The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-01
This Is Sentiment of Ala
bama Convict Improve
ment Association
NEXT MEETING IN
SOUTH END OF STATE
Bill Will Be Drawn and Candidate for
Governor Will Be Indorsed Who
Favors Abolition of the
Present System

The organization created for the pur-
pose of destroying the convict lease
system in Alabama. christened itself
yesterday. by the adoption of a resolu-
ton introduced by Ross Blackmon of
Admission. the Alabama Convict I'M
provement association.
AS a result of the meeting yesterday
the organization has come out solidly
for the propaganda of taking conVicts
out of the mines and working them on
the roads of the state, this being due
to the clever work of good road ad-
vocates led by j. A. Rountree OF BIZ
mingham. and John Craft of Mobile AT
the previous meeting of the association,
as is remembered. an effort made to
put the members on record as favoring
the idea of working convicts on the
road was not only rebuked, but crush
ingly defeated.
After several prominent gentlemen
had delivered impassioned addresses,
number of committees were named and
the organization adjourned without
naming a date for the next meeting.
1t was determined however that the
place of next meeting would be either
Mobile or Montgomery.
Moulthrop in Charge
Committees were appointed and In
structed to draw up bill for presenta-
ton to the legislature in its next ses-
sion, and to conduct campaign for the
purpose of arousing sentiment against
working convicts in mines, practice
which Captain White charged was more
outrageous than African slavery. As
chairman of the campaign committee
Senator Robert Moulthrop of Barbour
was appointed. The other members
named were John w O'Neill of Jeffer-
son, John craft of Mobile, Frank S
White of jefferson, j. j. Ray of Walker
J. A. Rountree of Jefferson and J. 5
Tilly of Montgomery.
Other committees appointed follow
To draft a bill, Robert Moulthrop
Frank S. White. w. b. oliver of Tus-
caloosa, w. C. Davies of Walker, John
Craft, j. j. Ray and Ross BlaclSmon
To investigate the feasibility of put
ting convicts on the roads. J. A. Roun-
tree, H b. Bowling of Dale, G. H. Ma
lone of Houston, J. e. Pierce, Frederick
l. Thompson of Mobile j. S. Tilly and
" B. Atkins of Dallas. To Investigate
conditions under which conviets work
Thomas l.. Long of Walker, Henry p
White of Bib, Won L. Thompson of
Jefferson Byrd Farmer of Houston, L
B. CASTOR of Baldwin. Rabbi Alfred
Moses of Mobile and j. c. O'Connell of
Mobile A finance committee and a
committee to investigate the earnings
of state convicts will later be ap-
pointed.
Fine for Wallace
The Alabama Convict Improvement
association, as a result of the meeting
yesterday entered heartily into politics
and plans to become a political factor
In the state According to speeches
made yesterday, a gubernatorial can
didate will be endorsed favorable to
the idea of destroying the lease system,
and an effort will be made to have the
several counties send men to the legis-
lature in line with that idea. Up to
the present time, John H. Wallace, Jr.,
is the only gubernatorial candidate who
has openly and unequivocally declared
for taking the convicts out of the
mines. A noteworthy fact yesterday
was that considerable argument against
the lease system, setting out the al
legation that the earnings of the state
convict department are chiefly mythical
and that the idea of convicts on the
roads had proved successful in many
states was read from the circular oi
that candidate, the frontispiece o.
which is a handsome photograph of the
| fish and game commissioner.
Dowling Talks Plainly
| The meeting was exceedingly har
| monous, the only debate having oc
! CURED in regard to the effort of tn,
! good roads faction to gain supremacy
which effort was highly successful. II
I course of this debate. Mr.. Dowlins
| of Ozark declared that when the or,
! ganization went on record as beins
determined to take the convicts out OF
| the mine without making a Statement
| as to what would be done with them
| the impression gained ground that tn,
organization was composed of mum
! Der of sentmentalisis.
| Captain White took occasion to stat'
! that whereas he was the attorney fol
| the United Mine Workers of America
| he had not drawn pay from that or.
| ganization in FIVE years, and Judge Ray
of Jasper repeated his former remark,
concerning the lease system and by in