The Grenada sentinel., 1906-12-29
PARTING SHOT IS FIRED
By the Board of Control In
Their Defense.
MAKES DIRECT HIT At GOV. VARDAMAN
They Insist That The Governor Dou
mated Legislative Committee and
Report was Shaped to Suit Him
"A Salty Report.

Jackson, Miss Dec. 24.-The board
or control Of the penitentiary has pub
liShed reply To the charges and the
structures laid against it by the inveS
tigating committee Of the late legiS
lature that will attract attention all
over the state. The report is an eX
hauStive paper filling six or seven
columns, and covers every phase Of
the investigations shows that it was
oorn in malice and executed with a
vengeance against the majority of the
members thereof. l. is charged that
the Investigation and the report was
one-Sided from beginning to end; and
that in the report reference was made
only to such matters as seemed most
plausible, when perhaps there was not
word of truth to be found in them.
Employees Of the board on the farm at
Oakley were charged in the report of
the legislative committee with steal
ing and shipping the products OF the
farm to their friends on the bard, all
Of which failed Of proof. The charge
OF incompetency is diSprOven for the
simple reason that the financial state
ment presented by the board shows
large improvements and great profits
on the amount OF capital employed.
Large and profitable crops we're raised
every year, and the state is hundreds
Of thousands of dollars better off than
before the present board Of control
took charge OF the affairs of the peni-
tentiary, and all was made at farm
ing.
Gov. Vardaman comes in for con-
siderable nOtoriety at the hands of the
board, ali OF its troubles being laid at
his door. He was the inStigatOr OF
the movement looking to the change
in the management that Ousted the
railroad commissioners from their
Office of managers OF the affairs Of the |
penitentiary. 1t was the governor |
who made the suggestions of change,
who controlled the Investigating COM |
mittee, and VINO assisted in every way |
in the finding Of the indictments |
against the other members Of tho |
board. The legislative committee is |
charged with falSifying reports and
evidence that Was adduced during
their investigation, and with rotten
Partizanship from beginning to end.
The board concludes it's defense Of
itself with the following parting shot
at Gov. Vardaman.
"We are driven irresiStablY to the |
conclusion that this committee, (thc !
legislative investigating committed
was grievouSly imposed upon and de- !
ceived. That the report is not the |
committee 8 report, but that there |
was an outside a higher power die |
tating and securing report for some |
purpose other than giving to the leg
iSlature true information Of the man |
agement Of the penitentiary proper
ty."
The governor and the legislative in |
vestigating committee are declared |
in more than one paragraph of the |
very salty report TO have testified and
reported what they knew to be false. |
In view Of the fact that the present |
board of control goes out OF office the |
first Of January, the people of the
state will be relieved from any furth |
er nausea over the long drawn quar- |
board. The governor will have a |
board of his own making after Jan
uary /.
Jackson, Miss, Dec. 24-Mr. and |
Mrs. B. w. Lee, of New Albany, in |
north east Mississippi, would like the |
best in the world to know what has |
become of their two sons, Cleve and !
Clem. These Youngsters. who are just |
in their teens, left their home on the |
Sth of December, and have not been
seen since the next day when they
passed throug Tupelo. The distress
ed parents would appreciate any infOr-
nation leading to the return OF the
boys.
J, W. MCLEOD DEAD.