Mesa free press., 1899-06-02

A writer in the New York Sun be-
lieves that great deal of time, and
great strain on the eyes Of readers,
might be saved, If, instead Of printing
all the lines from left to right, they
should be printed to read from left to
right and from right to left in alterna
ton, thus:
We, the people of the United States in order
establish Union perfect more form to
justice, Insure domestic tranquility, provide
general the promote defense common the for
welfare and secure the blessings of liberty
and crdain do ,posterity our and ourselves to
establish this Constitution for the United
America of States
But it is not the steady movement
Of the eyeball, as 1t follows the words
from one end of the line to the other,
which tires the eye so much, as the
quick reversal, as, under present meth
DDS, the gaze passes from the right to
the left of the page. And under the
plan proposed by the Sun contributor.
such quick reversal would have to be
made not merely for every succeeding
line, but for every word in the lines
reading from right to left, before it can
be recognized; so that in the above
specimen there would be twenty-five
fatiguing movements of the eyeball in
stead of six, as under the prevailing
method of arrangement. The suggested
change would be anything but condu-
Give to the retention Of good vision.
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The Ohio penitentiary has become an
educational institution of no mean or
der, for one of Its most important de-
partments is that devoted to the educa-
ton Of the convicts, in which the
branches taught in the primary and
grammar grades of the public schools
form the basis Of instruction. A re-
port shows that last year there were
in attendance at this school ITO con-
commodated, but besides there were
about 800 applicants for admission to
the school. From this it appears that
there Is no charge made for tuition or
books, and that attendance is entirely
voluntary. The school opens after the
men have had their suppers, and the
session lasts for an hour and half to
two hours, the entire corps Of instruc-
tors being themselves cOnvicts. In the
year 1898 the number of prisoners re.
ceived at the penitentiary was 1912,
Of whom 1874 could read and write in
differently, while 242 were wholly illit
crate, not knowing the letters Of the al
phabet. Fromsthese two classes, which
composed "a per cent of the total. the
pupils of the school are taken. The
number Of prisoners who had attended
the school and were discharged in 1898
was 800, who ranged in age all the way
from Is to so years. The number now
enrolled in the school Is 71S, divided
into two classes, as there is not room
ample for the accommodation of so
large number at one time, and these
are taught by twenty-seven convict
teachers. 1t Is significant to observe
from the report that there has never
been pupil or a teacher reported for an
infraction of a prison rule, the deport-
ment being perfect. Under these cir.
cumstances it would seem that each
State should officially take some notice
of these schools and pass regulations
under which they may be encouraged
and their usefulness increased. Since
ignorance is the chief promoter of
crime, nothing better can be done for
these unfortunate criminals than to
give them the rudiments of an educa-
ton while they are under the control Of
the State.