New-York tribune., 1922-01-08

from being developed, The prison that appears
TO be "ideal' from the standpoint Of the reform
clement may appear as place for molly
coddllng and the encouragement Of crime in
the eyes Of large element which voices the
belief that modern tendencies arc making
prisons anything but places Of punishment.
Warden Thomas J. lyman, of the Colorado
state penitentiary, rcformer whose sweeping
changes in prison discipline have aroused wide
comment, says that it is enough to DEP rive a
person Of liberty. Further punishment, he
says, should not be contemplated This may
be said to be the view Of prison reformers in
general
Thomas Mott Osborne, former warden at
Sing Sing, recently issued a pamphlet in
which he undertook to describe the ideal
prison, according to his view.
Mr.. Osborne pictures the ideal prison as
virtually three prisons in one The prisoner
is received in the middle, or neutral, prison.
He Is on probation there for while. He is
examined and patched up physically and
mentally. He finds himself in place Of de-
tention, but with many gaps in the walls,
through the bars Of which hecan get glimpse
Of the pleasant country outside. There is
worA bop and a gymnasium. The room in
the prisoners dormitory clean. The pris-
oner joins the Mutual Welfare League, and,
if he has proved himself worthy of some trust,
is promoted to the outside prison.
The outside prison, as its name indicates,
is outside the prison walls Here farming
and other outdoor work provided. There
are baseball teams and an entertainment hall.
There are no walls shutting in the prisoner.
He lives virtually the life Of free citizen.
This is virtually the plan that has been in
force in Colorado for twenty years or more.
Many Of the finest highways in Colorado have
been built by convicts from the state peniten-
tiary. They work ION honor" without
guards. In most cases the counties contract
for their maintenance. They get better fare
than when in prison. They live in road camps
and are dressed In the garb Of ordinary labor
ers. There are no shackles and no armed
guards. In this way prisoners have been sent
to far corners Of the state. In order to refute
the statement that they would escape if taken
to large city, Warden lyman even had
road camp gang taken to Denver, en- nasse, to
witness the performance Of "crooS" play
there. The convicts applauded the show and
then went back to their camp, fifteen miles
out Of the city-not a man being missing
The Colorado convict working under pleas
ant surroundings in the open, without guards,
affords strong contrast with the New Gate,
Connecticut, prisoners, who in 1925 were
working the "treadmill," a device which
aroused so much criticism that in that year
committee was appointed to examine into it.
The committee found that the men were put
in the treadmil in gangs of thirty-three and
that they ran ten minutes and were allowed to
rest five minutes. While it was found that
the men did not see the results Of their work
and while it was admitted that the treadmill
afforded opportunity for brutal driving the
part of heartless keepers, the committee did
not recommend it's discontinuance.
Such things have disappeared in prisons.
with obsolete forms of punishment. But
there is still wide variation of prison stand
ards. What suffices for punishment in one
community will not suffice in another. And
the words Of William T. Stead still hold good:
"Until a man has been in prison he does
not know what human life means"