The Washington herald., 1914-07-12

appealing to us for a pardon. he told
his story. I have wasted my years he
said. Crime. for those who engage in
it, he continued. Is the greatest Of all
human follies. was a long time find-
ing II out, but / am through. I have
never said until now that was through.
give my word this time, and my word
Is good, no matter what I may have
been We shipped him to the little farm
in the East 1t was an experiment. but
1 feel that II will come out all right"
A bugie sounded and in a few minutes
I, 900 men. not in stripes. nor marching
, IN locked-step. entered the long. light
and lofty dining room. Among them
were 3l4 negroes, two-thirds Of whom
came from the District OF Columbia, forty
Indians and seven Mexicans- One hun
dred and four CT the prisoners are serv-
ing life sentences for murders and train
robberies committed in the former Terri
tories of the West. Thirty bankers sat
behind a large contingent of Africans.
The Indians, mostly. were concerned in
the liquor trade on government reserva-
tions.
No sodden, wicked or degraded faces,
no eyes cleaning with hate were 10 De
seen. II was a mixed company Of Amer
leans in their working clothes, a silent
company. II is true. but, so far as could
be judged by appearances,s not COM
pany of unhappy or Of terroriZed men.
Sixty convict walters served the food; a
large band Of convict musicians played
two tunes The menu consisted OF fried
pork chops. baked potatoes, cream gravy.
lettuce. green onions, bread and iced tea.
! John Newenhouse. the lead cook. told
me that he had given the men hot bis
cults. oatmeal. milk. sugar. syrup. butter.
bread and coffee for breakfast, and that
they would have fried potatoes. sausage.
lettuce. gravy. bread and iced tea for
supper.
What. I asked Mr.. Morgan. "is done
( with the prisoners during the day.
How the Men Are EMPLOYED.
The employment OF convicts,'' he an
! swered. 'fs a grave subject. I suppose
the Leavenworth Penitentiary would
! have been completed long ago were II
not that a wise disposition Of the pris-
oners between breakfast and supper Is
! still an unsOlved problem Work on the
building has dragged, but We are using
about 80 men every day. One hundred
and twenty-five are cutting stone and
doing excellently. Some of them have
I become artists and. going away from
here, will earn high wages. Others have
| learned to paint. plaster and fashion iron.
| tailor and shoe shops. ninety in the
kitchen. dining-room and cold storage
plant. fifty on the farmland they pro-
| duce $1,000 worth OF crops every year
! nifty in the carpenter and blacksmith
shops, sixty in the engine and boiler
| rooms and thirty at common labor. A
number serve as nurses in the hospital
and as clerks to the officials.
1T seems to me that We could manu-
faCture twine for the Postofice Depart
ment. furniture for the public buildings.
which are being erected in all parts Of
the country. and uniforms for our
soldiers and sailors. Roadmdking by
convicts is believed by most persons to
be entirely practicable and the best and
easiest way out of the quandary which
Perplexes our penOlOGists and public
men.
There is TO use in trying to argue
the other side Of the roadmaking ques-
ton. 1t il so popular generally that one