The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-13
OAKLEY TALKS0N
 CONVICT SYSTEM Present Board Is Undertak-
 ing Reforms PLANS FOR FUTURE Ultimate Intention Is to Concentrate as Many as Possible on the
 State Farm at We
 tumpka
PLANS FOR FUTURE

That the policy of the state convit board was q perosnal supervision over all men and maintenance by the state itself. was the statement of James G. Oakley, presi- dent of the state board, who was here yesterday.
 In discussing the recent changes made in the convict situation Mir. Oakley said he hoped to arrange so that every man, from whom service is demanded for in- fraction of laws, shall be watched by the state servants and not by any corpora ton or contractor.
 Another reform MT. Oakley pointed out men at Wetumka There each man is carefully examined and sent to such labor as his physical condition allows.
 MT. Oakley said:
 "The state in getting Banner mines nere from the Pratt company will be in po- sition to better supervise the men, main- tain them and watch them with its own servants That is the policy of the con- vct department now. We hope that as time passes we will have so arranged the department as to suffer no company or contractor to guard the state men or to maintain them. We hope to furnish our own men to watch the convicts and to provide for their wants.
 '"rhe general policy of supervision and maintenance which we believe is for the best does not necessarily mean that we will work all of the convicts. However, we have many under the department now and maybe we will get more of them Contracts are not being renewed very fast because of our desire to look care- fully after these features. However, in speaking of maintenance and supervision we mean that the state Is going to stand nearer the men hereafter and see that they get exactly what is fair.
 eve have started now to concentrate all the men at Wetumpka. In the past as a man was convicted he was dis patched to a coal mine or turpentine camp or farm as it suited the clerk of the court or the company having lease. No attention was paid to the fact that maybe the man had never been into a mine or had never been at a turpentine plantation or farm. That has been corrected and we hope to achieve for the men great benefits from this policy. We keep the men concentrated at Wetumpka until sun shine and fresh air braces them up and gets the ''hog fat" off them which &C., cumulates in prisons. In this way im- mediate hard work does not enter into their routine and they are not the suf- ferers from confinement followed by stringent toll. We temper them into the work so that the physical man shall have a chance We have found instances where man after confinement was sent hastily to a task and within a short time the strenuous labor puts him into the hos pital That has ended so far as Alabama prisons is concerned.
 - a man suffers from any tuberculer trouble we have fine hospital at We tumpka now operating which is a credit to this state and which will cause many happy days for these men who come there and are cured of that aiment.
 Altogether l look on this work with great optimism. We have started out to make a fine showing for the state con- vict department and we hope to succeed. The prisoners are entitled to fair deal and they stand a pretty good chance to get it from this time hence.
 Mr. Oakley, when asked as to the re- port that the prisoners at Red Feather were to be worked by the state, said that there was absolutely nothing definite to that at this time. He said the state men at No. and No. 12 of the Tennessee company would be taken to Banner and worked there after the end of this month.