The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-07-06
He TEACHES THE CONvICTS
STRANGE PICTURE is THAT IN
A MISSOURI PRISON.
Work of Penitentiary Guard Who Has
Appointed Himself PedagOgue
For Illiterate Prisoners,

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-The
-4noroest school in all the world, per-
bone is that which is maintained in
HaiIhOuse in the state penitentiary
6ora the greatest prison in the coun-
NV Everything that ordinarily is
sound in a school room is missing in
+bis instance. There are no orderly
lows of vanished and polished seats;
M fresh and hopeful young faces,
FIJI of the JOY of living. No daily
ecboo1 mistress gives out the lessons
and listens to the recitations. In
stoad an orderly man, slow of speech
and movement, moves from one to
onotber of the grimy cells, polished
Inv the scuff1ing movements of gen.
Grafton of Gagged men, and listens
tn their recitations through the
Grated doorways of the narrow cham
bers.
The illiterate thieves, burglars,
nickpockets, porch climbers, horse
thieves and murderers OF the state
of Missouri are going to school to
one of the prison guards, whose only
reward is his satisfaction in helping
his unfortunate fellow men, The
whole of the states burden of edu-
eating these convicts lies upon the
somewhat bent and stopped should
ers of Eli Jenkins, who appears upon
the pay roll of the state as a prison
guard. But when the history of the
education of convicts in Missouri
comes to be written his name will
appear as the pioneer in the new
methods of dealing with criminals.
How the School Began.
Some years ago Jenkins, who was
formerly a country teacher, secured
the position of guard in the prison,
and after a time was transferred
from the outer wall, where he sat
with a rifle in his hand, to one of
the cellhouses. While making his
rounds every night he began to do a
little Investigating among the men
under his care, and found that they
: sat bTooding in their cells hour after
q hour after their release from the
shops and factories. He began to
ask them about the books that they
were reading. Many of them con-
j fessed that they were unable to read
Many others were found without the
q slightest knowledge of how to write
a letter.
The old feeling of the pedagogue
was aroused He got out his old
school books, cherished mementos of
his former profession, carried them
down TO the prison and put them into
the callOused hands of those who had
shown some desire to better them
selves. He took part of his none
s. too-generous salary, and with il
bought copy books and primers for
MS boys" Slowly the roll of his
q pupils grew until now his class con-
SlSts OF 100 men, all of whom are
most anxious TO learn. Their school
books are their most cherished pos
sessions. They are carefully put
away each night just before the
nights are turned out. On Sundays
and holidays they work all day long
when they are not attending chapel
services.
A Strange Picture.
1t is a strange picture, the night
=, WI 'ouSAI ny one lonely man IN
.ne penitentiary. The cells rise in
lour tiers along the gloomy corridor.
where the guards pace to and fro.
a lew electric lights cling high along
yHe IRON gratings and feebly light the
long nall, The men are in their cells.
ana everything is quiet save for the
measured footsteps of the guard pac-
tns pack and forth along the steel
MOOR As soon as the men have gone
lIto their cells Jenkins, the self-ap-
BoinIed teacher, makes his way pain
!plIy up the three flights of steps to
,ne Top tier of cells. He goes from
o1e grated door to another asking
a. 10 their progress, advising them,
oo;AplaalnIng problems to them and as
ing. u A0- '-l0 A'e-N' W o'-
remarkable progress is made by
ooue OF the men, and singulaily
tpousn' mathematics appeal strongly
d considerable number.
come of those educated by Jenkins
a aase made good after serving their
0N'euCeS and re-eutaring the world