The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-12-26

Probably the finest, the most con-
Instructive and without a doubt the most
sensational piece of social service
work. if it can be classified under any
Llimited heading, being done in Amer
fica, nay the world today, is the plan
6of self government carried out by the
Eprisoners of Sing Sing under the direc-
tiion of the much talked of Warden
&Osborne.
Contrasting the old system of prison
|fnactivity, that is, inside the walls, and
the now working system of this in
stitution one is astounded that such
great results could have been done in
Zso short time and still the work is
Itin it's infancy, many changes must be
' made to rectify mistakes, many more
experiments undertaken and a much
Longer trial given the work before it
can be judged complete or ideal
But the whole plan is constructive
end upbuilding and cannot but be a
.4great incentive to better conditions in
side of all prison walls Whenever
the path is blazed for better things it
Is impossible to ever so entirely back
to the old method, and the Sing Sing
experiment, for such it is, is to be a
pattern for the prison work all over the
world. Alabama as well as New York
will profit through it.
1t was my great pleasure to visit
Sing Sing and see first hand the work
undertaken by the warden. While all
social agencies are focusing their eyes
on the prison work at Sing Sing, Os-
| sining is blissfully unmindful of it
and slumbers peacefully along the
banks of the Hudson, letting the rest
nrld on Of har inf
the New York state prison.
/ Probably for so long it has been her
lcanker and now that the prison has
become an experimental station she
PRESENTS having lost her identity as a
| city through this ugly ducklng."
II Possibly the most interesting per-
sonality in the world of reform work,
surely one of the most abused, bounded
and spectacular figures is Thomas
Mott Osborne. A man of splendid per-
sonal appearance, strong and individ
ual, yet as gentle as a woman in man
her, man kindly and sympathetic.
yet firm and convincing, man capable
|Iof every motion, yet sane and positive,
/ Warden Osborne is big man in figure
land mind doing a big work in big
population and doing the work wholly
/ for the love of humanity and the I'M
/ der dog.
Presbyterian minister in New
York city, in speaking of the wonder
full work of Osborne and Osbornes at
titude to the prisoners. for he finds
them intesely human, often the victims
of the system and bad environment,
often i'll and never WIDELY bad, said
of him. who but Jesus Christ and
Tom Osborne would look for saints In
Sing Sing?"
with him for love, and Mr. Osborne
says that the agencies that are perse-
cutting him on the outside are never
occasioned by the So thief but by the
$4,000 absconder." One man who has
been working for Osborne for
one year only, because before that
time he was constantly in jail, told us
his whole life had changed since Tom
Brown came to Sing Sing, and that
every day of his life since he is out
and he served % years, will be devoted
to helping make the people of Amer
lea see the great and lasting benefit
of Tom Browns work.
And this man is but a concrete ex-
ample of the attitude of the prison
ers toward Mr.. Osborne. who has
through his wish to better conditions
Dominated the place.
The name 'Tom Brown" was the
name Mr.. Osborne used when he had
himself arrested SO that he could serve
a sentence in Sing Sing and see for
himself the conditions of the prison
that was making criminals instead of
curing them. That he found condi-
lions bad can only be rightly under
stood when you see the "cell block"
and know what has been done, not only
for the regeneration of the prisoners,
but in the place itself.
To be sure the "cell block hasn't
changed at all. 1t is still the great
mass of stone, resembling a cold tomb,
with its cells, the dimensions of which
are three feet four inches by six feet
IL inches by six feet six inches, con-
tanning but 149 cubic feet of air space.
The cells are so damp on the ground
floor of the block that passing your
hands along the massive stone walls
makes them wet. AS the cells go higher
up the dampness is less apparent.
shall never forget the feeling of
terror and horror that came over me
as stood in one of the first floor cells
and had the door of the cell closed as
stood inside A little bunk attached to
the side wall, covered with a gray
blanket Is on one side, a massive gray
stone, bare and cold wall on all the
other sides, except the iron grated
door, on which was hung the rusty din
ner pail, a relic of the other days be-
fore tom Brown came to deliver the
men from these damp graves that We're
burying all desire for good and breed
ing the canker revenge.
AS we passed the cells it was pa
thetic to see the semblance of home
comfort many of the men had in fix
ing up the cells to make them attrac-
tive. pictures on the walls, shelves for
books and magazines and perfect
cleanliness and order.
Think of having sinned in the eyes
of the law and of being confined to
"repent." for such was the irony of
suggestion made to some of these men,
shut in, in the cold and damp with al
most no food, and what there was of
the worst sort, with no companioship,
rot allowed to speak and no outlook.
The shortest sentence is a year and in
this year if man did not contract tu-
berculosis or the drug habit. he had
contracted all the hate possible to