Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-04


Probe Mostly Arguments.
/ Arrived Oakland city camp AT 80
| O'Clock. Walked into clubhouse and
/ looked around: had interesting argu-
ment about neWspa pers always try
/ ing TO stir things up. another argu-
/ ment over whether criminal is a
mental degenerate; dissertation on
| crimuoloev dinner leaving at $50
without doing much investigating
From Oakland the probers went to
Rosalind camp and stayed ten min
utcs. and negro. Perry Prsig. told Of
being whipped two times in three
weeks on his bare back.
Went to Miner camp and stayed
six minutes, and heard a negro tell of
being whipped for turning over a
Georgia buggy or n wheelbarroW
Went to Weiauca camp and stayed
twenty minutes: posed for pictures
i and heard a negro tell Of being
| whipped three times in one evening
the last time when he was stark
| naked.
Went to Bellwood and stayed IS
minutes a great deal of it being CON
| sumed in sampling food, drinking
| coffee and In the newspaper men get
! ling the opinions of the Compassion
ers on what they had seen. Walked
All over the camp, which was very
clean and saw two gangs Of prison
ers come in The happiest looking lot
Of any Of the camps There is less
nogging at Bellwood camp than at
any OF the others, too, which ought
TO mean something.
After the investigation was com
pleted, each of the four who stayed
for the finish-Shelby Smith, of the
County Board, and President Dawson
Mr.. Rainey and Judge Patterson. Of
the State Comnission-exp
himself as well pleased with what he
had seen, and confident that the sto-
ries OF brutality had been greatly ex-
aggcrated.
Waters Didn't Finish.
Tull G. Waters, president OF the
County Board, started, but while en-
route to the Rosalind camp from the
Oakland camp Captain Tom Donald
sons automobile, in which he was
riding. broke down. and Mr.. Waters
was compelled to abandon the inves-
tigation
President Dawson stated positively
that there Is little likelihood of any
action being taken by the State Pris-
on Commission
ut appears to me-" he said that
resolved itself into a question OF iso-
lated cases of cruelty on the part of
the GUARDS, and promscuous use of
the authority to fiog prisoners. Abou;
all that can be done is for US to watch
carefully. and when we catch a
guard being unnecessarily brutal dis
charge him"
That is substantially what the 9TH
er three probers said. Mr.. Patterson
remarking that the principal idea Of
putting a man in prison is not to re-
form him, but to punish him.
Punish Rather Than Reform"
The IDEA of punishment should
! take precedence over the idea of ref
ormation." he said
Mr.. Smith said he is willing to do
anything he can to relieve the con-
dition Of the convicts.
II seemed to be the consensus of
! opinion that. inasmuch as the lnves-
| tigation Lad proved beyond the shad .
ow of doubt that the living quarters
and the entire camps. for that mat
ter, are exceedingly clean and san
itarN. the matter OF fioggine prison
ers is but a secondary consideration,
and the less said about it the better.
At every camp the news paper men in
the party were cordially invited to
notice how clean ard sanitary the
living quarters and the kitchens and
commissarN departments We're. And
there Is no doubt that the camps are
clean and the food good. The inves-
tigators were fed on collards, eggs,
corn bread. biscuits. beefsteal>, cof-
fee and other things at the oakland
camp, and ii was eXCellently pre-
pared and eNcellently served Better
M M hn
anywhere in Atlanta
The most fastidfous person could
rot have found ~anything in the way
Of dirt in the yards or the buildings
Of the camp. Even the yards We're
swept clean Everything was spicl<
and span. Convicts at all the camps,
however. said things had been clean
ed up in anticipation of the inVestiga =
ton, but every man who was ques-
toned said the camps We're kept very
clean
Evidence of Drinking.
The thorough search that failed TO
unearth any dirt, however. unearthed
several bottles At the Adamsville
camp that smelled very strong and
some of them tasted strong-ce " his
ky.
Convicts in this camp said drunk
enness among the guards-men
armed with shotguns-is common
occurrence.
The probers were met at the
AdamsVille camp by a delegation of
guards and started down toward the
clubhouse While passing in front
of the commissary the vanguard of
the Investigators ran into an old man,
gray haired and bent, who stood
leaning on a broom. The crowd
| numbering probably a dozen persons,
stopped to talk to the first convict
of the day.
How long have you been here"
asked Commissioner Tull Waters