Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-12
WHERE WOMEN RULE
A ModeI-Prison for Hardened Fe-
 male Criminals.
Ali. OFFICIALS ART. WOMEN
The Discipline Is Thorough aad Genuine Refor- matioa is Frtqleat!YWorked-A Dark
 CelI toe 0GIy Punisnmen..

burn, N. Y, but the public pays very lit- tie attention to them. They are not over picturesque and do not startle people by doing some dainty thing very much out of the ordinary. They don't wear bloom CTS, ride bicycles or make speeches, but they do run jail, and they run it very well, too.
 Running jail is not play, either. It is not made up of hours devoted to delight ful gossip or attending fine teas. The society isn't particularly fine because the larger part of it is composed of petit and grand larceny thieves, number of pickpockets, forRers bigamists, incen- diaries and murderesses. There are usually from 100 to 125 of these in the jail, and they are there for committing all kinds of offenses within the criminal scope of tough women.
 All criminologists agree that a woman criminal is a good deal worse than a man criminal Briefly, their argumen, is based on the fact that femininity stand upon higher plane than the sterner sex; but when 1t falls 1t goes considerably deeper. From this it Is quite easy 10 un- derstand that the Auburn jail is no Ar cada.
 When woman in any part of New York state has been proven guilty of a serious crime she is sent to the Auburn prison. The minor female prisoners go to the county penal institutions. What Sing Sing is to the man criminal Auburn is to the woman malefactor. The toughest md most hardened women in the country are therefore confined at Auburn, and they are managed by women. What is more, they are managed so well that there are on record many cases of gen uine reformation as a result of the prison discipline
 Head of the Prison.
 The real head of the Auburn prison is Matron Annie M WelShe. She has a force of women keepers under her, and she directs the entire management of the unruly inmates. Her word is law, and the system of discipline inaugurated by her works like a piece of machinery. James c. Stout Is the warden of the place, and the only man connected with 1t, but he does not interfere with the manage ment. He appreciates the good sense dis played by the women officers and &C., knowledges Chat they can handle the prisoners in more satisfactory way than men could.
 The Building.
 The prison Is splendidly adapted for the purpose for which it Is used. It is stone edifice and stands in great yard just back of the Auburn state prison. The two institutions are. separated by high stone wall impossible to scale and with only one gateway. That one is only
  through at a time, and 1t Is protected by three iron gates attended constantly by an armed guard.
 The grounds connected with the wom- ems prison are surrounded by stone wall just like the grounds around the mems prison This wall Is overgroWn with vines. The grounds themselves are cared for by the women convicts. The main entrance to the prison grounds Is protected by a high iron gate, which 1 lnnh Inc U to the main entrance to the prison build- ing. There are few visitors to the prison. because visitors are not encouraged.
 Great care is given to classifying the prisoners to prevent an incorrigible woman from interfering with the refor nation of those who evince an inclina- ton to travel in the right direction. There is a state regulation which covers this work, and though it is a dead letter in nearly all of the other penitentiaries because of the over-crowding, it is strict 1y followed in the Auburn prison. This Is the way the regulations reads:
 "The superintendent of state prisons shall direct the classification of prisoners into three classes or grades, as follows: In the first grade shall be included those appearing to be incorrigible or less vicious than the others and likely to observe the laws and to maintain themselves by honest industry after their discharge; in the second grade shall be included those appearing to be incorrigible or more vicious but so competent to work and so reasonably obedient to prison discipline as not seriously to interfere with the productiveness of their labor or of the labor of those in company with whom they may be employed; in the third grade shall be included those appearing to be incorrigble or so insubordnate or so incompetent otherwise than from tenn porary Ill health as to seriously interfere with the discipline or productiveness of the labor of the prison.
 To comply with this regulation Is an easy task when prisoners who have com mitted all the gravest of crimes are to be dealt with. Nearly all the women are up for long terms. There are nine "lifers" that is, nine women who committed murder and who will spend their lives in the prison. Others have sentences ranging from twenty-five years down to one year Banging over them.
 Vanity Appealed to-
 Vanity and a love of luxury, even if it be crude are ruling passions among the Irst ners, and Matron Welshe has ere ated a system which appeals to these weaknesses and at the same time works for the betterment of the criminal. There are substantial reasons, why those in the third grade should try to get into the second and why those in the second should do their utmost to work up to the first.
 HtTe dIt lO tSlls, pIoptily SPedhlIlSp in the prison. The cells are rooms, the smallest being about 10x12 feet. In the lowest grade the furniture In each room consists of cot. with hard straw mat tress that can't be comfortable to sleep on, but that is unouestionably more com fortable than the ordinary state prison bunk. The food furnished to the prison- CTS in this grade is all alike. There Is nothing about the rooms to make them attractive except light and air, and there is plenty of both. Uniform good behav- for and industry are the things that as- sure promotion from this grade and 1t takes from three to six months to earn the promotion. A single act of disobedi- ence is sufficient to postpone it.
 The rooms in the second grade are just the same as those in the first, but in ad- ditIon to the cot there are chair and a little stand. The clothing on the bed is better and the straw mattresses are not 20 hard The food is trife better. The advantages are well worth working for. It takes about the same time and the game rale of unvarying obedience and in- dustry 10 secure promotion from, this grade. There is a further incentive to obedience here, too. It is the possibility of being put back in the lower grade.