Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-02-11
11rs. Mereaith's Statement

Mrs. Meredith was the first to
make her statement:
7 was rHpning sba bOe snid house
Mrs. Campbell came there soliciting
funds for her home. She said she
needed a matron, and she talked SO
loving / thought the Home must
be beautiful place. BNr l hadn't
wouldn't do. She couldn't have been
worse to 'passer of dogs than she
was to these little children. She
said when she took one she took il
to conquer it. or to kill it. The food
haT been sufficient and the children
have had clothes enough, because the
clothes have been Furnished by their
people. But they had only one blan.
ket apiece when came here, and
they were nearly freezing.
Call Of them had to get up at 4:3O
o'clock every morning. Some of the
girls and myself did the cooking, the :
boys milked the cow, working by lam
tern light, and looked after the
horse and the chickens. Throughout
the day, they. cut and sawed wood all
the time, rain or shine. Sometimes
they came in with the water dripping
{ them. .
There was no school. They SIM
ply worked all day. There was a
teacher here for a little while, but
Mrs. Campbell ran her off.
Tells OF Cruelties ,s,re
zone Of the worst things she did
w to scratch little tive-year-old
girl, Sally Clayton, with hairpm
iodine into the wound.
''She had two OF the girls hold
! 4-arlorie, FLORENCE. 4 1-2- years. GdSs
! up 70. q hot CRATE until the child
was badly burned. &s
She beat Clarence Rankins, six
years old, not with a switch, but a
stick, and then poured turpentine
over bruises.
Ralph Florence, aged IL years.
was beaten by her until he was blue
from his back to his knees. The
blood ran down his body to his shoes.
She put salt on the raw places
where the switch had cut into his
skin. After that she set him to dig
TO May Hozey, a little girl thirteen
years old, and told her she had to
beat him every time he stopped to
"on the Sunday following, because
Ralph went to Sunday school with
a hole In his stocking, Mrs. Camp
bell rubbed him all over with a corn
cob, and then coated him with tur-
Chi1dren's Stories
Mrs. Meridith added that she has
been at the home since January {.
The children then began to tell their
stories.
First of all, May Hozey, aged thtr-
teen years, a pretty black-eyed little
girl, and Carrie Belle Bateman, aged
twelve years. described how the
baby, Marjorie Florence, aged IL
years, was burned.
Their simple, direct words w0ye a
picture that was awful enough. But
it was nothing to the pantomime
they went through to show just what
happened. They searched out Mar
jorie from among the group of chill
dren before 1.-The, open fireplace, and
led the way with her into the next
room. The three of them stopped
before the open fireplace. The Jour
mel reporter was just back of Them
group Of children were peeping
WHAT had the baby done?" May
was asked.
Nothing. You know she was lit
tie, and she didn't know not to soil
her clothes. But Mrs. Campbell said
she wouldn't have that. She told
us to hold Marjorie by her arms, and
we did"
May was on one side Of the baby
girl now. and Carrie Belle was on
the other. They were going through
fire in the CRATE, but you could inn
agine the Goals burning there and
the iron bars Of the crate hot enough
to scar the flesh. Lfa
w Z uIuil Wall w. we IE1GQ nut
to-" said Carrie Belle, 'but she said
she'd beat us to death if we didn't
And she would"
They had picked up the little girl
now and were holding her by her,
arms and her legs. Back and forth
they swung her, first with the eau
ton: 1--WE aren't going to hurt you
Marjorie. don't be afraid. Don't be
they repeated as they swliiig
her little harder. Her body touch-
ed the crate. touched it again, then
again; then they set her. on her
feet. Her eyes were opened rather
wide and her expression was like
some little wounded something that
is afraid it is going to be hurt again.
''That is how it happened" said
May "You can see the burns"
A part of the little girls clothing
was taker off, and the burn, almost
the size of a saucer, was shown.
"She couldn't sit down for weeks"
said Carrie Belle, land later on sne
was beaten"
(Continued on PAGE 2N