Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-12-15
A NEW STATE SCHOOL.
TIE Winter Term Begins at the
Schoo! Conducted at the Pea;-
tent:hry.
Warden Boucher Procu.es Supplies,
And the School Will be Graded
and Classified.
What the Inmates are Studying
Aod How the Work Is Car
r;ed On.
The { school.

The Pen school.
There is another state school in session
low. whose existence aud importance
a-e probably not fully realized by the
people OF the state Of North Dakota. In
:scs. no appropriations have ever be-n
-ads 10. It's maintenance by the state.
Except, II roundabout way through tue
appropriations for another institution.
l. isn't ar expensive school. anyway, and
lis disbursements are confined to the
amounts for the salary Of one teacher.
AID for a tew text books. maps, and the
other necessary paraphernalia OF a
school ro.u. The building, in a part Of
which the school is held. is one Of the
finest in tie state, and another
and very Necessary purpose, aside from
Use as a school b~uilding-that Of a state
r%=nitentlary.
There IL no reason Dow, except that Of
liEincl!Dat!on. Why any convict who is
incsrcsratsd il the North Dakota peni-
,~-ntiary tor a term Of years, whose early
EDUCATION has been neglected. should
oot pass out at the expiration Of his
sentence with a fair common school edu.
cation. The opportunity to be taught
and to learn, the materials with which TO
work, and the text books from which to
derive information on various subjects,
are furnished him. Add to these ad-
vantages, an inclination Of his own to
earn, and h,s opportunity TO obtain a
common school education is good
The custom OF engaging those inmates
Of the ~peni:entisry. who wish TO be so
engaged. in a course Of study. has
been in vogue at the ~penitentiary for
some time. The work. some OF the time.
has, however. not been as productive OF
desired results as it might have been.
The work has been carried on in a sort
0. desultory fashion. There was a lack
Of classification and graduation. But
This has been changed now, and a new
system adopted. Warden Boucher. e1
o6icio Superintendent Of Psnitentiary
Schools was in this morning, purchasing
supplies, in the way OF school books.
maps, crayons. etc. The convicts, now
who wish to learn, and who will devote
their attention, or a part Of it, to making
the most Of their opportunities. will be
classified as to their abilities, and in this
wav better results will be obtained.
The rudimensary branches of a com
1aon school education, reading, writing
and arithmetic, engage the attention Of
the major portion Of the students. Those
who are SO engaged are, nearly al
Of them, apt and quick to learn. The
author OF q burglary pores over a lessor
IN reading, and endeavors to master the
various questions Of accent, infection
and expression. while the abstracter o.
horses or other personal property
wrestles vigorously with a dream in di
vision or a nightmare in complex frac
:ious.
The mysteries OF grammar, too, ar.
entered into by some Of them, and thu
dismal swamp Of the English language i.
carefully r~ansacked, in a search for tht
will o'-the-wisps OF photography, prosod,
and syntax. History, also, occupies
portion Of the time, and the leadin,
events in human affairs, and the deed!
OF bygone periods are recalled, ane
coupled with dates and characters in tn
minds and memories Of the convicts.
Some Of the more ambitious and far
Their advanced are eager to take I'd tn,
study Of algebra, and the desire will b.
gratifed. In the elusive mysteries o
the minus sign, the battling with deliri
GUS and brain racking equations and tn,
occasional vain search after unknown
quantities, with a liberal sprinkling o
KS, y's and zis, the rather %unpleasan
memories of the past and the disagree
able realization Of the present will b.
forgotten. The hands which have manip
ulated skeleton keys in stranger doc
locks, and the fingers which nave OF
times removed portable articles Of per
sonal property will for a time forsak
their former occupation and trace alge
braic symbols instend, and the brain
which have been busted with illegitimat
schemes and crooked transactions, viii
lend themselves to the elimination O
unknown quantities.
About fifty of the eighty confined ar
students. Warden Boucher says the
are apt and willing to learn, and the re
suit of the schooling may be Of muc1
benefit in the amelioration Of the rathe
forlorn condition OF q convict, when b
is discharged from the ~penitentiary.
What They do.
Pembina Pioneer Express: Sheriff
O'Connor and Deputy Eyford took tn
prisoner Mccarthy and O'Conner to Bis
marck in time for the Thanksgivin,
dinner. It was a holiday time for tn