The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-09-18

without censorship. 1t is obvious
that l gave this order so that | and
others in control at the capital might
have a channel for knowing what was
going on within the walls of the pen
itentiary from sources other than
those responsible for the manage
ment of the prisoners. Some rumors
lad been current that tile captain of
the guards, j. L. Bloyd. while q nan
of firmness and strict Justice, was
believed to be unduly severe. AS the
representative of the administration
II Sent Ex-Governor William NJ. o.
Dawson to the ~penitentiary to make
a complete Investigation. The lat
tcr's report was to the effect that his
investigation did not prove Captain
Bloyd to be a man OF harsh tempera-
ment, but on the contrary a man who
had the respect of all the %convicts,
many of whom were emphatic in
their declarations that he was emf.
nently Just in his dealings with ev-
cry inmate.
This letter. however, continued
Governor Hatfield, would indicate
that my orders have not been carried
out at this time, and | am determined
that they shall be-"
Prisoners in Rings.
The outcome OF this Interview was
that Governor Hatfield handed The
Dispatch representative a letter, adj
dressed to the warden OF the penlten-
tiary, authorizing the latter to give
the newspaper man the privilege of
visiting all departments of the peni-
Tertiary without %hindrance. 81
shall not acQuaint Warden White
with your coming" said the gov
crnor, $50 that your visit will be one
to afford opportunities for seeing the
Institution under normal conditions"
The governors letter was present
cd to Warden White the following
morning, and the greater part Of the
day spent within the walls Of the
~pcnitentiary. Every courtesy was
accorded me by Warden White and
the guards. | was permitted to talk
with convicts as 1 chose, and with
out the presence Of any officials, and
found no difficulty In acquiring a
knowledge OF the management of the
cunvicts but also Of their W view
point on their prison life and then
opinions Of the pcnitentiary officials
and the guards.
At the far end Of a long corridor
are six cells which r the dun
geons" spoken of in the letter sent
to the editor of The Dispatch. These
are ordinary cells with the doors par
TALLY closed of. with Il wire screen
in addition over the steel bars Of the
door, the light passing through the
screen only. which is about eighteen
inches square. Directly opposite this
screen are the large windows of the
~penitentiary walls itself, and the cor
ridor is us light as open day. l stood
within one of these so-called dun
geons," and after a moments adjust
ment of vision, l found that the light
within is far from stygian darkness.
Vicious Convicts Used Knives.
In four of these cells l found prts-
oners who had been strung up to
the bull rings" All the %convicts I'M
dergoing this punishment were col
ored. Their records were marked on
Itheir cell doors. In one was convict
S002, of Taylor county, sentenced
for Is years. A fellow convict had
been delegated to distribute bath
tickets in the main corridor and
5000, without any provocation. rush
cd upon this man and slashed him
from his scalp to the base of his
Throat with a short knife which he
had fashioned in the workshop and
secroted on his person. For this vi
cfous attack 5000 was given n SEN
tcnce in the dark cell and the "bull
rings"
In another cell was convict 1884,
lof Mcdowell county, sentenced for
two years for malicious assault.
|When saw him he had been in the
dark cell and the rings for eight
days.
In the third dark cell was convict
ESS9, OF Wood county. He had al
ready served six days for assaulting