The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1908-09-16
TO DOFF STRIPES
FOR GRAY SUITS
innovation to be institute
ed at Prison.
TO INTRODUCE GRADE SYSTEM
Which Will Mark Good Be-
havior of Prisoners
The 'SOlitarieS."

Frankfort, KY, Sept. 12.--Prison
stripes, mark of degradation and a
badge of shame, will soon be a thing
of the past in the penitentiary, except
for those oonvicts who do mot care
to rise above their surroundings and
who are content to be singled out as
incprrigible. AS soon as new suits
can be made for the prisoners, the old
striped suits, which have been in use
here ever since the prison was built,
and which have become the mark OF
the convict in every State in the I'm
ton, will be discarded. Every convict in
the prison will be clothed in a neat
gray suit, but little different, except
in texture and quality OF goods, from
suits worn by citizens in the ordinary
walk Of life. Every convict will be
placed ON the same footing and start
ed equally. Further than this, each
convict will eat with a knife and
fork and will be put on the same foot
ing as men who are not prisoners.
Heretofore the men have not been al
lowed knives and forks and have been
forced TO eat everything with a spoon.
It Is a daring experiment that Is be-
nag tried by the Board Of Prison Com
nissioners and Warden Z. E. hudd,
and they have been told that 1t cannot
be successful, but Col Mudd believes
that II will help the work in the prie-
On, as we'll as raising the standard
among the men. They Will be given
an incentive for good behavior and
will have something for which to
work.
In connection with the system OF
grading the convicts according To their
conduct, the Prison Commission will
establish a rule for paroles by which
q convict cannot secure a parole UNI
hess he comes up TO a certain mark
and maintains a certain standard for
@ given period. 1t is regarded as i'm
practicable to establish a rule by
which convict can secure parole
after having maintined high grade
for a certain period, as many of the
worst criminals make the best CON
victs and are perfectly behaved as
long as they are under restraint. But
by reaching a certain standard OF
conduct and maintaining certain
grade the convict will be in direct line
for parole and if the board finds other
things 30 justify it, the convict can
get his parole.
In the beginning every man will be
put in a gray suit. There will be no
distinction shown, and it will depend
upon the man himself whether he
goes up or down. Only two kinds of
suits will be used One will be gray
and the other the old stripes. If
man does not behave he will be put
back into stripes for thirty days, and
at the end of that, given another
chance tO keep his gray UNIFORM. Adj
ditional marks for god behavior will
be used If convict keeps his gray
uniform for a year, he will be given
badge to Weir on his coat. Two years
grod behavior will entitle a man 10
stripe on his coat sleeve and five
years good behavior will give a man
gold stripe Longer th-n tnat period
would add to the number of gold
stripes.
The exact graduation Of the CON
vics has not been decided upon, but
Col Mudd is preparing his schedule.
At present there is nothing to show
how long a convict has been in the
prison, o. what his conduct has been.
The well-behaved cOnvicts canrCt be
distinguished from tine disOIderly and
troublesome. For instance. "a convict
name ChTisman, from Jessamine coun-
ty, has been in the prison sixteen
years and during that time not a sim
gle mark has been recorded against
him and he hes never been reported
for any reason. He has nothing to
distinguish him from the other prison.
ers but If this new rule had been i'm
force when he was admitted and had
been maintained he would have gold
stripes all over him.
Six new cells are being built at the
penitentiary. These are to be used as
"solitaries," where Obstreperous pris-
sners are to be confined for violation
OF the prison rules. The cells are built
Of concrete and are sound-proof, so
that a prisoner. In one of the cells,
will be cut off from all communication
with the outside. He will never see
anybody or hear anything. II is be-
Ieved that this method OF punishment
win be more effective and hess cruel
nRa the dungeon. In other prisons
where men are placed In the SOLITARY
ssls, they are fed only on bread and