._ QiWe Slot- SOCIAL PROGRESS OF ALABAMA 5 A SECOND STUDY 330 385 OF THE OCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND AGENCIES OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA MADE AT THE REQUEST OF GOVERNOR THOMAS E. KILBY BY HASTINGS H. HART, LL.D. RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION NEW YORK CITY MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA DECEMBER, 1922 SOCIAL PROGRESS OF ALABAMA A SECOND STUDY QF THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND AGENCIES OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA MADE AT THE REQUEST OF GOVERNOR THOMAS E. KILBY BY HASTINGS H. HART, LL.D. RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION NEW YORK CITY MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA December, 1922 SOCIAL PROGRESS OF ALABAMA Hon. Thomas E. Kilby, Governor of Alabama. DEAR SIR: Four years ago, in 1918, 1 submitted a report at the request of your predecessor, Governor Charles Hen- derson, on the SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF ALABAMA, pre- senting the condition of the social agencies and institutions of the State, as affected by the conditions created by the Great War and offering certain recommendations for the improvement of the social work of the State. This report received the favorable consideration of yourself and the State Legislature. Most of its recommendations were adopted and suitable legislation was enacted to carry them out. CONDITIONS IN 1918. The principal points brought out in my report of 1918 were as follows : 1. All of the State social agencies, except the State Board of Inspection, were hampered and restricted by a lack of sufficient appropriations and delay in payment SO' that their efficiency was impaired and their development was hindered. The insane hospitals were admirably organized, but they had only $15 per month appropriated for each patient, without any appropriation whatever for building or extra- ordinary repairs, or to meet the increased cost of living. As a consequence all buildings were out of repair; the em- ploye force was demoralized for lack of sufficient salaries, and the patients suffered for needed provisions for their care and comfort. The Confederate Soldiers' Home was in bad physical condition. The force of nurses was insufficient and incom- petent, and the State was coming far short of its obliga- tions to the old and helpless veterans who had done for her such valiant service. The State Industrial School for Boys was occupying several buildings unfit for use and its employe force was depleted. The State Training School for Girls was occupy- ing inadequate quarters which were insecure and did not permit of suitable classification. The prisoners of the State were, most of them, employed on the convict lease system which was condemned by your- self and by two successive legislative committees in 1918 and 1919 as being inhuman and cruel, beyond expression. Most of the convicts were employed in coal mines, without the protection of guards employed by the State. The pris- oners occupied rude barracks constructed by the leasing companies. The buildings were old and unfit for use. The prisoners slept on wooden, swinging bunks suspended from the ceiling, with thin husk mattresses and no springs. The bedding was dirty and abominable. The dormitories were overcrowded and badly ventilated. The food was badly cooked and served and lacked sufficient variety. The pris- oners presented a wretched and neglected appearance. There was no State agency or institution for the care of orphan and homeless children, but the matter was left en- tirely to private orphanages and societies. There was no provision whatever in the State for the care of feeble- minded and epileptic children, many of whom lived in wretched homes of poverty and were left free to multiply their kind without restriction. The State Board of Health had an appropriation of only $26,000 per year for all its activities. At the same time, the State was expending $56,000 per year for the prevention of hog cholera and cattle ticks and for the Live Stock Sani- tary Board. Only one southern state showed as small an appropriation for public health as Alabama. Similar conditions existed with reference to public edu- cation. Alabama was spending for public schools, for each $100 true value of taxable property 17.4 cents, as against an average in the United States of 25.7. She was spend- ing $2.04 for each inhabitant, as against an average of $6.03 for the United States; and she was expending for teachers' salaries an average of $344 yearly per teacher, as against an average of $563 for the United States. The average days' attendance of each pupil was 85 days in the year, as against an averge of 121 for the whole United States. Outside the cities there were very few good school- houses, and multitudes of schoolhouses were simply poorly constructed wooden shacks. The total receipts of universities, colleges, and tech- nicological schools for each 1,000 inhabitants in Alabama were $298, as against an average of $1,310 for the whole United States ; and the income of the State University was $75 for each 1,000 inhabitants, as against $403 for the whole United States. The highways of the State, except in the larger towns, were but little developed, and practically no State aid was given for their extension. The National Child Labor Committee submitted an elab- orate report in December, 1918 with reference to 1 the de- pendent, delinquent, and defective children of the State, recommending the estiblishment of a State department to take charge of the interests of this class of children, to- gether with the enforcement of laws relating to child labor and school attendance. AN AMAZING FORWARD MOVEMENT. The facts above stated, and others relating to the social interests of the State, were clearly presented by you to the Legislature and the people of the State. Special commit- tees and commissions studied the situation during the sum- mer recess and reported to the Legislature when it was reconvened in August, 1919. The necessities of the case were clearly recognized, and the Legislature courageously and patriotically enacted the necessary laws to meet the situation. The assessment laws were strengthened so as to insure just valuation; a tonnage tax on coal and steel was im- posed, and an income tax law was passed which, however, was pronounced unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In my report of 1918, speaking of the possibility of issuing bonds to take up the floating debt of $3,000,000, I said: "This plan was rejected by the people at the polls, and I suppose that it might be rejected again. I venture, however, to hazard a prediction that, within ten years, the people of Alabama will vote, not three million, but at least twenty-five millions of bonds for good roads and other im- provements"; but in less than a year the Legislature sub- mitted a constitutional amendment to authorize the issu- ance of twenty-five millions of bonds for good roads, and when the law proved defective the special session of 1921 renewed it. The people voted the bonds and they are about to be issued. The Legislature increased the allowances for the public institutions as follows: The Insane Hospitals from $3.50 to $5 weekly per pa- tient. The Boys' Industrial School from $12.50 to $20 monthly per boy. The Negro Boys' Reformatory from $9.00 to $12.50 monthly per boy. The Vocational School for Girls from $12.50 to $25.00 monthly per girl. State Training School for Girls from $12.50 to $25.00 monthly per girl. The Confederate Soldiers' Home from $22.50 to $40.00 monthly per patient. The Bryce Hospital for the Insane received appropria- tions for a receiving hospital for incoming patients, a home for male attendants, a new kitchen, and for the renovation of the old buildings. An appropriation of $270,000 was made for land and buildings for a feeble-minded colony. The Boys' Indus- trial School received an appropriation for a new fire-proof dormitory: "Kilby Hall," a gymnasium, and a swimming pool. The Negro Boys' Reformatory received funds for a model schoolhouse and for an enlargement of the boys' dormitory. The Vocational School for Girls received ap- propriations for a new cottage institution in the suburbs of the city of Birmingham. Four cottages, a schoolhouse, a hospital, a power house, and a storehouse have already been built. The Board of Control and Economy already possessed the authority, under preceding laws, to expend such amounts as may Jbe necessary to provide accommodations for the prisoners of the State. The Legislature, having decreed the abolition of the convict lease system, it became neces- sary to provide prisons and prison camps for the confine- ment of the prisoners who now occupied buildings belong- ing to the several lessees. The Board of Control and Economy, with the active co- operation of the Governor, took steps to meet this demand. The Board purchased the land near Montgomery, occupied during the Great War as a military camp, and erected a central distributing prison for about 900 prisoners, known #s Kilby Prison, which is described further on. They also built a well-planned, two-story, wooden dormitory for about 500 men at the Speigner Prison, where the State conducts a large cotton mill, the old buildings at Speigner Prison being completely worn out and unfit for use. The Board rebuilt Camp No. 4, which is located on a farm belonging to the State. This is a well-constructed, one-story, wooden structure. The Board has remodeled the old central prison at We- tumpka to provide accommodations for the women prison- ers of the State. The interior of the buildings was re- moved and dormitories, living rooms, dining-rooms, kitch- ens and a hospital have been provided. The tuberculosis camp for prisoners at Wetumpka will be continued as it meets the present needs of the prison population. The camps above mentioned w r ill provide for something more than half of the present prison population. A farm camp will probably be constructed outside the walls at Kilby Prison and other State camps will have to be provided at different points in the State before the ex- piration of the lease system at the coal mines which will terminate in January, 1924. My report of 1918, also the report of the National Child Labor Committee, recommended the establishment of a State Child Welfare Department. In accordance with this recomemndation, the Legislature of 1918 established a de- partment, with an annual appropriation of $30,000. The appropriations for the work of the State Board of Health have been expended as follows : 1918 ' . . $ 26,000 1919 90,000 1920 125,000 1921 150,000 1922 . 