The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-09-06
YOUTH LEARNS
CRIMES TRICKS
IN few WEEKS
Case Is Pointed Example of
Evils in State Penal
System.
Continued From Page one)

during his fourteen years Of service
in the prison he has seen only one
sane convict, a Negro named Boone,
thrown in with the insane inmates.
The Negro, according to Mr..
Schmuhl, became so difficult to the
guards that the then warden, Walter
II. Daily, ordered him thrown over
the wall" into the insane ward.
Such conditions, prisoners and Of
ficials agree, arouse well~behaved
inmates to the point Of desperation.
The risks of a dash for freedom
over the wall are to be preferred
to the risks of remaining, one pris-
oner said.
Separation Is Necessary
Separation of the sexually normal
from the perverts; segregation OF
hardened, desperate men from first
offenders are described by prison
authorities as abjectives of we'll
managed penal system.
In order to show more clearly the
evil roots which have wound them
selves around the state prison at
Michigan City, choking out all eff
forts to establish an intelligent and
humane prison administration, at
the request of the reporter, an in
mate retired to his cell and wrote
out answers to specific questions.
How does the old orde compare
with the present order of anage-
ment, and what is the re. 'tion
among the inmates? Is there evil
dence of a pronounced favorable re-
spouse to change, and is the general
morale better now than it was UNI
der the old management"
There is a decided change for the
better" was the'answer. The gen.
eral morale is better and the men
are manifesting genuine desire to
carry their part of trying burden.
Brutality has been abolished and
intelligence substituted in dealing
with attractions of the rules. Com
parsons are always difficult and
that is not the proper approach.
Several Ended Lives
Under the old order violence was
manifested in the form of protest
with ugly tempers on every hand.
Fights occurred almost daily-usu-
ally with knives or other deadly
weapons. This resulted in two kill
ings, while many men were diSfig-
ured for life by CHASTITY slashes
about their faces. One mans skull
was crushed and another stabbed
to death. This was due wholly to
the methods of official management,
and not to the prisoners"
Several inmates committed sui
eide; others tried it and failed, the
prisoner wrote in answer to ques-
tions.
Men walked off the prison farm
in groups and on one occasion drove
away dairy herd and sold the
prison cattle in the Chicago market.
"One man was pardoned to marry
young girl whom he had compro-
missed while exerting liberties grant,
ed. One favorite lived in almost
open adultery with the wife of a
guard on one of the prison farms, :"
the prisoner claimed.
How many of these incidents
might have been avoided through
competent psychiatric analysis of
prisoners, penal experts do not know.
They do claim that proper separa-
ton of the inmates into well de-
fined classes of reliability would
have prevented many stains on the
record of Michigan City prison.
TOmOrrOw's inStallment will deal
with "ROsenburg," sailor, stick up
man, professional wrestler, Michi-
gan City prison inmate, who breaks
the cOnvict's code and talks.
NOEL COWARD ESCAPES