Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-02-27
WOMEN In KANSAS PRISON.
VISIT TO THE FEMALE DEPART
MENT OF LANSING PENITESTIARY.
OF the 800 ~risOner Nineteen Are
WOmcn-Hnd of These Seven, Four
White md Three Colored, Were
Convicted of Murder.

Convicted of Murder.
1t is an interesting old road, called the
pike" which stretches out a length of
four miles to the south of L~eavenworth
and terminates at the state penitentiary.
On the right hand are dark, thick, wooded
hills. with the Catholic orphan asylum
standing out in bold relief AT one place and
Mount st. Mary's academy barely visible
through the thick brush at another. On
the left lies the Missouri river, with ma
chine shops on the one side and dead stalks
of last years growth on the other, and,
further along, the Soldiers home, with its
broad brick pavements, wide lawns and
roomy buildings. AT the end of the white
road, which, windswept, sends up a cloud of
birding dust. loom the dark buildings Of
the state penal institute.
The white painted wood of the window
frames presents a marked contrast to the
smoke-stained stones of the buildings and
walls. The dark towers rise in the clear
light OF the sky and suggest the turreted
walls of a medieval castle. Within the
enclosure the illusion might still be kept up,
for barred entrances in an impenetrable
rock wall shut out the world beyond. and
the buildings within face only each other.
The Industries of the Penftentiary.
To form a correct idea of the industries
carried on at the state penitentiary one
should visit the place on one of the regu-
lar work days. But before one is permitted
TO see the workings of the shoemaking.
clothes making or harness rooms or 10
witTesS the dish washing, bread baking or
coffee making of the kitchens, the guide
Will probably go first into the cellroom. This
IS 4 rectangular room, with an aisle running
between the walls and an inner three
Stored structure which contains the cells.
There is a flight of stairs at each end OF
this structure and a narrow balcony run
ming along the sides of the upper stories.
The stone and ironwork in this room is
PARTED white. The narrow cells have no
| light save that admitted through the graf
ing of the narrow doors and contain four
bare walls and a bunk. The So-called closed
cells have not even this much, and the
convict whose misbehaviOr compels him to
pass the night in one of these cells has q
stone floor for a mattress, his own arm for
a pillow and pitch darkness to cover him.
The Women's Department.
A visitor who was recently shown through
the penitentiary, after having seen the in
dustrial work, was finally brought up in
front of the rear wall.
Are We through" she inquired. But
where are your women" The visitor, be-
ing a woman. knew she would be admitted
into the woman'S department.
Il am taking you there replied the
guide. as he led the way to a corner where
the east and north walls are joined by a
stone tower. lnere Is an lrON-DdrreQ grass
door below; overhead two windows, on.
above the other in line with the door. The
upper window lets the light into the little
circular room of the guardsman in whose
power 1t is to furnish an open sesame to all
who come properly attended. The guide
opened the door and himself and his com.
panion stepped inside. Here the stone and
ironwCrk presented the same white surfaces
as in other parts of the penitentiary. y
narrow stairway winds around the wall,
terminating in the guardsman's room. There
We're two other doors beside the one
through which the visitor had entered. One
was an outside entrance, the other led into
the yard of the women's quarters. After a
sound of grating iron in the little room
opened the latter door and stepped out
with his companion once more into the
fresh, free air.
A stretch of smooth lawn. with a width
greater by three-fourths than its DEPTH,
constitutes the dooryard of the women's
quarters. A high wall in front cuts off
any view of the outer world. and the
guardsmen on high in the tower at either
end of the walls keep a vigalant eye on
the premises. The house is a one-story-
with-a-basement stone building. facing east,
with the date of its erection, 1880, cut above
the front door.
MatrOns in Charge.
Two matrons have charge of the women's
quarters of the state penitentiary. Their
rooms are on either side of the main hall,
~iiiC iIlllldltS III Lie large StlltTdl SIT
ting room. In this room the women con-
victS We're sitting and sewing. Those who
could do finer work were hemstitching: the
others were at work on carpet rags. Here
the matron took charge of the visitor and
showed the cells opening off from the main
room. These cells are not such as the
term is ordinarily understood. They are
rather comfortable sized rooms. arranged
for three occupants. CounterpaneS and
pillowshams are. to be seen on the beds,
while soft white curtains have been hung
at the windows, and the plain, painted
board boxes which the state has furnished
for the slowing away of clothing nave
been draped in white. The visitor ex-
pressed her surprise at the homelike aps
p~earGnce.
'Al this the matron explained. touch
Ing the drapery of the boxes, was made
out of -four sacks"
BY the women here?'
Yes: under direction, of course"
In the basement of the house, however,
are seine of the ordinary cells. and these
are used to some extent now. owing to the
increased number of women %convicts. Here
are also the closed punishment cells, but
these contain a wooden cot for the prisoner
to throw herself upon.
Women Will Talk.
do you have occasion to use these?"
Yes, frequently"
And for what offense are they used?'
Usually for quarreling. The women are
not apt to rebel at the tasks they are set
TO, but they often get TO talking too much
as they sit together at their work, and
that usually ends in a quarrel.
They are permitted to ak over here,
then: They are not in the other depart
ments."
Yes, I let them talk replied the matron.
Il think it does them good, as long as they
talk quietly"
a glance into the dining room revealed a
table set with plates of thick earthenware,
tin cups and pewter knives and forks. The
women have Il fifteen minute recess in the
middle of the afternoon. When the visitor
had been ushered again into the sitting
room the matron rang a bell. the signal
that recess was over. and the women
flocked back to their carpet rags from then
rooms or from out of doors.
Ont of a total enrolment of 800 convicts.
there are nineteen women at the state
pe%nitentiary. of these. eleven are colored
and eight are white. OF the nineteen. seven
are convicted of murder. and of the seven
four are white and three colored. House
breaking. highway robbery and arson are
the other charges. Galena, Wichita. Leav-
enworth counties. Lawrence. Manhattan.
Newton. Topeka and Eureka are some of
the places represented. and Oklahoma,
Wichita and Topeka have more than one
representative. The women are off duty
during the evenings and spend the time in
~fancywork and in reading. The matron re-
ports that they are. on the whole. orderly
and obedient. They expect to serve their
time out. in case they are not pardoned
before its expiration. They often feel the
need of a ccnfidant and tell their troubles