The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-23

e0rnlatOry on hartS lsIalu are on oVU
Acre tract Of snow mantled land near
New Hampton. y. Y. having the time Of
their lives. There are no guards. no
keepers, none Of the irksome restriction
under which they smarted on the island
nothing but "A sense of honor and the
knowledge that they are the twelve picked
@.on 400 TO establish the traditions and
create the proper atmosphere for the
citys new reformatory for refractory
boys
The oldest OF the twelve is &c; the
yuu.gcs: Is 10 the superintendent who
"a In charge Of them Is 81 two assistant
suur.lutei.dcn,s are both 90. They have
.ahen possession Of the cltys COO acres
q land 10 set in motion the machinery
which VIII make os that land n productive
Farm capable OF yielding sufficient pfoflts
10 pay for It's maintenance and supply tho
reforna,ory on Harris Island with eresh
vegetables and milk the year round.
You wal. into the front door OF "a TWO
story. two room cottage. Last Wednesday
A. was as niigeraDlc and filthy an abode as
ever existed IN the open air OK the country.
>oyr II Is clean. You see twelve young
men sitting and standing about talking
rrc.iy. II II were not for the heavy blue
prison trousers and the striped shirts
they wear you would think they were a
group Of college students cut OH lark.
Could Escape without Trouble.
The expression Of their faces Is clean
and wholesome. There Is u sparkle In the
,r,s which hints ut an intellectual alert
ness that any business firm might be glad
10 get hold Of They are we'll put W.
strong and stalwart lads. who could X
they would, and they know this, overpower
the three superintendent and walk away
into the open country in full possession
q all the liberties that belong TO those
who have not been IN conflict with the
city's laws.
The men in charge have no Weapons.
The food supplies are in cupboard9 which
have no locks. Knives, axes and picks lie
~ their places ready for any one who
wishes to use them. There Is not even
lock ON the front door.
In the evenings and ut meal times
these young fellows. VINO were not per-
United to speak whilo on the island. talk
without reserve Of their experiences on
the island and the sensations they felt,
SENSATIONS which don't seem to speak very
WI for the methods OF discipline en-
p,oyed there.
The superintendent. RoDer; Roseubluth.
AID his Two assistants sit aud talk to
Fgm. They cat the same food ut the
same table and they lie down at night
on sheetless army cots beside them. Were
II not IOE tlt ulSllUCtIOn VI CloN4cr, IL
@ould be impossible TO tell who were the
prisoners and who the men In charge.
A unique Experiment..
That Is q picture OF what is going for
ward al Hampton Farms. SO to be known.
u, site OF the new reformatory. The first
Scw days have been epoch making in the
history OF such undertakings. Never be-
.oe. has the tasl; OF establishing Il home
Of ,he sort been entrusted to prisoners.
slr Eosenblnth. who IS an expert agri-
rl,ulist and forester. has never been
ia large OF refractory youths and Is now
assuming plc responsibility entirely
t..n.sl interest. The same is true or h.S
.Ho assistants. Ernest Blue and j. l.. Buck.
Blue is a recent graduate Of the Bltmorc
College school OK agriculture and Buck
II, tie agricultural department OF Cor
he. - ~ directly 10 Hampton Farms.
II, idea OF establishing = home for
20. by such extraordinary methods came
'.J.l Dr. Katharine Beinent Davis, the
w Commissioner Of Correction. D..
Davis. naturally enough. feels sure taat
t- plan Is going TO work 80 does hosen-
o'u'A, 10 do the Doys themselves. and }.
Il 10 safe 20 say. would any observer wco
dropped In at the farms TO witness the
atmosphere Of camaraderie. good will.
Kindness and determination which per
vaG.s the whole place.
The history OF Hampton Farms, which
no doubt will be written and talked about
and discussed by prison reformers and
others for many year. began Few
weeks prior to March I. the day on which
IS pay roll was started with the retain
meat OF Mr.. Rosenbluth
Friends Come to Aid.
Before this could be done Commissioner
Davis had TO get money With which to
rotaln HIN and she couldn't get 1t from
IL -. ssl.A aoet at.a
called on some o! her phlanthropic
friends. One Of them contributed $500
a. a retainer for the superintendent and
another contributed like amount FOR In
cldental expenses. With this money the
plan was set In motion.
NJ. Roseg.bluth came to New York and
began gathering supplies. He knew the
land ana the character Of it. II was
largely on his report as an expert that
the city purchased the 600 acres. AS
t..ere was no money with which to make
elaborate purchases Mr.. Roserbluth WIS.,
led the various city departments and
sought contributions. From the aqueduct
department he got horses: from the Health
Department thoroughbred cows: from the
Park Department he picked up discarded
.ools and from the Department of Cor
lection he gathered such odds and ends
Is windows. doors, cotbcds and cooking
Utensils,
All this was done in the first two weeks
o. March. The supplies were packed into
freight car and shipped to New Hamp-
on, where IL was expected to arrive last
Wednesday,
Meantime both DR.. Davis and Mr.. Ro-
seubluth had been canvassinK the In
mates on Harris Island and selecting the
t"e.ye needed. They found an electrician.
plumber, a cook and n mechanic. but II
WAS Not Il simple matter to choose these
Young men. for each had to have the
proper REQUISITES OF character and manli-
hesi .e''teI TO make the plan a success
The Expedition starts.
Despite the careful arrangements things
Ola "ot run without hitch. Mr.. Rosen-
b.l,., who had not had time 10 go TO bed,
earned from the railroad company at
""io-E On Wednesday morning. the
ca st for the departure. that the
''"Sn, cav containing the supplies would
.rpnau!y not arrive at New Hampton until
-'.Hg, nut this did not stop the eX-
l'I,lo". The twelve young men were