150.000 8 The State Department of Education co-operated with the local school authorities for the improvement of the schools throughout the State, especially for the proper housing of rural schools. In the year 1921, 167 new school- houses were built, at a cost of about $1,100,000, of which $221,000 was appropriated by the State. Ninety-three schoolhouses were repaired by the aid of State funds. Forty-three teachers' homes have been built in connection with the rural school buildings in different parts of the State. Liberal expenditures were made for buildings at the State University and the other State educational insti- tutions, and their annual appropriations were increased. The highway fund of $25,000,000, for which bonds have been authorized, will bring in a corresponding amount from the general Government, and an elaborate road sys- tem has already been planned for the $50,000,000 which will revolutionize the transportation facilities of the State, to the benefit of the entire population. Advantage has been taken of the infant hygiene appro- priation of the General Government by appropriating a corresponding fund. In 1922, the State received $30,840 from the United States' Infant Hygiene Fund, and this amount will be increased in the future. These generous expenditures of money and this array of fine permanent buildings do not represent simply cash and brick and mortar. They represent the social spirit and purpose of the people. A remarkable indication of this spirit is seen in the drive which is now being conducted throughout the State to raise a million dollars by private subscription for additional buildings at the State Univer- sity. In most states which have universities supported by public appropriations the people at large feel themselves free from any obligation to make private contributions for the university. DETAILS OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. I desire to go more into detail in the story of the re- markable social development of Alabama during the past four years, as exemplified in the public social institutions. I shall refrain from discussing in detail the educational progress of the State because that has recently been cov- ered by a very thorough and competent investigation. THE ALABAMA STATE HOSPITALS FOR INSANE. In my report of 1918 I said: The two hospitals for insane are doing social work of the highest quality. I have visited many insane hospitals but I have never seen a more careful diag- nosis or a better co-ordination of the medical work and the social work than is found in these two hos- pitals; but their equipment is painfully indaequate. There has been no special appropriation for buildings in 30 years. They lack the equipment which is now recognized as essential in every well-ordered hospital for insane. . . . There has been no adequate increase of appropria- tion to meet the increase of expense due to the war. Up to April, 1917, the appropriation for maintenance and improvements was only $3.25 per week per patient ; since that time it has been advanced to $3.50 per week. . . . In the absence of any increased appropriation it has been impossible to increase the compensation of the officers and employes. . . . The State is ac- tually receiving for the labor of convict miners more money than it is paying for the service of conscien- tious trained people to take care of its insane patients. In order to maintain hospital standards . . . the allowance per patient ought not to be less than $20 per month. In accordance with this recommendation, the Legislature of 1919 increased the allowance for the hospitals for insane to $5 per week for each patient. The hospital management continued to practice the most rigid economy consistent with the proper care of their wards. They made some in- creases in the salaries of employes in order to recruit the service, which had become badly demoralized during the war, though the increased salaries are still below the rates paid for similar service in other first-class hospitals. These changes are indicated by the following illustrations : 10 Monthly Salaries of Certain Employes in Bryce Hospital. 1917 Male supervisor $50* Female supervisor 50f Assistant 45f Male nurses 25 to $35f Female nurses 25 to 35f 1922 $115* 125t 75f "40 to $50f 30 to 40t *With house, light, water and vegetables. fWith board. There was very little increase in expenditure for food,, fuel, and clothing, but the increased allowance was used to improve the condition of the buildings. The administration building was thoroughly renovated. The interior was thor- oughly painted; dilapidated plastering was replaced; rick- ety staircases were repaired ; and leaky roofs were renewed. New floors of quarter-sawed southern pine were laid over the worn-out floors in the patients' wards and the walls and ceilings were painted. The windows were screened and protected by a second inside screen of one-half-inch mesh, which obviates the need of window guards. Iron cots with good cotton mattresses replaced the old insanitary wooden beds. The following statement shows the total expense and the expense per patient in the Bryce Hospital and the Searcy Hospital, in 1919 and 1922 : Expenses of State Institutions. ALABAMA INSANE HOSPITALS. Salaries and wages Bryce MI Hospital 1919 . . .$117,316 emorial (White). 1922 $171,043 36,973 136,223 16,911 Searcy Hospital (Colored). 1919 1922 $ 51,376 $ 68,681 18,967 20,550 57,013 62,346 6,410 12,971 11,283 8,104 4,332 13,314 16,925 25,982 Clothing 23,162 Food 115,850 Fuel . . . 22,879 Farm and garden . . . 16,814 Building and repairs 5,776 40,097 75,164 Miscellaneous 33,583 Totals $335,379 $476,411 $166,306 $211,948. 11 Same, Per Inmate. Salaries and wages . ..$ 83.08 i 95.34 i 69.14 i f 78.31 Clothing 16.40 20.62 25.53 23.43 Food 82.05 75.93 76.73 71.09 Fuel 16.20 8.87 8.63 14.79 Farm and garden .... 11.91 15.18 9.24 Building and repairs , 4.09 22.35 5.83 15.18 Miscellaneous 23.79 42.45 22.78 29 63 Totals $ 237.52 $ 265.56 $ 223.82 $ 241.67 Average number of inmates . . 1,412 1,794 742 877 Notwithstanding the increased cost of living, which cannot be counted less than 50 per cent increase over the cost of living before the war, it will be observed that the increased cost of caring for the white patients was only 11.3 per cent, while the increased cost of caring for the colored patients was 7.9 per cent. The increased expendi- ture for salaries and wages was 15 per cent at the Bryce Hospital and 13 per cent at the Searcy Hospital. The trus- tees have kept strictly within the allowance made by the Legislature. Payment is made by relatives or friends for the support of a comparatively small number of white pa- tients which allowed a slightly larger expenditure per pa- tient for them, amounting to about $24 annually per patient. A new psychopathic reception hospital is being built, which will accommodate all incoming patients. It will have ample accommodations for 60 patients, with room for ex- amination and treatment of patients. The building will cost about $15,000 in cash, not including a large amount of inmate labor. A commodious home for 70 male employes is nearing completion. This home will enable the nurses to recruit themselves for their exhausting work, which is impossible when nurses sleep in rooms opening off from the insane wards. A new kitchen is being erected, which will have modern equipment and will greatly facilitate the proper feeding of the patients. Three diet kitchens have been established, in which special diet is prepared by the nurses on prescrip- 12 tions with as much care as is given to the compounding of drugs in the dispensary. The defective water supply is to be remedied by securing a supply from the city water works of Tuscaloosa. The dental clinic has been made efficient. Modern equip- ment was provided in 1920, and each patient on entrance re- ceives a dental examination as thorough as the medical examination. A fine cow stable has been built which accommodates a herd of 10 registered Jerseys and 37 grade Jerseys. When a cow produces less than two gallons daily she is sent to the butcher. There is a daily product of 80 to 100 gallons of milk for the use of the patients. The administration of the hospital has been reorgan- ized with four departments: a medical department, under the assistant superintendent, a business department under an expert steward, a mechanical department under an ex- pert chief engineer, and a farm department under a farm supervisor. The most urgent demands for building and repairs hav- ing been met, the weekly allowance has been reduced from $5 to the old figure of $3.50. In my judgment, it would be wiser to maintain the appropriation at the rate of $5 per week and to allow the Board of Control and Economy to make the additional improvements which will be needed before they can be completed. The population of the Bryce Hospital has increased at the rate of about 125 patients per year, or 500 for the four-year period. Cottages accommo- dating from 30 to 50 patients each should be erected to meet the prospective increase of population. A hospital for sick patients, separate and distinct from the new psychopathic hospital, should be provided, and the psychopathic hospital should be used exclusively for incoming patients. Every citizen of Alabama is interested in the mainte- nance of the high standards which have prevailed at the Bryce Hospital in the past. There are no private hospitals for mental diseases in Alabama. There is no insurance against insanity. Any family in the State may have occa- sion to avail itself of the State Hospital, and the Hospital should be so equipped and administered as to provide hu- mane and suitable care for patients from every walk of life. 13 Searcy Hospital for Negroes. The Searcy Hospital is located at Mt. Vernon. It is under the same general superintendency as the Bryce Hos- pital and is under the immediate charge of an assistant superintendent. The same general standards of medical treatment and nursing care prevail at both hospitals. The Negro patients are under the charge of white nurses, with Negro assistants, and the nurses apparently exercise the same skill and give the same conscientious