The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1911-05-18
CONDEMN PULASKI
co. CONVICT CAMP
Wiegel Stockade and Rock Crusher
Declared Hell Hole" by Legisla-
tive Committee-County OH
cials Blamed.

Little Rock, May i0.-In the re-
port of the house committee an
pointed to inspect the county con-
vict farm, turned lin yesterday by
Chairman Love Grant of Jackson
county, and signed by Representa-
tives Little, Payne, Cone and Baker.
who compose the committee. are
severe charges against the manage
ment of some of the camps. mar
ticularly the Wiegel rock crusher
in Pulaski county. The report
says:
"A quorum Of our committe Wis
tied the Wiegel convict stockades
and rock crusher in Pulaski and
made athorough inspection and in
vestigation.
we found little more than so
inmates, principally blacks. These
convicts were sent from the JUS
tees of the peace courts and the
Police Court of Little Rock. A
large number were sent by Justices
of the peace in Argenta. We find
in the stockades that the prisoners
are required to sleep on thin mat
tresses laid on planks line up in
row on either side of the building.
The negroes and whites are all kept
in the same large room, though the
negroes and whites are not re-
quired to sleep together. AS whole
we pronounce the sleeping apart
ments fair.
1.-THE convicts reported to us that
they were fairly we'll fed, and not
much complaint came from that
source. The principal complaint
was that they were cruelty treated.
We Intercepted a large number of
them, and in most instances it seems
that their treatment is cruel in a
great many respects. We viii set
out some statements of some of the
convicts that you may judge for
yourself as to how they are treated
though you cannot have much idea,
for the statements were made in the
presence of some of the persons in
charge of them"
Continuing as to the treatment of
some of the prisoners investigated,
great many of them told us how
numerically they were beaten, but
we got most of our information,
and the most valuable, from young
white man % years of age, who was
convicted for hitting a negro boy
over the head with a coal bucket
in a local pool room in this city,
He made lengthy statement, and
we here set it out in full:
Statement of Prisoner.
81, Jack Snyder, do say that !
am % years old. | came to Little
Rock, Ark, about two weeks before
| was arrested for fighting a negro
by the name of John something,
who was working (shning shoes
at the Dixie Bowling Alley. | was
arreted on the 25th day Of Feb
ruary. 1914, and was taken by the
constable before Squire S. Ellen
bogen at i07 Spring street, Little
Rock, and tried on a charge OF as
sauit and battery. was fined S25
and the costs, which, amounted to
$3.50. In addition to that was told
by Squire Ellenbogen, also by Mr..
Wiegel son of the contractor, that
| had to serve a 30 day sentence
on the rock pile at the crusher,
which had also been adjudged
against me at the trial. Squire
Ellenbogen, in the court at the time
was tried, sentenced me TO serve
30 days on The county farm, as he
called It. was also told by Squire
Ellenbogen and Mr.. Wiegel that my
full term on the rock crusher was
SO DAYS, that being necessary 10
discharge the fine, costs and jail
sentence.
~ was delivered TO the Wlegel
rock crusher authorities on the 10Th
day of February, 1911, a Sunday |
was there placed in the custody OF
the manager of the rock crusher'
and under the control OF the guards
and warden, the warden at that tune
being Mr.. Garrison, who treated me
fairly we'll. / was put with a negro
to carry rock. weigh about $50
pounds. that is, | weighed that
much when | was taken to the rock
pile. was put to doing the same
sort of work that negroes weighing
i75 to 200 pounds were doing. !
worked hard and did all could.
had no trouble at all with the man.,
agement and got along fairly wei
until Mr.. Garrison was moved 10
the position of guard and Mr.. John
Harden was placed on duty as war
den in Mr.. Garrison's place. From
the time he came there | was not
treated well. He was very abusive
to me. He whipped me once, nav
ing me on the ground laying on my
stomach. He had man hold me
while he beat me with a long leatn,
err strap. The strap is about yard
long, about three inches wide ana
looks heavy, and is about quarter
Of an inch thick. The strap IS at
tached to wooden handle. Ere