The Ocala evening star., 1915-01-25
REASONS FOR
NON-REMOVAL

Governor 1TamnOll gives " IilC Nj
ami Herald the following as his reas-
ons for not removing the managers
of the state reform school at Mari
anna, at which place eight lives were
lost, few weeks ago, IN fire that
destroyed one of the buildings. The
Herald says:
Substantially. it was that the close
investigation that. he made himself
had showed him that the managers of
the institution were at all responsible /
for the accident, and that the grand
Jury presentment instead of confning
itself to incidents Immediately related
to the accident had gone into ancient
history. incidents of which occurred
years before the present board of
managers was appointed. In selecting
the board the governor stated that
he had tried to secure men who had
had some experience in the handling
and education of boys, and who would
take a personal and intimate interest
in the work. That he had succeeded
in very large measure, was shown
by the fact that immediate improve
ment was shown by the inmates,
which was further evinced by the in
creased numbers that were sent to the
institution because committing magis-
trates had come to believe that the
school was good place for erring
boys, and commitments largely in
creased. This in turn, had its effect
| in making the work of the school
harder, for the appropriation made by
the legislature had to be spread over
larger number of boys, in fact
double the number that were being
cared for when the governor took his
/ Office. 1t is now necessary to care for,
kclothe, feed and educate a boy at the
institution for something less than one
hundred dollars year to keep with
in the appropriation.
Finding that the board of manag-
ers had done as well as anybody could
and in the opinion of the governor,
even better, the governor did not and
does not feel justified in removing
those officers. If he did, so he stated.
he would not know where to look
for men who could well take their
: places.
Summing it up, in brief way, the
governor is convinced that the acci-
dent was unavoidable; that every eff
fort was made to save the boys who
: were lost, by the eight or ten attend
ants present; that it was the meresi
, accident that prevented the saving Of
all of them, and that those in imme
!, date charge, were, not neglectful o.
: their duties"
Comfortable Conclusion
r In reply to this, the Tampa Times
: says:
; .tThe governor has arrived at a yer.
) comfortable conclusion for the boart
: and the governor. It is rather sur
J, prising, however that the governo
g has come to the conclusion that onl,
! one board of managers could be select
!. ed out of the citizenship of this grea
e state.
n The grand jury was very specific i
: its charge that the board did no
: supervise closely the work done b
It its employees at the institution.
It charged specifically that there wa
It gross mismanagement, not FIVE Q
: ten years ago, but right up to th
time of the holocaust.
S, "And heaven knows the fact ths
IS there were locked doors leading to tn
{, fire escapes and no one there to VI
i i lock them, and that the key coul
a not be located, is sufficient proof {
10 gross mismanagement and crimina
e carelessness.
sr "The governor has made a mi
:; = take"
OF Tribune is Also DISCONTINUED
y The Tampa Tribune also seems |
- think the governors explanation
Ks inadequate. It says:
in t'The governors investigation mu
have disclosed to him the fact, whit
~ was printed in the newspaper a
counts of the fire at the time and at
erwards brought out forcibly in Il
Jackson county's grand jury repo1
that the loss of life in the fire w
due to the fire escapes being barre
Is so that they could not be reached
the inmates, and that the keys to t
- ire escape doors were locked in t