The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-09-30
FEMALE CONyICTs.
How They Arc Treated In tho IN
diane State Reformatory.
Not So Hardened Whom Kindness ana Com
81 To Methods or aepriinand Arc Used
Tie "Disgracc Table" and tho
Good Work 1t Has Done.


The female roformatory is ono OF tho
most important and best conducted in
stitutions in tho State, states tho In
dianapolis Sentinel, and that is saving
great deal: for no other, State in tho
NJ Union is better equipped in this respect
than Indiana. The lady who worked
the bill through tho Legislature, super
@ vised tho erection of the building and
managed the institution while she lived
was pupil of Mrs. Page. of England,
who first conceived the idea, and who
importuned George ~. until he started
an institution on her plan, which is a
lasting monument to her for tho
grand work she did for her sex, as is
every other female reformatory in the
world. And the millions of women who
through this means will be saved and
mako useful and valuable wives and
mothers will rise up and bless Mrs.
Ammo Page through ages yet unborn.
This is a prison and reformatory COM
bined, or rather both under ono roof
though each is as separate and distinct
! as if they were miles apart The girls
do not even see the prisoners.
Thore are in the reformatory 16O and
in tho prison fifty-six. Eleven of tho
difty-six are "lifcrs," being in for muir
der. Ten of them murdered their hus-
bands, and one was the most inhuman
or most insane, for she took tho lives of
her two little children.
Very few people in the State have any
idea how much is required to feed
largo family. The average housewife,
with family of from 5 to Is can calcu-
late very closely the amount of provis-
ions needed to keep the wolf from tho
door for given time, but She would be
lost were the numbersuddenly increased
to 2d0, and yet it is easy when YOU get
used TO it, At tho reformatory they have
just about that many mouths TO feed,
and they know just as well how much to
cook as does the housewife. AS an IL
lustration, without going into details:
Five barrels of flour and half rs many
bushels OF meal, arc each week baked
into bread. This makes 1880 loaves,
baked in five patches, on as many DAYS,
and $50 loaves in u batch. BESIDES this
soda biscuits arc given ut breakfast, two
or three mornings each week, and 900
OF them arc required each morning, or
an average OF four biscuits to each per-
son. Then, in addition to all this, a
modicurl Of corn bread, sufficient to .ex-
hanst three bushels of meal, is added
each day
And, whilo speaking OF bread, tho
woman who ballcs it for the prisoners is
b Mrs. Smith, who killed her husband
and is in for life. But any one who will
see and taste her bread will know that
that never killed him, for no baker in
the city oXccls her. She manufactures
her own yeast from hops, so that mono
could be moro pure and hcalthful.
Bnt III IS q mooted question yet
whether Mrs. Smith was justiiiable in
killing this member Of the Smith fam
lily or not. There are hundreds of hus-
bands who ought to be killed, and Mrs.
Richards, who showed the reporter
through, said that Smith was one Of
them, but she didn't think his wife
ought to have done it.
Tho methods used to incite good con-
Duct and correct department among tho
girls is certainly very commendable
Those who arc unruly and pcrsistcntly
break the rules cat their meals at Il sep
aratc table until they promise TO obey
This is called "thc disgrace table" and
has been found moro effective than any
physical punishment could be. Again,
those whose conduct meets with the en-
tire approval of the officers also eat at q
separate table, known as ''thc merit Ia
BILE" No difference III tho food is made
Those at the disgrace table" get the
same in quality and quantity as do those
at the INERT table, but tho moral eff
feet IS wonderful Tho most hardened
girl in the 100 will break down when
put 1T the disgrace table"
All tho girls are taught to work, and
to do all kinds of work incident TO house
keeping, so that when they leave the in
stitution they are competent 10 take
charge Of Il house and do all the diff
fercnt kinds OF work, even to cutting
and making plain clothes. This is cf-
fectcd upon system that farmer
would call rotation OF crops" A cor
tain dotail OF girls will wash y halliday,
then iron clothes, then sew, then scrub,
then cook, etc, though the entire list of
woman's manifold duties. In addition,
they arc taught to weave canc-scatcd
chair bottoms. If q girl shows particu-
lar liking and aptitude for any one class
OF work, She IS given greater advantages
in that line. by this means first-class
tailors and cooks have been turned out,
who arc now making moro than liyings
at their respective callings. One, since
she graduated, has learned biography,
and two arc shorthand reporters and
typewriters. All these have good situa-
tions
Turtles in n MILL Wheel Pit.
SOnpthiuu in tho ut,oal ,,it