Governor's message to the General Assembly of Georgia [Hoke Smith], August 26th, 1908

Governor's Message
!fl !ftl
General Assembly of Georgia
August 2!ith, HHlX.

Governor's Message.

With Compliments ol

STAri_1E OF GEORGIA.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
ATLANTA, August 25th, 1908.
To The General Assembly of the State of Georgia: You have been called to meet in extraordinary ses-
sion for the purpoRe of considering the disposition to be made of those <'onvicted of crime together with questions which are incident to the solution of this problem.
There were other matters of legislation undisposed of and pending before your bodies when they adjourned which were of great importance, but this one question involves so much to the State that I have deemed it best to include no other in the work of the present session.
vVbile no maudlin sentiment should interpose between the criminal and the punishment for crime, I believe that we will a11 agree that the leasing out of convicts in Georgia should cease.
The problem of handling five thousand convicts is serious and full of difficulties. They should be punished and yet they should not be treated brutally, An effort should be made to encourage reformations

among them. I concede that there is little hope of reformation as to many of the convicts but there must be some who can he improved by proper effort dnring tJieir confine1nent. '\rl1i1e a mercenary motive should in no :0 ense be Urn 1mrpose of handling conYicts, stil1 if they c11n he made self-supporting and
be so handled as to bring some benefits to the State
,,-ithout vio1afo12,' tl,e ob1igations of the State, such
a result is certainly to be des,ired. ::\Iy own opinion is that the convicts of Georgia,
Jive thousand in munlicr, conld be used in a way by 1Yhiel1 lmnrnnc frei,tment 1night lJe ~;ssured, opporhrn ity i'cr rdenuntioD iif'fon1ed and yet contribute greatly to the 11rngress nrnl pl'Osperity of the people of i1w entire State.
There nre rnilroac1s to he lmilt, public highways to be co11stn1de(1, (1irt ronifa to be grnded nnd impron~d, sw,,mp ]ands to be drained, nml many other i11ten~al imprO\ernents npon wl1ich they could he used ,Y11ich would iucrease the opportnnity for progress and prosperity a1l over Georgin.
Foremo:ct nmong the opp01tunities presented is the t<xtension of the \Yestern & .\tlnntic Railroad to the ocean.
Tl1e western & Atlantic in its present form is a great propeity, but it will be in danger nt the completion of the lease to the Nashville, Chattanooga &

