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


camp.
It is worthy Of mention. and per-
haps strange, that the Belwood camp
/ with the largest number of convicts,
| has the minimum of punishment and
the maximum Of efficiency. It is con-
sidered, and undoubtedly is, the best
camp in Fulton County and one Of
the best in the Southland yet only
twelve men were whipped there in
January, as against 80 in Camp Wei
auca, where the convicts are surly and
quarrelsome, denouncing the Jack
man and his strap with bitter invec-
| tive.
The fewer men I fog. the better
work get" said Captain Jones, OF
! the Bellwood camp. Il don't believe
| in fiogging except as last resort.
| And even then l hate to DO it,"
And it is matter of common
| knowledge that the convicts at the
Bellwood camp do more and better
work than the conyic at any other
| camp
| Except in the case of the Adams
| vile camp the five men who made
Yesterdays investigation" made no
| pretense OF making more than a SUI
| perficial probe into conditions, con
/ tenting themselves with casually in
| specting the living quarters and the
| eating places and praising the food
| and questioning such convicts as
were to be found roaming around in
| the ward
Convict Witness inundated.
The Adamsville camp was, how
ever covered thoroughly, two hours
| and twenty minutes being spent al
| the camp and at the works." the
stretch of road where the men were
| Ia hnripU Even this how
| ever. with the exception of the score
| or more whom the guards hustled
| into the star chamber session in. the
clubhouse and half dozen or so
| long-term men at the works" all
| questioning was done with guards
| lowering in the offing. Most of the
men were afraid to talk, but those
| who did, with one or two exceptions,
| told horrible tales of being logged
and of being forced TO work when
| they were sick, and all manners Of
cruelties practiced on them.
With the exception OF the score
| who were in the clubhouse for ten
| minutes with the probing committee
and about ten who were interviewed
| on the Adamsville works, the Com
| missioners did not talk to more than
! a dozen, or fifteen at the outside at
the other five camps. Most of the
| questions were asked by newspaper
| men
Here. in A nutshell is just about
| what was done during the day by the
Commissioners in their tour of in
vestigation:
Left the Thrower Building at 10
| o'clock and arrived at Adamsville
| camp at 1910 Talked to convicts,
with guards near, posed for pictures,
walked about the grounds. held a star
| chamber session with convicts, and
| left at 40 for the works, arriving
| there at IL o'clock Here the only
real investigating of the day was
| done, eight or ten convicts telling af-
feeling stories. Left the works at 1
o'clock for Oakland City camp
Probe Mostly Arguments.
! Arrived Oakland City camp at 1 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
| mental degenerate: dissertation on
criminology; dinner leaving at 80
| without doing much investigating
From Oakland the probers went to
Rosalind camp and stayed ten min
utes, and negro Perry Praig, told of
| being whipped two times in three
weeks on his bare back
Went to Miner camp and stayed
six minutes, and heard negro tell of
being whipped for turning over a
Georgia buggy" or a wheelbarrow
| Went TO WeiauCa camp and stayed
twenty minutes: posed for pictures
and heard negro tell of being
| whipped three times in one evening,
| the last time when he was stark
| naked.
| Went to Bellwood and stayed So
| minutes. great deal of it being con-
| sumed in sampling food, drinking
coffee and in the newspaper men get
| ting the opinions of the Commission
| 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
| floeeing 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 f1nish-Shelby Smith. of the
| County Board. and President Dawson
Mr., Rainey and Judge Patterson. oil
| the State Commission-expres
| himself as well pleased with what he
| had seen, and confident that the sto-
| iSS VI VI utdlilN Ildu DeeH greatly eA-
! aggerated
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-
| LEGATION.
| President Dawson stated positively
| that there is little likelihood of any
| action being taken by the State Pris-
on Commission.
1T appears to me" he said. that
| this thing of wholesale brutality has
resolved itself into question of iso-
lated cases of cruelty on the part OF
the guards, and a promisCuous use OF
the authority TO fog prisoners About |
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