Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-05-16
PRISON REFORM BADLY NEEDED
(The State, 14th.)

II believe that majority Of the
boys released from the State refor-
matory for negro boys after having
served their sentences are worse off
than they were at the time Of COM
mitment."
This unequivocal statement was
made by A. X. Sanders, superintend-
ent of the State penitentiary, who
also has charge OF the reformatory,
to committee of the State Board of
Charities and Corrections during d
recent inspection OF the reformatOry
and later repeated by him to the
board Of directors Of the penitentiary.
And In this opinion the committee
from the Board Of Charities and Cor
rcctions-Dr. Geo. b. CrOmer and
DR.. ID. ID. Wallace-heartily concur
red. The committee declared that il
was crime for the State to keen
little negroes in the reformatory
without giving them II chance to
make good citizens out of them
selves through modern Informative
treatment, including tho merit sys-
TEN OF parole and thorough training
while in the institution. The COM
mittee urged that a teacher be pro-
vided at once for the little negroes.
This institution" the committees
report declared, "is anything but
reformatory. Little negro boys,
eight, nine and ten years old, are
committed to it, under definite SEN
tence for years by the courts Of gen.
eral sessions, or until they reach
their majority by the courts Of pro-
bate, for very trivial offenses. While
there they receive no educational
and practically no other training ex-
cept to work on the farm, and at the
end of their sentence, or when they
become OF age, are released, the State
retaining all the profits Of their la
bor."
In the opinion Of the committee
and of the Board of Charities and
Corrections. hope for substantial and
fundamental improvements at the
State reformatory for negro boys
lies in q sharp enforcement Of the
reformatory from the penitent!ary
system, Of which it is now part
This enforcement should be two
fold: First, the laws governing the
commitment Of the boys to the re-
formatory should be so changed as to
require their reformative treatment
while there and the development Of
a merit and parole work under pro-
per supervision to enable them to
earn their conditional parole anu to
assist them in making good" when
on parole and afterwards; second,
the control Of the reformatory should
be placed in the hands Of the same
board that controls the South Caro-
lima Industrial School, which board
SHOULD be appointed by the Governor
and which should in turn elect it's
superintendent. Moreover. the board
Of directors Of the State penitentiary
ought likewise to be appointed by
the Governor, and not elected by the
General Assembly, and the board
ought to be empowered to choose a
superintendent for the penitentiary
At present the superintendent is
elected by the General Assembly.
The proposed new plan Of govern
ment Of the penitentiary and Of the
reformatories is identical in princi-
pie with that which now obtains at
the State Hospital for the Insane and
which was ordered through amend
ment to the State Constitution by the
people at tho 1916 general election
and ratified by the 1917 General AS
awhile