The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-12

and now Dominick goes anywhere they
tell him to go, and when he appears at
the inside door they do not ask him IL
he has a pass to go out.
James Connaughton had been prin-
cipal keeper Of the prison for thirty
eight years when he was retired to die
about the middle Of March, A. a matter
OF fact he had been the real warden for
years until Clancy came. He ran the
prison and spoke of II "a my prison.
He signed reports, assigned men, made
transfers and administered discipline.
Age and other infirmities had their
way with Connaughton. and Clancy saw
that he must have an assistant. He
obtained the proper authority from the
state Civil Service Board. which held
an examination, and Thomas f. Nc
Inerny was No. / in the class OF six.
He received the appointment. Nc
lnerny is big man. like the warden
as a matter of fact he is 6 feet inches
tall, broad shouldered and deliberate.
He has had experience at Elmira and
Auburn. where ne was drill master. one
point In his favor when 1t came to ex-
perience was that he was said 10 know
the difference between discipline and
brute force.
McInerny superseded Connauyhton as
the old mans infirmities incapacitated
him, until when the final seizure came
there was little new for him to take
over. MCIncrny IL modern man IN
prison work and believes IN things that
make the old men gasp with fear.
! Clancy IN his office around IL O'Clock
at night at the end OF about fifteen
hours OF work talks with enthusiasm
about his work. about his immediate
plans and about his hopes.
what n man can do here and wha,
he would like 10 do will never be the
same, I am afraid" he gays. 1T woult
be physically impossible for everything
10 be done that could be done or ough
to be done. Sing Sing Is different from
any other prison in the State. 1t Is {
feeder. the population of which change.
constantly.
You See. we get 40 per cent. OF IN,
criminals from the First and Second Ju
dlcial districts the bulk OF the convict.
OF the State. Our second term men an
Immediately shipped to Auburn and ou
third term men to Dannemor&, aftc
which our class 4 men. our best mel
among the first offenders. are drafte,
to Comstock prison or Mountain
Meadows. Therefore we no sooner ge
the good first offender broken into on
Of the shops than he is drafted 4
Comstock and we must break Il new
man In. II interferes with any system
attic attempt to fit the first offender 70
a useful life after he leaves prison.
you know that about one-third o
the men coming hero are mentally de
fectlve and should never be sent q
prison at ALL One-half OF them ais
come here because there was no earl.
training to awaken In them Concep
ton Of the results OF criminal life
A considerable proportion OF these mel
also We're caught the very first tim
they ever committed a crime. Tha
might not seem hard but 1t shows the
are not actual criminals; some stron
combination of circumstances mad
them do Il. They are not wholly bad.
Some day tho State will go into al
that sort OF thing. Sing Sing will per
haps become merely an observatto,
prison where the men will be studio
scientifically and separated. There wi
be the proper place for the detectives
n proper place for those who have bee,
convicted OF Infamous crimes. Ccrtainl
they should not be- thrown in contac
with other men. A prison IL n plac
where first offenders should be laugh
Ia become useful citizens when they ar
released. where second offenders shout
be taught to make living when the
are released and where third offender
should be taken care OF. There Is no
much hope for them.
Therefore the school will be hi
essential OF the future prison. For In
stance. We have 1900 men here an,
only one civilian teacher. 1t IL aston
ishing the number of men who can mel
Their read nor write here. What can b
done under that circumstance?
"There should he at least "A doze
night school classes in this institution
this minute. a dozen classes LASTING
from 6 o'clock until ., There il n
earthly reason why the men should b
locked up at . 30 o'clock or before I
brood away the hours.
THAT WAY makes for all the horror
Of prison life yuu read about Some da
those night classes viii come
"Then again "a to Tho KIND of wor
we do" Tho warden reached for
draft of his annual report and turne
to a section of II. Here IA an illustra
tlOn of what | mean when I say tina
a prison is primarily place To max
men better and not Il place where m
state can get a lot of work tor nothin,
: "'rhe most profitable shop We HAY
) here IL II knitting shop, which turns OF
146 separate articles. After an appren
: tlceship Of two years We III "A man
, /, q department Of the knitting shop an