Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-05-11

escape of Sing Sing "trusty,' one OF
the prize, members OF Warden Os-
borne's Mutual Welfare league attract
ed much attention to the new scheme
of dealing with the inmates OF the New
York state penitentiary. 1t was an un-
fortunate sort Of advertisement for the
new regime, but visit to Sing Sing
will 20 q long way toward justifying
the innovations, even IN the race 81
little accidents such as this one which
may happen in the best regulated pen
itentiaries.
Together with George w. kirchwey,
formerly Kent professor Of law at 90.
lumbia university and still president
of the American peace society, Warden
Osborne has inaugurated many re.
forms which have materially affected
life 'up the river" But Sing Sing IS
still far from being penal Utopia. A
look inside this biggest prison OF the
empire state will give the average cit
izen a basis on which to Judge wheth-
err or no such an institution has place
in modern civilization.
The visitor in the first place Is IKE
" to be disappointed when ne nnds
that this famous institution really &C.
cupies only about two blocks on the
bank of the Hudson at the edge OF a
struggling village. There stands out IN
the foreground the cell house. which
strongly resembles the medieval prls-
on of his fancy--grim. gray walls with
Sits OF barred windows.
A little later he sees the interior OF
this building and finds that there Is an
inner building containing the cells
some twelve feet hack of the outer
wall, It, too. Is of bare gray stone
broken only by the iron barred cell
doors. It is onlv necessary to examine
one of these cells for each Of the l,5oo
of hem is exactly like all the others.
The stone of these walls is bare. So
cold Is it that. two days ont OF three,
II congeals the moisture from the at
mcsphere and water may be rung from
a towel passed over its surface. Inc
door looking out upon the enclosing
wall is the only opening to the cell.
At certain seasons the sun may. for
moment. throw beam through
grated slit that may touch a cell door.
The actual dimensions of a cell are
three feet by six. In five hundred OF
them two men are imprisoned. The
hunks LET down from the wall. and
when they are folded back these Two
men have space six feet py Two 1or
their combined activities. Here they
spend all their time except when work.
ing in the shops or at meals.
Marching out to meals IS a great
break in the monotony 10 be sure
the "eatsw are not very sumptuons as
the state of New York provides three
meals leach day for it's prisoners at a
ccst OF thirteen cents per man despite
the high cost of living. The men, how
ever. seem not to be emac,ared, wnlcn
NAV 90 to prove the contention tnat
tho average man eats too much. An
ide. of the poorness of this prison
Tara NAV be gained from the state
nent that, under the present reform
conditions, man gets milk" but once
q week for his oatmeal and then 1t IS
one mart tactical fluid and four parts
water.
.But Sing Sing life Is much improved
over what it used to be. There was the
old system. for instance, OF locking
ali the prisoners in their cells on Sat.
urday night and not letting them out
until Monday morning. Under tnese
conditions it nearly always happened
that some prisoner. driven to frenzy by
the solitude. would, when his door was
opened on Monday, fall upon the guard
or the first fellow prisoner who came
his way and attempt to do murder. But
now the men are let out on Sunday az
ternoon and may play games in the
sunshine of the prison yard.
But the greatest OF the REFORMS .oi
Osborne is that which has grown out
of the Mutual Welfare league; II Is
this league that has converted sing
Sing into self governing community
and it's inmates into citizens or ina,
community who may gain good or PAD