The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-26
Conditions At County Jail

Conditions At County Jail
 To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 The recent grand jury report in re- gard to conditions at the county jail was read with much surprise by many whose knowledge of that institution has been obtained from sources which would naturally be supposed to mis- represent things. if anything was go ing wrong. The Illuminating article in yesterday mornings Age-Herald from J. T. Howle made some other things plain which the grand jury omitted, and it is my purpose to tell of few other things which concern you and me, because the county jail belongs to you and me, and we are each morally re- sponsible for conditions there, wheth- CT good or bad.
 N1r. Howle gave true inside" story of the situation. Those who have had occa sion to get that inside" informa- tion are truly the best authority on conditions, and it happens that l have had opportunity to personally become acquainted, and therefore I write this letter, yielding to the impulse that it
 Is the solemn duty of every citizen to uphold the right and attack wrong at all times.
 Sensational as was the report of the grand jury, real conditions at the jail are much worse than they described them to be. Abuse of prisoners, poor food, filthy surroundings lack of ven- tilation and system of tyranny prac- ticed by those in authority at the in- Stitution are a few of the evils with which the public should become ac- quainted.
 Because a man gets locked up in jail does not necessarily mean that he is criminal; it merely signifies that he is accused of violating the law Therefore, many good men are placed in jail. Of course there are many bad ones also; but because a man is bad lis no reason that he should be treat ed inhumanely, and it does not give any man a right to appropriate any portion of the money advanced by the state to provide food for him. And be- cause man is so unfortunate as to be locked in jail does not make him d peon or slave, yet he is made one under present conditions, and he is forced through fear of punishment to do Janitor service inside the prison walls while somebody higher up draws $lS0 per month for doing the work When man crosses the threshold he does not cease to be human, and should by all means have plenty of food, decent place to sleep and hu- mane treatment. NHe gets neither at the Jefferson county jail.
 The food served is coarse and the ouan- tty is insufficient. The bill of fare has rot been changed since the present ad- mlnistration took charge. The reason for this may be that Mir Batson proba bIy raised cowpeas on his Bessemer farm and some of them get too dirty and full of weevils for his cattle, so he ships them to the jail for human consumption. While 1 do not know that the above is the truth, I do know that cowpeas, half cooked, accompanied by small piece of raw cornbread, constitutes the noon meal served at our ''carbuncle.''4 No bevera ge is served with the meal coffee being an unknown luxury on the "fnsde'' That is, it is unknown except in cases where man buys it for himself. In that case MT. A. B. Batson, the inside superin- tendent, brother of the sheriff, will sell him as much coffee as it requires to make cup full for cents Mr. Batson sells cigars, tobacco, coffee bread soft drinks, etc, from his bazaar in jail corridor. He does this without city license, too.
 Only two alleged meals are served dur ing the "A hours one at in the morning, the other at noon. No service is pro- vided; if a man has a dime, he may buy spoon; otherwise, use your fingers. For breakfast, three half-cooked biscuits with piece of half-cooked white fat meat is given Noon, handful of field cowpeas with the Cornbread. The entire days menu according to the grand jury, costs less than 10 cents As a matter of fact. the sheriff must not be expending over 5 cents, yet he receives 30 cents from the state This difference is morally wrong, whether legally so or not; and believe that any man whose conscience permits of such an act as this should not give out an interview asserting that the hanging Of negro causes him any pain.
 The beds are filthy. The blankets are never sent to laundry, and never cleaned except in anticipation of grand jury call On those occasions the prisoners are compelled to take up their bed and wash"--another demon- stration of slavery. Each man is forced to wash his blanket, just as he is forced to wash the floor and clean the toilets. If he refuses on the ground that he is human being, he is locked in cell. or handcuffed or beaten. according to the mood of the officers in charge.
 No one presupposes that an elegant bedroom or banquet awaits man who is put in jail, but it is only a matter Of ordinary justice that he should have good treatment, and if the state furnishes the money for his food, he most assuredly should get it. The limit of tyrannical abuses is the only phrase that would flttingly de- scribe present conditions, and it is up to the public, who elect men, to see to 1t that change is made in the treatment of unfortunate men and women.
 Let us not ignore this important matter The grand jury has said that conditions are bad That is the cue Tor you and me and every other citizen who claims to be decent to demand a better system. Who will be the next to register their protest against the present corrupt and tyrannical prac- tice? w H. HENDf2Tx
 Birmingham, Me rch 22, 1916. Box 727
 FOmented by Munitions Men
 To the Editor of The Age-Herald.
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