The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-05-24

burned and will have to be replaced,
| the school can be moved with very
little extra cost at this time. The
State owns other lands, and some
communities will be glad of an OPP
portunity to donate lands for this
school
We further recommend that the
Florida Industrial School for boys at
Mariana be placed under the man
agement of the Board of State In
situations, and that the law Great
ing Board of Managers be amended
making this charge.
Fire Investigation
Your Committee made as diligent
and thorough inquiry as possible in
to the burning of Bcilding No. 1,
which building was occupied by
white boys, and from our investiga-
tion we do not believe that there is
even ground to suspicion that this
fire was of incendiary origin, but
was the result of gross carelessness,
negligence and mismanagement.
We found from examination that the
locks which secured the fire escapes
had never to the knowledge of any
one connected with the institution
been examined or even unlocked
since they had been installed, and
that there had been no fire drills.
In fact, nothing to prevent just such
a catastrophe as happened, and
these conditions certainly showed
very gross carelessness.
We found that the Superintend-
ent of this institution at the time of
the fire was young man barely in
his majority, and that the employ
ees as a whole were men not quail
fed, and incompetent, and should
have never been placed in such po
sitions. We found that, on the
night of the fire. four of the en-
ployees who should have been at
their posts of duty, had spent al
most the entire early part of the
night in Mariana, which we deem
inexcusable negligence and gross
carelessness, and possibly had they
remained at the school no doubt the
lives of the eight boys and two en-
ployees who lost their lives in the
fire would have been saved. We
found that this fire started sometime
after midnight, probably in locker
or near the foot of the stairs that
led up to the second floor. If proper
precaution had been used this fire
never would have occurred.
Miscellaneous
Your Committee find that under
the Acts of 1913, Chapter 6446 of
the Laws of Florida, the Board of
Managers of the Florida Industrial
School or Boys made requisition at
the end of each quarter on the
Comptroller, and upon receipt there
of, the Comptroller was required to
issue his warrant on the State Treas
{ urer therefor, and the disbursements
were made by the managers.
We were unable to find any rec
ords or vouchers upon which to
! predicate a report of the receipts
and disbursements. and judging from
the method pursued in obtaining
the money and paying the accounts,
the whole system was wrong, and
should be discontinued.
The original accounts, duly ap-
r proved by the Board of Managers,
e should be forwarded to the Comp
i troller, and after they are audited
by him warrants should be issued
: direct to the person, firm or corpora
! tion in whose favor the account is
r made out, and there can be no rea-
son for not pursuing any other
course, as the bills can be sent to
I the Comptroller as often as the
e Board of Managers meet and approve
the same, and the warrants will be
: issued by the Comptroller without
e delay
: Your Committee, therefore, rec
e ommends that in appropriating for
the expenses of the Florida Indus,
! trial School for Boys that the Act
,contain the same provision as to the
: payment of these claims, as it does
s as to all other claims against the
! State by making the appropriation
ii and authorizing the issue of war
e rants upon the receipt by the Comp
s troller of bills properly approved by
: the Board of Managers.
s Respectfully submitted
Is JOHN w. DAVIS, Chairman
J. J. HANDLEY,
e n. C. BRYAN,