El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-18
reforms Are Surprising.


at the liberty I saw given the prison
ers.
Reforms Are Surprising.
From what 1 had read and heard OF
prison reform as practiced in the
Arizona penitentiary, L expected mucn
in the way OF reform" but not nearly
so much as 1 saw in the form of lib
critics given men who were supposed
to be undergoing punishment for
crimes of a nature so serious as to
warrant their Incarceration in q penI-
Tertiary. There were no striped suits.
no standing at attention or casting of
the eyes to the ground when an Off
Ger or visitor approached or passed.
The men all knew the governor and
greeted him cordially, many shaking
hands with him. As he passed through
the buildings and grounds on his way
to the prison barber shop to be
''slicked up" by one Of the many pris-
oner BARRIERS on duty at the time. shaw
ing and trimming the hair of such
prisoners as had not already "dOlled"
themselves for the day in the privacy
of their quarters in one of the sew
eral cell houses.
At the road camp on the Florence
Phoenix highway was the same free
dom, the same cordiality between the
men and the governor. The men We're
respectful but unabashed and had no
hesltancy in the matter of approach
ing the chief executive Of the state
as they would have greeted him had
they known him in the days Of their
freedom
Have a Prison Band.
Among the prisoners are many
musicians, who are organized into an
OLGhestra which renders very credit
dDle music and which on Sunday aft
ernoons entertains the prisoners. Wis
ltors and such of the citizens Of Flor
enc q care 70 come over to the prison
70 watch the baseball game played on
the mali In front Of the administra
ton building outside Of the prison
walls. The scene presented on those
occasions is anything but q prison
scene and must be inspiring to those
VINO believe in prison reform" The
pan players are in UnifOrm-the
american players in blue and the Mex
leans, indians and negroes in maroon
colored blouses and trousers with red
STOCKINGS The prisoners who are
not players, without regard to their
oLLence or term so long as they have
been good prisoners and are not be-
ing punished for any minor infractiou
of prison rules, are permitted to gath
er IN front OF the big office building
10 witness the game and listen to the
Not Wholly Unguarded.
They are not wholly unguarded.
though they may not know it. Prison
reform even in the Arizona prison
Hds not Deen permitted to get such a
mold upon those in charge of the
prison that they trust entirely to luck
ana TO the belief that the men have
become so reformed" that some Of
them might not try to regain their
temporarily lost liberty. The guard on
the wall overlooking the playground is
increased; four or five men looking
IKE cowboys, ride Up carelessly from
the surrounding country apparently to
see the game, but they are armed Just
the same and ready to shoot to Kill
should any prisoner or number of
prisoners attempt to make a break for
nDerty- But, though the guards are
there, the great central idea of the in
sllUutlon, the saving of the prisoner
from humiliation, is preserved. They
are not made to feel that they are
under guard There is no parading of
Iorce, no staggering Of armed men.
no display Of arms.
Men Are Educated.
The uplift idea is still further car
RED out in attempts to encourage the
men to read good books and to that
end prison library has been installed.
to which all the men are urged to
come, during those OF their waking
hours when they are not employed at
tasks set them, to read the books and
newspapers which fill the shelves or
are scattered over the reading tables.
The library is in charge of a rather
brilliant young man undergoing a life
sentence for murder committed in or
near Phoenix five or six years ago.
This man has found his health in
prison. When he was sent to the peni-
-entiary he was supposed to be dying
)f consumption He weighed b-t III
T. Hrr. rrsTre c