The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-08-04
TOO MANY SICK.
The Penitentiary Authorities Say
Now Law Favors the Counties.
Conviots Worked by Counties Until
Sont 20 State Penitent.ary.

The burden of the new law giving
county supervisors the use Of convicts
sentenced to terms Of ten years or
less, with the option of turning then
over to the penitentiary authorities
whenever they wear out or break down
from i'll. health, is failing with increas.
ing weight on the penitentiary au-
thorities, who complain that practi.
cally all Of the prisoners they get now,
except those sent in for long terms,
are either diseased or are otherwise
incapacitated for work; that short,
term prisoners kept on Gho average
chain gang In thi8 state are soon
broken in health from lack OF care
and by reason Of improper treatment
and arc sent into the penitentiary
physical wrecks.
The new law is working terrible
cruelty" asid Superintendent Gritli,b,
to the Augusta Chronicle correspon.
dent recently. II do not believe there
Is man in this state physically strong
enough to stand ten years sarvice on
chain gang In this state. The chain
gang authorities are not equipped to
care for the prisoners as they should
be cared for. When the average chain
gang prisoner gets wet working in the
rain he Is allowed to sleep through
the night In hiS wet clothes, which Is
harbarous. We never allow q prisoner
to l3ep In wet clothes down here" A
ma j)rity Of the deaths that occur at
the penitentiary result from tuber.
culosiS, and may Of these cases are
contracted aftsr the prisoner reaches
Columbia, though some are sent In
each J ear from the chain gangs dying
from cor sumption.
a victim OF this disease recently
was A. S. Simp on, lie termcr, sent
here four years ago from Abbevillc
| for 'uurdcr SID pSon was only 81
years old and contracted the disease
8 months ago. liz was bridge bull
der and killed his mAu in a dispute
over the construction OF a bridge.
He was we'll behaved prisoner and
vas apparently man OF some culture.
His remains were shipped to his widow
and two childien at Calhoun. Two
OF his brothers were frequent visitors
to the penitentiary. Simpson was at
first worked in the hosiery mill,
where practically all Of the tubercu.
losis cases originate, but recently he
had been working In the carpenter
shop. Two snag .ean te;6i,s s,ls sll.,,i
Within the past Thirty days, were
brought in from the county gangs;
each died within two days after his
admission to the penitcntiary.
In this conntcti n, a paragraph from
DR.. S. e Harmon's last annual re.
port, will be Of much interest:
There we're 392 patients in the hos
pital. Ten tiioes that number we're
treated for minor troubles that did
not require being admitted to the
hospital. report thirty one deaths
this year, all being Of a chronic
nature, with the exception Of two or
three, including one suicide. Nine
| teen died OF tuberculosis. The death
rate from this disease can b. reduced
by isolation, but when We consider
that large pr cent OF those that die
from tubel cuosls are admitted to the
institution already infected you can
readily see that the Death rate from
this disease will always be large. You
Will see that seven Of the number that
died were received from the various
chain gangs, 10 hopeless condition;
one OF whom diod two days after be-
ing admitted"