separate and apart from other | convicts have been established. all neat teaching. and the boys all gathered from the several places in the State | where they were located and placed there. numbering something like from thirty-f1ve to forty.
 | cotton and will be employed at such 1 labor as they are able to do during their Imprisonment, and at night in- structed in spelling. reading and writ l Ing. The sahool room is already fur nished with plain home made furniture for the use of the boys. At night we
 have an old-time well behaved negro convict to occupy the quarters with the boys, for the purpose of keeping peace
 and order among them.
 r. AS soon as the nights are d little | longer they will be instructed a couple
 or hours In the branches of education
 this course will result in good to these
 unfortunate boys. True, there are
 some people who do not believe that
 it will, but we are not inclined to set up
 our wisdom as superior to that of the
 Legislature. which enacted the law au-
 thorizing us to take the step indicated,
 and therefore we have done it hopeful Of ultimate good results. A great man,
 Bishop Galloway. few months ago. at
 Birmingham. uttered powerful truth
 In these words: Ignorance is a cure
 for nothing That is a very simple
 utterance. but 1t is very powerful
 truth, and 1t should have it's influence upon all who have to do with the negro
 race, as an incentive to take every
 possible step looking to the reduction
 of the stock of ignorance among them
 The cotton mill at speigner was
 shut down about July 1st, 1903, and
 has remained so from that day until
 the present. We have had no demand
 for it, and have been unable to make
 any arrangements looking to its opera
 tion. We are clearly persuaded that
 Curing the time it has remained shut
 down we could not operate 1t success
 fully and profitably, because of the
 scarcity and high price of cotton.
 .1 we nave had a number of faint
 propositions looking to the purchase
 Of the property, but they have been so faint, that they have never rnateriaIfz-
 ed, and we fear that we shall be unable to make any satisfactory arrangement In our being forced to undertake the | operation of the mill, as perhaps tha boys in the Reformatory at Speizner, she place where the mill is located, can any event we shall endeavor Id do tha best thing in sight or which may be considered reasonably promising, | ,rr Asricultural Operations.
 | The agricultural operauttona under the supervision oft he department dur
 ing the present year have been more 1 satisfactory, than in any years since the inception Of the present administra-
 The exhibits appended hereto and made part of this report show con servat1Veiy what may be reasonably ex- while there will probably b enc great amount of profit, a large number of convicts unable to do other labor have peen employed in such a manner as to save money to the State by avoiding their being a dead expense. l The Ta!lapoosa river farm, at what IS called No. 4. has been two years in and with good results and good profits | to the State. The sale of products of the crop of 1903. including that ship ped 10 other prisons, above all ex- | have in view leveeing the place in such a manner as to keep of of it the water during alLordinary or summer freshets. If this can be done. and the writer fully believes that it can, the lands will he very valuable and can be farmed at great profit. Of course, the freshets in the winter time are so immense as not to be resisted by any ordinary means of defense, but the ravines or sloughs | which make up from the river into the plantation, can be so guarded against will do serious damage. The work will be carried forward at every odd ! time during the fall months until 1t is accomplish. It may be necessary to q few days to give instructions as to the manner of doing the work, but that 1t is important, and can be accom- l pltshed there can be no doubt.
 Tt may be kept in mind that the Walls. that Is the prison at Wetumpka. l Is employed and used largely for the sick. especially those having tubercular diseases. and those who have become so wearied at labor, as to be better cared for, by giving them a rest, or a part of the time for rest.
 Notwithstanding what has just been | suggested, Mir. F. K. Bunkley, our ef- | fcient and enterprising warden. has made very considerable and profi- | table farm upon the place, consisting l of corn, cotton cow peas ground peas sugar cane. potatoes. sorghum. and the like References Is here made to this report for No. {. here to attached. 'The farm at No. 3, under the man. ! aEement of MT S. D. Fields, warden. is less in extent this year than formerly, | and perhaps all told has produced a | better crop than we have had there in years The cotton is far superior to l anything within the last several years, | the corn is medium; the sugar cane po- 1 tatoes. COW peas and ground peas, or peanuts, are exceptionally fine, there | being upwards of twenty acres in sug- | ar cane, thirty in sweet potatoes, every thing in COW peas. and upwards of one | hundred acres in peanuts, and In addl- | tion to this, a large quantity of hay.