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


except in the case of the Adamsville
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-
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
aucs, where the convicts are surly and
auarrelsome, denouncing the Jack
man and his strap with bitter invec
tive.
THE fewer men | fog, the better
work ] get said Captain Jones. of
the Bellwood camp. y don't believe
| in flogging except as last resort.
And even then 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 cony lets 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.
| tcilliHS LUtIlStlNeS WIFI casually III
| 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 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
| Ia boring. 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 flogged
and of being forced to work when
they were sick, and all manners of
cruelties prdcticed 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
| or the Adamsville works, the Com
missioners did not talk to more than
y NOItiIt VI iAlbcFIl al TIE OutSlOt, 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 1O:4O. Talked to convicts,
| with guards near, posed FOR pictures,
| walked about the grounds held star
chamber session with convicts. and
left at 11:40 for the works, arriving
there at IL o'clock Here the only
real investigating of the dav was
done, eight or ten convicts telling af
fecting stories. Left the works at
o'clock for Oakland City camp.
Probe Mostly Arguments.
Arrived Oakland City camp at / 80
O'Clock Walked into clubhouse and
looked around; had interesting argu-
ment about newspapers always try
ing to stir things up; another argu-
ment over whether a criminal is a
mental degenerate; dissertation on
crifhinology; dinner, leaving at $50
without doing much investiga ting
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 10 Miner camp and stayed
SIN minutes, and heard a 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 80
minutes. a great deal of it being con-
sumed in sampling foods drinking
coffee and in the newspaper men getS
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
tlogging at Bellwood camp than at
any of the others. too, which ought
| to mean something.
After the investigation was com
peted, 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 Commission-expres
| 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 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-
tigation.
President Dawson stated positively
that there is little likelihood of any
action being taken by the State Pris-
on Commission.
TT appears to me- he said. that
this thing of wholesale brutality has
resolved itself into a 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
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
|