The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-10-29
WORK AMONG CRIMINALS
ADDRESS by CHAPLAIN COMFORT,
OF INDIANA REFORMATORY.
He Is Heard at Mayfiower Congrega-
tionnI Church-Rev. II. &. Meserve's
Sermon Other Services.

j. w Comfort, chaplain and State agent
OF the Indiana Reformatory, delivered an
interesting address last night at the May
flower Congregational Church on 1.-The
Work of the Indiana Reformatory." Mr..
Comfort remarked that he did not intend
to preach, because that not his GUS
tom. He said he never preached to his
boys at the Reformatory, because he be-
lieved that many of them had been made
antagonistic to the gospel of Jesus Christ
by the way it had been preached to them
at cross-country churches He said he al
ways made short addresses at the Refor-
matory and that IL he perceived the pris-
oners were becoming tired of the subject
he knew when TO stop.
With reference to his subject Mr.. Com
fort said in part: 1.-THE Indiana Reforma-
tory is only one of four penal institutions
In the State of Indiana. i have not the
time, therefore, To refer TO any institu-
tion except my own. AS is generally
known, only those prisoners are sent to US
who are under thirty years of age, serving
sentence for first conviction and who
have received an indeterminate sentence.
The question is often asked me, How
many prisoners do you have in your insti-
tution?' and L say to those who ask me.
TO answer The number will vary from day
to day. Last Friday the count was $50.
which is very low figure for this time
of year. After the fall term of the various
courts has commenced and prisoners who
have been awaiting trial are sentenced the
number may be more than 800. But on the
whole the number of prisoners in the In
diana Reformatory is decreasing.
HOW TO ACCOUNT FOR 1T.
81 account for this In three ways. First,
on account of the war. / don't want you
| to understand that the army is recruited
| entirely from the criminals and the vaga-
| bonds in the country, but L think 1t fair TO
presume that many men and boys have
| enlisted in the army who might otherwise
have drifted into the Reformatory. The
| second reason that L assign is the splendid
| business activity that has been omnipres-
| ent throughout the length and breadth of
| our whole country during the last three
Years yea s, NOM S;na qo a aoou.
politician, but this | do know, that the
| employment of idle hands leaves no time
i for thoughts OF crime and that honest
/ employment knocks a hole in the record
/ of crime The last reason that L assign for
/ the decreased number of prisoners is the
| fact that Indiana has intermediate
| sentence law, and experience teaches US
| that the criminal would far rather commit
4 his depredatiOnS in a State where his sem
/ tence did not depend upon his good be-
/ havior, and a consequence many GRIM
| inals have given Indiana wide berth.
| THE experiences of a criminal after
coming to the RSformatory many and
| various, and L could not detail them all
| TO you In a much longer time than have
this evening: But suffice to say they are
/ "A plenty. When he is first brought to the
| institution by the sheriff of the county
| from which he is sentenced he perchance
/ takes a last puff on his cigar as ne comes
Il ha ma i'm
| hall 1t Is. indeed, a last puff for tobacco
/ is a tabooed article, and unless Ii is SNUG
gled to him he viii. have none of 1t until
/ he is released
| HE is turned over by the sheriff-say
/ Sheriff Cyrus j. Clark, of your own county
and i want to say IL my opinion there
/ is better officer in the United States
to-day-to the officials OF our institution
| as so much baggage, and We must receipt
an express package. After all. a prisoner
| Is only chattel, and has for time lost
all the rights and privileges of citizenship
We search him first. then battle him-and
| by the way some OF them need it-then he
Is examined by a physician and taken into
| q little room, where he is measured by the
| Bertillon system
WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR.
when a has gone through those
four things, even though it has only been
twentyfour hours since he threw his last
cigar away, he begins to feel that the way
the prisoner is graded. We have three
grades, the upper. lower and middle.
The lower grade prisoners are dressed in
stripes. the middle grade in checks and
the first grade in blue. A new prisoner Is
always put in the middle grade, where he is
kept for six months. and then If he is de-
serving he is promoted to the first grade
and given suit of blue. And never was a
l nf
prisoner who has been promoted to the
blue. 1T is touching to note with what
pride he dons his new apparel and how
proudly he carries himself among his fell
| lows His pride is we would have it, for
we know at the bottom of IL lies self-re-
spect, and 1t is apparent to you all that a
man must first respect himself and his own
| rights before he will respect the rights of
others. After the prisoner is graded he is
set TO work, and want to say TO you that
| there are no drones in our hive. Many men
come 10 the institution with that loathsome
disease called laziness but it is swiftly and
surely eradicated. We have three kinds
| OF contract work, namely, shoe making
pants making and hollow ware work.
| Owing to the fact that number of our
contracts have run out. and you know that
under the law no new contracts can be
made, We have had TO establish trade
| schools, and they are proving TO be of ex-
cellence. Men and boys who had no trade
or business calling In the world go forth
from the Reformatory equipped with trade
with which they can make an excellent
| living and lead an honest life.
STRICTNESS FELT
"One thing prisoner feels is the strict
ness of the institution. The laws are rig
idly enforced, and yet we have no corporal
punishment. Four years ago the lash was
abolished in the Reformatory, and do not
believe that it will ever be used again
Eve punish by loss of grade and some
times by solitary confinement. There are
few of the boys who would not rather
have the lash than lose their grade. which