care to the Negroes as to the whites. The hospital has a good supply of trained female nurses 21 white nurses and 19 colored assistants. Trained fe- male nurses receive the same pay as at the Bryce Hospital. There is difficulty in securing competent male nurses. Negroes are employed for the rough work and are paid from $20 to $35 per month and board. Two hundred new army cots have been provided and 75 new hospital beds, but the remainder of the furniture is of primitive character. New cotton mattresses have been made for each patient. The infirmary or hospital contains 13 beds for men and women. The operating room is only moderately well fur- nished. Considerable attention is paid to the important matter of "occupational therapy," and I was informed that 60 per cent of the patients are employed at pleasant and congenial work, which not only saves money to the State, but also contributes to the happiness and well-being of the patients. The dormitories and the beds were very clean and well kept. The kitchen and bakery were clean and sanitary. A limited amount of butter is made and used by the patients. Large quantities of tomatoes and fruit are canned for the use of patients. The dairy is an important depart- ment. It is furnishing about 500 pounds of milk daily for the patients. A new feed barn for from 100 to 150 cattle has been built, with two hollow-tiled silos, having a capacity of 250 tons each. A new concrete reservoir has been built. There is an ample supply of water from five springs. The Searcy Hospital is located at old Fort Mount Ver- non, about 30 miles from the city of Mobile, at the southern 14 extremity of the State. I would recommend that immediate steps be taken to move the hospital to a convenient location in the central part of the State. This can now be done with very little sacrifice because the prison buildings are old and of little value. The present location necessitates long journeys for patients and for the officers in charge of them, and it entails almost prohibitive expense for relatives in the northern part of the State who wish to visit their friends in the hospital. If the Searcy Hospital were located within convenient distance of the Bryce Hospital, it would facilitate the supervision of the institution by the general superin- tendent. The last Legislature fixed the per diem of the Searcy Hospital at the same rate as that of the Bryce Hospital, namely, $5 per week. The managing board, however, has kept the expenses within the old limit of $3.50 per week, and the allowance has been reduced accordingly. I would recommend that the allowance be continued at $5 per week, and that the Board of Control and Economy be allowed to accumulate a fund for the removal of the hospital to a more convenient site ; or, if that is not deemed wise, for the pro- gressive erection of adequate buildings in place of the worn- out buildings which are now occupied. ALABAMA HOME FOR FEEBLE-MINDED. In my report of 1918, I said : There are at least 3,000 feeble-minded and 1,000 epileptics in the State who are uncared for and are in urgent need of care. They suffer sadly; many become paupers or criminals; many die before their time for want of care ; many, because of neglect, become parents of children afflicted like themselves* These wretched, unhappy people can be made happy and useful in such institutions as exist in most of the states ; for example, Virginia and North Carolina. In accordance with this recommendation, the Legisla- ture appropriated the sum of $200,000 for the establish- ment of an Alabama Home, to provide for the feeble-minded. There has been erected an admirable building, contain- ing four dormitories for 40 persons each, with a total ca- 15 pacity of 160, together with suitable living room, toilets, baths, drug room, etc. ; also a building which is intended to serve ultimately as a general kitchen, but will provide tem- porarily a kitchen and dining-room for 160 inmates; also an admirable fire-proof laundry building and power house with a concrete tunnel 3 l /2 feet wide and 4 l /4 feet high, con- necting with the other buildings. These buildings are not only attractive architecturally, but are admirably adapted to their purpose. They are thor- oughly well built and strictly fire-proof. The home is not yet opened ; it is waiting for the neces- sary appropriations for furnishings and maintenance, but already there is a waiting list of urgent cases, and the Legis- lature will doubtless make the necessary appropriations without delay. The capacity of the home should be imme- diately increased to at least 600 in order to provide for .urgent cases. Corresponding provision for the Negro feeble-minded should be made without delay. There is the same reason for providing for the Negro feeble-minded that has led to State provision for insane Negroes, Negro criminals, and Negro delinquent children. A large proportion of the de- fective children are a menace to the community because they become criminals or paupers, and because they tend to multiply their kind more rapidly than the normal popula- tion. I congratulate the State of Alabama upon the splendid beginning which has been made at the State Home, and also upon the wisdom which has placed this institution under the same administration as that of the hospitals for insane^ The management of the insane hospitals appears to be fully alive to the needs of the feeble-minded, and the State is able to command people of the highest intelligence and capability to develop the new home. THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS' HOME. I visited the Confederate Soldiers' Home in 1918, and found that with the advancing age of the veterans, it had become practically a hospital proposition. I found that the 16 hospital facilities were entirely inadequate and that the staff were not qualified for the work. The Superintendent of the State Prison Inspection De- partment made a report in October, 1919, in which he recommended extensive repairs, a radical improvement of the food supply, arid a reorganization of the hospital de- partment. These recommendations were promptly carried out, un- der the direction of the Governor. The buildings were thor- oughly repaired, and, where necessary, painted both outside and inside. New equipment in the way of bedding and furniture was supplied; the hospital was completely over- hauled and put in satisfactory condition and a trained nurse was placed in charge of the hospital. The dietary was radically improved. The farm now produces an abundance of fresh milk, vegetables and fruit, which are of excellent quality. Septic tanks have been installed, insuring a safe and re- liable water supply. The State is now able to give to these deserving veterans such care as is needed in their extreme old age. Only a few more years remain in which to pay the debt which the State owes them. The people of the State not only provide cheerfully the small amount of $35,000 per year which is needed for the maintenance of the inmates of the Soldiers' Home, but also nearly $1,000,000 per year for pensions to those who still remain with their families and friends. Expenses of the Confederate Soldiers' Home. (Comparative Statement.) Current Expenses. 1919 1922 Salaries and wages $ 7,314 $ 9,709 Clothing 966 1,623 Pood 9,137 9,786 Fuel 729 1,248 Building and repairs .' 737 9,941 Miscellaneous . 7,749 11,202 Totals $26,632 $35,439 17 Same, Per Inmate. Salaries and wages $ 72.73 $116.60^ Clothing 9.61 19.50 Food 68.28 117.00 Fuel 7.25 15.0ft Building and repairs 7.33 23.31 Miscellaneous . 99.66 134.27 Totals $264.86 $425.68* Average number of inmates 100.6 83.3* *The expense per capita is figured on the average number which decreased from 100.6 to 83.3, but at the same time the number of employes maintained by the home was materially increased. These facts account in part for the increased per capita rate; the remainder is due to improvement in food, clothing, furniture, etc. ALABAMA BOYS' INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. For many years the Alabama Boys' Industrial School was impoverished for lack of revenue. For ten years prior to 1918 the school had received no building appropriation, and the appropriation for support was only $12.50 per boy. This amount had to cover not only the maintenance of the boys, but any improvements which might be made. Even under these circumstances, material was purchased and a handsome cottage was built by the labor of the boys, but the buildings were out of repair, the dormitories were ter- ribly overcrowde^d and the shops were in a dilapidated condition. The increased cost of living produced by the war greatly increased the embarrassment of the institution. The most useful and enterprising employes went to France, and it was impossible to obtain competent substitutes for the meager salaries which were possible. The Legislature of 1919 increased the appropriation for fiving expenses from $12.50 to $20 per month. An appro- priation for new buildings was made to the amount of $93,000. With this appropriation a fine fire-proof dormi- tory, for 100 boys, costing only about $45,000, named Kilby Hall, has been erected, also a small but practical gymnasium and outside bathing pool. A first-class modern dairy barn, with accommodations for 50 cows, is being built, which will 18 make possible the production of an abundant supply of first-class milk. Through the generosity of Mrs. T. G. Bush, the school has been presented with a beautiful brick chapel of colonial design. The pointing office has been furnished with modern equipment and is the best vocational department of the in- stitution. A very gratifying improvement has been made in the medical and surgical work of the school. A thorough medi- cal examination is made and is followed by operations for diseased tonsils, adenoids, and other remediable treatment. This work is of the utmost importance because it affects the whole future opportunity of the boy. The hospital has been repaired and made habitable, though it is still inade- quate. One serious deficiency is in 'the lack of psychological tests and psychiatric treatment, which are rapidly coming to be recognized as indispensable features of juvenile re- formatory treatment. These improvements have greatly increased the ef- ficiency of the school, yet they only emphasize the need of additional accommodations in order to provide for the safe and sanitary care of the inmates. Music has become a strong feature of the school. It has one of the best bands in the South. Forty to fifty boys are constantly instructed by a first-class band master. They are in frequent demand for service at public gatherings. They have recently been employed by a concert agency on liberal terms to make a concert tour in Texas. Current Expenses. The following statement of current expenses of 27 in- stitutions for delinquent boys shows that the annual per capita cost of the Alabama School was $240, while the aver- age of the 27 schools was $346. Only four schools showed a lower rate of per capita expense than the Alabama School. The average number of boys for each employe was 5.7, but the average number in Alabama was 11.4, which is ex- actly twice as many boys for each employe as the average. 