Show f behind prison bars the interest in prison life Is not so enuch a human interest as a de light in the abstract when a man commits crime and is jerked from public view to a mansion of cells he loses part of his humanity and be comes an abstraction his lot is fas cina ting to those whose minds are wont to fasten on system and sched ule people declare their fondness for liberty yet to the same degree too they gloat over the possibilities of discipline they love to examine into the methods that one man die tates tor another s obedience that ts why they are vain of written con that are cumbrous to amend rules bylaws strange man ners of etiquette styles heraldry caste machine politics and cou atles other inventions the imposing of mathematics on humanity s infinite wishes mal es the victims interest ing as a puzzle the captive in siberia is a more curious and edifying object than the tramp who has a park bench for his sofa the former has been stamped with system the cruelty that has been practiced on hanf be comes theatrical he interests not because he is a man but because he s a working model of another man s torture the tramp on his side Is an emblem of freedom yet on ac count of his local color and the cus toms to which he adheres would de light more readers than the affections to which he does not get an opportune opp ity to adhere biow in a penitentiary food comes and goes by weight every dollar s worth is supposed to feed a certain amount of criminal seven hundred people nourished day ay day with ne same food munching the bread of punishment chewing the meat of rule and regulation carry out the schedule provided for them all ap petites are met with the same supply all tastes the one satisfaction rants burglars miscellaneous mea nants attempters of murder thieves consume the same tare to thrive through their term the right of selection is eliminated rejection of one dish would be likely to dis bupt rupt the rejecters whole meal the lodging places of the lorn bro are examples of crime in architecture fitted tor crime in the person As the warden says the sleeping places are built on the plan of the pullman palace cars two berths one over the other the resemblance to the palace car is in economy of cubic measurements the cells tor the men are contained in two sections of the main building one tor the long term men the other tor the short term down the long room are six parallel rows of cells in a block three stor es high back to back skeleton stairways and plat forms of iron lead to tl em the cell block is just large enough to hold uncomfortably these few hundred men filed away for reference until the expiration of their terms when athey are tal en into the office and re leased each cell can hold two men the first man to get one of these corn apartments part ments takes his cho ce of the berths out in the ard are acres of ground for no other purpose than ito keep the several buildings of the institution apart from each other some good sized and airy sleeping places could be built there on a the ory not too airy or cal with the designs of prison life especially for that one ennocent man the cozy but too compact cell theory now in use could be well magnified into rooms large enough tor a complete yawn in all directions but that might be too much like real life for those who endeavored to desecrate the same when it was free to them every day these cliff dwellers come lown and work they sew hammer nit print manufacture they make clothing caps shoes house brooms street brooms brushes beds stock ings and other things consistent with she s boid himself lf nol injun u i dinner of fhe of pork and leans six ounces cf bread and sr uart of tea not that the human ejrain could not do more on such a potential yet gnp ring diet but more s not expected of a man who could biot prove his own innocence work steadily bit do not teem to put a larga amo nt of zeal in the task for there Is not much opportunity to rise in the business the only open ng they care tor is tha front gate the emoluments and cold glories of the penitentiary do not seem to act like a charm on their del cate ambitions here among the mimic industries of the prison abis Is only habitual as in the n of life in a real city most of then have not had their ambitions bright ened since they were boys that was many long years ago for some of them and not so long ago for others if the actual count of years be taken as a matter of tact it is longer than their ages would warrant some of them might not have had any real good boyhood at all A childhood batted on one cheek by poverty and balefully illuminated on the other with gleams of crime is what sends these striped slaves of the city to a feeling of boredom rather than penitence nd perhaps it was incorrect to schy that they are far away from child hood they are all children yet with just a larger amount of ingenuity ingen vity and greater muscles with which to carry out the foolish haphazard an archi plans of the child before the r meals the men are led out from the workshops to their cells for a rest As the long line trails through the prison yard and up the light bramey stairways to their cells they mal e a continuous picture almost romantic enough for an am press hued as he line Is in ita stripes and convicted visages of duns and grays wherever these men have been separately all their lives and whatever they have been doing they seem a fine collection now they are consistent with one another the so called criminal type is there any body could pick it out eyes and nose mouth and chin cheekbones from the slums jaws from strange re gions of europe brows from poverty alps front lack of purpose expression that could oe lit up with anything from a cigarette to a proposal to divide the booty the same espres s ons that can be seen a thousand fold in the streets in stores in th cars or theater except that in thesa other places there may be visible oi them more expense and care hera the fraternity of them is selected by jur es of twelve men the gang lg p eked out for the jail with special ref irenc to their criminality based on acts done so the effect Is strong er than in the streets all embellishment is torn off the blace ani gray stripes give a psychology uniformity to their appearance alv them the look of having the sam stripe to their souls and intentions which may be true in some atia laoc lat lars as first tor instance to get away some of them have been shaved within a week some wear mustaches a wh te beard can be seen there they come picturesquely winding into the doorway criminals mis products of nature man with a life of sin pal lid with a term of punishment crimi nal apes handsome types ignorant faltering courageous intelligent bru tal eyed and some with a ness and virtue on their faces to meet a wondering glance as to why they are there whatever they have done in anger in romantic episode or in detestable crime they are now there as mere facts several hundred kempt hungry facts coming in to dine on ten ounces of corned beef and cabbage six ounces of bread and some coffee brooklyn eagle |