Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-09-25
SOLICITOR To PUSH
PROBE IN ALABAMA
:. DESPITE GOVERNOR

BlRM1 y HAM. Ala, Sept. E''
Solicitor James G. Davis Saturday
night declared he aimed to continue
the investigation of conditions under
which conVicts are worked at Ban
.ner mines despite legal obstacles I'M
posed by Governor w. w. Brandon
- "I will insist upon these conVlctS
appearing before the grand jury anu
. giving testimony regarding cono1-
tions at Banner mines" he said
when informed that Judge Luclen H.
Gardner of the state supreme court
had issued a writ to prevent the APP
eearanCe of the cOnVicts before inc
= grand jury.
49,, II will fight this thing through to
the last ditch and make every at
tempt to uncover whatever the CON
Wet board and the governor are Try
ing to hide Davis added.
A probable move to set around the
court order was seen in his declara-
ton to take the grand jury out 10
personally inspect conditions at the
mines.
MY grand Jury will visit next week
every state convict prison camp IN
Jefferson county where the lease
is operated" the solicitor declared.
THE governor and the convict board
cannot bluff me from carrying this
investigation through.
. WRIT PROHIBITS JURY
FROM COMPELLING TESTlMONA
MONTGOMERY, Ala, Sept. %
Alternative writ of prohibition re-
straining the Jefferson county. Ala
bama, grand jury from compelling
testimony of state cOnVlcts was Is
sued late this afternoon by ASSOCIATED
Justice Lucien D. Gardner, OF the
Alabama supreme court. The actloh
p follows the move by the Jefferson
jury TO have convicts appear in con-
: 'nection with investigation into con
dition in Alabama prison camps
L. A. Boyd, chairman or the staCe
board Of convict supervisors, through
his attorney, l1arweu q. DAVIS az
torney general. entered the reques'
for the writ Of prohibition following
the announcement from birmingham
that Solicitor James G. DAVIS INTEND
ed to go through with the lhVestlsa
ton and expected the suooenaeu
C0QNlcIS 10 appear N1Ol4uc1J'
Petition for the prohibitive writ
sets forth that the leaders IN the
mutiny on september 10 were not
flogged until a thorough investiga-
ton had been carried out by the gov
erncr and officials of the convict
department and that the governor
! had sanctioned the lash only after it
had been found that the men had
destroyed property and endangered
the lives of the guards and their fell
low workmen.
Dr. F. F. Blair, physician inspec-
tor of the board supervisors, today
denied that one of the prisoners flog-
ged is now in a camp hospital in a
serious condition,
u left Banner on the night of
September 10, and the physician in
charge Of Banner that day informed
me that all of the men were at
work." DR.. Blair said in the state
ment.
Just such Misrepresentation as
this, in my opinion, is what caused
the regrettable occurrence at Ban
ner on the tenth of the month"
NEWSPAPERS ARE BLAMED
FOR CONVICT UPRISING
MONTGOMERY, Ala, Sept. %
Blame for the mutiny at Banner
mines. near Birmingham, on Sep
TENDER 10, in which leased convitcs
rebelled against the guards, was to-
day laid to newspaper agitation"
by State Convict Supervisor L. A.
Boyd, who yesterday appeared be-
fore the Jefferson county grand jury
in connection with the investigation
. that is being conducted.
Mr.. Boyd declined to make any
statement when asked if the con-
Victs summoned before the Jefferson
jury would be allowed to appear.
! TOO much has been said about this
question already-the less said in
, the press in the future the better"
the convict supervisor said.
Governor Brandon this morning
said that he had nothing to give
out at this time when asked if CON
.Victs would appear before the Biz
mingham inquisitorial body.
The governor several days ago
asked the solicitor not to assume
prerogatives" of the governors of
flee, the executive holding that the
: governor was responsible for the
, care of convicts and had final au-
thority over them.