Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-05
PROBE BEGUN
BY PRISON
He AD
e. V, La Dow, of Washington,
Sent by McReynoIds to Sift
Hawthorne Charges.

Investigation of the charges Of un-
At conditions at the Federal Prison
under the administration of Warden
Meyer. as revealed by Julian Haw-
thorne, the noted writer, and others,
was actively begun Wednesday with
the arrival OF r. V. LaDow, of Wash
ington, Superintendent of Govern
ment Prisons.
The Government official has taken
up his headquarters at the prison and
will make thorough probe into con-
ditoins. Just what tactics he will use
In pushing his investigation were not
revealed. However, 1t Is known that
he has possession Of the statements
of practically every ex-convict Of the
prison who has followed HawthoTne's
lead in making accusations against
the Atlanta institutions warden.
More Than Dozen Charges.
These accusations include the star
walton OF prisoners, inhumanity and
general maladministration by Meyer.
More than dozen men. besides Haw-
thorne and his companion, DR.. w. j.
Morton, the New York physician, have
made charges to this effect
Superintendent LaDow spent We'd
nesday in a general inspection tour Of
the prison and its grounds. accompa-
MED by the accused warden. That
his report will be withheld from the
public until he has submitted it to
Attorney General McReynolds in
Washington is thought likely. How
ever, the prison official will not re-
linquish his investigation until he has
gone to the rock bottom Of the ale
cations.
In the course Of his probe it is be-
lleved that L4aDow will summon the
various men who have made charges
against Meyer and examine them per
sonally. There Is a probability that
they VIII be brought to the prison to
point out it's alleged discrepancies
Most recent of the charges hurled
at the Government institution were
those made public by Fayette r. Sal
ter, who was released last Saturday
after serving fifteen years for muir
der of which he was innocent.
salter Reiteratss Charges.
From his horne in Mobile, Ala,
where Salter arrived Tuesday night,
he reiterated his accusations, sur
rounded by his wife and family.
SaltePs conviction wac obtained on
the testimony of man whose mind
afterward was proved to have been
unbalanced at the time Of the trial.
His final release by pardon from
President Wilson was wrought
through remarkable chain OF cir
cumstances which ended in the mo-
Their Of the crazed man making an
affidavit that her son had suffered
from an hallucination and had carried
It through on the witness stand, con-
victing Salter as the murderer
A stubborn fight was instituted i'm
mediately by friends of the convicted
man, and Salter was released forth
with and Monday left Atlanta for his
home. not, however before he had
given out a statement corroborating
the charges of Hawthorne. At his
home later he reiterated his state
msnts.
ITO see how little a human being
can exist on and to see how small in
cost he can make the feed bill Is the
object of Warden Meyer said Sal
ter.
"Just because wrote a note to a
guard In the penitentlary asking that
he try and be reinstated in the tailor
shop where he had been kind to the
men, was chained to the wall for
"a hours with my face against the
rocks. and during that time was
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