The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-28
Lacy's Story Believed to Be Only Way to Solve Mys- tery of Confiscation of States Funds
COMMITTEE BEGINS
 ITS INVESTIGATION
 LABORS TOMORROW
Not Known Just What De- partment Will Be First to Come Before the Inves- tigating Body
Ky l.. :. BETTY

q
 Montgomery, February 2-.--t Specially The Investigating committee of tho icsisiaturc win begin its Isbcrs Mon- day. IL Is not kUowp what dcpnr tmcrt first to come beneath the searching eye of the committee. though none will he neglected. Probably the committee will begin on the larger departments anu work up to the lesser.
 In this event there is some ground for the supposition that the convict de- partment will be tho first to be invcs- tigated. The labors attached to the con vict department probe will he more onerous than that attached to other departments on account of the fact that tho operations of the forraer are moro extensive than that Of others. And again, the labors of the committee. in conducting an investigation of this department. will be greatly augmented by reason of tho probe into the Lacy scandal
 What the committee may find In this latter investigation is n question that even the widest speculation cannot att tempt to answer. There is only one way by which the committee may get at all the facts in the case--and that is by learning lacys story. And 5y this is meant a truthful statement of tho whole affair
 Regarding Lacy
 Without Lacy's confession it Is safe Co say that the committee will learn nothing beyond what the state already knows. The story ot the convict de pertinent investigation conducted by the former governor k contained in many volumes of typewritten matter. which will be presented to the com- mittee As will be remembered this investigation was as complete as it could be made. Hundreds of witnesses were summoned before the inwesti aat- ing board, and all persons Tn the state having information Of tho convict de- partment were Invited to appear before the board and tell what they knew. The investigation was fruitless and much time and money were used in an effort to get at all the facts in the case.
 Access to Court Records
 In addition to the thousands of pages of testimony taken in this investig atlou the committee, if if so desires, will have access to the voluminous records growing out of the trial of Lacy. What was brought out at that trial is a matter of common knowledse.
 To repeat, therefore. any further in- formation relative to the convict de- partment scandal must come from the lips of the man who Is now serving a 10-year sentence in the state peniten- tiary for embedding s50,00o of convict department funds. Lacy has on several occasions promised to tell his story, but there Is no way of telling whether or not he will divu1ge 1t to tho com mittee.
 But the investigation of the Lacy scandal will be but one of the many tasks which will fall to the hands of the committee when 1t starts its ex- animation of the convict department. The committee is expected to visit the state prisons at Speisners and We tumpka and all the mining and lumber camps at which state convicts are worked. II Is safe to say that several weeks might easily be consumed in t thorough investigation of the state convict system.