The Washington herald., 1915-01-06

4 n ment Davis probably a
j IA Phi. D. When l entered the
/ rather bare room, beside the
i desk in the corner, l saw a
J woman standing, with a
pleasant face framed in gray
hair, busily talking with young man, apparently
one of her assistants. She might have been about
fifty years old and she dressed with extreme
simplicity. Her clear blue eyes, just little tired
looked frankly out the world. As l dropped
into a chair and waited the windows gave me a
magnificent view that covered a large part of New
York and strip of the North River.
Compared with this giant Of a building those
skyscrapers out there were dwarfed. l could look
down their roofs, and l could see those little
roof houses where janitors and their families
dwelt in splendid isolation far from the city, and
yet in its midst. Now | could understand how
that public-spirited woman felt few weeks before
when she few over Chicago and deplored the
waste of roof room. One OF these days it might
serve for aeroplane landings and become as i'm
portant feature of the house as the front door.
| The young man presently disappeared into an
outer Office and the commissioner took her place
at the desk. Soon she was talking about prisons
and prison management, out of nearly fourteen
|
Bedford Reformatory for Women, about forty
miles distant from New York city. Those years
had somewhat modified her theories. She in
cned to regard prisoners as abnormal people
without, however, giving up her faith in personal
responsibility. OF course, there many prison.
ers that ought not to have been sent to prison at
all. They were either insane weak-mnded
! In the opinion of the expert, if one were to
take thousand prisoners and compare them with
the number of people outside, there would
be difference between the two groups. The pris-
oners would be weaker and farther from the
normal. The people outside obviously included
many law-breakers who had never been caught
but being caught in itself sign of weakness
and incompetence. Prisoners might roughly be
divided into three classes: those who could un-
questonably become normal members of society;
those who might might not become normal
members OF society, the difficult ones; and those
who hopeless The reasons for the hopeless
cases reached back to physical and mental weak
ness, the inevitable signs of degeneracy. If one
were to find where it began the search might
lead to earlier generations.
In speaking OF the treatment of prisoners, Miss
Davis confessed that her experience had shattered
a few illusions. One was that every one could
be controlled by kindness. There were those that
kindness seemed unable to soften victims of devil
try" mad for excitement a relief from monotony
Only short time before the editor Of the Ameri-
can Magazine had sent manuscript offered him
for publication. 1t gave account OF the career
in Bedford Of a young woman sentenced for for
gerry. After carefully looking it Miss Davis
sent it back to the editor with a saying that
the statements Of occurrences in the reformatory
were true. The article published in the Oc
tobcr issue and remarkably interesting and sug
gcstvc article it proved to be, Tanning My Rebel
Soul" 1t contained this significant paragraph:
For the second time since the rcformatory
doors had closed upon me | burst into tears. Once
they had been tears OF rage and hatred, but this
time they tears OF gratitude and love for this
the leader OF the Terrible Ten, the worst girl in
the place. few days later | in the States
conveyance journeying toward the railroad station
and home-frcc! When the vehicle reached the
top Of the hill where one gets ones last view of
the reformatory, | asked the driver to stop. Two
years and half before, coming this same hill
had made the mental resolve, When | reach this
spot my way out | shall look back put one last
curse on the place, and never think of it so long
as | live The moment had arrived! ! at
the top of the hill and on my way out | looked
back at the cluster of brick buildings which had
been my home for so long. From the back window
OF cottage old pal was waving bedspread
through the bars in grotesquely pitiful farewell.
The warm June sunlight flooded the valley in
golden glow. Tears streamed unheeded down my
cheeks, and my lips spoke instnctivey the prayer
that swelled from nay heart of hearts, Cod bless
Miss Davisp The driver nodded his head. I've
heard quite few girls make that remark said he.
Of this writer Miss Davis remarked:
That girl was the only prisoner of my ac-
ouaintance who could be a leader among prisoners