19 Only one other school showed as large a number of boys in proportion to the employes as the Alabama School. Current Expenses and Pupils Per Employe in Twenty- seven Schools for Delinquent Boys. No. of Expense State. Inmates. Per Boy. North Dakota 142 $675 New Jersey 517 535 New York 650 518 Massachusetts 272 516 Minnesota 300 506 Vermont 242 461 Montana 121 452 Nebraska 204 445 Utah 250 400 South Dakota 115 389 District of Columbia 150 372 Illinois 715 339 Idaho 270 333 Ohio 1,000 300 New Hampshire 194 301 Mississippi 407 300 Rhode Island 207 295 Indiana 534 295 Iowa 357 288 North Carolina 262 268 Kansas 345 250 Florida 300 240 ALABAMA 388 240 West Virginia 409 231 Tennessee 606 215 Tennessee 500 200 Louisiana 155 184 Totals 9,612 $346 Total Current Expenses. $ 95,900 276,600 336.700 140,900 151,800 111,500 54,700 90,800 100,000 44,700 55,800 242,400 90,000 300,000 58,400 122,100 61,100 158,200 102,800 70,200 86,300 72,000 93,100 94,500 130,300 100,000 28,500 No. of Boys Per Employe.. 5.7 4.0 3.6 3.8. 3.8 5.9- 5.8- 5.2. 7.2 5.T 7.5- 5.5- 6.8- 7.7 6.9- 8.1 4.8 9.2 5.S 8.T 6.9 8.8 11.4 9.1 12.1 11.1 8.6 $3,269,300 5.7 The rates of salaries paid to the employes in the Ala- bama School are lower than those in other schools of the same quality, while the work imposed is greater. The teachers instruct two sets of boys, beginning at seven o'clock in the morning. The salary fund does not permit of the employment of relief officers and the only way in which 20 the employes of the school can receive proper time off is by putting older boys in charge of the younger ones. A cer- tain amount of self-government, under the oversight of the teachers and house-fathers, is a good thing, but these boys are not sufficiently matured or trustworthy to justify giving -them complete charge in the absence of the house-fathers. All well-organized juvenile reformatories provide parole 'officers to follow up the boys after they are released on pa- role, to guide and bef rjend them, to assist them in obtaining employment, to see that they comply with the conditions of the parole, and to return them to the institution if they fail to do so. The inadequacy of the salary fund has prevented the employment of parole officers to maintain oversight of boys after they are released or before they have received their complete discharge. When the State has expended $250 or $500 in bringing a boy to the point where he desires to lead an upright life, it would seem to be the part of wisdom and economy to spend another $50 in order to make sure that the boy shall get the benefit of what has been done for him. When a boy is paroled and goes back into the neighbor- hood from which he came he is marked as one who has been in a reform school, and that is "when a feller needs a friend." He needs someone who will encourage and stimu- late him, and who will take him back to the institution for a fresh start if he fails to meet the conditions of his parole. The parole officers need to be men of svmpathy, courage, wisdom, and good judgment because they have to act at a distance from the institution without the advice and direc- tion of the superintendent. The Board of Directors is asking for a further increase of the current expense appropriation from $20 monthly per boy to $25, or $300 per year. If this increase is given, the appropriation will still be $46 per year less than the average of the 27 schools above mentioned. While decided improvement has been made in the equip- ment of the school during the past three years, there is great need of further improvement. The dormitories are greatly overcrowded and two ad- ditional dormitories are askecl for to relieve the nresent 21 pressure and to provide for the natural increase. A new shop building is asked for to replace the present wooden building which is in a state of decay, unfit to carry ma- chinery and exposing the institution to danger from fire. The school accommodations are entirely inadequate. The superintendent recommends that the present dining- room be remodeled for schoolrooms and a new dining-room and kitchen built. The present kitchen and bakery are located in the cellar and are without cross-ventilation, which is indispensable in a southern climate for rooms where ranges and laundry machinery are in use. Even if a new dining-room should not be built, the kitchens should be brought up to the ievel of the ground and located in buildings which can be kept sanitary and can be properly ventilated. The kitchen and bakery are torture chambers in hot weather. The Board of Directors is asking for $45,000 for a new hospital. The present hospital facilities are entirely inade- quate. The building is old and badly arranged and is a fire trap. Further Improvements. The Board of Directors is asking for $20,000 for general repairs. The buildings have been long neglected. New floors, new plastering and new paint are greatly needed. A teachers' cottage is requested, which seems to be in- dispensable. Since the teachers begin work at seven o'clock in the morning, it is necessary for them to live on the grounds, and there are at present no suitable accommoda- tions. The Directors are asking for $20,000 for machinery and equipment to diversify the manual training work of the school. It is highly important to diversify trade teaching because only a limited number of boys is adapted to a par- ticular trade. The total requests of the Board of Directors for special appropriations amount to $258,000. This amount dis- tributed over a period of four years will be only $65,000 per year, which is not excessive for an institution of so great importance. 22 It must be remembered that the school has never had proper buildings and that it is necessary practically to re- construct the plant. The increase of the appropriation for current expenses from $150 to $240 per boy has permitted a great improve- ment in the administration, but the present appropriation is still inadequate. 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Sc rt cJ2 ^bogy'-a^^ jj S -a _ S 'S ^ -e o ^ ^ w oj ^ O 3 03 3 -r C E- * 'c x ^- p^s'i; 2 n '-^A c is ~ "71 r > u EH^^-' tj O ( i j c 3 5 I S | > 2 & 1 CO O E^ fe fa PQ ^ c/^Ufi^liiptipq^ <; o, aj^a 24 ALABAMA REFORM SCHOOL FOR JUVENILE NEGRO LAW- BREAKERS AT MT. MEIGS. When I studied the social work of Alabama four years ago, I wondered at what had been accomplished at Mt. Meigs, under the leadership of Judge William H. Thomas, of the Alabama Supreme Court, who is president of its Board of Directors. The total appropriation for this school was $9 per month per boy, which not only covered maintenance, but all re- pairs and improvements. Out of this meager sum the trus- tees had purchased additional land and had also purchased material and erected with their own boy labor a dormitory and a good modern dairy barn with concrete silo. The boys were fed almost entirely by the produce of the farm, and meat was furnished from a flock of goats on the place. The school facilities were very poor and the teachers were necessarily inferior in training. Out of this meager allowance the institution has accumu- lated buildings. With this appropriation the old dormitory is being enlarged and a standard modern schoolhouse is being built. The sand and gravel are found on the farm and the greater part of the labor is performed by the boys. The appropriation is now about $12 per month. The school is peculiar in being one of the very few schools for delinquent -Negroes where the superintendent and employes are all colored people. The staff of workers is entirely inadequate. There are eleven employes six men and five women for 285 boys, an average of about 26 boys for each employe, whereas the usual number in juvenile reformatories is not more than six or seven pupils for each employe. The dormitory accommodations have been inadequate double-deck single beds have been provided, but four boys have slept in each "double-decker." The beds were clean, each boy being supplied with two sheets, changed semi- weekly. The dormitories have been so crowded that the air space was only 150 cubic feet per boy instead of 450 to 600 cubic feet, which is the standard amount. There has been no plumbing or sewerage for the dormi- tory building. By the use of the savings above mentioned, 25 the size of the dormitory building is to be doubled. Modern plumbing, including toilets and shower baths will be in- stalled. This will give a great relief, but the air space will still be inadequate. There is an excelelnt dairy herd of grade cows, which is being improved from year to year by two fine bulls. This herd should be increased. The truck garden is excellent well planted and well cultivated and producing a large amount of food. Very little meat is fed only about a pound weekly for each boy ; but there is an abundant supply of corn bread and vege- tables. The school makes its own cane and sorghum syrup. Notwithstanding the scanty fare, the boys appear to be healthy and contented. Although the boys live and work in the open and there are only six men on the place, the number of escapes is negligible. During the past year only four boys escaped who were not returned. The school has been unfortunate in the loss of Superin- tendent Sims, but is fortunate in the continued interest and devotion of Judge W. H. Thomas of the Supreme Court, who has given a great deal of personal attention to the work. The salary appropriation should be increased to such a degree as to permit of the employment of a first-class superintendent. The school facilities are entirely inadequate, there being only three teachers for 285 boys. There is no parole officer ; the paroled boys have to shift for themselves. A parole officer should be employed. This school is unquestionably doing much to prevent crime among the Negroes. The State can afford to increase its facilities. STATE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. Within the past year, a new cottage plant has been built for the Alabama Training School for Girls. It is located within the city limits of Birmingham, about six miles from the center of the city. The land available for this purpose is insufficient, amounting to only about 23 acres, which does not give suf- ficient separation of the school from the general public. 