Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-06-23
Highest of all in Leavenng Power-Late u 5 Govt Report
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ABSOLUTELY PURE
THE NEW MEXICO pENITENTIARY

THE NEW MEXICO PENITENTIARY
May have been conceived in sin and born
in iniq uity-being quite out of politics
think may say 1t was about as slick
steal as this ring ridden country ever ex-
perienced- the fellow creature who
has the bad luck to get inside is in great
luck that the insi "a is what it is.
I AZ not given 20 prisons nor senti-
mentalizing over the inmates, for l be-
lleve that some of the chaps outside have
quite as miserable time as the chap in
side, particularly if the chap outside does
not sleep well of nights and the chap in
side slips into his "astral body" and
haun,s him; and also hold to the belief
that "Time at last makes all things even,"
especially for him ''who treasures up
vrong.'
Penitentiaries to-day are in q greater
or less degree reformatories, and many OF
the old time penal accessories are entirely
done away with. But there are some
things still in existence which will last as
long as human frailty, human hatred and
human judgment shall last. They can
not be abrogated SO long as human law
and vulnerable juries last; they will be,
so long as judges are only mortal men,
and the man in the stripes must be
philosopher, no matter what sort of fell
low the man outside may be.
The prison of New Mexico far exceeds
what might be expected, taking into con
sideration it's volcanic episodes. Like
all other reformatories l be!ievei it should
be entirely out of politics and like every
other reformatory, government school
| trf, oh n
care of old soldiers as far as possible.
man should be selected for his efficiency
and not for his vote, and his broad hu-
manty, unselfish nature, gentle, but
firm control and lovableness should be
his credentials.
Col. Bergman seems to me to possess
all these qualifications and more. He ia
every inch soldier; a bit brusque and
quick to command, but just and con-
siderate, and as we walked over the
grounds / noted that the unfortunate
men did not look furtivtly out of their
half-closed eye lids nor scow after he
passed by.
The territorial prison must, of mecca
sity, lack many things, but Col. Bergman,
as superintendent, has home for the
prisoners which is sweet smelling, whole
some and CHEEKY.
OF his $50 odd charges he has some vii
famous fellows whose ugly mugs would
better have served their country had
they blackened at ropes end. The
coterie from Las Vegas are such and yet,
the prison garb humanizes them. Bad
they certainly have been but Bergman
may succeed in making pretty good citi-
zens ont of them.
} Within the walls are cultured men who
{ are taking their punishment like stoics.
They are gentlemen IN much that the
word holds and they are brave enough to
, accept their lot and mako no moan
There is no whine that they are wronged
, but there is that in their grave, concen-
trated faces which shows that they think
They are strong enough to take their
medicine" like men and to the smallest
particular observe every rule. In the
. sunny, painfully bare and scrupulously
clean hospital stalwart, dark faced
man lay on a cot. When we entered, he
dropped his paper and turned his big,
3 bright, black eyes toward the superinten-
, dent. There was question in that in
, tense look but there was no answer in
Bergmann's quiet greeting.
, "Who is that man." l asked when We
were again in the airy, sun-lt corridor.
9 "That is Lujan who was shot and re
captured few weeks ago. He is lifel
but he doesn't care now" But that ii
f another, and sad, sad story.
HAWTHORNE.