The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-10
EXTRA SESSION WILL BE HELD Georgia Legislature to
 Meet Again. PROBING CONVICT SYSTEM Startling and Sensational Evidence
 Is Obtained. Former chief warden Of state Peni- tentiary Confesses That He Has
 Become Somewhat Wealthy On Graft.

Atlanta, Ga. August s.--The convict | investigation now being made by
 special committee of tRe Georgia Leg isiature. will be responsible for an extra session of that body.
 The committee has been daily en-
 gagged since July 22 in probing the convict system of the Staw. They have been inquiring into the admin Il istration of the law by the State Prison Commission. Fifty or sixty witnesses have been examined. including legis-
 lators. who are members of the peni-
 tentiary committees of the two houses, | convict wardenss convict lessees, camp physicians and finally members of the l prison commission. They have not l completed their work and an extra session will be called to enable them 1 to do so.
 The witnesses already heard told of l dozens of cases of inhuman cruelty, excessive tasks and criminal neglect. In addition to felony convicts, mtsde- | maanor convicts guilty of some slight 1 violation of municipal ordinances, have been sold into convict camps. work 1 ing under conditions that constantly l.threatened their lives. denied proper l food, clothing and shelter. and given l tasks beyond their physical endurance 1 The committee has had upon the stand convict wardens appointed by the State to defend convicted criminals and zee that they were given proper l care and attention. These men have 1 confessed that in many instances they 1 were given extra compensation by les sees in whose camps they worked. and l in many instances this compensation 1 was greater than the salary they re- ceived from the State. Still they in-
 sisted this extra salary did not blind them to their duy to the State and their charges.
 l ssJake" c. Moore, the former chief i warden of the penitentiary system. has l been upon the stand and told the com mittne he has accumulated s40,0Q0 of 1 property on his eaiary of st4o sasmonth. I He stated he has acted as agent in the transfer of convicts. but declared that his total returns from this ser vice during the time he served the l State as chief warden. was s2,700.
 The two inspectors of the system,
 who were charged with the duty of l checking up convict camps and over | looking deputy wardens, have been on the stand. They testified that their in- | spection of books and records was in- adequate and desultory. They had never been down into the coal mines
  where the number of accidents were very great. These places were too forbidding and too dangerous for the States inspectors to penetrate. The chief inspector is man of seventy three.
 The secretary of the prison com mission, testified that his inspection of reports was indifferent and his methods were lax. He said younger man could have done better. He in- sisted to the committee that he had never thought of the practical side of leasing convicts to the highest bidder. who was indifferent, rather than to the lowest bidder who was eager to get them in order to sub-lease to a higher bidder. He said the fact that his son was for nine years bookkeeper for the largest convict lessee in Georgia. did not influence his action in the slight est.
 Finally the three members of the prison commission were called and heard in their own defense. They re- ferred to the various cases of cruelty cited. stating that some of them were 1 overdrawn and that in others which | were substantiated, the commission l had urged prosecution in the courts. | The commission said the system was | to blame; that they had violated the | law.
 The chairman of the prison commits | sion submitted to the committee list | of two hundred names, whom he asked be subpoenaed to appear to contradict the testimony of ex-convicts and oth- | CTS In view of the short time which remained before the present Legisla- tive session closed, this request was | an embarrassing one for the commit tee.
 However, Governor Hoke Smith has. in a special message to the Legisla- ture. stated his willingness to call an l extra session to complete certain speci- | fled work. In addition to the convict l bill, Governor Smith is demanding ac- ton upon the anti-lobbying bill, pri- | mary election law. a registration bill | and the measure to provide for Geor- | gia's district agricultural schools.
 An Extra Session.
 It is probable that an interim of ten | days will elapse between the close of l the regular session next Wednesday l and the convening of the extra ses- sion. During this time the investigat- | ing committee will hear additional | witnesses In defense of the prison conn mission, will heard reports of auditors now engaged in going over the prison commission books. reports and &C., counts and formulating it's report Upon that report will, 1t fs said. depend in a large measure the action taken by the Legislature. Vice Chairman Candler has announced a determination to look carefully iAto the law govern ing the contracts of lessees, with the 1 view of seeing if contractors bonds may be forfeited, where violations have been proven. Such. a course will re- turn 10 the Treasury of the State A large part of the money which was diverted through the operation of con- Vict brokers.
 A convict bin providing that the lease system shall terminate after December S1, 1911. has already passed the House. Senator Fielder. chairman of the Investigating committee. is the author of another bill looking to the immediate termination of the system which he is urging for passage