St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-12
The Making Of Brushes Is the
Principal Industry at
Present.
VERY POOR SOLITARY CELLS
An Unused Hospital--FloWers
Blooming in BittereSt
Weather.

|
tendent Lee. The reformatory is
located about three miles from ST.
| Cloud and the grounds comprise
something over 200 acres. OF course
the reformatory buildings occupy
but a small part of the land. The
greater portion is devoted to farm
ing and market gardening.
| The inmates of the reformatory
are employed in caring for the farm
and garden, and nearly everything
used in the institution can be and is
raised on the ground. st. Cloud peo-
pie maintain that the finest celery
to be obtained is that grown at the
reformatory, and after sampllng 1T
the writer is willing to admit the
claim is well founded.
There is not much Of the typical
| appearance of a prison about the st.
| Cloud reformatOry at present-that
is. until one goes inside. A common
| board fence surrounds the buildings,
and there are but two guards sta
toned on the wall, in little watch
houses built on wooden platforms
| These are so placed, however, that
| they command an almost perfect
| view of every part of the Enclosure.
| The entrance to the refOrmatory is
| through a neat little building, where
in are situated the offices and the
| officers dining room. Iron doors
| give access from the Office to the
prison proper, a solid stone building
| constructed entirely by prisoners.
| The first building one steps into
through these doors is the cell room.
| There are four tiers of cells, one gal
lery above another, located in the
center of the building, with wide
space on the sides and ends.
Unlike the cells in the older penal
| institutions, those at st. Cloud are
| entirely open, so far as masonry is
concerned. A strong iron lattice
work comprises the front of each
cell, thus giving the guards a free
| view of every movement of the in
mate at all times. 1t will be recalled
| by those who have visited the state
| prison at Saltwater that the door is
| the only open part of the cells. To
| look inside one must stand close to
the door. At st. Cloud the observer
can stand back against the wall and
see into every corner of a cell. An
| other admirable feature is a sta
| tionary washstand and toilet con-
veniences, with plenty of good water
supplied from the reformatory sys-
tenn.
HOW THEY ARE EMPLOYED.
There are 127 inmates in the re-
formatory at present. Of these be-
tween forty and fifty are necessary
to care for the buildings and
grounds, to cook, wash, bake, etc.
There are half a dozen in the tailor
shop, and three in the shoe shop.
These make the clothes and shoes
worn by the inmates, and a goodly
supply of each is always made up
ahead. The cloth used in the tailor
shop is manufactured in the Fergus
| Falls wooden mills, and is of excel
| lent quality.
Twenty or more boys are kept
| busy in the brush factory, which is
| the main industry of the reforma-
tory. There are half a dozen differ
ent processes through which a
brush must go before it is packed
into a paper box ready for the mar
| ket. The boxes are also made in
| the brush factory. Each worker in
| the factory was found as buSily at
| work as if on his individual should
| erS depended the success Of the in
stitution. Clothes and hair brushes
are being turned out in large num-
bers, and Supt. Lee believes that
| this industry comes into competition
with free labor less than any other
| that could possibly be engaged in.
| In this connection it may be well
! to give the superintendent ideas
as to the best methods Of employing
| prisoners. A great many people,
among them some of the legislators,
! believe that the only manner in
| which prisoners can be worked
| proftably is to mass them on some
| one line of manufacturers for in
| takes issue with this view. He be-
| lieves in working the prisoners on
| various lines of work, so that the
| production of any one article shall
| represent the smallest possible per-
! centaSe of the total product in
| the state or nation. In this way
| prison labor would not have any
| noticeable effect on the wages of
free workmen, nor would the prod
| uct be large enough to throw the
| outside mechanic out of work. Mr..
! Lee is a thoughtful and practical
| man, and the industrial unions can
do no better act than to uphold and
support him in any effort he may
make to put his ideas into prac-
| teal effect
NO USE FOR A HOSPITAL
One of the buildings in the prison
| grounds was erected for a hospital.
| 1t has never been used since the
| reformatory was opened; and this
| fact speaks volumes for the cleanIi
| ness and healthfulness of this insti-
tuition. One inmate was quite sick
| recently, but room was made for him
in the officers quarters, and he was
able to be at his duties again in a
few days.
The conservatory and dollhouse is
a commendable feature of the re-
formatory. Almost every species of
plant and flower is grown here, and
even during the recent bitterly cold
spell roses and other flowers were
in bloom plentifully. Eventually this
department must become a source
Of considerable revenue to the insti-
tuition.
In the granite quarries located on
the prison grounds a few men are
kept at work dressing stone princi-
pally to keep them busy. If the
legislature shall make an appropria-
[ ton for the work, it is proposed to