, 1899-01-31
TUESDAY JANUARY 81, 1899.
THE PENTTENTIARY.

In the confinement of criminals the
first consideration of the state should
be their humanitarian treatment. The
duty of government is elevation. not
degradation. If men are properly
treated there is no reason why they
should not come from the p~enitentiary
walls better men for the legal COrrec-
tion they have been compelled to un-
dergo.
Under the old regime at the Wyo-
ming penitentiary it was no uncOm-
NOR thing for prisoners to be pro
nounced insane and taken to the asy,
fum, but since the advent of Warden
Mcdonald and extending through the
management of Lessee Boswell that has
all been changed. Men confined close
ly without a chance to properly eXer-
else rapidly decline to a condition
worse than savage beasts. When Gov.
w. A. Richards came into Office he at
once discovered the serious condition
at the Wyoming penitentiary and set
about remedying the evils. He saw
that something must be don in the
way of furnishing employment for the
convicts and when the contract was
made with Mr.. Boswell it was under
stood with him that he must furnish
employment, the contract STIMULATING
that the labor of the convicts belong
ed to the lessee. With this agreement
MIR. Boswell contracted to keep the
%conviots at a very low rate, lower than
they could possibly be kept were it
MOI for the profit derived from the la
Dor. Some labor was necessary aside
from the work IN the farm and a broom
factory was chosen as the best mea
through which to give the men en-
ployment. The machinery and mater
ial necessary for this enterprise cost
the lessee s22 900 before he received a
cent in return, but if let alone he is
now in a fair way to realize some re
turn for the large outlay.
1t is urged by some that the Laramie
prison is not safe. Let Those who make
the assertion compare the record OF
the prisons Of surrounding states and
they will see that Wyoming is in ad-
vance of them all. We have had fewer
escryes than any of our n%eighbors.
Healthf,if employment and good food
have made the men more conteuted
with their lot and the idle brain so apt
" termed the DEVILS workshop has
been given an opportunity TO wor up
on something for the good of human
ity rather than to remain in Incidence
to c~onjure up plans of escape. In gen
eral, criminals are o lazy men,: they
are active and long for something to
do to occupy their time. The result of
the labor given them has been very
beneficial. After working all day they
can eat heartily and lie down TO sound
slumber. The best evidence of their
improved condition lies in the fact that
the combined weight of he prisoners
has increased 1,400 during the last
wear, III Is dsStltth, dllu w 10 lIu'iN
reason to doubt the statement, that
the prisoners at the Laramie pen1ten-
tiary have had vegetables in greater
variety and fresher than the people OF
Laramie have had. This accounts in
a degree for the good health of the in
mates Of the institution.
Ns. po.uyah y,,,rbau for rho follow
ing as an accurate statement of the
amoun of produce of every descrip-
tion raised on the penitentiary farm
ait Laramie during the season of 1898:
The entire tract of state land adjoin-
ing the penitentiary is under the Plo-
neer canal, which furnishes an abund-
ant water supply for irrigation pur-
poses through the numerous bitches
and laherals which have been con-
structed. Only a part of the land has
beer worked for gardening purposes,
but the results of last seasons work
were very successful so far as attempt
ed. The harvest of 1898 shows a pro-
duct of 272 bushels of oats, which will
he sufficient t o grain the three teams
kept at the farm during the year.
There were raised 1903 bushels of wheat
and SO bushels of barley, which be-
sides being used for fattening hogs,
will feed the three hundred chickens
kept at the farm, thus supplying the
officers and guards tables with an
abundance of eggs and furnishing
chicken dinners for the prisoners on
holidays. During the recent epidemic
of the grippe the sick were supplied
with chicken and chicken broth, as we'll
other delicacies furnished from the
farm products.
During the past season 20 tons OF sug-
ar beets have been raised, thus prov
ing that the soil is adapted to this pro-
duct. These have been fed to cows n
have fattened two for the prison
table already. A large quantity OF
beets still remain in the cellar. Five
tons Of red beets were raised last year.
furnishing all tables with pickles the