Cañon City record., 1898-05-05
THE STATE REFORMATORY.
The Institution of Buena Vista Not
One of Punishment but for
Reform.

The writer recently had the pleasure
of being shown about the state reform
atory by the genial warden, Mr.. G. +.
Hoyt, formerly warden of the peniten-
tiary in this city.
1t might be of interest to the readers
of paper in the penitentiary city to
know something about the other penal
institutions of the state. In all there
are four The reform school at Golden
where boys between eight and sixteen
years of age are taken. The girls in
dustrial school of Denver where the
unruly girls of the state rule, the state
reformatory at Buena Vista and the
penitentiary here at Canon.
OF all the most interesting and most
profitable for the state and the most
elevating to society is the reformatory
at Buena Vista. To this institution
the lighter grade of criminals are sent,
consisting of young men over sixteen,
and first offenders. They are given no
definite sentence. The object here is
not to punish but to reform, and War
den Hoyt has certainly reduced this
great work to science. The warden
has the privilege of paroling certain
grade. of prisoners. A young man
comes west from an eastern home; he
falls in with rough companions and is
caught in some criminal act, perhaps
the first in his life. He is sent up to
Buena Vista Oh an indefinite sentence
The warden finds the boy is not a
hardened criminal Some relative OF
friend vouches for the boys return ii
necessary, and he is paroled and goes
home, not as penitentiary convict but
without stain on his character. Nc
one knows of his trouble, he has no dis
grace to blemish his young life, his
severe lesson will make him more care
full, and he has chance to grow up in
to Il noble manhood. He writes to the
warden once month, and so long as
he lives straight life he is free man
Other classes of criminals are kept al
the reformatory learning useful trades
and are always employed
Mr., Hoyt as warden is original il
anything. He has dispensed with the
usual prison black paint, claiming that
it is only a custom coming down from
the dark ages Now all the cells and
buildings are painted pure white which
makes cheerful sight. lie does not
use the dungeon as punishment but
has substituted a system of spanking
which proves quite effective. Mr.
Hoyt's ingenious spanking chair has
made him famous throughout the whole
country and he has had hundreds OF
inquiries and orders for the chair
which he says was never more than a
mythical suggestion of his enlarged
upon by an imaginative Denver re.
porter.
One of Mr.. Hoyt's hobbies is that OF
looking after his boys after they leave
the institution and making life as easy
as possible for them. Many boy owes
a good position and prosperous future
to the active interest in his welfare
shown by Mr. IIoyt. The work of such
institutions should be encouraged.
The buildings about the reformatory
are poor and inadequate The count
today shows l05 inmates, while the
buildings, aside from the cell house, is
hardly sufficient for half that number.
The grounds comprise 400 acres on
which all the produce for the institu-
ton is raised. Mr.. Hoyt is especially
proud of his hog farm where he raises
all of his pork, and it is of the finest
grade.
From point of scenery the institution
could not have been more charmingly
located, though the climate for an all
year residence is not quite the best, be-
ing as it is at an altitude of over 5000
feet
e-@nlA