The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-12-26
REFORM AT THE PEN
BaIlinger Wants Separate
Place for Desperate Ones.
GUARDS ARE TOO FEW
For the Number of Prisoners
Working in Mines,

Topeka, kan, Dec. @.-The members Of
the board Of directors Of the state peni-
Tertiary viii ask The legislature to pro
vide an enclosure. surrounded by high
wall, containing a number of cells, in
which it Is the purpose Of the board to
place the more desperate convcts.
1t IS also the purpose Of the board to
ask for authority to establish q prison
rockpile which viii be within the encios-
ure mentioned, and the desperadoes who
are now in the coal mines VIII be put on
Top OF the ground at hard labor on the
stone pile
AS IL is the purpose Of the advocates Of
good roads ask Tor law permitting the
convicts to be worked on public roads,
the stone pile would be an advantageous
arrangement from which broken rock
FOR matchmaking could be obtained at
small expense The state has the rock
and The labor, consequently the principal
expense would be the shipment of the
broken stone
q. e. Ballinger. a member Of the board
Of directors in Topeka explained this plan
which The board has ia mind Mr.. Bal
lnger said.
The desperate convicts are now work
cd in the coal mines, is the safest in the
world for them, when as a matter Of fact
1t is the easiest place from which the
convicts might escape.
There are Il guards for 200 prisoners in
the coal mines. bur the guards carry no
guns II they did it would be possible
III any time for that number of convicts
- oVerp0wer the guards, obtain posses
of the weapons and be prepared to
make fight when they reached the top.
ci The ground on their way to liberty.
There is less dlcp.ine 10 the coal mines
too.' continued Mr.. Ballinger. "The prls-
oners are permitted 10 talk whenever
they please It would be on impossibilitv
to enforce a rule to the contrary. becaus.
some Of them work several hundred fee
from the guards.
AS matter Of fact the coal mine is
the snap job in the prison. The pris-
oners talk and visit among themselves
while working, while those outside are
NOT permitted to ralk to each ether
The safe-keepLng of the desperate men
In the prison can not be ACCOMPLISHED
successfully In the coal mines. The only
way in which this difficulty can be over
come, in the opinion u the directors. is
70 new nan az dealing with
them.
THE board has considered the matter
very carefully. and we have decided that
the best and safest thing to do is to put
these men where they can be guarded
more successfully and in such a place as
the rules of the prison may be enforced.
1T has been the custom of the manage
ment Of the prison to deal kindly with
this class Of criminals, but we find that
The better we treat them the worse they
get
Those who are kept in the coal mines
have better time and come less within
the disciplinary measures than any Other
class Of prisoners. While it is regarded
Rs the hard labor proposition, it is not
so by any means.
An enclosure, safe and sure. cells and
q stone pile. In the opinion of the man
agement. viii do more to bring about or
der among the desperate men than the
coal mine. We hope to obtain legislation
Of this character at the coming session.