Omaha daily bee., 1912-03-24
BY c. C. ROSEWATER.


Iand on the roads WITH A CONVICT
FOREMAN AND A MILE FROM
THE PRISON WALLS. Conviets at
work making roads and sleeping
uNGUARDED in tents at night.
1t doesn't seem believable, yet l
saw it myself.
I'll admit felt like the farmer at
the circus who stared at the hippo
potamus for long time and then
turned away saying, "Oh, HI!
There amt no such an animal"
7 have nosed through prisons before
and passed by rows Of sullen faces and
striped backs, but never under the escort
of the governor of the state. Not being
possessed Of a great deal of morbid Curl
osity. usually sidestep invitations to call
at jails and asylums, so l really was not
enthusiastic last fall after / had finished
my business with the chief executive Of
the state OF Oregon. when Governor West
picked up his hat as started to leave,
remarking. Now that We have finished
our business. you've got TO come out and
take a look at my state prison"
We walked out across the capitol
grounds and took a street car. \ few
people said, Good afternoon, governor"
but most OF them said. Hello. os." The
governor of Oregon doesn't care snap
about dignity. He is no long-tail-coat,
silk-hat governor. Oswald West wears
blue sack suit and derby hat; and his
socks are not silk. | thought a man who
was big enough to go out and hunt an
escaped convict and bring him in at the
end OF a gun would be a great big fellow,
but he isn't. He isn't very tall, nor very
heavy. but he has a determined look on
Mis- face. rather imagine the convict
didn't hesitate much when he saw the
face looking across the barrel Of 4 gun.
The summer before last three convicts
broke away from the roadmaking gang
and fled into the brush. 4 posse was
organized. Indignant at the storm Of
criticism OF his new system, the governor
strapped a gun on and went out into the
brush himself. About nightfall he saw
the smoke of a camp and creeping up he
covered his man and led him back TO the
penltentlary at the end Of his gun.
He talked prison" as We rode along
in the street car and took a short cut
through a field to the penltentiary.
81 had my own notions about peniten-
tiaries before l got to be governor" he
said. I'VE had 500 husky convicts out
here and they used to take them out
and run them around the prison yard
to exercise them, have them throw sand
bags. and then take them back to their
cells. Some people would fuss every time
they started them at any kind of work,
because they took work away from hon.
est labor, and to keep them alive they
had TO take the prisoners out and exer-
else them Did you ever hear Of such
rot? Every time the legislature met,
there was no money to do the thousand
things thai needed to be done and here
were nearly 500 abie-bodied men without
work. trrA
The governor. here in Oregon, can do
lot OF things he wants to, and II
the people don't like 1t, they can call him
In. We have the recall here in Oregon,
YOU know. l came out here one morning
and called the prisoners and guards all
together and talked a little common
sense to them. asked them which they
would rather do. so outside in the fields
and roads and work, or loaf and be
boxed up in cells all day; whether they
wouldn't rather raise some vegetables and
chickens and have better things TO eat;
whether they didn't want to learn how
to do something useful, so they would
have a trade and earn decent living
when they got out. Being shut up in
a cell all day didn't sound a bit good
TO them. I used TO break horses. What
put up TO them was the same old scheme.
a measure full Of oats in one hand and
q club in the other. OF course, thew
took the oats. A horse will and so will
a man. But the club Is there and they
get 1t good and plenty, IL they don't be-
have. THERE'S NO FLABBY SENTI-
MENTALITY ABOUT 1T. It's just CON-
MON SENSE AND IT'S DOLLARS AND
CENTS TOO. I'll show you.
DO you see this field from the end of
the car line TO the big wall? We bought
and paid for that out Of money that these
fellows earned. Our attorney general
said, that nowhere did the law say. that
We could spend our money this way and
I told him that neither did the law say
We couldn't. 1t didn't say we could earn
it either We bought the field.
We expect to irrigate that field be-
tween here and the asylum grounds.
We will put 1t in blue grass and have
a fine herd Of Jerseys and Holsteins. /
recently told tho city We would make this
a park II they would pave the street from
the capitol all the way out here. OF
course. they agreed. because they didn't
know We would do II anyway. But We
viii make this park all the way down
to the city limits with fine roads winding
through. I'm going TO have them make
a lake out OF this slough over here. Did
You ever see anything prettier than that
creek with that clump Of trees? The
Riddles from salem can come out here
next summer and have plcnics and dangIe
their feet IN the creek. Isn't that worth
while even IL there is no law for It?
There is to be a concrete hog house
that will be a model for any farmer to
follow. Farming, you know, is nothing
but common sense and hard work. We
have the men to do the work and We
can get out agricultural experiment sta
lion people 70 make this one OF their
demonstration farms.
There are lot Of these boys here in
his prison who are just as much inter
ssted in these plans and carrying them
out as am. It Is easy to get them in
terested by letting them know what they
are doing and why they are doing it, but