Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1895-08-29
BETTER TIMES At TIE PEN.
WARDEN LYNCHs AND DEPUTY
WARDEN MALLS WORK.
The Convicts Find Themselves Treat
cd Like Men and Appreciate 1t
Too-A Unique Topical Song
-0klahomas New Regulation.

Special to the Reflector,
LANSING, Kas., Aug. 24.-The new
management Of the penitentiary
is making good record. Warden
Lynch and Deputy Warden Naill have
already shown that they are the right
men for their places.
"They chased the old warden lnluno, ira Ia,
And new one appeared in his place.
Some thought that good times would prevail,
ira la,
When under Lynch and NALL, ira la,
But you can't Judge n man by his face,
+ No. You can't Judge Il man by his face,
Yet there's plenty Of chance for great deal
Of good
II each man will do Just about as he should;
But, II not, then ira la la, ira 10 Ia
The deputy'll sing us a tune.
We may find him no Ia Ia, ira la la
The warden who came here In June"
The above was the concluding verse
Of a song that one Of the convicts at
the state penitentiary composed and
ventured to sing at the last Fourth
Of July entertainment at that institu-
tion. Warden Lynch and Deputy
Warden Naill had only just taken
office, and some Of the convicts
marvelled at the cheek Of the chap
who had thus dared to make play
with the names Of the new manage
ment. 1t turned out, however, that
the warden enjoyed the fun as much
as the rest, and he capped the climax
Of the situation by jumping to his
feet the moment the singer sat down,
and making speech with the last
verse of the song as his text.
First Of all, he nearly took away the
breath Of the prisoners by calling
them gentlemen" Such an utter.
ance had been unheard Of in the his
tory Of the institution, and every ear
was pricked to hear what else was to
be said. Warden Lynch told them
that the keynote Of the new admins
tration Of the prison had been struck
in the lines Of the song that said:
There is plenty Of chance for great
deal Of gvod II each Mir will do just
about as he should.n He told them
that all that was necessary was for
each man to do his level best; that he
would then find that he had friend
in the warden, and in the deputy
warden as well, and that it was to be
their aim to make the prisoners lot
just as comfortable as it was possible
under the circumstances.
1t goes without saying that Warden
Lynch's speech made big hit Of the
occasion, and subsequent events
have shown that he meant just what
he said. He and the deputy warden
see all prisoners who express desire
to come before them, and listen care
fully to each request or complaint,
whichever it may be. The old cry
that "it is impossible to see the
warden no longer holds good. As a
matter Of course great many i'm
possible requests are made but when
ever a prisoners trouble can be
alleviated consistently it is done.
One evidence Of this sin the fact that
the number Of extra letter-writing
has nearly doubled under
this administration.
On the Sunday following Fourth Of
July, the warden had some announce
mcnt to make to the prisoners and
arose in chapel to do so. His appear
ance was greeted with round Of ap-
plause quite as hearty as that which
had followed his remarks OF few
days before, and, thus en-
couraged, he took the occasion to
assure the men that he had their best
interests at heart and to urge them to
help him in improving the general
discipline. One result Of this has
been that the congregation is never
satisfied now unless the warden sup
plements the Sunday sermon with at
least few well chosen words. An
other result has been a vast improv-
ment in the feeling Of the prisoners,
and this has been unmistakably made
by the fact that the extra
punishment record has been greatly
reduced and that it now frequently
occurs that all the "dark cells are
unoccupied.
One Of the first improvements or
iered by the new warden was the TAX
ing up Of the old double floor in the
convict dining room. The scrub
water that had soaked through the
upper floor. had percolated around on
the boards below and formed regu-
lar cesspool, over which nearly a
men had to sit three times
a day while at meals. The result had
been occasional epidemics OF typhus
fever, though no one seemed to know
the cause. A new floor has now been
laid and thus has one danger Of dis
ease been eliminated. Another change