The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-11-11
AS told to Our Special Correspondent by
SPECIAL WARDEN JOHN ]. DOE

3 y
Il They eat ravenously, and withou
a single word in that whole roomfu
of men. The captain stands there
! watching There are five Other
guards stationed at strategic place:
; in the room. Only six unarlnec
guards among 500 prisoners. Shoule
a riot break, their chances would be
, SLIM indeed They are locked in
just as the prisoners are locked in
But see that narrow slot low or
that side2 The captain already has
|, passed his keys into the men ir
there And they are armed with
i riot guns, tear gas. A disturbance
here would be terrible for all The
men are locked in like rats in 6
trap. They know it. There has
never been a riot in this prison.
The meal is over and the men
file out in platoons, arms folded
each carrying his spoon and cup
Some carry tins with sugar or but
ter in them. These articles must be
kept by the men in their own cells
But the state of Montana feeds its
prisoners well, though cheapiy
They get three meals at an average
cost, through the year, of is cents
a day or cents a meal. Plenty of
good bread. baked here; plenty Of
vegetables and good variety. Tire
!, some. heavy and. not SO tasty. but
ample, clean, fresh and sustaining.
Most prison riots are caused by
poor quality, improperly prepared
food and not enough of it. Hunger
breeds discomfort, and cruelty is
used to stamp it out
Now the captain takes his station
in the center watch station in the
center of the exercise yard AS the
men file out for exercise, he steps
| to one side. Now and then a man
will step out of the single file line
of marching men and approach him.
Then another will step out and the
two will talk in the presence of the
/ guard. Here is where they tran
sact their business with one an
other, arrange to make horsehair
belts, and things, exchange re-
quests. All exchanges of funds be-
tween the prisoners is maintained
| by system of. transfers, and a
checking account. This is kept in
duplicate. one set of books inside
the prison and the other in the out
side administrative office. TRUSTEES
do the work The men are given
blank transfer slips, resembling
checks. They write the amount, the
person to receive it, and check on
| the money they have left or accum-
ulated with the warden. Scores of
these transfers are made daily
Sometimes they will cheat and is
sue more slips than they have funds
available. Then all slips are turned
down. In the meantime, the cheat
er has spent his funds by buying
groceries for himself. The men are
left with bad checks on their hands.
These instances require investiga-
ton and punishment. 1t creates
hard feeling among the prisoners,
a condition which leads to trouble
and fights. Such cheaters are soon
put where they con do no mis-
chief.
TRUSTEES working in the sewing
room, around the yard, in the vari-
Gus shops, all have knives. These
knives are counted before the men
are locked up, and turned over to
the captain. The captain is re-
sponslble for conditions on his
shift. He holds his guards response
BILE for their actions toward the
men and toward each other. 1t is
a stern and vigorous life, one that |
requires eternal Watchfulness, alert
ness and training It takes at least
two years to properly train and |
prison guard
There are four watch towers at
each corner of the three -foot walls |
that surround the prison. Guards /
armed with machine guns are al |
ways on duty at each. There is
a watch tower over the entrance
gate. The guards hold the keys and |
let them down chute for officials !
entering and leaving. There is an
other watch tower at back In the
center of the exercise yard.
At night, after the o'clock dead |
line, when lights 90 out and pris-
oners must maintain silence, a guard |
makes the round of every cell on
his floor every Is minutes. He
counts the men before they are
locked up. He counts them on his
rounds. He counts them when they
are let out Each afternoon, every
cell is thoroughly searched by a |
guard. There is no set time for
this. He may pop into cell at any !
hour and give it and the prisoner
thorough shaking down. Then he
moves from the cell house to the |
watch tower for two hours. and |
goes on to the next watch tower
until his eight hour shift has been
There are three shifts
under the eight-hour day now in
effect. 1t required the service of
only three more guards to put it
INTO effect.
New guards are watched by their
fellow guards as closely as inmates.
until the new man is thoroughly
broken in and trustworthy; until he
las made himself proficient and be-
,ome one of them. A guards duty
S never done.
All guards are subject to call at
III hours of the day or night. 1t is
for them TO report when
hat terrifying prison siren roars
nut that trouble, riot, fire, death and
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