The evening times., 1899-07-21
people. that is practically the way in
which We celebrate our national holiday.
1t is time that this thing received con-
Sideratinn
A snIutary Change.

An interesting experiment has lately
been tried at the Kansas State Penitentiary,
and it appears to be turning out well. The
usual convict suit with its transverse
stripes has been discarded, and the men
clothed in uniform of grey. Infractions
of discipline are sometimes punished by
compelling the culprit to don the striped
uniform once more.
This idea is not a new one. 1t was first
adopted in the Elmira Reformatory. where
sort of merit system has long been in
use 1t is the outcome Of conviction on
the part of men interested in prison re-
form that self-respect is the mightiest
agency in that direction known to man,
and that anything which tends to destroy
it should be Stunned in prison discipline.
while everything possible should be done
to awaken this feeling 1t is the old idea
that bad man cannot be made better by
treatment which would render reason
ably good man bad, and most people know
by experience that the loss of some degree
Of self-respect opens THE door to tempta-
ton sso9fo lts
The convicts in the Kansas penitentiary
are engaged in various occupations. There
is coal mine employing nearly three hun
dred men. and there are also furniture
horse collar. and shoe plants. The CLOTH
ing of the convicts is made in the tailor
shop. which is superintended by a train
! robber. There has been some complaint
of the encroachments of convict labor. but
it is probable that, If the men were kept
idle they would do more damage on their
release from prison than the sale of their
goods can possibly do now. Moreover,
most of the things manufactured by them
| are used in the prison itself.
| The world Is gradually coming to realize
| that the great object of prison discipline is
| not so much punitive as reformatory. To
| the criminal in his natural state OF re-
bellion against society the two look very
| much alike. Being deprived of his liberty
| and made to work hard and behave HIM
self is considerable 'afiiction to the nat
ural outlaw. and he is the man whom the
| punitive system should most affect. But
| there are other offenders among those
sentenced for slight offences, who have
| drifted into a life of crime through force
of circumstances. and to such men the
reformatory measures which foster self
respect and good intentions are godsend.
| If they were imprisoned merely as pun
| ishment, and nothing was done TO improve
them mentally. morally, or physically,
| they would, in the majority of cases, come
| out worse than they went in. To the
criminals ignorant or vicious determina-
| tion to defy the law would be added the
incentive of escaping punishment already
experienced. The prison has done its best
| work only when the criminal emerges from
its doors with the ability and desire to
| earn his living and become decent citi-
zen for the rest of his life. The stripes
do not contribute to this end. and how
ever necessary they may have been when
prisons were less secure and the law less
potent than now, there are many institu-
tions in which something else might well
be substituted for the unsightly and de-
grading old convict uniform.