The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1913-10-07
OSBORNE CALLS
PRISON GLANCE
INTO "|NFERN0"
Millionaire Reformer Spends Fifteen
Hours in Dungeon and
Looses Weight.
FRIGHTFUL WASTE OF HUMAN
LIFE IN PENITENTIARY SAYS

Albany, n. Y, Oct 6---Thomas
| Mott Osborne, who under the name
of Tom Brown" has been spending
a week in Auburn prison to study
the system from the inside .eomplet-
ed his "bit' this afternoon after un-
dergoing the limit of punishment
! inflicted on a convict in state insti-
tutlons Mr.. Osborne spent from
| three o'clock yesterday afternoon
until G o'clock this morning in the
dungeon" for refusing to work, and
pale and haggared, with several
pounds of his iiofmal weight miss
ing, he declared the night in the
dungeon to have been a glimpse into
'the innermost circles of the In
ferno."
The voluntary convict pardoned
himself this afternoon and is now
resting up temparatory to putting
his studies into siape for his report
to the state commission of prison re-
form, of which he is chairman.
Calls System Cruel.
| He said of his experience
| 81 am more than ever convinced
| that the prison system is singularly
unintelligent, ineffective and cruel.
In my aspect the material welfare of
the ccnyicts is we'll looked after.
found the food uneXceptedly good;
the cells while antiquated, arc
clean and satisfactorily lighted at
night, and the clothing is comfort
able.
| cit is not time yet for me to for
mulate any detailed criticism of the
present system. ! must allow the
| natter to crystalize, leaving my
thrilling and interesting incidents to
arrange themselves in their logical
order But one or two things it may
be well to say now
First, the prison system is ahso-
lutely a form of slavery, and all the
truths that Lincoln cnunciated ap-
| ply equally to prison slavery. II
takes from the convict his own init
iative and freedom Of action, and he
becomes an irresponsible automa-
ton. who returns to the outside
world to find he is unable to resume
his own individuality and guide his
own destiny
Stops Sight and Speech.
"One instance of unintelligence
af the system is the attempt to pre-
vent the convicts from normal ex-
ercise of the sense of sight and
speech.
Whenever my left hand neigh
Dor, a fine-looking and agreeable
Young fellow, with whom | became
friends. as he was trusty with
the run of our gallery, wished to
share with me his portion of sugar
FOR porrdge, he would simply pass
lit over to me aud utter sugar in
the softest undertones. In fact TO
learn to speak without moving the
| lips and to act quickly the sounds
of words so uttered is one of the first
things convict tries to acquire
How unnatural this is, and how it
tends to repress every human in
lstinct is unnecessary to say.
Another most intelligent aspect
is the way the system inevitably
tends toward making punishment
for small offenses the same as for
Great ofenses. There is no differ
ence, for instance. between the Of
fence Of a man talking in the shop
and of a man taking up crowb bar
and attempting to murder the officer
in charge Both are treated to the
dungeon.
Waste of Human Life.
Il obtained from my night in the
, punishment cell glimpse into the
lower circles of the inferno. and il
will be best for me not to attempt to
analyze my impression about it at
this time.
There is frightfuI waste OF
human life and ingenuity because
the system is SO bad that while there
in some slight reform, the princi.
PIE of reformation is not used &c
anywhere its measure of possibili-
, ties Realizing perfectly the con.
siderable number of degenerates
and understandable citizens included
in the ranks of the prisoners, was
, amazed at the amount of splendid
courage, fine feeling and neighborlS
!, interest displayed by the inmates to
ward each other.
n "The eonvicts called me Brown
and did their best to think of ms