The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-23

l r 1 No. l, nine miles northeast of Montgom- cry. W. o. Robbins, once sheriff of El-
 more, is warden at No. l and No. 1. N l H. King, once sheriff of Perry, is warden of Nos. ? and 3.
 The Alabama cotton mills are located 1 on No 8 The mill is operated, as has l been said. by the state and entirely by 1 convict labor. The female convicts and l the boys are all al No, 8, and the factory hands come largely from those classes. The mill has been so satisfactorily oper- ated under the present administration, that an extension has been built for ad- ] ditional machinery.
 The General Hospital. ] The farm of 700 acres on the Coosa, d part of New Georgia of the early his tory of the state, known now as No. l. is i the pivot of the system. The general hospital is there and it is the receiving and distributing point The physician in l spector, pr. Burns is the head of the l hospital and Dr. W NJ. Gamble, an ac- l tive practitioner of Wetumpka, is the i physician in immediate charge. pr. Gam ble makes daily or more frequent visits when needed, and his coming is always q pleasant episode inside the walls. The hospital improvement under the present administration has been con1- prehensive and important. Two objects seem to have been mainly held in view. i CD to establish q distinct and advanced treatment of tuberculosis and @ to fit up the department with adequate facilities for surgical treatment In order to excite an esprit d'corps in the medical staff of the penitentiary, pr. burns invited all of the members, far and wide, to a barbe- cue and watermelon feast under the trees here last summer, that all might inspect the hospital and discuss the uses of it in council
 The floor space of the department has been increased 50 per cent. Heretofore the separation of tuberculosis patients from the general ward had been mere pretense.- NOW all the second-story, lOJ feet long, four separate wards all win dows and outside doors screened, sum- mer and winter, new and comfortable chairs, is exclusively devoted to that class, white and black. On the first floor two large wards. one for whites and the other for negroes, have been thoroughly fitted out closets, water. screened doors ] and windows, both opening into the phy- l sician's office. The window sash on the second floor have been removed; coal
 using stoves have been put in, so that the
 wards of tuberculosis patients are thor oughly aired night and day. yet patients
 having the fire sufficient do not suffer
 from cold. All patients from these
 wards are moved out every pleasant day i in their iron cots, white painted, with 1 rollers, upon the wide Veranda adjoin- ing for sake of the fresh air. n sum- mer great trees overhanging make dense 1 shade there The general patients below l have a corresponding veranda. New Iron bath tubs are placed in all the wards and | new water conveniences.
 The hospital cook is a Filipino convict, and a valuable one. The drugstore ad- joining Is we'll stocked every month with fresh remedies. Milk and butter are abundant for all patients
 Additional improved methods introduced l by Dr. Burns for the treatment of tuber- culosis consists in the placing Of galVan- l ized tin tubs at the wooden benches under l every tree in the yard to receive the 1 sputum of all convicts well or SICK. 1in- l perative orders are out that there is to l be no splitting on the ground in the yard. l These metal tubs are cleaned daily at 1 dawn and disinfectants renewed In them. l The hospital management being az gressive, some detail of the methods and results will not come amiss.
 March 1, 1908 to March 1, 1909: Received at the hospital prison, 265 men.
 Died in that time, negroes, 26; whites, l. Cause of death, tuberculosis In 26. The 27th man died of broken back received in the mines.
 Of the 265 receipts at the hospital the tuberculosis men numbered 175 or 6S per cent.
 Of the total receipts 61 were whites, and among these 92 had developed tuberculo- ] sis.
 Of the total receipts 204 were negroes,
 and among these were 143 who brought with them developed tuberculosis.
 In the brief period of the present ad- rninistration to date 1t is, of course, inl-
 possible to testify to the degree of per- Frnaneney of relief from tuberculosis which 1 a considerable number of patients treat l ed now seem to enjoy. However it is true that many after treatment in the hospital | have been restored to hard labor with no l apparent return of the disease. | It is a very forlorn lot of people that l come to No for hospital care. Chronic ] diseases of various types afflict nearly all The physician inspector has intro l duced the latest remedies for some of l these.
 l It was soon determined to add to the hospital improved facilities for the treat ment of surgical cases, some of which 1 were serious. There was already on hand an operating table, but no room for it. | The instruments found were largely the | elementary part of a dentists assort- | ment.
 There is now thoroughly lighted op- | erating room with a cabinet of instru-
 ments, the operating table, here before; | KellyS drainage cushion water pipes, | bath tub, shelves and tables. The drug
 store is monthly supplied with the purest l stock The entire yard and premises are | kept in first-class order.
 | At No, 3, Spegner, hospital is main-
 tained, only less important than al No. ].
 Incidental to the improvements in the hospital proper, a radical reform in the farming operations at No. 1 is growing
 into effect, perhaps the work of Presl- dent Smith.
 Until recently the hospital and tho farm
 about it was cotton plantation, to which
 the hospital was an unwelcome and cost
 ly attachment. Now no cotton is grown
 on that farm. The entire acreage and la .
 bor is devoted to the support of the hos
 pital, in the place of honor, and the
 support of other penitentiary consumers
 of food Several miles of wire fencing
 have been put up, shelters built, etc., to
 this end. It is to be the granary and
 stock farm of all the camps.
 The Contractors.
 Prison No. 1 receives the men sem
 tenced by the courts and Prison No. re- ceives the women and boys. The women and boys are never sent to contractors. From No. l contractors draw the men
 selected by the inspectors on report of the
 physician. The state feeds and clothes
 the convicts assigned to contractors and l appoints the officers over them. In the
 matter of mining coal the state classes
 the men and affixe5 to each class the