26 The plant consists of four handsome well-built cottages,, together with a schoolhouse, hospital, heating plant, a store- house and a laundry. The cottages provide a separate room for every girl. These rooms are about 7 by 10 feet and are very well lighted. The schoolhouse is sufficient for present needs, but will have to be enlarged as the school grows. At the present time there are a little over 100 girls in attendance. The hospital is small but is well equipped, well managed,, and is in charge of a competent graduate nurse. The medi- cal work has been greatly improved. At the present time the school suffers the inconveniences of an incompleted institution. The storage facilities are in- adequate, some of the buildings are unfinished, the walks are incomplete, but the general aspect of the institution is pleasing, and it is conveniently accessible to the city of Birmingham. Mrs. Ophelia L. Amigh, who has been superintendent of the school since its first opening, has retired from the super- intendency and has taken charge of the parole work. The State of Alabama owes a permanent debt to this indefatiga- ble woman who, in her old age, founded the school, carried it on for years with the most meager facilities and estab- lished it on a permanent basis. The Board of Control and Economy has made every ef- fort to provide adequate equipment for the school, and to organize it on a permanent and substantial basis. Judging from the experience of other states, the State Training School should provide for at least 200 girls, which would mean 10 cottages instead of four. The present amount of land, 23 acres, is entirely inadequate. Additional land should be secured while adjacent property is still available. VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, Birmingham, Alabama. The Vocational School for Girls, formerly known as Mercy Home, is a small, but well-conducted school for de- linquent girls. It is conducted by a private board of trus- tees, but receives assistance from the State. The State appropriation for the expenses of the school! have been as follows : 2? 1919 ...$2,500 1920 .'. 6,320 1921 6,320 1922 6,320 The expense per capita for 1919, with an average of 29 girls was $229.60; and for 1922, with -an average of 26 girls was $291.37. The school has been doing good work for a class of girls who ought not to be sent to the State Training School. The school is under the direction and guidance of a group of interested Birmingham women. GIRLS' RESCUE HOME. Within the past four years the colored women of Ala- bama raised a sum of money to erect a cottage for the care of delinquent colored girls. The greatest credit is due to them for their efforts to provide for these girls. This cot- tage is located on the same farm with the school for colored boys, but is entirely independent in its management. The one cottage has only accommodations for about 12 or 14 girls, and was practically full at the time of my visit. Only one woman is employed in the care of the girls. The spirit of the house seemed to be excellent and the .girls under good control. There should certainly be two women in charge of this house. Even in the larger insti- tutions of this class, it is customary to have an employe for every five or six girls. The Home is supported entirely by voluntary contribu- tions. The expenses for the year, with an average of 10 girls were pitifully small. The expenditures are reported .as follows: Salaries and wages ' $480 Food 268 Fuel, light and water 62 Farm and garden supplies 9 Hospital and medical supplies . . 16 Furnishings and equipment 40 Miscellaneous 81 Total . ..:.. ...$956 28 This expenditure is at the rate of only $96 per girl. The managers of the school have made a practical dem- onstration of good work under the most discouraging cir- cumstances. They should have the encouragement and as- sistance of the people of the State. The same reasons which led to making the institution for colored boys a State institution certainly apply to the institution for colored girls. The school should be relocated, with proper provision for schools, and instruction in domes- tic science, sewing, and so forth. The present cottage can be made available for the use of the Boys' School, and the State can build a new cottage to replace it, on a new site. THE PENITENTIARY SYSTEM OF ALABAMA. In my report of 1918, I said: Alabama is one of the very few states which still retain the convict lease system, this system having been abadoned, I believe, by every state except Alabama, Florida and North Carolina. ... The convict lease system as maintained by the Board of Inspectors of Convicts has been greatly modi- fied so as to do away with many of its objectionable features. . '.. . But under this system the State does not and cannot protect its prisoners from physical injury, accidental death, moral degeneracy, or even from murder. I showed that out of 388 deaths of convicts in four years' time, 72 were killed by accident, being 29 per cent of the deaths, and that Notwithstanding the excellent sanitorium at We- tumpka for tuberculous prisoners ... in the four years ending 1914, 42 per cent of the deaths were from tuberculosis and pneumonia, and in the four years end- ing 1918, 44 per cent. I showed, further, that in the mines where prisoners are employed on the lease system, the company foreman. 29 had no authority over them and could exercise no control over immoral practices. The convict lease system, even in the modified form which exists in Alabama, was condemned in the reports of legislative committees in 1915 and 1919. In your Inaugural Message, of January 21, 1919, you said: "Our system of contracting the labor of convicts is a reproach to the State," and you quoted from the report of a committee of the Legis- lature of 1915, setting forth the abuses of that system : for example that Under the late leases of the State, they are so worded that the convict is under the control of the State, and when maimed or injured, has no remedy, however great may be the negligence, or however wan- ton or wilful may be the act causing his injury. At the same session of the Legislature, July 8, 1919, a report was presented by a legislative investigating com- mittee on convicts, which said : We have visited every coal mine, lumber camp, tur- pentine still, and in fact every convict camp in the State of Alabama. . . . We have studied the laws of other states relative to the method and manner of handling their convicts and building public roads. . . . The convict lease system in the State of Alabama is a relic of barbarism. It is next to impossible for the average citizen, unfamiliar with the conditions, to grasp or comprehend the horrors attending such a system. It is hard to describe the cruelty, woe and misery grow- ing out of such a system. ... It has been the policy of the State to brand the convict with the Dollar Mark when he is convicted and turned over to the State to begin his term of servitude. . . . His physical, moral, and religious welfare is as completely abandoned as if he was a brute, and no thought is given to the relation he will bear to society when re- leased. 30 These declarations were accompanied by quotations from sworn testimony, and ended with the recommendation that the convict lease system be abolished. In the light of these facts, the Legislature passed an act providing for the abolition of the convict lease system. This act was amended at the special session of 1921 (Act No. 22) to read as follows: On and after January 1, 1924, it shall be unlawful for any person to lease or let for hire, any State con- vict to any person, firm, or corporation. Florida and North Carolina have since abolished the lease system and Alabama is the last state in the Union to continue it. It has been abandoned by one state after an- other, often at large financial sacrifice, and the people of Alabama may well congratulate themselves upon its pending termination. I have visited five camps at which prisoners are still -employed under the lease system the Flat Top Mine, the Banner Mine, the Belle Ellen Mine, the Aldrich Mines, and the River Falls Lumber Camp. I found that extraordinary improvements had been made at all of these camps since my inspection four years ago. A deputy warden has been placed in each mine, to pass through the mine daily, observing the conditions under which the prisoners work and to investigate complaints on the spot. This change is a great protection to the convicts as to conditions of work, danger of accident, and just treat- zment. The abominable swinging wooden shelves on each of which two prisoners formerly slept have been replaced by army cots, with springs, mattresses, sheets and pillow- cases, the bedding being changed semi-weekly. Sheets, pillow-cases and mattress covers are marked with the num- ber of the prisoner, who always gets the same articles. The kitchens have been provided with ranges and a bal- anced dietary has been established, including wheat bread, corn bread, biscuit, syrup, beef, pork, excellent hams, a good supply of milk, and a good variety of fresh and canned vege- 31 tables. Dining-rooms have been provided with plated knives, forks and spoons, and with better dishes. In some camps earthenware dishes have replaced iron and aluminum. The medical service has been greatly improved, though it is still deficient, especially in equipment as to hospital apparatus and instruments. The hospitals, dormitories, kitchens, bakeries and din- ing-rooms are kept clean and are apparently free from ver- min. Windows have been screened, reducing the number of flies to a minimum. The discipline has been greatly improved. You issued an order, July 11, 1922, instructing the Warden-General to- abolish whipping in all departments of the Penitentiary, to cause the straps to be destroyed, and to give notice to the several wardens that violation of this order would be cause for discharge. I talked with most of the wardens of the several camps with reference to this order. They disapproved of the or- der at the outset, believing that it would be impossible to- control the prisoners if flogging were abolished, but I found that, with experience, they had changed their minds. Sev- eral wardens informed me that the men were more orderly and diligent than before, and that they were now convinced of the wisdom of this action. Some difficulty was found with a small number of prisoners, who were disposed to- take advantage of the new order, but in every case it was. found possible to meet the difficulty by other means of pun- ishment than flogging. I found marked improvement in the spirit and morale, both of prisoners and officers. I quote the following items from my notes on the several prison camps : Flat Top Mine: Shrubbery and plants have been set out and a small playground provided for ball play- ing in the yard. Dining-room scrupulously clean. Men's dinner buckets clean. Clean white suits for men to wear when out of mine. Each man has a locker for private use. White sheets and pillow-cases changed twice weekly. White mattress covers all made by con- victs. Dormitories thoroughly whitewashed. Wonder- ful change. 