The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-06-02
LASH C0NVICTS
WHEN NECESSARY
Those Not Satisfied With Condi-
tions and Not in Accord With
Administration Can Re-
sign-He Orders the
Lash Applied.
RICHMOND. vA.-special.-

II ! II NJ ~ N u As ID q L.
Major James b. Wood. superinten-
dent of the Virginia Penitentiary. was
asked today regarding the effects of
| MS policy of Suasion instead Of the
| practice of corporal punishment when
dealing with convicts who had been
I guilty of tnfractions of the regulations.
There has been no radical change
/ in the conduct of the prison. and
/ there Will be no such changes unless
l am convinced that they will be for
the benefit of the men and for the
/ benefit Of the prison." said Major
/ Wood. In the past il has been the
custom for some of my assistants to
| order that men shall receive punish
ment. L have stopped that and when
man is ordered whipped now 1
give the order. L must and will know
~ ~ the men are being whipped and
tOi what offenSe.
Since 1 came here in January last
there has been one trouble of more
than passing moment. That was May
18th. Two negro men had a fight and
a guard, Mr.. Payne, undertook to sep
arate the men. One of the negroes
a second termer, by the way-refused
had to knock him down with his club.
AS the negro fell he grabbed the
guard by the legs and two other con-
Victs went to his assistance. Then
three negroes attacked the two men
who had gone to the assistance of the
guard. The whole thing lasted less
than five minutes, and they were be-
fore me, one at a time, and while all
of them were innocent as they stated
the trouble, each of them convicted
the others. All hands were punished
and were made to recollect the day.
That is the only trouble that has come
to my knowledge; it was nothing akin
TO riot, and L believe that if there
had been others 1 am in position to
know something concerning them.
Has Some MalcOnfOnfG
NOW, L know perfectly well that
there are some persons connected
with the prison who are disposed to
knock, as you newspaper men have
a way of saying. l expected that, Of
course. But l am going to put an
end TO it. While 1 am in charge of
this place and responsible for it's
management and operation l am go
ing TO do what 1 think is right and
/ proper. If that does not suit, then /
will have the satisfaction of knowing
7 that l have done my duty.
| Il called the men before me this
! morning and told them that If there
were any among them who were not
satisfied and who did not like my ad-
/ ministratiOn, that the proper thing for
/ them TO do was TO tender their resg-
/ nations. They will he accepted.
shall wait reasonable time for these
discontinued men to resign. and after
| hat l Will act as 1 deem best.
"Of course. 1 do not know what
/ happened before L took charge. ex-
| cept as member of the Board of
| Directors. L think careful exam
nation of the records will show that
/ there has been fewer disturbances in
the last three months than in any
/ similar period for many years
Whip Men When Needed.
Let II be understood that there has
been no abolition Of whipping of men.
/ That is adhered to as in the past
! When the men need the lash they get
/ il, and they get il good and plenty
/ But L must know why a man is being
i whipped. There are other modes of
/ punishment. and these are imposed
] by the gentlemen under me, and
know nothing OF them. as they are
/ unimportant and frequent.
We still have the old style of
| 'spread-eagling' men when occasion
demands. There is no cross of any
sort. The men are laid on a mattress
on the floor, with their arms and legs
fully extended, and they are rarely
ever Kept there more than an hour.
/ That suffices TO correct the trouble
some element and one dose is gen.
| orally enough. The men are released
when they say they have had enough.
We do not use any cross to spread
the men.
Let me add this: The men who
were in that fight in the penitentiary
shoeshop May 18th are still wearing
ornaments in the shape of ball and
chain. All five of them are thus dec
| GRATED. They will keep them on for
sometime. In every room in every de-
partment there are a few men who
| make all the trouble.
AS TO fights in the prison, they are
OF common occurrence. Thc~e is no
way TO stop them. A short while ago
two men, going to work in the shops.
had a fight on the steps and they
rolled all the way to the bottom. One
had not tied his shoes, and the strings
were dragging on the steps. The man
behind stepped on the strings and
| they went at II good and right. They
! were punished for that, but no atten-
| ton was paid to the affair.
! This is not a place where men
come of their own volition. They are
men with records, and some of them
/ are genuinely mean. We recognize
/ that and deal with them accordingly.
| But we are not having so much trou-
bic as has been here in the past"