Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1915-06-11
Governor Brewer Replies.
Answers Demand of Col. W. A. Mont
gomery Regarding Penitentioy.

SOHNGfy HsSufosHS shtteHttdfSs
Jackson, Miss. Gov. Brewer has is
sued the following reply to Col, W. A.
Montgomery's demand that he "keep
the state penitentiary record s
straight"
II can't understand why they keep
juggling with the figures to show a
successful and profitable administration
of the penitentiary affairs, just prior
to my administration, and try and be-
little what hac been done by the new
board under my administration. As
will be shown by the colonel's own
statement he is again showing his in
crease or profits by the increase in in
ventories, that is to say, increase in
value of the property. He is combn-
ing the last year preceding my admin
istration with the first year of my ad-
ministration; in other words, system
of Juggling with the figures, and in the
face of the fact that in the year welput
nearly as much net cash in the state
treasury as they ever put in for any
two years, and in the face of the fact
that there was system of graft car
ried on, as the admitted facts show,
covering the whole period of four years
preceding my administration VIII n
large amoun:s of money were stolen
from the state or embezzled by its Sec
retary, and if we undertook to figure
the profits of the pententiary on the
same system they figure it, or that the
colonel figures in his interview, the
profits for the year 1913 would exceed
the entire profits of the peutentiary
for the whole four years preceding my
administration.
"For the year preceding my admins
tlation, for instance, a bale of cotton
averaging over 500 pounds yields only
648 pounds of seed. Any practical farm
er would know that there was some
thing radically wrong with this, that
nearly half the seed were either being
wasted or stolen. Yet, when | men,
tion this fact, the colonel sued me for
$500, 900, and if the transaction with
the sale of the cotton was legitimate,
fair and honest. why doesn't the colo
mel help me get this fact before the
court? Why pull back and obstruct so
much? All the people of Mississippi
know thatI have done everything with
in my power for the last three years to
get the facts pertaining to the sale OF
this cotton before the court and before
the juries so that the real truth might
be known, and the public knows that |
have been obstructed in this and in
every way that lay within the power Of
the lieutenant-governor or other people
who for some reason didn't want the
facts to come out
"The, colonel can give out all the in |
tcrvie VS. he y,s;ls8 to, bllt .hefe ~ i!c 7
getting around the fact that for each
of the years 1908, 1909, .19lO and 1911
there was great shortage in the cot
ton seed. There is no getting around
the fact that the secretary was engag-
ed in most patent embezzling of the
states funds during all those four
years. There is no getting around the
fact that there were large amounts OF
state property being run off and sold
and the money going into the pockets
of people it didn't belong to, because
the pleas of guilty parties who were
and arraigned for it demon
strate this fact. There is no escaping
from the fact for the year, 1911, just
my inauguration, that the
department got $50, 600 out
of the state treasury more than it put
back.
"There is no denying the fact that
the law all these years required the
board of trustees to furnish we'll
bound set of books to each sergeant,
and that the sergeant should keep an
accurate account of all products that
we're grown or marketed at his camp,
and an accurate account of what be- [
came of it, and there is no denying the
fact that is a large majority OF these
cases, these books were newer kept;
hat the books in the office of the pen S
Tertiary department at Jackson had i
1een doctored and changed; bills of lad 6
ng had been changed and destroyed; :
hat all the gin books for the four years
preceding my administration had been '
destroyed, rendering it absolutely i'm I
possible to make an accurate check of ;
he affairs of this institution This :
whole business under my administra- d
ion has been changed. An accurate S
,ystem of accounting is now kept so O
hat embezzlement or waste cannot es- h
APE detection. That the waste and :,
eakage has been cut off and that the !
axpayers are getting the benefit of 4
he business as a certainty that cannot {
,e denied, and juggling of figures a
will not wipe it out. Let every honest =
nan in Mississippi ask himself the Z
question, "Do we commend the Cover t
lor for having brought this about or do n
We condemn him for it?'' And then !,
ct them ask themselves the question, =
DO we commend the persons who +,
ave obstructed and done everything q
hey could do to hinder him in bringing n
his about or do We condemn them for A
t." "a