Show makes garden of prison yard lifer raises flowers where rubbish and dust used to be seen N Y sing sing prisons flirty and unsightly yard Is no more croken stones piles of rubbish and dusty roads that greeted the eye there n years gone by have been converted into beautiful gardens roses bloom in season where once stood piles of dirt flower beds grass and shrubs flourish where nothing but rubbish and dust once appeared A fountain with goldfish frolicking in its depth where a stone pile once lay and the transformation Is the work of a man sen ing a life sentence for murdering his wife t the man Is charles E chapan who back in 1018 was dign in the per world in new york city one night chapan killed his wife while she slept lie admitted that he intended later to kill himself but that his nerve had failed he was tried found guilty and sent to sing sarg prison to pend the rest of his life chapan found his health breaking under prison life so he obtained per mission to attempt to lay out a gar den in the prison yard the warden of the prison permitted several men to help him and the result was a large plot of green grass began planting flowers t chapan then began planting flowers and in some manner word of his work sot outside the prison walls A florist in N Y where the prison Is located sent him a bushel of flowers to plant and scores of plant lovers and his old friends sent chapan almi allar gifts at the end of the fifth year chapan had built several greenhouses a number of large flower beds and several gardens in which young trees were thriving in addition thousands of roses were growing in little nooks of the prison yard and every bit of bare ground was green today the convicts in sing sing go almost to the point of fighting for the privilege of being assigned to help with his garden not once has a flower been stolen or destroyed hundreds however have been cut and sent to sick convicts for chapan be cleves in sharing his pleasure as much as possible chapan has changed since he was sent to sing sing in the old das lie was stern almost harsh and cared little tor the sentimental things of life but his flowers have created tor the lifer a world entirely different and his face and his manners show the change that has been wrought in him attracts official notice chapina Chap lna work in sing sing has attracted official notice not long ago the following official statement was issued by the new york commission sing sing Is slowly changing from one of the most oppressive to one of the most modern prisons tn the country the old yard was unsightly and dirty the present yard Is clean and beautiful A prisoner with ideals encouraged cou raged by the warden has been responsible for the change flower beds shrubs and grass plots are ev ery where boolen stones dusty roanld and dirt have been replaced by con crete paths gravel roads and clean allness the rose garden in the prison yard would grace any institution thou sands of roses bloom around a con crete fountain in which are lilies and the report mentions no name but it Is no secret that it refers to charles E chapan serving a life sentence for murdering his wife |