The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-09
FIELD WORK SAID
TO BENEFIT GIRLS
(Continucd FrOm Sixth i,nEc. D


work or oversee their labors
Miss Edna Wright. a special inves-
tigator gave the board the benefit OF
her observations into the mental con
dition of the thirty-two inmates OF
the Bon Air Home. Two were found
to be perfectly normal, four were back
ward, TWO were border lin. cases which
could not be classified without further
investigations. while the remaining
girls were feeblc-minded. Miss Wright
made the examinations Under the Binct
test the standard throughout the
country. Her testimony was purely
technical and was introduced mainly
10 show the class OF girls that had to
be dealt with
s. Il. Conway, brick mason. stated
that he had worked at the home for
hNc weeks ana had excellent oppor-
tunitieS TO observe The girls He saw
them IN the fields from A VI. To
l.. NJ, with short interval at meal
time. Under the supervision Of Banks
the girls would operate "A heavy two
mule pillow. This was Il horrible state
OF affairs. In his mind. AZ blowing was
one Oh the hardest pieces Of work he
had ever undertaken. Banks lordcd il
over the girls like a major he said
but. while using sharp tone Of voice
was not rough Witness frequently
heard the negro address the girls by
their first names. Conway never saw
always on the 20. According TO his
testimony. the girls never had a mo-
nent OF pleasure. Banks never. 10 his
khowledgc, mistreatcd them. but they
had TO be submissive to his orders
lhey were not permitted to speak TO
strangers but had TO turn their backs
on men. This rule was rightly en-
forced.
Shows Remarkable Change
20 hho" the remarkable change that
mas come over the institution in the
iast Two years. a. T. Chapman a real
estate dealer was called Nr Chan
man while guest Al the Bon Air Inn
had been hurricdly summoned 10 IN.
hcnooi 10 help Iuell riot and extin-
sulsh nre started by tn. girls Tn.
natron was locked in the building. ana
'here was no one in charge When he
,eached the place he and friends VINO
hao accom- panied him. were greeted
win a shower OF rocks. while vic cDi-
thets were hurled at them bv the ,.irls
who were acting like demons Robert
Lecky. Jr a member OF the board o.
directors was hSht!ns the names with
broom. but fast as he Dut out ono
blaze another was started Tn. girls
N his opinion. We're capable Of kccDin,,
on any men by throwing rocks on. ian
particular being able 70 knock down a
chicken at forty yards. They were be,
Ter developed physically than the nor
NAL girl one OF them smashed a huge
squash with g blow OF her nst
Recently MI Chapman has made two
unexpected Visits. on both occasions
realty dressed and weil-bchav.d Tho
discipline was perfect ana under the
supervision OF Mrs. Light. the new ma
tron were put through their PAGES and
gave a crcditable exhibition
II. a. Furcron is the man who saw
Itanks speak roughly TO girl for not
moving fast enough. She was sitting
On step. ana when the negro adj
l., -
ened and quickly went about her work.
ranks appeared TO be boss bu; he saw
no objection to the ovcrs.er exccpt as
10 race He never saw any opportunity
Tor outsiders TO have any Interview
*ith the inmates Of the home
Another witness who saw nothinr
improper except working girls in tho
field was A. +. Garrett. "a brick coutrac-
'or In his opinion the girls, conduct
las straight and abovoboord. Banks
was the boss. but he never saw the
man do anything except give directions
lie never observed any rouEhness on
the part of the oVcrsecr
other Witnesses.
William II Harrison. a bricklayer
saw nothing wrong except the negro
hossing the girls. which Disguised him
I II had been n white man there would
have been no objection l.. w Payne
testified along the same lines, stating
that Banks IS good negro. but shouid
not be permitted TO direct white women.
The testimony in regard To the CON
duct OF the home Was finished when
B. V. Skinner and oscar Tiusley testi-
ned. Neither had anything to
add. Tinslcy saw the girls put to work
with cross cut saw, which, he stated.
was no play even for men. He saw
Banks boss the girls and sometimes
heard him speak roughly.
Taking UP the accounting system Of
the home. II was shown that the system
in use was unwieldy. although. as far
l.. orr. inn IA, no
search there are no irregularities. II.
r. Baskerville. former treasurer of the
board. explained the system followed
by him when he had charge of the
funds. The home was opened on pri-
vate subscriptions. but the State now
gives a per diem amount. The money
would be drawn by Mr.. baskerville
from the Auditor of Public Accounts
deposited In banks and checks drawn
in favor of Or. James Buchanan. who,
under the directions of the board. re-
loved Mr. Baskerville of the respon-
sbility OF disbursing the amounts to