The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1911-09-20
Grand Jury Reports
On Hosiery Mill.

The Richland county grand jury
does not agree with Governor Biease
in his oft repeated statement that the
Hosiery Mill at the State Penitentiary
is nuisance The grand jary's find
ings are as follows:
E'In ACCORDANCE with your honor's
instructions, and the performance Of
what we conceived to be our general
duties and within the authority invest
ed in Us, we have made most careiu!
and exhaustive investigation and ex-
animation of the alleged nuisance ex-
listing at the hosiery mill, devoting
much of our time at this session of the
court to this particular matter.
1--WE beg to report that we first
made q personal examination Of the
hosiery mill, inspecting each Of the
departments therein, and also the hos
pitfalls and other buildings at the peni-
tentiary. Thereafter, we summoned
before US and examined the following
witnesses: Col. D. J. Griffith, ,superin-
tendent State penitentiary; DR.. Robt.
Wilson, Jr., chairman State medical
board; DR.. w. M. Lester. member
State medical board; DR.. Jennings,
present physician at the penitentiary !;
Rev. Mr.. Abney, chaplain at the penl-
tentiary;J. NJ Graham, who operates
the hosiery mill; DR.. Boyd, the health
officer of the city of Columbia; Drs.
Pope, Harman and Butler, former
physicians at the penitentiary.
1--WE find that many of the convicts
worked in the hosiery mill are those
who can not be worked either upon
the public highways or upon the State
farms, and we also find that quite a
number of convicts are sent to the
penitentiary from the county jails and
chaingangs VINO are sick and frequent
ly horribly diseased and are unfit for
work on the county chaingangs or
elsewhere.
"We made especial inquiry as to
the number of deaths from consump-
ton, and were agreeably surprised to
find that the mortality from this
dreaded disease had greatly decreased.
We found thatthe number, of deaths
from consumption from 1900 to 1906,
inclusive, was IS; from 1905 to 1910, it
was %; and during the year 1911 and
up to the present time only three bad
died Of consumption, and two OF these
had the disease when they were
brought to the penitentiary this year.
I'VE beg further to report that in
our opinion the sanitary conditions of
the hosiery mill are & ,od and just as
nearly perfect as possible; the floors,
machinery, fixtures and other depart
meuts being neatly and cleanly kept,
and we do not find any conditions ex-
listing which are injurious, either to
the health of the convicts or to the
public ss large, or any facts warrant
ing us i'll fiVding true bill charging
the maintenance Of q nuisance at said
hosiery mill.
"The only improvements we think
could be made would be the installa-
tion, Oh the third floor, OF exhaustion.
or eAbaast fans and ceiling ventila-
tioD, and we would recommend that
the proper authorities be requested to
look after these alterations and i'm
provements.
I'm our examination of the peniten-
tiary buildings we were shown every
courtesy by the superintendent, Col.
Griffith, and we find that he is render
ing the State valuable services in the
discharge OF his duties, aud that the
prisoners are humanely treated and
are as we'll kept as could be expected
under the circumstances