The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-10-24
DON'T LIKE PRISON LIFE.

The Eastern papers are making much
of two criticisms recently made upon
prison life. The first is that made by
Thomas M. Osborne Of New York, who
voluntarily submitted himself to prison
life and prison discipline, but in doing
SO was not willing to stay the time
which he had fixed for his incarcera-
ton, for he broke a rule and was pun
Ished for ii precisely as genuine pris-
oner would have been punished. This
was in accordance with his own request
when he went in; but still, when the
discipline came upon him he weakened
and demanded to be let out, which de-
mand, Of course, had to be granted. But
Mr. Osborne on coming out gave as his
opinion that prison life was a form Of
slavery, exc ceedingly distasteful to lib
crty loving man, and deeply reprehensi
BILE in the view of one who did not like
TO be shut up. Mr.. Osborne, however,
did not give anything new upon the
been any idea in the public mind that
prison experiences are either desirable
or even comfortable. Mr.. Osborne seems
to have had n curious sort of notion that
prisons are kinds of asylums or santa
RUINS where patients are taken in and
given the best Of scientific and kindly
care, such rs they might reasonably ex-
pect at some high-class resort, with no
bill to pay and at liberty at all times to
make row about their food, their
clothing, and their general treatment.
So that when he went into prison and
found that there were really rules to
obey and punishment for the infraction
of those rules, that confinement was
tiresome, that there were discomforts
connected with it, and on the whole that
prison life was undesirable, it seemed
to give him great shock. When he
came out of prison making his denun-
Citations, expecting no doubt to make
great sensation by his disclosures, -
he was laughed at more than syInpa-
thized with, for everybody of any sense
had all along known these things that
Osborne exploited as something awful,
unjust, and to be deplored and correct
cd AS matter of fact there is as
rule nothing in any prison to be de-
plored or corrected. The shutting up
Of toughs and criminals so that they
will be unable to prey upon society, and
to reform these prisoners where reform
is possible, is the object and end Of the
establishment Of prisons. Where pris-
oner conducts himself fairly and obeys
the rules, he is treated with lenity and
given all the advantages possible in the
prison. But where he is incorrigible,
where he is in fact a confirmed crimi.
nal, there is no reason why the prison
officials should give way to his fits OF
rage or bother much about his criti-
cisms. As matter Of fact, prison off
cials do not concern themselves much
about the complaints of prisoners in
general, for prisoners are always COM
planning, usually without reason; but
where anything specific is wrong, the
prison officials Immediately take steps
to correct that wrong. The whole mat
ter OF prison management and discipline
(the discipline being especially valuable
To the prisoner Of well disposed mind
is fully open at all times to public in.
quiry, and if anything is wrong in the
prison 1t is very quickly found ont a
report such as Mr.. Osborne makes is
therefore of no consequence at all.
The other prisoner is Julian Haw.
thorne, sent to the Federal prison at
Atlanta, Georgia, for using the mails for
fraudulent purposes. Mr.. Hawthorne
comes out of prison defiant. impudeut.
and unregeneratc, He even goes TO the
cxtrepe Of saying that tho government
owes MIN an apology for. shutting him
w lie fact is. however. that HaY-