Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-02

In Atlanta. as in all large cities, ther'
are social clubs organized for the bona
fde purpose of experimenting. the. home
life of their members and visiting
friends The membership OF these
clubs representing the best CONNER.
cial, financial and moral interests OF the
ctty-those most deeply committed tc
the upbuilding Of Atlanta and the en-
forcement of law--has, so far as we are
Informed, endeavored to carry out The
true intent and spirit Of the laws or
the subject of Intoxicating. liopors; and
arise as to the technical Interpretation
OF such laws. we have heard OF no dis.
nosition to defy them on the part Of
these clubs. but rather manifest .effor'
to comply with their much-mooted pro-
visions.
It does not seem TO us that the In.
tention of existing laws is to interfere
with the rights OF individuals, OF ever
Of private groups Of citizens, to have
and use intoxicating LIQUORS IN their
homes. but only to prohibit the sale
Of such liquors IN public places. These
vate institutions. We have no reason
to believe that any liquors there are
publicly offered for sale, and we have
therefore not deemed IL necessary. moi
advisable, to formally investigate the
workings of these institutions.
On the other hand. It is stated that
there are. a number Of so-called locker
clubs" Of an entirely different nature
the primary object Of which is the sale
of spirituous liquors. Some are said &c
he conducted by Wholesale liauor houses
at a distance others ny individuals fol
pecuniary gain. In these clubs. Il Il
said, the dues are nominal and the form
and senblance Of a club Is maintained
merely for the purpose OF evading the
law.
To distinguish between the regular
and the spurious. as applied to clubs, Is
In the very nature of the case a mat.
ter recurring great deal Of time and
the examination of a vast amount ri
evidence. This Grand Jury having only
few days more to serve was not dis
nosed to make a superficial investiga.
ton, even though II was claimed that
the possession of a Federal license was
nrima facie evidence of an infraction Of
the law.
term Grand Jury is charged with the
duty OF making special inquiry into
all matters pertaining TO the conduct
Of the County's affairs and present.
tnents to the nublic are required of that
body, 1t had been decided at the time
| of converting that the present outgoinl
| Grand Jury would take up no matters
other than the regular criminal bust.
ness presented by the office Of the So
licitor General.
/ @ Inc investigation OF the COtlntV'S DTS
| on system was the result OF information
obtained, at the outset. by accident
from the testimony Of witness brought
by the Solicitor. who was q prisoner
In the chaingang. To questions asked
with no purpose other. than to secure
closed as existing at these convict
camps which surprised every member
present. So shocked and disguised was
this body with the revelations OF these
prisoners. that II was the consensus Of
peratively demanded to ascertain the
true facts from creditable witnesses
who had knowledge on the subject
Not content with almost endless tes-
timony Of prisoners: white and black
County Commissioners themselves and
the State Prison Board were subpenaed
to give testimony Of their knowledge or
the subject.
The ignorance of the County Commits
sioners on all matters pertaining to the
the treatment Of the prisoners was as
tonishing. Two OF the Commissioners
Clifford L. Anderson and Tull C
Waters, were either unable or unwill-
ing to disclose any knowledge Of the
true conditions; on the contrary, they
defended the system that had been In
force for a quarter OF a century under
the administration OF Thomas J. and
s H: Donaldson. The other three Com
missioners. s: B. Truman. w. T. VIM
and Shelby Smith, acknowledged they
had little. information on the. subject
but stated that this was not the result
OF inattention, but tc difficulties In their
way. due to the Donaldson influence
over their appointed employees in charge
Of the prisoners and camps, who ig-
nored any authority other than that OF
the Donaldsons themselves. These
Commissioners stated that efforts had
been made by them to better conditions
which they believed TO be bad, from
information which had been presented
to them. from the outside. but that
every effort to act. on their part. was
met with the opposition OF the Donald
son influence. which was in complete
control. This Grand Jury had complete
proof OF this fact In the instance OF a
specially pathetic case that came before
it-that OF a negro. Otis Spratling, from
the Weiauca camps,
This emaciated, weakened black man,
suffering from a deprecated cancer In
piration. for. as he expressed It, The was
short OF breath" this pathetic creature
had been whipped innumerable times
Just a week before appearing before us
he had been whipped three times in one
day. always for the same cause. as
lick"
This means that in the gang Of SHOW
elers, Of which he was a part his
strength was insufficient to possibly
keep up with the stronger normal pris-
oners. when loading the wagons
At the time he appeared before us. his
back was mass OF raw flesh in patches
as large as ones hand. az the result oil
the three whippings in one day admin
istered a week before, for the sole rea-
son that che couldn't keep up the
lick"
So incensed was every member OF the
Grand Jury. on this occasion. that the
members OF the County Commission
who happened to be in session in an
other part Of the building at the time
were requested to appear for the pur-
pose Of seeing for themselves this act
OF inhumanity which some Of the mem
bers had previously denied existed In
the camps. A request was made Of
them by the Grand Jury that this OBJ
feet OF brutality. who gave every evil
dence OF having been beaten almost "a
death, should be removed from the
camp at which he was employed al
hard labor and placed in the hospital
at the Beliwood camp, under the care
Of the County Physician. The individual
Commissioner readily agreed TO this
making the statement that orders for
his removal would be given that day
week later. during the course OF