The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1913-04-20

mony of Mr.. Hultsman (for it is Mr.
Hultsman to whom the committee
referred as the venerable chaplainj
these practices had been in existence
at this reformatory for the past
two years.
"n the first day of January. 1912
Mr. Hultsman wrote me this letter:
Dear Governor and Prison Board
"T'm glad to report that the nine
months | have been here We have
carried on school in chapel six
months, also Sunday school and
suit of these nine months work, we
have twenty-one boys who have pro-
fessed faith in Christ gone home ur-
der promise to join the church at
their homes and live a consistent
life. The boys are generally in fine
health now, in fact, practically we
have no sickness now save a few
chronic cases. Bad language is com
paratively thing of the past and
conditions generally good.
"'Yours truly,
(Signed) "'B. N. Hultsman,
Chaplain
IL leave it for this shrewd COM
mittee OF attorneys to reconcile this
statement of the Rev. Hultsman with
the statement contained in their re-
port that conditions there were in :
tolerable for the past two years.
Other Complaints in June.
"The other complaint made to me
was made early in June, 1912. at
once referred the complaint to the
commissioner of charities with re-
quest that an investigation he madt
and report given me upon tho
conditions. | append hereto that re-
port. If the legislature will take
time to read it, they will find that,
like most of the charges made against
institutions of this kind, they We're
based upon hearsay, and when the
parties were called upon for proof
they had none to offer.
Il call attention to the further fact
in connection with this charge Of
neglect of duty, that the resolution
appointing this committee was adop.
ed by the house on the 23rd day Of
January, 1913, and with all of ITS
powers and all of its efforts to find
something wrong with the institiI
tions with which the governor has
any connection it required ninety
days time TO bring forth any sort Of
charges and yet this committee chars-
ed the governor and other members
Of the boarG with wilful neglect of
duty because they did not ascertain
these facts.
Il call your attention to the fur
ther fact that member of your
body is representative from that
county and lives within five miles
nf that institution that he has been
a member of the legislature and has
been in Oklahoma City from the tim6
The regular session convened in
January; that ! have held frequent
conferences with him, and that he
has never intimated to me that there
was any such conditions prevailing
at Granite as disclosed by this com
rerort. Mr.. Cummings is a
Christian gentleman and it is inl-
POSSIBLE that such a condition of
affairs could have been known toI
him without his making protest
and calling my attention to it.
Senator Carpenters Home.
81 call your attention also to tho
fact that Senator Carpenter lives IN
Mangum and in the county i'll which
the institution is located that in all
the discussions we have had with |
reference to the future of the Granite |
reformatory never once has he int
mated that conditions there were
such as this report indicates. There |
IRE hundreds of good people living
IN Greer county, and ii is unbeliev-
able to me that these conditions
could prevail without many of them
knowing about it or at least having
heard of it, and cannot believe that
any good citizen could know of these
such as this report re-
cites and remain quiet. and yet nOs
one person from Greer county has
aver brought to me a charge that
would justify any such report as that
made by the committee
"As an evidence of the character
lf report that has been placed be
lore you, and the tendency of the
to magnify and eAaggerate
| call attention 10th is pro-
vision Of its report; They charge
hat 30 or 60 per cent OF all OF
he inmates of that institution are
afflicted with certain disease, and
hen they quote from the report Of
he state health commissioner ami
rlace the number of those afflicted
with these two diseases mentioned
1t 104, when the total number OF
prisoners is 30l, and if they had
Examined the original report of the
of health they would
lave found that of the two diseases
the total number of pris
,ners thus afflicted was only IS:
hat many of them had both diseases,
)ut this committee did not think it
necessary to go into this detail 20
.ive information upon which your
Iody could intelligently and fairly act.
seventy eight t7S) is less than tween
y-siX per cent (26 per cent? of the
otal population, but the committee
n its spirit of wonderful generosity ]
md fairness, has spread to the worll
he report thar it was 80 or 90 per ;
ent, and in another place states
hat practically all o. the inmates are
hus afflicted