The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-12-27
ALEX MILLER
AND THE PEN
Not the Writing Kind, but the Place
| Where Criminals are Made Over
Is Subject of Washington
Mans Writing.

| Mans Writing.
Alex Miller has described a visit
to the Fort Madison penitentiary in
the following in the Washington
Democrat:
/ If you ever heard Nels Roberts
laugh you will know that it was
worth my while to stop over Mon
day, at FIT. Madison, to see one OF
the best old scouts that ever lit
pipe or took sip OF bevo when it
moved itself Alright. So stopped off
and got letter of introduction to
Warden Perkins Of the prison. Now
there is a chap worth meeting. Nels
told me he used to preach at Pack
wood and later went to Sioux City,
where the board Of control found
him and made him warden. He was
pastor of the Christian church and
says he had no special notions OF
prison reform. although ne had a lot
OF progressive ideas along the lines
of building up men. Nels Roberts
gave me letter of introduction say
ing l was rather famous or infamous
in Iowa, as the case might be, and
the warden said 1t depended on
which / was, as to whether he would
llet me go through the prison or not.
/ did not go for an interview, but
talked with him for hair an hour, as
interesting half hour as l remeIn-
Der.
And / didn't do much OF the talk
ing. He did most OF it, He wasn't
aggressive about it, but what he had
to say was SO much more interesting
than anything | know that it drifred
that way | asked him if he was
prison reforlAer, and he said he was
not. l asked him If the magazine
articles written few years ago, were
true, and he said they were mostly
fiction He knows Thomas Mott Os-
borne, the rich prison reforner OF
New York, and does not think ne Is
a preacher. l think he is. Mr.. Per
kins says more than half the Grimm
ais are subnormal. There is only
! about one percent of crooks, VINO
have ever been in a university, thus
destroying the pretty fiction about
the gentlemen burglar. the college
bred crook. He says twelve percent
iof them cannot read or write He
says good deal of crime comes from
the teeth. Toothache would be
.
know it was recognized as the cause
of crime. They have a dentist who
comes 10 the prison every day to
look after the teeth.
| think | was told there were abou,
eighty lifers in the prison and the
warden's house man is a LITER lie
says he would rather trust lifer
. M 10 q IL
w commits murder in the heat of
passion When it is over, he has d
long time to think it over, and he
has the hate all out of his system.
He says criminals follow no rules.
The man you expect most of. may
disappoint you, and the fellow from
whom you expect nothing, may come
all right Each man IS law unto
, himself. They have several teachers
who have schools, and they try TO
build up the men and neIp them. He
saws each criminal presents two prob
lens: One Is to make MIN self-sup-
porting, and the other is to rehabill-
tate him. He says the prison Is the
nearest self-supporting it has ever
been, He gives each man the right
to a personal interview and he had
a request for an interview on his
desk. He said the man wanted to
The transferred to the farm. Ihey
farm almost 1000 acres. l asked him
what he supposed the man wanted,
and he said he wanted to go to the
farm. possibly so he could run Off.
He said the problem was, to see him
: first, and thus not be outguesssd.
4 Some of the men want to go to
. the farms, but others prefer indoor
work. But interesting as all these
: men are, Warden Perkins is more
Interesting. He is a slight, wiry,
? steel eyed looking chap, about the
size of Cloyce Dougherty He is
t highly nervous, and / expected him
to blow up and tell me to go to Hall
fax any minute. He chewed gum
vigorously, and looked uneasily at
the door every little bit. Several
times | turned to see what he was
? seeing, but l saw nothing. He was
faultlessly attired and Immaculate in
: makeup. But he didn't seem IN
hurry. Finally, when / told hlm l
would like to go through the prison.
he telephoned for Joe, and I think 1t
] was Joe Hundley. He said he would
J. have me ushered with lifer lie
l. said | might ASK ulih dhy lhiAo
:, could think of and might do any
i thing but give him a A. asked him
t how he knew l wasn't an imposter,
and he said looked 100 much like
d an Iowa hayseed.
asked Joe, the guide, what his
y trouble was, and he said he was &C
S cused of murder. He has been In
/. prison eleven years, ana he says the
g prison seems more like play house
q now than like prison. He said
d when he first entered II seemed like
g a real prison. Joe wore grey coat
g like mail carriers wear, and looked
e neat and clean. AS we entered eact
department Joe saluted the guard ane
was saluted. He knows his story
letter perfect and ratified it off
whether | listened or not. 1 saw thu
> hospital the library, the dentist:
. Office, the barber shop, the dining
- hall. the shop where chairs are made
10 and the play rooms, and the play