The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-01-29
ANENT WHITE CONVICTS
Prison Commission Does Not
Know What To Do With Them.
COUNTIES DONOT WANT THEM
Lessees Used White Prisoners for Book
keepers, Etc.---State VIII Put Them
On Farm.

Atlanta, Ga. When the convict
lease system goes cut Of business in
Georgia, as it will on April 4, that
class OF white conyicts which has
been able to do mental and profess
sional work, and for whose talents
the Iessees found use. may have TO
pick up hoe or take hold OF pillow
and 60 to work in the field.
There has always been number
of white convicts skilled in business
or certain trades-such as bookkeep-
ers, engineers and the like, for whom
the lessees have found Office work in
such lines or employment at those
callings in which they were expert.
Almost every one Of the lessees got
hold Of bookeeper. accountant, Of
fee man, engineer or some other
among the convicts allotted to him,
and they were kept employed in these
lines.
The state will have no use for these
now. The counties will not want them,
as they do not propose to take any
white convicts. It is the purpose OF
the state to place all Of the white con-
yicts on central farm, soon to be
purchased. On this farm the state
may have occasion to use or or two
Office men, but scarcely more, and 1t
looks as If the balance will have TO
take to the field and do farm work.
The prison commission has had this
feature under consideration, but has
not been able to arrive at any def
mite solution, other than the employ
ment OF practically all Of the white
conyicts at farm work.
Another opportunity which the con-
victs will lose is that of accommodating
money by extra work, as they have
been able to do in many instances I'm
der the lease system. Usually In the
lessee camps each convict had so
much work to do, and all he did in
excess Of the amount required he was
paid for at certain fixed rate. In
this way many Of them have been able
TO leave the penitentiary with COM
Portable sums to their credit. One
negro recently left the penitentiary,
after fourteen years service, with
$500 cash in his pocket.
The state, of course, will not es-
tablish any such custom as this. The
law does not contemplate that con-
Wet shall earn anything, nor could the
opportunity be given in doing road
work under state direction. The only
thing the prison commission could do,
should 1t deal in any way with this
phase of the problem, would be to
shorten to a certain extent the terms
of those who give their best service
to the state.
Present indications are that after
each county which has called for con-
victs has been supplied with its legal
pro rata share, there will remain only
, about 200 covers" for distribution
among the counties that want con-
victs in excess of their legal num-
ber
This number would supply scarcely
more than one-tenth Of the demand.
There are applications now on file for
something like 1000 overs or more.
Each county calling for overs would,
therefore, get from one to five, or
something like that.
Inasmuch as the large counties will
get q sufficient number of convicts
from their regular pro rata to consti-
tute a good-sized working gang, Sec
retary Goodloe Yancey Of the prison
commission, has suggested that the
smaller counties be permitted to di-
vide the overs among themselves
so that they may secure gangs of
sufficient size to accomplish some
thing