The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1911-10-26

Of servitude at the Federal prison
more t0lerahIe for the inmates, the
United States prison authorities have
inaugurated decided change in pol-
Icy, which gives the men far more
freedom than they have ever enjoyed
and does away with much Of the hu.
initiation Of past years
Announcement has Just been made
after d few days there will be an end
to ali stripes, formerly worn by priss
oners 1t is believed that the stripes
have 4 bad effect upon the men, re-
Winding them that they are prisoners,
and keeping alive spirit Of dissatis-
faction and discomfort
1t Ia quite likely that the stripes
would have gone the way Of many
other rememhrances Of oIden times,
a great deal earlier, had it not been
that the authorities feared that some
day some of the men would escape,
and in such case the prison stripes
would help betray them.
Recently, however, the work Of
building great wall around the pris-
on Has been practically completed and
now there is practically no chance Of
escape being made. So the order will
soon be formally issued. For some
time now, however, only the men who
have made bad records at the prison
have been clad in noticeable stripes.
The prisoners are taking great in
terest in other liberties allowed them.
They are all noticeably pleased by
the progress made by the prison
band and orchestra, and the mem
bers are devotfng all their spare time
to practice. Jake Matthiesson, a well
known orchestra leader in Atlanta,
has been employed by the government
to give the men the proper training,
and lie has found them all very en-
thusiastic over their work.
Every few weeks now the prisoners
give two concerts on Sunday. The first
is given in the morning to the pris-
Oners,. and the second takes place in
the afternoon before an audience Of
hundreds Of invited guests from the
outside walls.
Since the men were told to go
ahead and form their own baseball
teams, and practice for regular games,
the excitement, from a baseball stand
point, has been intense. A number
Of games have already been played.
The prisoners have practically form
ed a baseball league, and several bases
ball experts predict that some good
material will be found in the league
before the end of the season. This
will be one league, however, that the
majors will not be able to draft from.
Hospital for Veterans.
Judge George l. Bell, president Of
the board Of directors Of the old Sol
diers' Home, will shortly appoint a
committee to advertise for and super
wise plans for the erection Of ade-
quate hospital facilities for the home.
An appropriation of $4,000 for this
purpose was made at the last session
of the legislature.
At the meeting of the board held
at the home the need Of better equip
ment and more nurses for taking care
Of the old veterans was stressed in
the reports made. AS the soldiers
grow more advanced in years they
become more dependent, are more Of
ten confined to their beds and need
better medical attention The direc-
tors are therefore determined that
the additional hospital building shall
be erected as soon as possible.
The board, after hearing charges
against three of the veterans who had
been lighting among themselves, dis
missed the cases with reprimand.
These old soldiers are SO used to
fighting that they sometimes go for
one another, said Capt. w. H. Har-
rison, at the conclusion Of the meet
ing. "Rut it is seldom anything seri-
GUS, and we could not dismiss them
anyway, for there is no place to send
them. Last year two Of them sailed
into one another because they dis
agreed on the question Of infant bap.
tism.''
Educational Law 4 Success.
Georgia's new educational law, de-
spite the attacks that were made upon
1t before its final passage by the
state senate, and despite the dire pre-
dictions Of the enemies Of the bill,
is working with the smoothness that
was anticipated by its supporters
For the first time since 1871, the ST.
100000 appropriated yearly by the
state legislature for the maintenance
Of the common schools Is being check
ed in a business-like manner.
q. @. Buchanan Of Waycross, recent
" named school fund auditor under
the law by the state board of educa-
ton, has finished Habersham county
and the country portion Of Fulton
county, and finds the funds in these
two counties to be ship-shape. He es-
Inmates that it win take year to
check up the school fund
Commissioners EiudsSn convaIescIng.
Col II. G. Hudson, commissioner Of
agriculture, who has been confined at
q private sanitarium in Capitol ave-
nue. for several weeks, suffering from
nervous breakdown. is reported to be