The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-11-19
A FRIGHTFUL INDICTMENT
What a Fort Meade Man Saw at the
Mariana Reform School
Tampa Times)

Fort Meade. Fla, Nov. II, 1913.
To the Editor of the Times: On
Nov. 9th / arrived in Mariana on
late train. Securing an auto l went
direct to the Florida Industrial School
No. l. No. l school is where the
white boys are. first went to the
office, and was advised that / could
meet Mr.. Boone, the superintendent.
Mr.. Boone's room is on the second
floor. / met Mr.. Boone and his wife
comfortably sitting in their large,
comfortable room, before a glowing
fire. 1t was quite chilly outside, and
my overcoat came in handy. Mr..
Boone told me he hadn't been out in
five weeks; that he had been closed
in this beautiful room during this
time He told me he did not have the
flu and that he was much afraid of it.
l asked him how many of the boys
had died during the epidemic.
Mr.. Boone was unable to tell me.
He said he believed that five OR six,
oil maybe seven white boys and four
negro boys had passed out to the
great beyond, but wasn't sure.
1t appeared from the many ques-
tons I asked him that he wasn't sure
of or did not know what was being
done or what had occurred during the
epidemic.
Two little. white boys died the eve
ing / was there.
From Mr.. Boone's living room l
went to the boys dormitory. The
boys were, most of them, asleep.
went from bed to bed The sheets
and blankets were woefully dirty.
They had not Zen washed for a long
time. Nearly all Of the boys had their
hands to their heads, trying in their
sleep to get relief from the bugs in
their little heads.
Next morning, Nov. Z. went back
out to the boys reformatory. / met
nearly all of the white boys there.
With one or two exceptions they were
all barefooted. with their khaki pants
and shirts on. One or two had shoes
on. 1t was bitter cold this morning.
Mr.. Boone and his wife came out and
we stood on the lawn, with our over
coats on, all buttoned up. Among the
boys there were several who had just
been down with the flu, half naked,
standing there on the lawn, shivering
from the cold.
The breakfast that morning for the
boys consisted of oatmeal with salt,
old bread and two pitchers of syrup.
These pitchers Of syrup held about a
pint. There were at breakfast about
55 or so boys. Some had no syrup at
ali as two pints of syrup for that
many boys was by no means enough.
| tell you there was a, scramble for
that syrup. The table at which the
faculty or helpers ate, contained oat-
meal, sugar, sweet milk, fresh meat
in fact. square meal.
Can you see those poor little boys,
some sick. all hungry, sitting at a
table with practically nothing to eat
on it? Just a few feet from their
table a real hot breakfast, with milk,
hot coffee, brindle gravy, fresh cooked
bread!
About two weeks before was there
one of the boys grabbed slice of pie
off the superintendent table. The
assistant superintendent ran this boy
down, but the poor, hungry child had
about eaten the slice of pie before he
was caught. The part of the pie he
hadn't eaten was taken from him by
force and thrown to the ground.
To see these little helpless boys
standing around me and Mr.. Boone,
shivering with cold and hunger and
starvation in their faces, is a picture
will long remember. 1t is not strange
that this dreadful flu should kill SO
many of them; their vitality gone,
their little bodies shrunken for want
of food. both body and head lice all
over them, literally eating them up.
There was one little fellow that
was being allowed to go home on that
cold morning. He came out with
new shirt and pants on; also new
shoes; but those remaining were
neither naked nor clothed. mention
these facts as / was there and saw
it as I have told it.
/ knew little Willie Tardy, from
Barlow. This poor child. with his
eyes red and swollen, sores on his
nose, half naked, just out of bed with
the flu, standing there on the cold
ground barefooted, shivering, hungry.
His diet of oatmeal and salt was get
ting the life out of this poor little
child. / knew him as he was at Bar
tow. He asked me to please do some
thing for him, and / said would.
There were number Of boys in as
bad fix as he. Yours truly,
Jas. A. Newsome.