Show PRISON DRESS REFORM The orison dress of this country is usually made of cloth with alternate i stripes of black and white the stripes being about one inch in width And I when alt of convicts in this dress are grouped together it has the effect I of making them appear like so many rattlesnakes The Illinois prison at Joliet is about I to introduce some changes In the matter I mat-ter of dress After July 1 instead of all prisoners being compelled to wear i I this ugly dress there will be three styles of dress The prison officials will say what particular style a convict con-vict shall wear Each style indicates a special grade or class Cadet gray is to be worn by the highest high-est grade Trusties and convicts expecting I ex-pecting to be liberated in a short time will don this costume Green will be the color worn by the doubtful class I or those on probation For the lowest low-est grade red will be the color and stripes will distinguish the wearers as bad men This will probably have a salutary effect upon the prisoners for no man no matter how bad he may be but 1 I likes to think some one is worse and I to be distinguished from such by some I mark Nowhere is this feeling stronger than among men confined in penitentiaries I peniten-tiaries To distinguish one above another an-other howsjever small the distinction I is to encourage him to be better it 1 arouses some little feeling of pride I In the Utah penitentiary there is no such distinction of dress as is proposed pro-posed at Joliet but it might be a I good thing to introduce It It is a matter well worth the serious consid eratin of the prison board But the cTistindtions would be useless so long as the prisoners are kept in idleness and herded together in a common yard |