32 Store operated by the State. Profits go to the State, but are applied to welfare work. Sales to 439 men, $1,000 per month. Floors very poor; cannot be kept sanitary. Hos- pital in bad repair ; cannot maintain aseptic conditions. Mining Company sympathetic with new order, but not disposed to undertake expense because of approaching termination of contract. Notwithstanding these great improvements, the lease system continues to operate to the disadvantage of the State and of the prisoners. Under the leases, it is made the duty of the contractors to provide buildings and furniture at each camp ; but in most cases the lessees have been unwilling to make such changes and improvements as were necessary in order to make the prison habitable. Most of the build- ings at the several camps are old, and some of them are completely worn out. Banner Mine: Dormitory reasonably clean; beds fairly clean. Sheets and pillow-cases changed semi- weekly. Mattress covers changed every other week. Clean kitchen, with good range and clean kettles. Thirty gallons of milk and seven to eight pounds of fresh butter given the men three times per week. Din- ner: Macaroni, sweet potatoes, light bread, coffee. Supper: Roast beef, sweet potatoes, butter, biscuit, coffee, applie pie. (This was called "a light meal.") Formerly prisoners at the mines were able to earn a large amount for themselves after completing their tasks, by overtime. In the other three mines these earnings are greatly reduced, but at the Banner Mine it was stated that the men were earning about $2,000 per month, an average of $5 monthly per man. Some of the men send considerable money to their families. The warden said: A man earns for the State $75 a month, and his family suffers. The State should pay a portion of his earnings to his family. 33 He also said: Since whipping was abolished the men load more coal and earn more extra money. A few white men have tried to take advantage of the new rule; the Negroes are more tractable. Formerly about 10 per cent of the men had to be whipped, and I thought that there was no way to get on without whipping. ' Gam- bling has been cut out. It is hard to enforce it, but it can be done. The warden said that no chains or handcuffs were used. The camp has a farm of 170 acres. This year they pro- duced 1,000 gallons of syrup and 8,400 pounds of sweet po- tatoes. The hospital was not very clean. The wards were bare. The building is rotten and cannot be kept in sanitary con- dition. The dormitories were reasonably clean, and were seriously overcrowded. Fifty double-deck beds were in use. Belle Ellen Mine: 300 Negro prisoners. Dormi- tories had clean beds, with white sheets and pillow- cases. Covers for mattresses were changed when soiled. The dining-room was clean. The storeroom was dirty and disorderly. The hospital was fairly clean, but the colored ward has a very poor floor. The dormitories were provided with army cots, but were so overcrowded that there were a number of hanging beds overhead. Toilets were equipped with poor plumbing, but were in clean condition. There is an underground dungeon, 10 feet square, used for punishment. It is dark, damp, insanitary and insecure. Moving pictures are furnished weekly by the State. Ten officers have 300 prisoners, an insufficient num- ber The Coal Company provides buildings and furni- ture. It is very reluctant to provide adequate equip- ment. Aldrich Mine: 275 men. At the Aldrich Mine there is a stockade with a rotten and dangerous fence. The floors are bad, but the toilets were in good condition. In the Negro dormitory there were flowers on a table. 34 Every man's bedding was marked personally. There are no ranges, but meat is roasted in the ovens. There was a good bill of fare. The kitchen was very clean. The dinner buckets were very clean. The dormitories and beds were clean. The hospital for colored prisoners had a very bad floor. The hospital was not very clean. The toilets were dirty. There was a fairly good clinic, but it was supplied with rusty instruments. The doctor reported that he made two visits daily ; that there was no blood examination of venereal cases, but that they were ac- customed to treat those who had lesions until they were non-contagious. The same physician is employed by the State and Mining Company. The warden said : "Ten years ago I would not have believed that corporal punishment could be discarded . but it works well. Knives and forks were put in two years ago against my protest, but we have no trouble with them." River Falls Lumber Camp: The Horse Shoe Lum- ber Company pay $50 per month to the State for each man. The men now work eleven hours per day. In summer they work from twelve to thirteen hours per day. This is additional to one hour's time required for going back and forth between the prison and the lum- ber mills. At the time of the visit men were break- fasting at 4:45 a. m. and went to work at 6 o'clock a.m. They had one hour for dinner and worked eleven hours. The records showed that, in summer, the men breakfasted at about 3:30, and worked from twelve to thirteen hours. The guards were on duty from 4:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an hour for dinner, leaving thirteen hours on duty. The guards work every third Sunday. They have three annual holidays Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The hospital is a fairly good building, but out of repair and cannot be kept sanitary. There is a good sleeping porch for three white patients, with clean beds; an inside ward with three beds, not very clean. The convicts' dormitories had white mattress covers and white pillow-cases, but the 35 hospital beds had no mattress covers. There was a good hospital ward for Negro patients. The dormitories for white and colored were in good condition, with clean sheets, pillow-cases, mattress covers, and good army spring cots, but with very poor floors. The water supply is inadequate. The water is muddy and clothing cannot be washed clean. There was a good supply of white bread, corn bread and biscuits. There were two big kettles for cooking, but no ranges. There were very poor floors in the kitchen and dining-room. There is a new dairy building, scrupulously clean and well kept ; a storeroom, clean and well kept. The cow barns were clean, but primitive. The clothes are washed and wrung by hand. The prisoners are supplied with white suits, well washed by hand. The storeroom was clean and very well kept. IMPROVEMENT IN MORALE. I have already described the remarkable changes which have been wrought in the prison camps of Alabama as to cleanliness, sanitation, sleeping conditions and feeding, and also as to the abolition of the practice of flogging. The re- sult of these changes is manifest in the morale of officers and prisoners. There is a great change in the aspect of the prisoners. They move with more alertness, they work with greater cheerfulness and efficiency, they respond to the rules and regulations of their officers. This is not simply an impres- sion, but is based upon the testimony of the officers who are dealing with them. KILBY PRISON. As we have seen, for many years Alabama has enjoyed the unenviable distinction of being one of the most back- ward states in the Union in its provision for the confine- ment, employment, discipline and reformation of prisoners. The evils of the convict lease system, even with the modifi- cations which prevail in Alabama, were set forth clearly and convincingly in your own Inaugural Message of 1919 and in two legislative reports of 1915 and 1919. 36 Kilby Prison marks the impending transfer of the State of Alabama from the rear ranks of prison management to the front ranks. Alabama is following the example of the State of New York and the State of Virginia in establishing a central distributing prison to which prisoners will be sent immediately upon their conviction, and where they will re- ceive: first, a thorough study of their history; second, a most thorough examination, mental and physical, by trained experts; third, a thorough course of treatment to remove any remediable defects ; fourth, assignment to that prison and that employment for which the convict is best adapted; and, fifth, a systematic course of reformatory treatment and training, in order that the prisoner may be restored to society, if possible, a self-respecting, upright, useful and productive citizen. There is but one prison south of Mason and Dixon's Line which is comparable in its design and its construction to Kilby Prison; that is the United States Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia; but it is fair to say that Kilby Prison having been built later, in the light of the experience of the United States Penitentiary and other leading prisons, has improved in many particulars over the plans of the United States Penitentiary. There has been some criticism of Kilby Prison, on the ground that it is unduly expensive. A good prison of this type is necessarily expensive because it must be of perma- nent fire-proof construction and it must be thoroughly con- structed in order to stand the wear and tear of coming gen- erations. Most of the buildings at Kilby Prison will be good, substantial buildings fifty years hence. To one who is acquainted with prison construction the surprise is not that Kilby Prison has cost so much, but that so thorough and solid a piece of work could be constructed for this amount of money. Estimated Cost of Kilby Prison. The Prison Cotton Mill and Total Cost Proper. Other Buildings, of Buildings. Cash $820,000 $715,000 $1,535,000 Convict labor . . . 