The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-14
DR. VIM. OATES SAYS
 JA|LS ARE DISGRACE
Birmingham and Gadsden as
 Awful Examples
WANTS MORE POWER
Under Present Law He Can Remove Prisoners From on Jail to Anoth- CT only After Giving Thirty
 Days Notice
BY HUGH W. ROBERTS

Montgomery. January 13.-(Special.' To remove any prisoner from any jail and that immediately. when in his ex- pert opinion such course Is neces- sary for the sake of health and hu- manity Is a power which pr. William Oates jail inspector of Alabama, wishes to acquire at the hands of the present legislature.
 Dr. Oates is an applicant for reap pointment. He states that he feels confident that he will win. And he feels certain that in case he wins or loses, the legislature will do some thing to remedy the evils which he claims exist in various portions of Ala bama.
 Dr. Oates was appointed to the posi- tion of jail inspector last october. 'Then how" those keen to observe will ask, "can Dr. Oates hope that ONeal will give him an appointment when the inspector came into office during the Conner administration And this question will be followed up by the observation: Tt is well known that one of the requisites for appoint ment under the Conner administration wat that the applicant must have been a yed-in-the-wool Conner man"
 The appointment of pr. Oates was one of the jokes of the Conner admin 1stration. He was opposed to the late prohibition amendment. He was ar dent in his support of O'Neal He was appointed during the Conner adminis- tration last October. But not by Gov ernor Conner. Lieut.. Gov. Henry B. Gray made the appointment while Gov ernor Conner was in Canada.
 Conditions in Gadsden
 There are numerous jais in Alabama stated pr. Oates this morning, 'in which it Is almost a crime to imprison a man. One of the most horrible holes in the state is the jail in Birmingham. But there are others even more evil.
 "There is the one at Gadsden, for in stance. 1 was there some weeks ago, and found numerous prisoners held in Calcutta hole, which is so insanitary that it Is absolutely inhumane to force a man to remain within its enclosure for the space of an hour. No sooner had I wit messed the spectacle than l made prepar- ations for the removal of the prisoners. I was then cited to the law and my order for the removal of prisoners cannot be ef- fective until 30 days following the order have elapsed The month is up Tuesday and I am going to Gadsden and transfer the prisoners to Guntersville.
 'Tn case I am retained in office I trust that the legislature will give me the right to remove prisoners from one jail to an other immediately following. my ccnclu- sion that such course is necessary for comfort and health.
 "Should the legislature so act there would eventually be no insanitary or overcrowded jails in the state. Suppose, for instance, that I should find too many prisoners in the Birmingham jail. I would immediately order a certain number transferred to other safe jails, the ex- penses of the same to be borne by the county out of which the transference is made. For instance, a batch of prisoners could be sent to Tuscaloosa, to Mont somery, 1t all being dependent on the condition of the jails in question"
 The Birmingham Jail
 Tn speaking of the Birmingham jail, Dr. Gates said: Let's not discuss 1t dur ing the hour of breakfast. l can't see wherein lies the wisdom of the Board of Revenue in declining to construct a new daI for Jefferson county. The. county is gerat and rich Rapidly in every way the institutions of the county are be- ing constructed on plane in line with the importance of the county. The present Jail Is shameful. A new prison could be constructed with less expense than the repairs and Improvements absolutely necessary to the present cOulu De ln- stalled and maintained
 T have noticed in The Age-Herald that the people of Birmingham declare the greatest need of the city to be new ho- tel and a great number of smaller in dustries. For the material growth and development of Birmingham, there is no doubt but that the above expressions are accurate. But for the cause of hu- manity, the greatest need in Birming- ham-and Jefferson county-is a new county jail"