The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1920-03-31

COONI1 1NSIIiUIIONS
Inspector OF State Board of Charities
| and Corrections Makes RecOmmen.
dations to Improve County Jail and
Almsllouse.
The following report on the Lau-
rens county Jail, almshouse and chain
gang was printed in the Fifth Annual
| Report Of the State Board Of Chari-
ties and Corrections for 1919, and just
issued from the printers:
Report on Laurens County Jail.
Sheriff s. c. Reid. jailer Visited
May 3, 1919, by Assistant Secretary
Broyles with Deputy Sheriff Owens.
Prisoners, 3 negro males.
AS the citizens Of the county know,
this plant is entirely unfit for use as
q place Of detention for human beings,
and near two years ago plans were
made to build a new Jail, but for one
reason or another these plans were
not pushed at the time, and the money
| provided for the purpose will not now
carry out the plan as previously
formed. rs to the plant itself there
is nothing to say except to recommend
| that the Commissioners and the Coun-
! ty Delegation raise the additional
funds necessary to build modern,
iireproof, sanitary Jail, such as wide
awake thriving county like Laurcns
/ should have.
| The jail itself was cleaner when in
! spccted this year than it was in 1918,
but we recommend that the Sheriff re-
quire the dirt swept up to be removed
from the corners Of the room; that all
blankets in use be washed monthly;
and that the prisoners be required to
wash and change their underclothing
weekly. In addition, add to the rec
ords kept in the Jail book the age, race
and sex Of the prisoners, and do not
ALLOW old prisoners to charge admis-
sion fees when new prisoners are
| committed. Finally, give the prison
crs three meals daily instead of two.
the supper being light. something like
syrup and wheat bread
County Chain Gang.
! Tho Laurcns county chain gangs
were not scored during 1919, for The
! following reason: When our Assistant
Secretary was making inspections in
the county, he visited one camp. but
found that the foreman was at home
sick, his illness suspected as smallpox.
The absence Of the foreman made it
difficult to get accurate information in
| regard to the management of the
camp. and therefore TO have scored
the gang would have been inaccurate,
perhaps. The other gang was campcd
somewhere near Clinton, but when
our inspector tried to find it he could
not locate the site. He travelled around
over several roads looking for 1t, and
asked numbers of people for dircc-
tiOnS, but without success, and there
fore he was unable to score this gang
Because Of the amount Of inspecting
Investigating. etc, required of our
force it was not possible to revisit the
county later.
C0unty AlmShomse.
Mrs. William Motto, superintendent
Visited May 3, 1919, by Assistant Sec
rotary Broyles. Inmates present, two
white females, two negro females. two
negro males and one white boy about
three years old, whose parents arc in
the State Hospital for The Insane.
In management the Laurcns aims
house is one Of the most uncconomical-
! ly run institutions in the State The
farm contains approximately 800
acres, Of which half is under cultiva-
ton. The superintendent receives the
entire farm rent free, receives 30 cords
OF wood annually which is cut during
/ the winter by the county chain gang.
gets $3.50 a month board for each able
/ bodied pauper and $500 per month for
those who are bcdriddcn, crippled or
who may for any reason require spc-
cial care, and lin1l.y, the County Com
misSioners pay for Doctors visits all