Show A CURIOUS rUNG IN PRISONS The exposure of 1 counterfeiting pJa tIn t-In the eastern penitentiary of Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania run by C convicted counterfeiter need astonish no one who ever read The Autobiography of a Thief The most remarkable portion of that curious work is that which gives an account of the collusions between the convicts and the guards where the guards and even the officers of the prison would supply the convicts with e tra food clothing and other comforts and even opium and morphine and In return the convicts would send word to their pals on the i outside to get things for the guards and the officers I is told how costly I furs jewelry and rare things of value are supplied bY the outside criminals in consldjrntlon of the desired things going to the convicts This was told of New York State prisons and it is certainly cer-tainly as bad as the counterfeiting scheme in the Pennsylvania State prison pris-on which of course could not have bet > n set Hi 1 and operated without collusion with the officers of the prison And yet the New York newspapers are sneering at Pennsylvania The fact seems to be that prison management man-agement in the East Is permeated with trickery collusion and crime The prisoners pris-oners t arc not Improved In tlC penitentiaries peniten-tiaries so far from being penitents as the name of the place I of their confinement confine-ment would Imply they become in them more hardened than before and take on the lesson that crjme is not in itself an evil or n wrong but that It Is only such when found out or Is no longer profitable I is of course tin astounding astound-ing revelation thnt n counterfeiting plant should be found In operation within the walls of a States prison and i that It was discovered only by secret service officials olj the National Government Govern-ment after the region round about had been flooded with bogus dimes and quarters But as said before those who have read The Autobiography of a Thief may well be prepared to believe be-lieve almost anything in connection with penitentiary management As the old song has it which told of a deacon who was u remorseless skinflint and general gradgrlnd and the devils Joy over him in the refrain That ere is the deacon for me So the criminal may well say oC a prison such OH this That ere Is the prison for mo |