Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-07-03
PRISON FLOWERS GIVE CONVICT HOPE Work in Prison Conserva- tCry Held Out as Reward
 for Good Behavior.
MAKES BAD MEN GOOD
Amidst the Flowers, Prisoners Forget Their Lot, Hearts Grow Soft. Stripes Fade and They are Happy
 as Children.

santa Fe., N. M., July I.-1nC Dfll- liant New Mexico sunlight 1iuouo d conservatory, heavy With the perfume ol flowers and ecnolng wl,n the splash or fountain. A man moves apout among the flowers, lingering with lovlng care over a tall hy Which raises its head above US wn4te companions.
 The man is in stripes. lie IS a convict ln the New Mexlco pen!,c..- tlary, but, by exemplary conduct, ne has earned the privilege which ne is the flowers Tn the penitentlary col- servatory if he wishes.
 There is no doubt that the con- vict is enjoying his privilege. Evi- dently he has forgotten the stone walls and the iron gratings. From tie prison yard outside can be heard the various hated sounds that rise rom a nenitentiary-tne shuffling ot many feet as gangs of men march to and fro in long lines and the buzz O. machinery from the shops where the prisoners are engaged ill turning cut their hated' stlnts.'
 F0rgets lis Surroundings.
 But the man among the plants and He works with trowel and watering pot. He is abstracted, but lot moodily so. Evidently the surround ings in that magic rectangle of glass have transported him mentally far beyond the prison and it's atmos- phere. So long as he works among the green and growing things ne is no longer a convict. The flowers and plants, prison-born tAougn most of them are, have brought him the hint O. outdoors which otherwise would not have come to him. Evidently the flewers have made him forget many unpleasant things and have brought back reminders of pleasant hours.
 Such, in brief, is the working of a unique experiment. which is being Santa Fe, N. M. It has been proved that work in the conservatory makes convicts more tractable and less in- clined to be sullen and stubborn. Conservatory work is given to those who have earned the privilege through good conduct. The men are eager for "conservatory assign ment." The man who is informed that he is to work few hours or perhaps few days among the flowers is looked upon with envy.
 ''It is strange to find Some of the most hardened, desperate criminals childishly eager to work among the plants and flowers in the conserva- tory," said the Warden. "We have some of the worst criminals in the country in the New Mexico Peni- tertiary. We have train robbers and bad men of the old-time blood-1et- ting type-men who have not hesi- tated to take human life on any pre- text. Yet it does not surprise us to find that bad man. whose gun feats held the whole Southwest in terror is as happy as a child when given the privilege of working among these flowers.
 How the Idea Originated.
 No such idea was entertained when the conservatory was built. The thing naturally worked itself out It was found that conservatory work was regarded as far better than any other kind of work around the peni- tentiary, so years ago a Warden be- gan to hold such employment as a sort of prize for good behavior. 1t has been kept up ever since, and there's no estimating the good effect the conservatory has had ol the natures of hundreds of criminals. lt| is merely another evidence of the world-old fact that there's way toI reach the hardest heart"
 Convicts from the New Mexico have done much road building in the state, but under heavy guard. The "honor system" has never ben put in force among the ;onvicts, as in Colorado, where itl and the conservatory work is about the only thing that sis held up as a reward. Small though lis reward may seem to be, it is ac- ,op,n1ichinu ron1a rtxch h1o rnSu1tS