Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-05-05
LILLIAN
HARTMAN
JOHNSON
SUBMITS TO AN INTERVIEW CON.
cERNING THE STATE PENITEN-
rIARY AT CANON CITY.


the state peniteb,iary. and the follow
ing Interview with her concerning the
same Will be Of interest to our read
crs are sure
why did | stop of at Canon Cityf
well, II you want the real reason.
I shall have TO tell you little story.
Go on"
e In the year 1876 young man
OF eighteen years. handsome and
courageous. whose only capital was
youthful hope and ambition. walked
from Del Norte TO Canon City. crossing
with great peril the then trachleHs
wastes and mountain fhstneeses. 10
take positicn on the editorial stan
of the Canon City Avalanche. In
that time of pony erpross long days
of anxious waiting were paused by a
mother and sister left behind before
the arrival Of the first letter. Among
other things, this letter said there
were no saloons in Canon. and many
churches. and the mothers eyes
glistcncd with tears Of Joy as she
thought Of her good old Methodiet
affiliations back ia Indiana. and while
the din OF music from neighboring
dance hall rang upon hor ears she
offered silent thanks to the Kind Prov.
idence that had guided the pride Of
her heart 10 a place where there were
no saloons AZ the close of this lot
ter he admonished HIS little sister 20 be
good and woDanly aud some day he
would reward hrr hy bringing her
and her mother to beautiful Canon
Hut borne by capricioue Fate on tho
hckla billows Of mRny mining boomh
this little family noatod TO all towns
but this sinsularly good town.
which through all these years has
maintained ltA reputation for morality
The sister anxious 20 soc the novel
spectanl. nf moral village, and
wishing 10 show her son the big poni'
tcntiary wbor. IL sent the guilty who
have the misfortune 90 get caught.
or are victims Of the more ostraor
binary calamity Of falling 20 secure a
nichio-inthe-sioi jury. TrstlHod de
sire Of 2s years standing
How many inmaics are there now.
IN the pepltentiary :"
There are si2. Of whom only ie
ara women"
This argues well for the moral
superiority Of your sex
You are mistaken sir, n IL only
because women do not sit on initos
that women are not convicted "
women had the same chance TO sit
In judgmeu, on their sisters that mon
have. II lH safe 10 presume, that hp'
preparations for penal Institutions
would have 20 be greatly Increased
why do hold this view
because OF their ever ready con
dcmnatlou OF any offending sister in
society
What ofrense are the women most
commonly up for In CanonY"
Most OF them are IN for larceny,
and the majority of them at present
are colorch They are not put at
hard labor an the men are. but have
only their cooking and housekeeping
TO do, and ma their rooms are only
four fee, wide there ia not much
brio nhrac 20 dust, though the fomin-
Inc artistic taste Ia apparent for the
walls of their celis aro covered with
trifes of an ornamental character,
and here, rs elsewhere about the In
situation. everything is scrupulouHly
neat and clean"
What effect do you think has prin-
on confinement on the criminalT"
THE born criminal II hardens and
makes more desperate. he thinks OF
nothing but TO make HIS escape. and
loses no time In repeating his sins,
The criminal from environment Ia
likely 10 make the best Of bis incar,
eern,ion. improve In knowledge and
In morals. and emerge thcrefrom
prepared TO become useful citizen.
He who has become criminal
through single circumstance. prison
confinement makes neither better nor
worse He probably feels the same
remorse for his mistake that he would
experience II tcft at liberty Antoine
Wood IL case In point OF one who
became criminal through environ
msnt Nine years ago he was but
II years OF age and with his unedu
Gated German parents he lived In a
high walled canon near Boulder He
had no school advantage. no play
mates aud no pastimo but hunting
and while engaged IN the latter sport.
one day he encountered n traveller
who had a siivor watch that he much
admired and coveted and with no
more compuneton than II killing an
animal he shot the man and possess
ed himself of the watch Since that
time he has been an inmate at Canon.
and has been adluded by authorities
on criminology a degenerate. but n
conversation with the young man
must call for something more conclu-
sive to prove this TO be a fact, for
Antoine Wood, now twenty years OF
age shows tendencies that must set
aside this verdict. or cause such
theory 10 be seriously doubted He
has thoroughly ideal nature, having
developed with only meager instruc-
tion of the crudest sort into an ac-
complished musician and artist He
leads two orchestras and interprots
the classic composers with great
skill, while the work of his brush
promises much for his future por-
trait in oil OF Governor Orman aud
one OF Warden Martin. Just finished
hv Apfone WAS exhibited with Just