The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-01

| trol and management of the, Depart- ment except about one hundred and hf- ty. It was believed at the outset, that this course would prove of great bene- 1t to the convicts themselves. In secur- ing them better treatment in every respect, and at the same time. would be more beneficial to the. State. The wisdom of the step has been amply verified. The death rate has been much less. The financial results to the State. have been very great. and all persons having any knowledge or conditions, are we'll pleased with them. l The financial success of the present administration are not due alone. to sny particular phase of the manage mention of some of which may not be amiss.
 | The very first step taken by the President, looking to the betterment of the finances of the Department, was ignoring a contract made the day be- fore he came into once. without his knowledge, but fortunately not ap- proved by the Governor. at s1o month for each convict which was reformed and made for $l2.oo each per omnth. | Advance in Pay for Convicts. "The next step was calling upon Q number of contractors, having con- tracts recently made for small sums. per man. per month, for an advance in prices, which call was finally yielded | to, by the contractors, upcn the in- sistence of the Board, thus saving many thousands of dollars during the last four years, and no one hurt, but on the contrary all these contractors have renewed contracts with the Board at greatly advanced prices
 l Again, every contract made by the - IA | cept perhaps one or two, and they be- cause of benefits to result to the con- yicts, has been made at a higher price than was ever realized for convicts be- fore.
 Tt was believed by the Governor and the friends of the Department. concurred in by the present manage minement, that there should be achange in mine operations conducted by convict which change was effected under con- tracts going into operation on the first day of January 1903. The success of this new departure has gone beyond lany expectation of It's most sanguine friends, and will doubtless never be departed from, so long as convicts are worked In mining operations.
 1.-TWO or three of the marked features of the present administration, with re- spect to the convict as an individual may be mentioned. The Alabama Manufacturing Company, has a con tract for the working of eighty con- victs, in connection with it's molding operations. This is an excellent con- tract for the individual, giving him. during his imprisonment. a trade or vo- cation, by means of which, he can make a handsome living when he Is released. A number of them operating with this ICompany, make a good monthly salary in addition to their work for the com- pany.
 Ivprovement As to Boys.
 'The separation of the boys in pris- on and in labor, as far as practicable. from the older convicts Is anoth- CT decided improvement, and will be of great benefit to the boys, as it may be improved in process of time.
 "The removal of the oonvicts from the mines and elsewhere, to the walls for treatment. as soon as 1t Is dis covered they are unable to do the labor to which they have been assigned, has resulted in great benefit to the in- dividual man.
 "The farm located upon the Talla- poosa River, known as No. 4, was al the beginning of the present manage ment, regarded as an incubus upon the Convict Department, never having in years, produced but one or two suc- cessful crops. The second year, after the beginning of the present manage ment, a considerable portion of the farm was put in grass, which has re- suited in a wonderful improvement in the farm, for what with the hay pro- duced, and the corn, the place Is now decidedly profitable, with a prospect oi continuing so. There has already been done considerable ditching. and during the coming spring, 1t is expected that leveeing will be done to a considerable extent, and the plantation thereby pro- tected from all ordinary overhows ir summer.
 That Telephone system.
 "A good and useful telephone system connecting the office at the capitol with Prisons No. on the Tallapoosa River No. 1 at wetumpka, and No. a, Speigner, has been constructed during the administration, and maintained ir useful condition.
 '"The artesian we'll at Speigner has cost considerable money and labor, and water has never been reached, but tho work has continued until the present day, and should be continued until it is unquestionabIy demonstrated that nc water can be reached.
 Since my last report, the Board has put the cotton mill at Speigner in operation. The machinery had gone down considerably, and things were de. preciating in value very much, and the expense of putting the mill in proper condition has been considerable, but the Board trust all expenses may be Imet, and reasonably good amount in ex- cess of all expenses incidental to the running of the mill, be left over as a net profit to the department. We have now upwards of seventy persons, women, boys and men at work in the mill, and everything considered, the mill is being run, as we think, with reasonable success.
 Soon after we began operations there, we ascertained that the roof was utterly defective, the machinery being injured by the down-pour of rain, and we have encountered the expense of something like upwards of a thousand dollars in putting new roof upon it. which is not completed, but will be in the course of few days. This ex- pense must have been incurred in any event, or the building and machinery drowned out.
 We are spinning the cotton made from the farms by the department, and it will be possible to furnish, at the | cheapest possible rate, large portion | of the cloth necessary to the manu- | facture of clothing for the convicts. It has not yet been determined what course shall be pursued to manufacture stripes, but we feel reasonably cer- tain that 1t can be done. All the |