The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-09-17
Florida's Wonderful Prison Farm
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CONTINUED From Last Week.

At this time there were only eight
names on the pay roll of the prison.
These included the superintendent.
Mr.. Bitch, the matron his wife, ply
stefan, an electrician and four others
whose positions / did not learn.
Four thousand acres have been
cleared and put under cultivation,
about four hundred set out to pecan
trees, and the farm is nearly self
sustaining, and the work of develop
rnent is continually going on.
Possibly the largest and most scien-
tifically managed chicken ranch in
the country is maintained upon this
farm. Immense incubators are daily
turning out new flocks of chickens.
Every chicken is tabulated and kept
track of from day to day from the
time of its Matching until it enters
one of the groups for laying hens or
ends its career in the market A
daily record is not only kept of every
pen of ten hens, but a record of each
hen in the hundreds of such pens Ali
the eggs have record for quality by
large Florida hotels at top prices and
this part of the farm is run at a good
net profit. / might add that this de-
partment is under the management of
a "lifer."
l never could understand how Mr.
Bitch secured the confidence of this
bunch of criminals to such an extent
that he felt safe in disposing of all
the armed guards and locking up the
rifles, but l gained an inkling of how
ii was possible when l heard him
talking to those unfortunates at the
gospel meeting that same afternoon.
However, he did it. Gangs of men
are sent out in the fields to work
every day, some of them going as far
as three miles from the headquarters ;,
going without and guard and return
ing promptly on time in the afternoon.
In their domitories the men also main
ain disciplire. Very few complaints
ever come to the superintendent al
most without exception every man in
the institution feels that it is to his
own advantage to perpetuate the hui
name sysem of government instituted
by Mr.. Bitch, and he is going to see
hat any newcomer who does not fully
appreciate this is quickly and effec-
lively informed.
mo general ever went forth on the
field of battle with a more loyal army
behind him than l have here" en-
phatically responded the superinten-
dent to query of mine as to whether
he was not afraid that sometime this
great body of law breakers might
make things uncomfortable for him.
you could not engineer an uprising
here. The men would not permit it."
Our conversation With he superin.
tendent was shortened by the fact
that it was necessary for him to go to
the assembly hall where the gospel
service was to be held, and upon his
departure, under the escort of the
prison physician. we went forth to
inspect the chicken farm, the dairy
barn and other places of interest.
The gospel service was still in pro-
gress when we had finished our tour
of observation. We felt some hest
tation about entering this place, but
did so in response to an earnest invi'
tation from one OF the convicts who
acted usher at the front door, and we
were mighty glad that we had not
overlooked this, for it is one of the
potent forces that makes possible the
conduct of this prison with its five
hundred convicts and no guards.
Attendance at this service is not