The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-02
HONOR SYSTEM AT CONVICT CAMPS IS
 RAISING, HEALTH
 MORAL STANDARD
Curtailment of the Convict Lease System Has Begun, States Warden General.
 Humane Treatment
 Proving Effectual
By GORDON MCKINLEY

tenn is being substantially cur tailed, though the law abolish ing the lease system does not take effect until 1923, states
 Cleon B. Rogers, warden-gen-
 eral of the state convict depart
 ment, which is now affiliated
 with the state board of control,
 of which body MT. Rogers is
 now a member.
 Minor convict camps throughout the
 state are being closed and the prisoners that constitute the penitentiary system.
 Under the present arrangement, insti- tuted by Mir. Rogers recently, all con trol of convicts. whether leased or not, is directly in the hands Of the state tuthori- ties.
 Several of the smaller camps were l closed within the last few weeks, the secondary camps, such as Bsgdad in the extreme southern part of the state, Dixie and River Falls camps in Coyington county. and the Henderson camp in Tus- caloosa are to be closed as fast as ar engagements can be made. The Bagdad camp was closed Friday. The Dixie camp will be closed February 15, and week or two later the Henderson camp will be eliminated, that is, as far as convict labor is concerned
 This is done MT. Rogers says, that the convicts may have the benefit of san- t lf ela hn electric lights, modern sewerage and other facilities tending to the improve ment of their condition.
 | The capacity of the cotton mill camp at ! Speigner near Montgomery, is being greatly increased both as regard accom- 1 modation of inmates and mechanical equipment.
 ADDITIONAL MEN
 Preparations for additional men also are being made at Wetumpka. also near Montgomery; Flat Top and the Banner camps in Jefferson county: the Aldrich camp in Shelby county, and Belle Ellen, in Bibb county. Some of these latter however will be closed at later date, for three of them are mining camps which vii not have convict labor later on. There are approximately 2,4O0 conyicts now in the custody of the state ot thls number about one-fourth are white men. | Besides the food producing farms that
 lave been maintained at each of the 1 camps the state is now operating three l large farms in the vicinity of the WetumplSa and Spigner plants. Plans are now going forward to increase this farm l area to utilize labor that. vii be at the disposal of the state when the lease sys- tenn ends.
 Health and moral standard throughout | the prison system has been greatly raised, [ \ n h OI1rrhf 1 of the honor system in the past several months For years the penitentiary has l recognized the honor system, but of late | it is being more closely and compre- hensvely applied. The result has been 1 that corporal punishment of the prisoners has been reducted over 9S per cent within
 the last six months and attempts at es- 1 cape about the same proportion.
 ARE NOW TRUSTEES | Men that have in previous years made l repeated attempts to escape are now trusties, some of them being sent to do | work on state properties at distance, ! leaving and returning without guards. l Another feature that is receiving the strictest attention is the accounting for
 overtime pay the prisoners are allowed to , make This play is at the same rate as ! that received by the state, kept on the same payrolls and ledgers, and accounted l for and placed to thee redit of the pris- 1 oner to the last penny.
 i My idea is this" said MT. Rogers yes terdav. speaking very earnestly. "every man no matter what his record. has a | certain amount of good in him. Develope l that and you rehabiliate the character or the man Work on the good in him; not inushily and with sentimentality, put | treating the prisoner as a man. The result of this to the men who have charge I f, thnfp alSf or perience in the depadtment's work. An | iinstane in particular occurs to me. | You remember about Henry East or 1 Georgia the railroad engineer We'll. to make a long story shorter, he got mixed up with a woman was accused or ana l pleaded guilty to grand larceny Plead l ing guilty. he expected to get the mini mum. instead he got the maximum. It l soured him. He ped from prison several times and afterward was kept under very heavy guard and considered bad man. Once when former warden
 was bringing him back from a western state, he escaped with the Waroeh i clothes and pocketbook.
 FILING UP MERIT
 'I had a talk with him some months a go and found out what the trouble was. | He looked like man to me. there was i that in his face that bespoke character and ability. | sent hImO IT on d lrlp lV do some mechanical work. He did it we'll land returned. Since then he has been a trusty. He is bling -iip merit for good behavior hope it will prove to his ad- ivantase We never make promises to the prisoners. but we keep very much in ,topch with what they are doing
 1 Finder the supervision of Rev. William | McDougall chaplain of the penitentiary l system. Sunday schools. Bible classes. 1 reading and debating clubs and baseball teams are being organized. Membership ;r these activities is not compulsory However the men are taking great n- lterest in them. says Mir. Rogers. and the mem berships are growing constantly.
 .4Our aim is he continued Ito make line prison not only self sustaining in- stjtution. but a constructive force. We lcannot overlook the fact that the inmates are there in punishment. but that is no
 req son why the minds and bodies of these misguided people should not be recon
 structed as far as possible, and possible has few limitations Through cleanli-
 ness. interest. instruction and thoughtful discipline 1t is our belief that much can
 be accomplished in bringing these people
 back to safe and nseful mode of life.
 IOVER HALF HUNDRED
 NEGRO GAMERS ARE CAUGHT BY POLICE
 weilders of the so-called "Africar