The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-16
presented to US, are herewith returned to
you as part of this, our report.
The Former Exoneratfon.

AS there has been a similar inyes estigaticn
made by a committee OF the board of cor
rections and charities about the year 1891.
which committee fully exonerated the Of
fcers of the prison from any of the charges
that were then made against them. and
having full confidence in the members of
that committee as capable and impartial
men, we deemed it inexpedient to inyesti-
gate any of the matters which had fallen
under their observation, and confined our
examination to what had taken place since
the making of their report
We found that large amount of the tes-
umony that was produced in support of
the charges was from persons occupying no.
sltIons which naturally prejudiced them
against the accused, and We are satisfied
that much of the testimony given by such
witnesses was unreliable and much exag-
gerated by reason of the influences under
which it was given. To the testimony of
the convicts and ex-convicts, we give all
the weight that testimony from such sources
IS entitled to, and we found that on the
whole, such testimony was favorable 70 tha
accused, instead OF condemnatory The
convicts generally informed US that their
treatment was free from any cruelty mr. nm
yust punishment, and many of them frank
ly admitted that it was quite as good if
not better, than they deserved The con-
sensus of opinion among the convicts that
we examined was that the regulations of
the prison were just and fair and thar any
convict living up to them had no cause IN
complain Of either the rules or the dieci
pline of the prison, and that II was nnIv
tnose lI prisoners who wiilfully violated the
rules of the prison that were involved In
any difficulties with the officers.
Nature of the Testfmonx
We found. as rnx investigation progressed
that all the evidence of harsh treatment
to convicts converged towards three or four
occurrences which had happened within
the period of our investigation, and in each
OF these cases. all of which involved oroes
ly serious and dangerous violations of tba
disclpline of the prison. the force used was
III our Judgment, entirely justifable and
necessary for the preservation offered and
the safe conduct of the institution Tho
force eXerted in these cases when stand
ing alone and unexplained, could readily he
r regarded "a as excessive, but, when fully pos
ry, and the knowledge that Instantaneous
action is demanded in such cases tbat
repression must come first. and investiea-
tlon after, by those in authority great fat
itude must be allowed to officers occuvnino
such difficult positions, and we did ne
ma that Ii had been abused in the insfa,aes
to which our attention was called.
A prison of the character and rnagni+udo
or the Minnesota state prison at StIIIwater
containing as it does on an average ahont
oVV conVlcts, many Of whom are NJ tbo
most most desperate character. requires the en-
forcement of very strict discipline to on
able It to be successfully managed and
the of1cers occupying the positions which
require them to enforce such discinlina
10 De successful, must be men NJ ahSoIuto
fearlessness and unyielding determination
or else the prison would be in state ~
!nsuDordlnation that would utterly destroy
lts usefulness as penal or reformatory es
taDllSnment. The violation of ruIa IN
der certain circumstances might be con
sidered trivial in it's Consequences but In
prison with population such as is found
at SIlilwater, the same misdemeanor, If
not Immediately and thoroughly suppressed
ana punished, might, and necessarily would
produce the most disastrous effects.
Our legislature, in regulating the con-
quot or the state prison. seems to have
been thoroughly impressed with the necas
slty OF the absolute maintenance of di1ci-
pline of the prison. Section 7479 of tha
General Statutes of 1894, provides as fol-
lows:
Matter off Discipline.
When any convict offers violence to any
o1ncer or guard Of the prison, or to any
person or convict, or attempts to do any
INJURY to the buildings, or any workshop,
or to any appurtenances thereof, or dis
obeys or resists any reasonable commands
Of any officer or guard, such officers and
guards shall use all reasonable means to
defend themselves and to enforce the OBJ
servance of discipline
Under that provision ne enforcement of
the discipline al the state prison at Still
water Is largely entrusted to the deputy
warden, the guards and keepers under him
also possessing the authority to suppress
lnsubordination when 1t occurs in their
presence. The deputy warden acts iudici-
any IN the hearing OF complaints against
conVlcts and the infiction Of punishment
for infractions of the rules. He holds a
court in his office every day and each con-
wet complained of has an opportunity to
De De Reard e IN explanation of his conduct; and
as far as we could determine, and the rec
ords are very full and the testimony
abundant, we believe that the deputy war
den has exercised his authority in that re-
spect Judicicusly and mercifully and has
never been guilty of any conduct that was
not justffable within necessary bounds and
restrictions. Two occasions where harsh
conduct was complained of were presented
TO us. one of which was where a convict
In one OF the workshops had procured an
ax and was terrorizing the guards and his
1ellow convicts; and the other was a case
Wnere convict had fortified himself in
shoeshop, with armful Of cutting imple-
ments, and was throwing them promis-
cuously at the guards in the shop. In both
these instances. the deputy warden exhibit
Cd degree of courage and determination
that was highly commendable, and almost
slngle-handed, disarmed the convicts and
restored order.
ment is to impress upon the convicts the
oeneht to them of good behavior on their
part The prisoners are divided into three
grades-irst second and third When a
convict arrives at the prison. he is put
into the second grade and instructed that
by good conduct. he can work up into the
first grade, which extends his privileges and
shortens his term of Imprisonment; and he
is also informed and instructed that any
violation of the prison rules on his part
will subject him to degradation to the
third grade, which lessons his privileges
and prevents shortening of the dura-
ton of his imprisonment. These various
grades are distinguishable by the dress
worn by the convicts in each grade, and we
IN hot
large majority of the convicts were in
the first grade; a much lesser number in
the second, and very few in the third, most
parent, therefore, that it largely rests with
Continued ON Third Paye