St. Louis Raiiroad Company unless the scheme of its originators is executed, and it is extended to deep water at one or more of our ports.
I have no doubt that a line built from the present terminus of the Western & .Atlantic Railroad to one or more ports in our State could be leased for a sum which would pay interest on the cost of construction, and also interest on several millions of dollars in excess of the cost.
The extension ,vill protect our present property, yield a handsome net profit to the State, and largely contribute to the permanent commercial independence of our people by the control of interstate freight rates.
I present these views because the time must come when they will be executed and because no disposition of convicts should be made whi0h wm prevent their use in this great enterprise when the State is ready to undertake it.
For the present I suggest a plan of handling the convicts which, while promising less, is simpler and easier, but out of which I hope eventually to see grow the larger uses which I have mentioned.
First. Submit a constitutional amendment to the people which will name the time beyond which the leasing of convict~ in Georgia shall cease. This amendment should be advertised on Wednesday,
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September 2nd, so no time can be lost in its passage.
Second. Pass a bill to raise additional revenue for your penitentiary system.
Third. Encourage each county to work its misdemeanor and felony convicts upon the public roads and upon other pub1ic improvements in the county. I have heard from the ordinaries of many of the counties of the State, and their letters indicate a general disposition by the counties to use the convicts along the line I have suggested.
Fourth. Where the quota of convicts, misdemeanors and felonies, going to a particular county is too small in number to justify their economic use by the county to receive them, permit any two or more counties to join together, consolidating their convicts and allow them to work part of the time in each county, the amount of work in each county to be apportioned according to the number of convicts each county has in the combined force. This plan of exchanging convicts should be enlarged as far as possible.
Fifth. The State would retain charge of the balance of the convicts. The State should have two or more farms as a basis of operation. It might buy one or more iron or coal mines.
Those convicts whose dangerous character might
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render it advisable that they be not worked upon the public roads should be retained by the State and worked on the farms or in the mines. Upon the farms the State should raise all that the convicts needed to eat. The convicts upon them should make clothes, shoes, wagons and all classes of supplies needed by the State for the convicts and their use.
I have carefully examined the experiment of working convicts upon farms which has been made in a number of Southern States. Indeed, it can scarcely longer he called an experiment. It has been fully demonstrated that this class of work for negro convicts can be made profitable to the State, and yet furnish an opportunity for performing the State's duty
to the convict to the fullest extent.
The State should organize road working forces with suitable machinery and from time to time build roads in those counties where the counties received no convicts. The county authorities should name the roads to be built and also bear the expenses of the convicts while working roads in their respective counties. Any profits made from the use of the convicts upon farms or mines should be used towards paying the expenses of working the convicts in the counties not receiving convicts. Any surplus of convicts which the counties did not tnke and which the
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State at m1y time is not working upon the roads ju the counties could be worked upon the farms.
Sixth. AH the money derived from this time on from the hire of convicts should be used to prepare to handle those ro11victs which the State must retain.
Seventh. rrake some action providing at least for the investigation and report to the next legislature upon the extension of the 1.Ves tern & At1antic Railroad by the use of convicts.
I wish especially to call your attention to the fact
that there has ncve1 been a time in the history of the :.:::tate T1,hc11 \dth s1:elt small i11comeni01nct) the convict
them in 1\)07. Yon n11prnpriatcd 111st year for 1909
in l~hl, sorndliing O\'er $~00,000 from coll'\'ict hire. ',rlien >om :,J)])1'0}ll intions 1':l'l'C\ made in lDO, to the sd1ools for this y(~ar and next year it was generally understood that the convict hire was included in the
Ent a careful examination of the .\.et disclosed the fact that this wns not true.
You can, then:>forc, cease giYing to the public schools anything from convict hire and yet leave them all that you int<:>nded to give them when the
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~A.ppropri,ition Act ,ms passed in the summer of mo;.
Good roads and common schools shou1d go together. Both help to develop the people and enrich the State. "\Ye are mabn6 progress with our schools.
~1rc have neg] ected our public road:-i.
1 hr,TP prc:-oenicd the fon!;.;oin~~ plan of handling the eonvids as pcdiaps the )y:,ot whieh we enn adopt nt LLe :)n:-:e11t b1w. I prc,;:.11t it with no c1aim of or;'-';inal:t:,. }n;t in the elfort io help liri,1g together ,:nd hirrnc:cij:c, ,drnt scenu Lo llaY,) Lecu conflicting
to \Yorked 1; y i lH: ;de u pOil f n \'-llL~~, i;1 1n inc::,;~ 111)011 1\~thi!c roc~d~, a11t.11n 1-Lt con,.,trnitio11 cf puh]ie l1ig:11-
no\i,- :not ("g11nl.l( of 11~e.
T 1H.r]_H_' tlHJ ti111e \\Till (nn1t~ \r!h_'ll fl'nn1 \\T]1ute,Tcr sy:,;te:ci; ;:mi ndopt t1wre wi1l Jc,pl:J'.i e:,,h ;iye utiliznti011 fil' the conYi('h Ly Uw Siat '. c1rnl fo;:t the_\' will l1E\ rn,cd tq complete mid pcl'fcd p1 1;,\ie highways and otl1er internnl irnpnwemcnts, ~1:-:ing the farms as 11 ht,:.is of 01,eration.
..At the l1ead of your penitc)ntiary system there must lie ability, honesty and enthusiasm. 'l'hosc in
cl,arge on salaries should be required to give thf'ir entire time to the work. Those acting as superYii'i-
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ors should give their entire time to it. Those handling farms should he called to no divided allegiance and should not he subjected to the development of selfish adion by seeing their own property calling for their atte11tio11 in the neighborhood of the State's property.
Th, n' rnnst he the earnest desire to help tbe people of Georgia hy aiding the counties with information ;1~1d inspiration, that the:, may handle their convicts humanely yet economicall:,; that they may perform tlJ(, duty of the State to those convicted of crime and yet liring rc!t urns to the citizens by improving in the most practical and economical manner the roads and public enterprises of the county.
The study of good roads is attrncting the attention of the conntr.v. A great amount of information as to how the: should be built eau he furnished, and intelligent suggestion should be nrnde from the State's 1w11itrnhll"y officers to the officers of the localities elwr:cd witlt handli11g convicts.
The whole system should receive supervision by the State, uninfluenced hy politirs or by selfishness, and inspired by real patriotism.
I commend to your favorable consideration the parole system as part of our plan for handling conYicts. with ample farm facilities connected with the general plan of handling the problem, the convict
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might well, during the last of his confinement, be permitted to work in citizens clothes for a while before going back among the public. To discharge from chains and stripes a dangerous convict, with no progressive step taken by which his reformation 1s sought, cannot be contemplated without almost a shudder of alarm when we see the danger of such a course.
The reformatory for the young should be greatly improved. I believe care and thought directed toward it from those at the head of your system will be productive of valuable results.
I will not dwell upon the misdemeanor convicts as a separate class. It is scarcely necessary for me to say that the leasing of misdemeanor convicts to individuals with no State supervision should not be tolerated, and I incline to the opinion that individuals and corporations in Georgia handling misdemeanor con-
victs are in niany instances subject to prosecution
and suits for false imprisonment.
I know that we are all agreed upon the separation of the races and that you will make ample provision in whatever legislation you pass eovering this question and providing for the care upon the State Farm of female convicts whether cmwicted of misdemeanors or folonies.
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~\ny information which I have received from other States or from the county officers is at your disposal.
Governor.