Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-07-18
CHANGES AT THE PEN.
Penal Institution No Longer "HeII
on Earth"

II
on Earth"
A stranger visiting the South Car
olina penitentiary, unless he were in
formed in advance as to the nature o
the institution, might think he wsr
visiting the headquarters of a big farm
or a manufacturing establishment
writes A. NJ. Carpenter, Columbia cor
respondent of the Greenville Piedmont
ground, and there are steel doors II
all the buildings and steel bars across
the windows, but there is little of th'
prison atmosphere about the place
that is, the old time prison atmosphere
Gone are the old prison stripes Of th'
convicts. gone the grimfaced guard:
bearing wicked looking rifles, gone th'
old rule of absolute silence on the par
Of the inmates. 1t is still prison, bu
a very different prison from what Il
was twenty years ago, or even >ter
years ago.
Col. A. K. Sanders. the superintend
ent, would not be called a high-brov
in any company, and he would proba-
bly, be very much embarrassed If ne
were called upon to make a talk OF
read a paper upon the subject of pri-
son reform, but he has put very rea
and practical prison reform into effect
and he has done it without very much
| being said about it. He is not a talka-
tive man, but he is very practical, and
he is very humane. This is shown by
his management Of the states prison.
and by the attitude Of the prisoners
toward him. He knows all of the pris-
oners by name and he knows a gooo
deal about the history of each one
and they all know him.
And they like him, and better
still perhaps, they trust him. He is
sort of benevolent despot-despotic
by necessity and benevolent by nature
Any prisoner can see him at any time
for that is a rule he has laid down and
enforced, but they rarely ask to see
him. for they have no complaints to
make.
Col. Sanders believes in work, and
all of the prisoners work. Each man
and woman has some appointed task
each day, and the task must be carried
out. But the work is not too hard.
At the same time the prisoners are
not petted or coddled-each one earns
his keep, and more. 1t is a peniten-
tiary, and the law which says that all
able-bodied prisoners shall be con-
fined at labor is carried out. But the
law is enforced in a humane way, and
in this lies the change that has taken
place.
The old hosiery mill. which was a
disgrace for SO long, was abolished
years ago, under Governor Blease's ad-
ministration. After the hosiery mill
was abolished it was hard to find en-
ployment for all the prisoners, and
they were hard to manage. Then the
furniture factory was established, the
main purpose being to give the prison
ers employment rather than to make
profit. Chairs, tables, porch swings,
etc., are manufactured, and the quality
of work turned out is good. Last year
the furniture factory showed a profit
Of 1900, but the greatest result was
in furnishing the prisoners plenty OF
active and healthful employment. The
women prisoners, or some OF them,
are engaged in making clothing for the
convicts and some help in the furniture
factory.
Soon after Col Sanders took charge
of the penitentiary he decided to dis
card the old striped prison uniform,
which had been worn by convicts from
time immemorial. Col. Sanders thought
the prison uniform tended to degrada-
tion and bitterness, and tried the eX-
pertinent of offering to those who
earned it by good behavior the right
to wear ordinary clothing. The plan
worked we'll from the start. Most OF
the convicts seemed to gain in self
respect and in ambition from the
moment they put off the hated prison
stripes Now the stripes are not worn
at all in the penitentiary.
For years the rule in the penitenti-
ary had been that a convict could not
speak unless spoken to by guard or
some official. Col. Sanders could see
no good reason for this rule, and he
abolished 1t. The convicts may talk
freely, so long as they are not bolster
Gus or unruly. They seem to appre-
ciate this privilege quite as much as
that of wearing decent clothing and
they do not abuse it.
How do you handle your unruly
prisoners?" visitor asked, the other
day.
I'VE haven't got any" was the reply,
given somewhat impatiently. Men
will behave themselves so long as you
treat them right" This seemed to be
the whole of his philosophy, and he
seemed surprised that there should be
any other way Of looking at it.
But the prison discipline is still
there. Army guards are on duty all
the time, are not abusive. They SEEM
ed to be but they are not assertive and
they are on friendly terms with the
convicts; when orders are given they
are given courteously and pleasantly
The convicts know that any disobed-
ience to orders, or any infraction OF
the rules means the loss of certain
privileges, and a loss of this kind is
more feared now than corporal pun
ishment or solitary confinement used
to be dreaded in the old days.
All the manual and skilled work IN
the penitentiary is done by the in
| mates. In addition to the furniture
| factory there is a machine shop, car
pentsr shop, clothing factory, etc. AL
the cooking, and the cultivating of the
vegetable gardens, and the care Of all
the buildings, is done by the convicts
Inside the walls Of the place they come
and go without guard; there is no more
/ of tho old lockSteD ma rchinp to and