Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-04
Six CAMPS INSPECTED
IN ONLY FOUR HOURS

vas ~ pei CSnl better IMAM IL usually
is"
Mitchell, B. j. Patterson, John Dy,
Frank Jones, John Beaseley and 9TH
ers told tales of cruelty on the part of
tie guards, and Mitchell shed u lit
tie new light on the shooting of Con-
Wet Harris.
Inc stick these people say Harris
had in his hand when he was shot"
Mitchell said, ''is not the one he car
RED. This stick is a big blu6geon.
The one that Harris had was a little
limb broken from a bush, and it
wasn't over foot long, and no big
ger around than q broom handle. l
don't know what became of it, but
the one that is on exhibition came
from the camp woodpile after the
shooting"
Frank Jones. &c years old, who has
served >nine years oe a life, sentence
FOR murder, said that he and half a
dozen other men were whipped be-
cause they asked about the dinner
hour which the rules say they have a
right to do. Among the other men
were Walt Blackman, John Beaseley,
George Brady and Jim Brown.
Beaseley, an old man, said they gave
hlm eighteen lashes. The others got
from seven to eleven.
Jones said that everybody who
tells of the brutality of the guards
gets whipped.
Objected to Vile Name.
Charley Wood, the guard, drew his
gun on me last summer because l OBJ
1ected when he called me a vile name
and threatened to shoot me. l told
MN he didn't have the nerve. and he
reported me for whipping. The
1ackman, however, wouldn't do it,
The men at Adamsville declare that
the new warden, Bob Clark, is 6. good
man, and treats them better than did
captain Thomson. Aaron Isom, a
new guard, they declare is the best
man who ever hello d gun over them.
lsom treats us like we are hu-
man, said RUDE Mitchell, and he
gets more work out of us than any
other guards. I'd get up at midnight
10 DO lson favor and sometimes I
feel like I'd get up at midnight to
beat some Of the other guards
Nothing was learned of conditions
at Oakland, where the probers
lunched. Commissioner Waters stat
ed during dinner that he thought not
more than two camps ought to be
visited each day, &C the probers could
go to the works" and talk to the men
Didn't Want to Hear Men.
\ They don't want to talk to the
men," interrupted Captain Donald
son. IF we hurry we can take them
around and show them all the camps
to day"
Living conditions are what we
want to see" remarked Judge Pat
terson of the State Commission. I've
heard that there are worms in the
food; l want to find out If there are
1t is not necessary to talk to- tne
men"
Just before leaving Adamsvil.e
some of the probers went up on d
hill and found a 19-year old boy
named Nash, who has been there one
month He was crying. They asked
him what was the matter, and the
boy showed them a finger that had
about withered away through some
disease. He said it had been sore
two weeks and no physician had
looked at it. The guard said he did
not know It, but under pressure adj
mitted that he did know it. --------.
Il haven't known 1t for more than
two weeks, though" he explained.
At Rosalind Camp, where % whip
pings were recorded in January
Perry Praig, negro, showed welts
on his body. He said he was whip
ped twice in three weeks but he did
not know why. Praig said they gave
him eleven lashes; the record book
showed that he got five Ten min
utes was spent at Rosalind Camp.
Eighteen Minutes at Wieuca.
Nothing was learned during the
six minutes the probers spent at
Miner Camp.
More time-all of eighteen minutes
was spent at Wieuca Camp, FOR
Chairman Dawson said:
Let's go arouL- and interview
these men just a little bit"
The record of this camp showed 30
whippings in January. Will Bird
well, one of the convicts, said he had
been whipped three times in one ev-'
ening.
Said they whipped him because,
when they toll him to bring some
thing from the kitchen, he didn't I'M
derstand and brought something elsa.
He said they gave him fifteen lashes
each time. The book showed that he
had been whipped three times, but on
different occasions, With total OF
twenty lashes for the three.