The testimony that is being given at the investigation into
conditions existing at the Kanawha County jail smells as loud as the jail is
said to. The grave defect in the West Virginia jail system is that sheriffs are
permitted to run the prisons as private money making institutions, and in many
counties, do so in disregard of the commonest principles of humanity. Jails
should be maintained by the state and counties in the same way other public
institutions are maintained.
Fay Oles returned home from Kane, Pa., last week, and will
remain a guest of home folks for some time. She is a favorite with the
Grantsville people, who are glad that she has returned.
Burnsville was the scene of a very disastrous fire on Monday night, and two
children were burned to death and two buildings destroyed. The children were
those of Mr. and Mrs. James Allen, and the buildings were the furniture store
and dwelling house of W.T. Brosius. The fire originated in the rooms over the
furniture store in which lived the Allen family. Mrs. Allen had put the children
to bed and left the building on an errand. While away, an explosion occurred in
the room, supposedly due to gas escaping from a connection. Mr. Allen rushed in
the room and succeeded in recovering one child, who was so badly burned that it
died the next morning. The other perished in its bed.
LeRoy N. Darling, president of United Telephone Co., has
announced that plans for dial telephone construction in Calhoun are progressing
somewhat ahead of schedule. He said that preliminary engineering studies and
surveys have been completed and that the entire county has been mapped, with
each business establishment shown on the maps.
It is now possible, by reference to the maps, to see just where
construction will be. These maps are on display at the Grantsville office.
The planned system for Calhoun, Darling said, has been viewed as
unique in the telephone industry in that it marks the first time that complete
rural service has been attempted with as completely modern equipment as that to
be used in Calhoun. It is believed that, if the Calhoun venture is successful,
it may well mark a milestone in the rural communication field throughout the
country.