The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-11
Movers Friends in Atlanta Call
Him Leader in Prison
Reform.
HrMNNE MAN, THEY SAY
MANY AmcliOratiOns Of Life in
Prison Are Credited to
His Efforts.

Congressman is demanding an investiga-
ton Of charges of maladministration Of
the Atlanta Federal prison. which
,s one Of the largest in the country. friends
q, the warden have come to his defence.
For this there seems to be two causes
In the first place. these friends view
uawthornes disclosures with a question,
because he himself admitted when first re-
leased that he. had been treated
with every courtesy and that he was
orreeahly surprised at some features Of
the institution.
Second. those who claim to be familiar
with the prison and the work which
Warden william II. Meyer has been doing
IN the institution are unwilling to regard
Mover as a living Jekyll and Hyde. They
have believed that his administration was
wise and humane and that he had in
,roduccd many reforms, and they can
not reconcile these performances with
ilawthorncs charges of inhuman treat
ment Of helpless prisoners. Those ac-
ouairted with the situation prefer to ac-
cept the visible manifestations Of improved
conditions rather than the improved
general charges OF brutality. the relation
OF which bears striking resemblance to
recent magazine stories of other penal
institutions.
Reforms Credited to Meyer.
These are some Of the reforms credited
to Meyer by persons here who have had
opportunity for personal observation
Abolition OF stripes in the prison garb
elimination of registry number: lifting
Of the ban OF silence at meals. for the
first time in any American prison
providing tables from which the prisoners
may eat instead of rude wooden benches
and the giving to them of knives and
forks; segregation of youthful and first
offenders from hardened criminals as far
as possible: establishment OF prison
orchestra, and the granting OF the privilege
of hearing entertainers brought into the
prison and the giving of original perfor-
mances by the prisoners. To these are
added the school where illiterate prison.
.rs are taught reading and writing and
other Fundamentals the publication Of
Good Words, a prison paper, to which are
assigned men Of literary turn and those
who followed printing as trade;
completely equipped hospital where pris-
oHers receive medical attention and dental
services: the tuberculosis camp, whose
inmates nav ne. ,.Nt,sSn,.n, -, a.
- - - ". -, nj =, a cor,ni.ra no snar.a
funds permit man to man interviews be-
tween warden and prisoner, In which
the prisoner In allowed to tell his side OF
a story: only eight hours work day;
tnc ".en's Sa,,',i.s IA ~ in,rodrc.
','s has.hau among the prisoners-
and host OF small privileges that are
boon TO men shut up in prison.
10, 90, IN tho movement 10 secure
a., No rp,a ACT nv which prisoners with a
- ~ yood behavior get another chance
~, ,raadon, and tho arden ia now in
,,ras,sd IN the effort 10 secure Some sort
~, CONDENSATION for the labor OF pris.
o,.,rs
Vbu. William SchIey Howa rd's activity
a., tho nrosacu,ion of the charges dated
from the morning following the appear
anra NJ Uawtborne's story in the eve
ling naners he seems TO have centred
his attention on the removal of some
rnards who were charged with attemptins
10 incit. mutlny inst after the Hawthorne
story became public. These guards were
NJ r Cobb W n Mcclure. Oliver Grimes
q ". Rosson. n. y. Evans and n II.
Dunn Tim.keeper j. A. Baugh also was
dismissed
Explanation Of Dismissals.
Will. ,yard.n >,o,.r ,,. m, mad. INV
.,,,an,a,, in r.aarS 90 ,ha uau,horna
tharg.s ana the demand Tor an ihVestiga-
Howard's statement that the discharged
guards were dismissed illegally and that
they have had no COPY of cha
The men We're discharged by the At.
torney-Sienerai the Governments legal
representative" said Warden Mover
Wednesday, and / suppose that the dis
When Warden Meyer returned from In
d.anapolis, the Hawthorne disclosures
coming during his absence, he initiated a
personal Investigation Of minor disorders
IN the prison in which fifteen or twenty
prisoners tried TO create a disturbance
a,d rot by shouts Of protest at meal time
following his Investigation the warden
rccImmended that the guards be dis
charged. saving that several times before
they had endangered the discipline of the
prison during the warden's absence by at
tempting TO lncte the prisoners to mutiny.
ba I-,,r,a,, canaral sapt Iettar n