The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1912-03-07

mean?
| 1t means that when Warden Bak
er said he would give every man q
chance to be square, he meant just
that. He meant that he would give
every prisoner a chance to be a man
not guarded, hunted, hated, despis
ed beast rejecting in his own heart
! the hatred of his keepers. Baker
did 1t by the application of what he
calls the square deal" which Is
nothing more or less than another
way of putting the Golden Rule. He
did 1t by appealing to every good IN
stinct in his prisoners through love
and kindness and understanding; i'll
stead of appealing to every bad in.
stinct in them through hatred. And
is in the hearts OF men Tor responding
to the application of little love: in
the hearts of these imprisoned men,
too, some of them serving life SEN
fences for murder! It's surprising in
one way; and in another 1t isn't.
We have recognized all along that
the ordinary method of treating men
convicted of crimes in this country
SER es but to crush out vi them all
the latent good there may be in them,
and to turn them loose on society
when their prison terms have expired
filled with hatred for society and q
desire for revenge, and usually
pretty good education in the ways Of
attaining that revenge-an education
gained inside our prison walls, too
And so the really surprising thing is
that we haven't tried the other me-
tl.od long ago, m 'c.y IS an expert.
ment that might prove big saving
20 81 'ety, II for uo 1.-THE" reason!
That's what Baker thought. And
when he took charge of the prison
with full power to run it the way he
pleased, and with the backing of
Governor T. l.. Otie he tried the
other way. And IL is working!
Warden Baker abolished the de-
grading lock-step, the ball and chain
and the spy system among the con-
victs. He ventilated the cells, replac-
ed smoking kerosene lamps with ell
ectrlc lights, cleaned up the kitchens
and dining rooms, substituted good,
food for the cheap, infer
Tor fare of former days, gave the
prisoners plenty of good books and
to read, allowed half
holiday on Saturdays and all OF Sun
day for rest, and bought large farm
on which the men work unguarded.
He instituted many other reforms,
says Mr. Evans, but these are the
most important.
Warden Baker believes that all
men are brothers under their skins
or clothes. To him, the man in prison
garb is entitled to perfectly fair treat
ment and needs all the kindness that
can be given him. He thinks that
the man who is down ought to have
his spirits braced instead of broken
by those who have him in custody
during his incarceration.
Last Thanksgiving day the prison
ers were treated to turkey and mince
pie. II was the first time the men
had seen such food since their con-
viction Warden Baker helped to
make 1t an important occasion. Mr..
Evans says:
Warden Baker was down in the
dining room going from one table to
another talking to his men,
That is habit of his-getting ac.
quainted with his men His quarters
are upstairs in the prison, but he
spends most of his time downstairs
with the prisoners( or at the farm or
road camp, And he plays no favor
ties. There are no "stool.pigeons'
there now. That has been discourage
ed. But the men often "snitch' on
themselves when Baker sits down
for talk with them. A son of Ne.
vada desert himself. Baker has seen
men under all sorts of conditions. He
is thirty.three years old, one of the
youngest men in the prison. He was
educated in the University of Neya
da and at Stanford University in Cal
itornia, and for several years
studied law in Oakland. In 1908 he
left civilization at the call of the
desert and went into Death Valley
He was the first man in the Ubehe
be country and has several times
divided his last drop Of water will
Scotty, his dog. He has been AROUND
the world three times In San Francis
| l.