Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-04
PROBE OF PRISON CAMPS CALLED A FARCE
Than Declares Judge Paeo

spots where the men were working,
1 except in the case of the AdamsviIle
/ camp.
| 1t 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. 1t is con
! sldered, and undoubtedly is. the best
| camp in Fulton County and one Of
| the best in the Southland yet only
( Twelve men We're whipped there in
January, as against 80 in Camp Wei
auca, where the convicts are surly and
| quarrelsome, denoGncing the Jack
man" and MS strap with bitter invec-
tive.
The fewer men / fog. the better
| work / get" said Captain Jones. of
| the 3ellWood camp. Il don't believe
! in Jogging except as a last resort.
| And even then l hate TO do it,"
And it is a matter of common
! knowledge that the convicts at the
| Bellwood camp do more and better
work than the conyicts 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 SUI
| perficial probe into conditions. con.
! tenting themselves with casually in
| speeding the living quarters and the
| eating places and praising the food,
and questioning such convicts as
were to be found roaming around in
| the yard.
Convict Witness inundated.
The Adamsville camp was, how
| ever, covered thoroughly, two hours
and twenty minutes being spent at
! the camp and at the works. the
stretch of road where the men were
laboring. Even at this camp, how
| ever, with the exception Of the score
or more whom the guards hustled
into the star chamber session in the
| clubhouse and a 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 fiogged
and of being forced to work when
they were sick. and all manners of
crueltes 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 Adamsvile works, the Com
missipners 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 11:40 for the works, arriving
there at ~ o'clock. Here the only
real investigating of the day was
done, eight or ten convicts telling af-
fecting stories. Left the works at 1
o'clock for Oakland City camp.
/ Probe Mostly Arguments.
Arrived Oakland City camp at 80
Io'clock. Walked into clubhouse and
looked around; had interesting argu-
ment about newspapers always try
4 ing to stir things up; another argu-
ment over whether a criminal is
mental degenerate; dissertation on
criminology; dinner leaving at 2:30
without doing much investigating.
i 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 a negro tell of
being whipped for turning over a
Georgia buggy" or wheelbarrow.
Went to Weiauca camp and stayed
twenty minutes; posed for pictures,
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 S5
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-lookin lot
of any of the camps. There is less
aogging 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 Enthusiastically Smith. of the
| County Board, and President Dawson.
Mr.. Rainey and Judge Patterson, of
the State Commi sslon-expresse
himself as well pleased with what he
had seen, and confident that the sto-
ries of brutality had been greatly ex-
aggerated.
Waters Didn't Finish.
Tull c. Waters. president of the
County Board, started but while en-
route to the Rosahnd 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 Comm ssion.
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 fiog 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"