The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-11

and from Sears, Bulard & Co., a net re- turn of $1S,000. An interesting oit of in- formation in regard to the Selars, Bull lard & Co. contract is the fact that the state during the administration of Mir
 Oakley recovered from this company the sum of $1500, claimed as a "back ration settlement
 Mir. Oakley takes great pride in the Thoele-Philips Manufacturing company's contract. This Florence firm, which makes stoves and other iron and steel | products, employs 75 convicts, and in ad-
 dition to maintaining them. pays the | state for their services $35 per man per
 month. Last year these convicts were leased under an old contract to the Ala 1 bama Manufacturing company of North
 Birmingham for $27. 50 per man per month9 Mir oakley holds that as a result of the change he has made for the state about ,0O0 per annum.
 Two Most Important Contracts The two most important convict con
 tracts held by the state are those of 1 the Pratt Consolidated Coal and Iron company and the Sloss-Sh heffed Steel and | Iron company, both of which were made
 by Mir Oakley. As these contracts have | recently been investigated by the gover- | nor and his advisers, their provisions are | generally understood by the public. In , the contract with the Pratt Consolidated | the state made a distinct departure from
 it's old and accustomed system. By the | provisions of that document the state 1 went into the coal mining business. and placed it's convicts in direct competition
 with free labor. This fact was one of the principal causes of objection lodged by Governor O'Neal and he states that had it not subjected the Pratt Consoli- dated to the loss of more than s50.000 ex- pended in making preparations for the fulfiilment of it's agreement. he would have abrogated the. contract. The doe ument bears date of January 1. 1912 and will expire December 31, 1917 Tho | Banner mine of the company will be i worked by 400 convicts, and the state 1 Is to be enumerated at 65 cents per ton I for coal washed and placed on the tippe | Many experts contended that this price ] was too low. and. in order to guaran- l tee the state against loss, Governor 1 O'Neal insisted that the company give ] a $60. GOO guarantee that the state would | net from this contract as much per man 1 per month as was netted in 1911 from | it's contract with the Tennessee Coal, l Iron and Railroad company. The com l pany readily gave the bond in the sum above mentioned The cost to the state of maintaining a convict at the Ten | nessee company's No. 12 mine last year was only sl1 1.31.
 
 The convict department is authority | for the statement that the contract with | the Tennessee company netted the state per man per month in 1911 $27,9l. MT. Oak ley believes that the state will net from the Banner mine contract close to $40 per man per month. A report of the cost of mining coal at the Banner mine in January is at the present time at head quarters, and 1t shows that the state | .,ra i,,f hoe I, cost of 34 cents. The department states that unusual expenses in January, which | will not have to be withstood again, pre- l vented the state from making more money. Governor ONeal is a trife fear | ful of the successful operation of this
 contract and states his belief that when
 all expenses are tabulated, it will be
 found that the cost of mining a ton of
 coal at Banner mine will be far in excess l of 3i cents. He believes, however, that
 as result of the S60,000 guarantee of the | company the state is assured of as much 1 profit from it's labor as was gained last
 year from the Tennessee company's con | tract.
 MT. Oakley states that he offered to | renew the Tennessee company's contract
 but that letters to the company remained
 unanswered for such a length of time l that he was in quandary as to whether 1 or not the company desired to employ
 again the convicts of the state. He de-
 clares, however that subsequently, the
 company did make an effort to renew the contract, and he believes that that com
 pany was behind the move to bring about
 the abrogation of the Banner mine con- | tract.
 The Tennessee company at the presen:
 time has no contract for the hiring of | state convicts. But it has contracts for | the employment of the convicts of the | following counties: Chambers. Choctaw Clark. Cleburne Colbert. Conecuh. Coosa l Fillmore, Hale, Houston. Lauderdale. Madi- | son, Macon, Mobile. Russell, Shelby. St 1 Clair, Sumter and Taladega. The com- l pany last month worked 1S2 county con-
 victs as follows Chamber f. ,Choctaw 3, 1 Clark Is. Cleburne ?. Colbert 6, Conecuh c., l Fillmore g. Hale g. Houston 2. Jefferson 2 Lauderdale 1. Madison 25, Macon s, Mobile