The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-02-17
AIMS TO UPL|FT
PRISON INMATES
Mrs Alfred Clifford Barney To
Start a League OF Notable
~ Women To Garry Out Pan.

I WASHINGTON Feb l6.-Mrs. Al.
bert clifford Barney. the fairy god
mother ot Washington society. an
Eounced MO important plans Tor tie
bettermept OF Ih' poor-frst. 81
Washing IN and other large cities and,
secondly the poor prisoners confined
In our !a'ls. workhCases and penItea.
tiaries
Mrs. Barney has inaeurated !
unique campaign fer the relief OF poof
prisoners She Is determined 10 starr
= league OF society women whose pur-
pose IL will be To aid and upift the
poor .all5ird, espe, ALLY when he is
Young. 20 this en- Mrs Barney Will
ners0nAll&- investigate tAA--aI.!. tiaiis
in the district jail and workhouse un.
der the guidance of the Prisoners Aid
society. She intends making a special
study OF all the conditions there. and
probably IA other large iails and peni.
tcntiaries throughout the country Her
determination TO take UP the prison
cause was brougat about oy the pa
thetic letter OF a prisoners motnt T.
written 10 Mrs. Barney after reading
the recent interview gwen by Ms
barney TO the New York American
and printed therein on Jan. 30
In this interviey Mrs. Barney out
lined plan OF GOV ernmental placing
of conyicts on untitled plantations and
farms throughout the country where
they might labor 70 raise wheat am
70 bake bread and produce other food
commodities for the people This IN
teryiev touched the mother heart % q
poor woman who has a son in the state
prison ar Wethe,sheld Conn. and she
wrote Mrs Barney begging her 20 pusl
her plan and give the boys in prison
a chance 10 do a mans work once
more in the world.
This letter so aroused Mrs. Barney
that she has deter mined 10 invest
gate prison conditions throughout the
country
Il Will see exactly how these ja,ls
are run, said Mrs. Barney and then
will hrst appeal 10 congress 10 ap-
propriate money tosbuild homes For
convicts out on the plains. Other
women who will aid me in this plar
are women or position whose hus
lands take a lively interest in the
politics 81 the country What risht
have We 10 erect hospitals for the ply
sically sick when the morally sick are
suffering and are confined In dens
which tend to irTitate their maladiesP
In about week | shall have a plan
which ! intend 20 place before coz
gress."
The other announcement is that Mrs.
Barney has given her secret process
OF dyeing cloth TO Neighborhood House
10 form Il new Industrial are among
the poor women OF Washington She
intends giving the secret to settlement
houses throughout the country in the
hope that thus new industry for
women may be started. She has q
beautiful exhibit OF the cloth dyed by
this process with the National Fashion
snow nov in session at the Arlington.
While in Persia last year Mrs. Barney
purchased some OF the Persian silks
for her own gowns, and so called in
chemist. and ne taught her the prin.
ciple OF dyeing Mrs. Barney expert
-mented day and night. and her knOwl-
edge OF art stood her in good stead.
Finally. almost by accident. she dis
covered a method of dyeing in the
most delicate tints and with the soft
est possible blending of colors, sur
passing in beauty her Persian fabrics.
on her return TO Washington Mrs.
Barney spent many hours teaching the
v omen and childreii OF Neighborhcod
House how 10 dye cloth in this new
secret process. Now Mrs. Barney de-
votes most OF her time to dyeing silks
for other women who are interested in
Neighborhood House Her quaint Itdl-
ian house. known as studio House. is
Uttered with tinted scarfs, dress pa
terms dyed 10 represent the setting sun
and the petals OF rose leaves and sam
Piles OF the var.egSted dyed Gibbons
and velvets.
Among her silks or exhibition a the
STYLE show is q beautiful satin bali
room gown. pattern dyed by Mrs. Bar
ney for Mrs Herbert Wadsworth and
designed to throw into RELIEF Mrs.
Wadsworth's piquaIt style OF beauty.
This satin Is dYed TO represent the
faintest flush OF the pink OF the setting
sun 20 the deep glory OF the crimson.
Another gown designed for Miss
Gladys Hinckley this years debu-
tante and already famous for he
beauty. is white velvet with huge pink,
almost invisible roses scattered over
ii. This is callej the Rose Petal
Gown. as when the wearer walks or
dances II looks Ike the soft pink OF
the palest pink rose
Also noticeable the exhibit are
the rainbow scarfs which all the wo-
men Of fashion are wearing this year
and which are known as Mrs. Bar
rey's sCarfs" some OF these are in
lavender with pansy in invisible pat
terms others snow tiny blue forget
me.nots on pale pink grounds. some
are in all the rainbow hues combined.
Eut they all have a subtle delicate col
oring past description.
Mrs Barneys ambition is 10 take
her exhibit 20 New York and then &c
Paris.