Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1909-05-19
CONVICTS REFORMED.
Warden Sanders of Fort Madison
Prison Has Novel Ideas, and
DevOtes Efforts to Reclaim
ing Men in His Charge.

Warden j. C. Sanders, of the
states prison at Fort Madison, for
mer base ball umpire, school teacher
and band leader, will stand one
test of greatness. He has enough
enemies and friends to be divided
into two different camps, one Of
them after the warden's scalp and
the other bent on continuing him in
Office for his reforms.
Warden Sanders has gone further
in prison reforms than any other
prison reformer in the last century.
He has abolished stripes as a
badge of the convict in his prison;
now his prisoners wear q checked
suit, or gray clothing similar to a
mail carriers.
He has formed a glee club and
trained an orchestra from among his
prisoners, and gives them a lecture
| course of five members during the
NihNCl, III llC ilSOn CndpCl.
He leaves sixty of his $50 cell
doors unlocked every night, allow
ing trusted prisoners to roam the
corridors. He allows TRUSTEES to
make trips unguarded through the
town and into a neighboring state.
He has made convict clerk and
assistant warden of the prison.
Sanders has given prisoners the
! privilege of wearing boiled" shirts
and white collars on Sundays and
! holidays.
He has organized two basket ball
! teams among his prisoners and al
lows base ball and basket ball prac-
! tice every noon after dinner.
i A trained orchestra plays for the
prisoners at meals.
Flowers are cultivated in the pris-
on yard and surroundings to en-
hance the prisoners sense of beauty.
The solitary cell as punishment
has been abolished.
| More prisoners are in the night
school than any other institution oil
! the sort in the world, with 200 OF
! the men studying. One man in the
+, prison is studying Spanish and two
men are graduate doctors of opto-
metry.
The warden has put prisoners ION
their honor" not to escape, and but
two have got away since last April.
Why?
''My methods not only increase
prison discipline, strange as that
may seem," he says, but they are
for the better protection of society
as we'll as for the prisoners benefit.
"The old idea that a prisoner is
sent here to punish him is false as
Judas. He is sent here, primarily,
for protection of society.
''The way to protect society, hold,
! is not TO abuse the prisoner during
his term here, to beat him and curse
him, and punish him, and turn him
out filled with resentment and re-
yenge-to protect society
THE thing to do with that man is
to treat him like human, restore,
in so far as possible, his self-respect,
to teach him TO hold up his head and
leave this prison like a man, to do a
mans work.
With life convicts the warden ad-
vocates that he be released when the
warden believes he is fit for release.
He believes that music is the great
est influence for good that can be
brought into a prisoners life, and
he gives it to his men at every pos
sible opportunity.
He believes that the old stripes
were a baneful influence, influencing
convict to make a low estimate of
himself, and do low things accord
ingly. He wants his men to hold
their heads as high as the next man,
and adopt high standard of living.
The warden has such implicit con-
fidence in his men that his only son,
eight years old, is placed in the care
Of negro burglar. who was for
years the terror of the police in Des
MOines, as nurse, and the negro
bad man wakes the child in the
morning, puts him to bed at night
plays with him outside the prison
yard, and cares for him like father.
The merchant who does not ad-
vertise may possibly get a reputa-