140,000 20,000 160,000 Totals $960,000 $735,000 $1,695,000 37 The prison will accommodate about 900 men, so that the total cost of the prison proper will be $1,060 per prisoner; the cost of shops will be $820 per prisoner; and the total cost will be $1,880 per prisoner. The City of Detroit is building a House of Correction similar in its scope to Kilby Prison. The "strong portion" of the Detroit House of Correction, which will include the administration building and all facilities for educational work, hospital, recreation, workshops, etc., for 600 prison- ers, will cost, approximately, $1,800,000, or about $3,000 per prisoner. The State of Ohio recently planned a state penitentiary to accommodate about 3,000 prisoners. Bids were taken for the construction of this prison and these bids amounted to about $14,000,000, or $4,500 per prisoner. It should be borne in mind that Kilby Prison has been built entirely by the earnings and the labor of the prisoners. During the past four years the prisoners have not only earned enough to pay for this great prison, together with the entire cost of their own maintenance, but have turned into the State treasury a net revenue of about $2,000,000, or about $500,000 per year. In only a very few states have the prisoners even earned the cost of their own keep, to say nothing of producing a revenue for the State. PREPARATORY TREATMENT. In order to carry out the purpose already stated of re- ceiving, renovating and distributing prisoners, it is neces- sary, first, that there shall be clinics: medical, surgical, dental, psychological and psychiatric, for the purpose of studying the incoming convicts and ascertaining their con- ditions and needs. It is necessary, second, that there shall be provision for the treatment of these prisoners: First, an isolation de- partment where each prisoner can be kept separate from others until it is certain that he cannot communicate any infectious or contagious disease, and where he can be safely kept until the various studies have been concluded and, second, a department for the study and treatment of psycho- pathic cases; another for venereal cases, another for sur- 38 gical cases, and another for medical cases. All of these de- partments are a part of the hospital treatment of the insti- tution to fit the prisoner for his subsequent employment, education and training. The same principle applies to proper sleeping quarters, good food, and a balanced ration. Even from the most self- ish motives, the States cannot afford to neglect these things, which increase the efficiency of prisoners who produce reve- nue for the State. Adequate expenditure in this line will pay dividends in the end. From a purely economic standpoint, these departments will pay for themselves. Heretofore many prisoners have been more or less useless from an industrial point of view because of physical and moral defects which might have been remedied by proper treatment. For several years-past the "first-class prisoners" have been an important asset to the State, earning from $30 to $100 each per month for the State, in cash. ^The farmers of the State have learned that it pays to build good stables and to provide veterinary treatment and proper food for a thoroughbred cow or a valuable horse or mule; but the State has been very slow to learn that it is equally worth while to take good care of a useful man. The City of Atlanta maintained for many years a prison known as the Stockade, in which living conditions were very bad. The prisoners were poorly fed and clothed, and lacked medical and dental attendance. Many of them were in bad physical condition and were inefficient workers. At the same time the prison authorities were constructing a mule stable, on the most modern principles, with running water, plenty of light, ventilation, and good food. The managers of the prison knew the value of a mule. At the American Prison Congress, in Louisville, Ken- tucky, in 1883, I heard a remarkable discussion on the con- vict lease system, which then prevailed widely through the South. The abuses of the system were vividly set forth. After the discussion was over, one of the members of the Congress said : "Before the war, we owned the Negro. If a man had a good nigger, he could afford to take care of him ; if he fell sick, he would get a doctor. He might even put gold plugs in his teeth; but these convicts we don't 39 own 'em one dies get another !" That point of view in- volves a great waste of human material. But Kilby Prison is not simply a utilitarian enterprise. The State now recognizes that if a convict is useful and productive as a prisoner, he ought to be still more useful and productive as a free man. It recognizes that the stay of the convict in prison is only temporary, and that unless the State succeeds in his reformation, he will again prey upon society when he is discharged. The present prison policy of the State aims at the restoration of these prison- ers to upright living, productive work and good citizenship. To this end, provision is made for vocational instruction, for wholesome recreation and for religious and moral training, with schoolrooms, playgrounds and a chapel. These things will cost money, but if properly ordered, they will produce a valuable result in good citizenship. The State proposes to deal with the prisoners as human beings and as souls ; and this policy is justified on the ground that the State will get value received. In former years it was the duty of the chaplain to preach once a month at each of the prison camps and little more was expected from him. It was not considered necessary that he should be a robust, active man; but today the chaplain is listed as a "social worker." He is a strong, active, red-blooded man. He preaches on Sundays, but during the week he goes from camp to camp and comes into personal contact with the men advising, instructing, and encouraging them and look- ing after their physical as well as their spiritual welfare. Kilby Prison is provided with an excellent hospital, equipped with surgical wards, medical wards, single rooms, clinics of various kinds, well-equipped operating rooms, fine surgical instruments and X-ray apparatus. These facilities are placed in the hands of competent physicians and sur- geons. The isolation department has well-ventilated cells in place of dungeons. The cells are furnished with army cots, clean bedding and comfortable seats, and there is perfect ventilation and heating system for hot and cold weather. The kitchen, dining-room, clothes room and laundry are provided with modern equipment and are so constructed that they can be kept immaculately clean. The new cotton mill, 40 dye house and shirt factory are constructed on modern fac- tory principles and are to be equipped with the best modern machinery. All these things mean not only that sanitary conditions shall prevail, that the prisoner shall be kept clean, that he shall be well fed and that he shall sleep sound- ly, but that there shall be aroused in him a spirit of co- operation and good will. THE NEW PENITENTIARY SYSTEM. Kilby Prison is not to be restricted to the walls which surround it. Already there has been built a splendid mod- ern dairy, with a fine herd of Guernsey cows, and a piggery has been established with blooded stock. It is expected that this dairy and piggery will not only furnish an example of high-class farming, but that they will also be able to con- tribute to the improvement of cattle and hogs throughout the State by furnishing blooded sires, heifers and sows. Truck farming will also be carried on on a large scale, fur- nishing employment to a large number of prisoners. These outside prisoners can be provided for in simple inexpensive wooden camps, like Camp Number Four. Kilby Prison does not stand by itself. It is part of the penitentiary system of the State. After the prisoners have gone through their preliminary treatment at Kilby and are distributed to the various camps, they will be kept in local prisons far simpler and less expensive than Kilby Prison. For example, Camp Number Four is a one-story wooden building with wooden floors, where prisoners who have been tested at Kilby Prison can be kept safely without prison walls or strong prison buildings, and can be employed in cultivating the soil. At Speigner Prison there are being built excellent dor- mitories of wood, where 500 prisoners can be kept safely in buildings which will not cost more than one-half as much per prisoner as at Kilby Prison. Before the lease system expires in January 1924, there will doubtless be other camps provided, similar to Camp Number Four, where prisoners can be safely kept under simple and inexpensive conditions ; but the success of these simple and inexpensive camps will depend largely upon the preliminary treatment for which Kilby Prison is designed. 