The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-09-20
THAT HOSIERY MILL
WHAT THE GRAND JURY SAYS OF
THEIR WORkMEN.
Finds 1t Is Not Injurious to Health
of Convicts or That its Maintain
ance a Nuisance.

ance Nuisance.
In speaking of the Hosiery Mill at
the Penitentiary the Richland County
Grand Jury says:
IN accordance with your honor's
instructions, and the performance Of
what we conceived to be our general
duties and within the authority in
vested in US, we have made a most
;areful and exhaustive Investigation
ard examination of the alleged nui-
Sance existing at the hosiery mill,
devoting much of our time at this
session of the court to this particular
matter.
We beg to report that we first
made a personal examination of the
hosiery mill, inspecting each of the
departments therein, and also the
hospitals and other buildings at the
oenilentiary. Thereafter, We sum-
moned before US and examined the
following witnesses: Col. D. j. Grit
fifth, superintendent State penitenti-
ary; Dr.. Robert Wilson, Jr., chair
nan State medical board; Dr.. W. NJ
Lester, member State medical board;
Dr.. Jennings, present physician at the
penisentiary; Rev. Mr.. Abney, chap
lain at the penitentiary; ]. NJ. Ora,
ham, who operates the hosiery mill;
Dr.. Boyd, the health officer of the
city of Columbia; Drs. Pope, Harmon
ard Butler, former physicians at the
Denitentiary.
We find that many of the convicts
worked in the hosiery mill are those
who can not be worked either upon
he 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
md chaingangs who are sick and
frequently horribly diseased and are
unfit for work on the county chain.
gangs or elsewhere
We made especial inquiry as to the
humber of deaths from consumption
and were agreeably surprised to find
hat the mortality from this dreaded
disease had greatly decreased. We
found that the number of deaths
from consumption from 1900 to 1905
inclusive, was 5S; from 1905 to 1910
It was %; and during the year 1911
and up to the present time only three
had died OF consumption, and two
of these had the disease when they
were brought to the penltentiaTy this
year.
We beg further to report that il
our opinion the sanitary conditions
of the hosiery mill are good an6
Just as nearly perfect as possible;
the floors, machinery. fixtures anG
other departments being neatly an6
cleanly kept, and we do not find any
conditions existing which are injur
ious, either to the health Of the con
victs or to the public at large, 0,
any facts warranting US in finding {
true bill charging the maintenance
Of nuisance at said hosiery mill.
The only improvements we think
could be made would be the installa
zion, on the third floor, of exhaust
ton, on the third floor, or exhaus
fans and ceiling ventilation, and We
would recommend that the proper
authorities be requested to look after
:hese alterations and Improvements
In our examination of the peniten
.iary buildings We were shown every
courtesy by the superintendent, Col
Griffith, and We find that he is rem
dering the State valuable services il
the discharge of his duties, and thai
he prisoners are humanely treated
and are as well kept as could be eX
pected under the circumstances"