The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-19
"Cdlibdn In the Coal Mines"
SOCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT ny MRS. SIDNEY M. ULLMAN
By "HOp''

Recently at Flat Top there have been as many as 6l men marked up to be whipped.
 ANSWER TO MIR HALLS LETTER. In answer to a letter received from Mir. l J. P. Hall. warden Banner mines. by this department, in answer to an article pub | lished in Tho Age-Herald's social ser vice department. l wish to state the inct- dents referred to in that particular ar ticle were not happenings during the time
 MT. Hall was in service.
 Mir. Halls letter is as follows:
 Mining Department, Litteton. July [ Mrs. Sidney M. ullman, Social Service
 Department Age-Herald Birmingham:
 Dear Madam--I beg to advise of my own knowledge that while (conditions and 1 treatment of convicts) at Banner mines l may have been true at that time and date l of which you write. but are absolutely un- 1 true at the present time. and for the past | two years since I have been In charge l as warden.
 1 ''The year 1911 Is history. The officers
 in charge the mine conditions, the treat
 ment of convicts the class of convicts. as l well as guards, have all been changed,
 and yet your letter carries the impression | that the same conditions exist today. l which is not true.
 ''The report of all the Investigating com
 mittees or personal investigations pro- | nounce the conditions at this camp and these convlcts to be exceptional good. All I ask Is that you make 1t clear that your letter applies to the past and not to 1 the present, and if you are still In doubt l I extend an invitation to anyone in tho
 state who Is >unacquainted with the con l dition at Banner mines to make personal investigation.
 | Mrs Ullman. if you can and will sec fit to Insert another letter. giving correc- 1 ton, explaining dates etc. 1t will be giv- | in q mo f,f n w eal
 l deserve, and can assure you that same | will be highly appreciated. This 1 ask | of course, for the benefit of the public as
 well as myself
 "Thanklng you in advance, and trust 1 ing you will treat this with courtesy to-
 ward me, I beg to remain yours truly, "J P. HALL, 1 Warden Banner Mines
 "I came to this place April 1. 1913. Your letter of which I mention was in the is- sue of June 30"
 It has been impossible for the writer to aval herself of the kind offer of MT | Hall to visit Banner, though little doubt
 is entertained that such trip would have
 been very profitable. It Is generally un- | derstood that outposts notify the war dens at once of the approach of any visitor and the visitor If allowed to see anything at all is certainly not shown l the bad si1e.
 The statement below. from an emnenty
 reliable source, will show that although l the matter in the articles referred to by
 Mir. Hall did not occur during the time
 he has been at Banner. conditions there
 arc little if no better now than then:
 'I understand an explosion occurred at l Banner last Wednesday. which has been | kept very quiet. From one source l
 learned that two man were killed in-
 stantly and eight or 10 are in the hospital
 seriously burned. From another source
 learned that six men were killed and | eight or 10 badly burned. l also under
 stand that neither the state mine inspector
 nor the United States bureau of mines
 has been informed of this explosion. I un- l derstand further that the convicts at l Banner are working from a.. m. until l D. m. now. find that in spite of the nat 1 ural tendency that the convict depart
 ment would have to reduce their tasks | since they have been investigated so rig | orously, that the task at Banner Is still l10 tons for a first-class man, and that the convcts must load enough coal to com pensate for the washer loss. which makes | the task about 111a tons. I find further l that the middleman. or rock. in this seam
 averages now about 31ls inches This l rock must be moved by the convict In addition to his other duties, which means that he must handle 10 tons of rock per day In addition to the 111s tons of coal
 which he loads. In other words the con | victs are handling 2l11 tons of material every day"
 l The recent report of the probe commit tee of the state legislature has been an absolute proof of the conditions: "A relic of barbarism. a species of human slavery
 and Q crime against humanity" Is the way they style the convict lease system. Heartrending as these facts are. they are being fought at the legislature for the sake of personal gain and profit. Let the peo- pie of Alabama stand for justice and hu- manity and in the name of humanity take the prisoners out of the mines