41 A comparison of the wooden buildings, occupied by pris- oners at the mining camps and the Aldrich lumber camps,, with the new wooden buildings for prisoners at the Speigner Prison and Camp No. 4 is most enlightening. The buildings at Speigner and Camp No. 4 are well constructed, well ar- ranged, well ventilated, and steam heated. They are per- manent buildings which can readily be kept in good sani- tary condition. The buildings at the other camps are cheap, wooden shacks, badly constructed, incapable of being kept in repair and they cannot be kept in sanitary condition. These conditions are necessarily inherent in the lease system.. It is against the financial interests of the leasing companies to build permanent and substantial buildings because of un- certainty as to the continuance of the lease. PENITENTIARY INDUSTRIES. The State having determined to give up the convict lease system it is necessary to provide for industries. The success in recent years of the cotton mill at Speigner has led to the building of a cotton mill and a shirt factory at Kilby Prison. The women in the newly-established prison at Wetumpka will be employed in making clothing and so forth for the prisons and other public institutions. There has been some discussion of the possibility of opening up a State coal mine to be owned and operated by the State and to employ pris- oners who are well qualified for that kind of work. This proposition has a good deal to recommend it, but it would involve the investment of a large amount of capital to open and equip the mine and it is doubtful whether the State will feel free to undertake this enterprise at this time. The only other employment which is proposed at the present time is agriculture, for which a large portion of the convicts are well fitted. There is a great difference in success attained in carrying on convict labor in different states. One of the great ob- stacles to success is the lack of interest on the part of the prisoners. Most of the prison wardens and the experienced prison managers of the United States favor the adoption of a wage 42 system as an incentive to faithful work on the part of the prisoners. At most of the coal mines where prisoners have been employed on the lease system opportunity was given for prisoners to earn something for themselves by overtime, and this privilege was found to be a great stimulus to indus- try. It works unfairly for the reason that prisoners who were employed in the domestic work of the prison, and those who were employed on State farms had no opportunity to earn money, and much dissatisfaction resulted. During the war, the prisoners at the Speigner cotton mill were working ll 1 /^ hours per day. The superintendent of the mill called the prisoners together and explained to them that the product of the cotton mill was being used for the Government and inquired whether they would be willing to work 131/2 hours instead of HVs as a matter of patriot- ism. It was stated that a small amount would be paid as compensation for the extra time. The prisoners unanimously agreed to this proposal and when I visited the prison in August, 1918, the prisoners, white and black, male and female, were cheerfully working 131/2 hours a day, and the prison department reported that they earned for the State that year $1,435 per prisoner. The superintendent of the cotton mill told me that he con- sidered the labor of these prisoners equivalent to 80 per cent of what would have been accomplished by free labor. This extraordinary result was due apparently to two in- centives : First, the motive of patriotism ; and, second, the small amount of earnings overtime which was, perhaps, 50 cents per day for each prisoner. The State of Minnesota pays wages to its prisoners at the rate of from 25 cents to $1.25 per day and this payment has stimulated the prisoners to a high degree of productive activity. It has been profitable to the State, to the prisoners, and to their families, for the prisoners are required to apply a portion of their earnings to the support of their dependent families. I would recommend that under the new penitentiary system a system of wages be devised under which not ex- ceeding 75 per cent of the wages of the prisoner be applied 43 to reimburse the State for the expenses of his maintenance, and not less than 25 per cent be given to the prisoner for his own use and the support of his family. The wages of the prisoner should be equivalent to those which are paid to free laborers for the same amount of pro- duction. When the prisoner's earnings are sufficient to meet the entire expense of his maintenance he should be given the remainder of his earnings. The evils of the lease system have resulted largely from the fact that the prisoner was made a slave, and being en- tirely deprived of his earnings had no incentive to indus- try, and it became necessary therefore to resort to pun- ishment in order to stimulate industry, and this method in- evitably prevented willing industry and stimulated bitter- ness, hatred and revolt. Receipts and Disbursements for Quadrennium, 1919 to 1922. (Building Operation Not Included.) Prison or Camp. Aldrich 1 Receipts. 1 951 796 Excess of Expense Over Disbursements. Revenue. $ 234,106 Excess of Revenue Over Expense. $ 717,690 Banner 1,255 025 406,162 848,863 Belle Ellen . . . 914 513 228,386 686,127 Flat Top 1,297 936 340 355 957,582 Number Four 172,853 164,031 8,822 River Falls 411,786 164,692 247,093 Speigner 451,720 403,917 47,803 Wetumpka 95,662 302,426 $206,763 Kilby . 203,544 192 759 10,786 Cotton Mill 3,298,928 2,696,676 602,253 Roy 2855 2,707 148 Clanton 3,089 2,273 817 Dixie No 1 8,042 5,820 2,221 Dixie No 2 69,786 26,158 43,628 Bagdad . ... 51,628 31,216 20,412 Tuscaloosa 58,069 25,691 32,379 Montgomery office . 3,600 352,457 348,857 Totals $9,250,831 $5,579,833 $555,626 $4,226,624 44 IMPORTANCE OF PERSONNEL. Experience both in Alabama and other states justifies the expectation that Kilby Prison will produce tangible re- sults in actual development of character and the reforma- tion of many of the prisoners committed to these walls. But sanitary cells, good equipment, and good food alone can- not produce character. The success of Kilby Prison must depend upon its administrators. There must be a warden and subordinate officers who believe in the possibility of reforming prisoners, and who address themselves to the task with courage, hopefulness, wisdom, and patience. The most important question, therefore, to be solved at Kilby Prison is the question of personnel. What has just been said about the office of warden ap- plies with double force to the office of warden-general. The warden-general is responsible for the entire penitentiary system of the State, a business with an investment of about two millions of dollars and an annual income of more than .a million. The place calls for not only a first-class business administrator, but for a prison administrator. The man- agement of prisons is necessarily a technical job. No man. however capable, can possibly master the technique of this work in less than two years. The State of Alabama has had four men in this position in the past eight years. In each case a change has been made as soon as the man had fairly mastered his job. If a business corporation were to change its general manager and put in an inexperienced man every two years, bankruptcy would be the inevitable result. If the State University and the private colleges of the State were to change their presidents every two years, substitut- ing a man who had no educational experience, what would be the effect upon the standards and usefulnes of these in- stitutions? Yet that has been precisely the policy of the State in the office of the warden-general. You have been one of the first governors in the United States to recognize the fact that prison administration is an educational proposition. You have put into the position an educator, experienced as a teacher and as a county and state superintendent of public instruction. He has also developed remarkable qualities as a business administrator, capable of accomplishing a great work in a short time. The position 45 of warden-general ought to be held during good behavior. Frequent changes must of necessity result in loss and dam- age to the State while the new man is learning the duties of the position. Superintendents of prisons with duties similar to those of the warden-general are found in the States of Massa- chusetts and New York. In both those states the policy of frequent changes has prevailed, with disastrous results. Let Alabama take warning ! WOMEN'S REFORMATORY. The old prison at Wetumpka, known as "The Walls" has been completely reconstructed to serve as a Women's Reformatory. It will receive all women who have hereto- fore been sentenced to the prison at Speigner where their presence has been a constant source of trouble and where it has been impossible to carry on any reformatory discipline. The interior of the cell house, hospital, and other build- ings at Wetumpka has been torn out and completely recon- structed. Large windows have been put into the buildings in order to admit adequate light and air. There are cheer- ful, separate dormitories and hospital wards for the two races. The old hospital building has been made over to provide the main dining-room and so forth. The women's hospital is excellent except that it ha's no satisfactory drug room or examination room. There are three dormitories for colored women with ac- commodations for 125 women with four showers and toilets on each floor. The least satisfactory part of the institutions is the ac- commodations for the superintendent and employes, which are inadequate. There are large well-lighted shops for carrying on manu- facturing. I would hardly have believed that this old plant could have been so successfully converted for the purposes C CD t- TH CO TH o' O' CO 00 rj< IO (M (N OO C- CO CO 1C co c- t> co IM - OS O Tj CO (M J 01 TH O I TH TH CO o o o o o o TT O eo co 00 t* cS CSC^OSOCOOOLQtM COO(M(M C- iH "^ i-^ t- CO CO Tj iH iH iH t- c OJ hO o c8 cd {)JC rv C C -J !/ PH C C _ ^ 6 0^3 c 62 In my report of 1918, I said: Will you give Alabama the place that belongs to her in the American nation? When the roll is called in either house of the National Congress or in any great national convention, the first name is "The Senator," or "The Gentleman," or "The Delegate from Alabama." . . . Will you therefore now provide the means to- establish a State Board of Public Welfare, chosen from your foremost and wisest citizens to devise an ade- quate State program of social welfare; and will you then provide the means to execute that program, at whatever sacrifice may be necessary in order that Ala- bama may occupy the same pre-eminence in social progress which she has already attained in her ma- terial development? In the past four years, Alabama has advanced from the rear rank to the front rank of the states of the Union in her social progress. This great step forward has been made possible by the joint action of the Governor, the Legislature, the State officials, the public press, the educators, the clergy, and the men and women of the great State of Alabama. It is true that this achievement has been accomplished by in- tense effort and self-denial on the part of the people; but it is true also that this movement has been for the benefit and advancement of the people of the State, and what has. been gained is well worth the cost. HASTINGS H. HART. DC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 042 461 4 "