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Show PRISON PALLOR A THING OF THE PAST f A'PlAfF Of pUNlSKtNT f OR. MISGUIDED 2wT 1WB lIELO?MeM OIF fHE ffE(t SlPE- "Irtose- Of IhEvSoMES vWO WOR.ie INTllE CLOfMlMC- tOt iff IM (J- FACtbR-lES AKP HAvJE LlT-fLe G??OfcTuNtTy POC. OU1"3)oof EeCLCiSE jATE QNEH EACH WORMING OnE Hour, of "st?" eeitcses and a3Ea-ll . jH The penitentiary! .-'Bj The mere mention of this word .H brings to the minds of men and ,vJft women the thought of a big plate 3B with gTay walls guards mounted 9H above the prison with riot guns, sub- .'iB; dued, cowering criminals, wearing i.JH stripes, the pallor of prison stamped sH on their faces and the hollow cough :JH' of consumption telling clearly the JH approach of the dreaded end. laB That is what the penitentiary used &B to be. jfH Dut today, with humane men in charge of most of the prisons iR throughout the United States, ihinga t have changed a bit. The old theory gHi that punishment reformed has been gHi abandoned in most prisons, and H kindness has been substituted as the HH best way of bringing a man back to fejjjflH the realisation of the duties to so- JB cicty and the shortcomings that led 'H him behind the bars. From the time Warden McLaugh- JH ry in charge of the Federal prison (V. 'B at Leavenworth, Kans.. started his .-lH reforms, other wardens have sought gfcjHH to either emulate him or surpass H; him in kindness to their prisoners. MHH One warden, at least, has sur- H passed McLaughry and he is War- H den W. V. Choisser of the Southern H Illinois penitentiary at Chester. 111. H Choisser has succeeded in making H: his prison into a place where pi is- H oners arc glad to stav , and his great- H est achievement is this the prison H pallor has passed from the faces of H the convicts and has been succeeded H by the ruddy browned cheeks of I good health, l BEFORMATION" 1 THROUGH BASEBALL. H How did Wardon Choisser do il H Why by baseball, of course. He bought bats and balls for his pris- B oners and each morning before go- H lng to work in the shops they play j several innings and get In perfect H' trim for their hard tasks, f In the Southern Illinois penlten- H1 tiary there is no dragging and shuf- Hj rling of feet, men with shaved heads K wearing stripes or men with sag- H glng shoulders, and the haunted look B of beasts. Instead there is a great H aggregation of strong, healthy, B bronzed men who forget there is an H outer world in the absorption of H their dally pleasures and their H daily work. H A man in college In Annapolis or B West Point, for instance has great- B er restrictions placed upon him than l havp the prisoners in this prison iu H Illinois. In the morning, just as the sun rises over the big hill that shelters the prison 350 men march forth from their cells to the big parade ground. They form In squads of four aud the morning military drill is started under direction of prisoners pris-oners who have seen service In the United States army. The men go through the setting up exercises of the regular army, varied with outdoor out-door alisthehics of the most vigorous vig-orous sort- Everybody is grinning and perspiring after fifteen minutes oi this work that, takes away the Btiffness after a night on a hard cot in a cell. As the drill is finished other convicts con-victs v.. ilk forth with baseball bats, gloves and masks The "Laundry Tigers" and the 'Knitting Shop Giants" then start their morning game For thirty minutes these men forget everything in the excitement excite-ment of the great American pastime. Convicts and guards gather on the base lines to root for their favorites. No more excitement could be evidenced evi-denced were it a game for the championship of one of the big leagues. GUARDS FORGET (IAS. The only sting that remains to tell that this place of shouting and happy hap-py men Is a prison, is the guard far above on the. gray walls, his riot gun at rest and his interest centered cen-tered not in keeping those men prisoners, pris-oners, but in watching his favorite team score. Crime and punishment are forgotten forgot-ten in the intenso excitement of the game. The long-legged youth pitching pitch-ing for the "Giants" forgets for the time he is serving a life sentence there for murdering his chum, while the little grey-eyed man on first base is oblivious to the fact he has seven sev-en more of a ten-year sentence for burglary to serve. The man playing play-ing short-stop was considered one of the most clever of "peter-men," as safe blowers are called in the language of yegg-men and police, before his sentence of seven years in prison. But his record as a criminal crim-inal now is forgotten in his record as a clever InAclder. In fact, that man aud many others of his kind standing about in that prison yard would rather have positions on that baseball team than return to the outer world to a possible life of crime. There are a number of professional profession-al and semi-professional baseball f Baseball Is Reforming Men In Penitentiary Where Old Ideas of Punishment Have Been Superseded Super-seded By Pleasant and Healthful Health-ful Diversions Southern Illinois Institution Has Abolished Lock-step Lock-step and Striped Suits and Is Preparing Its Inmates to Start Life Anew With Modern Ideas and Ambitions of Skilled Artisans Arti-sans Marked Progress Made Since Present Warden Took the Reins and Instituted Reforms I plavcrs on the two opposing teams in Chester penitentiary, and their games are fast and clean. After a half hour of such sport a gong rings and the prisoners file into in-to the dining room. On their vsay they are joined by another squad corning from their cells The latter lat-ter are prisoners who work on the farm and have outdoor employment for their recreation. The others work in the shops and the half hour vigorous play in the morning is necessary to keep them in good health, to put the tan in their cheeks and drive away the prison pallor that deadly mark seen in most penal institutions. Through these exercises and the general healthy condition of the men. the death rate, especially that from tuberculosis, If reduced to a minimum. The quarry and farm hands get all the outdoor exercise needed without participating in the daily ball game. HEALTHFUL WORK. Of the prison population, about 600 work daily in the quarries and mills where the cliff limestone is worked up into lime dust for agricultural agri-cultural use, into rip rap for river use and into mncadam for the roadways road-ways Thousands of tons of the lime dust are sold to the farmers for use in treating acid soil. The macadam ma-cadam is sent to every part of tho state and accounts for the many beautiful roads in Illinois. All the clothing worn in penal and charitable institutions in Illinois is made in the Chester penitentiary' About 350 prisoners are employed in the tailor and knitting shops. None of these products get on the market and there is no competition with free labor. The farm though Is the real spot in the institution of which warden aud prisoners are proud It comprises com-prises 374 acres, and of this 300 acres are on a steep hill. Straw ber- rles, grapes and watermelons and tomatoes are grown on the hills, and in the lowland potatoes, corn and other garden truck. All of these products are fed the prisoners and this is another aid to their health Out on the sandbars running into the Mississippi grow watermelons of large varieties. These melons are consumed by prisoners at what Ihey term "watermelon feasts All gather In the big dining room on a certain evening and eat watermelon to their hearts content. Beside in the gardens there are cows, hogs and poultry to be cared for and the prisoners in charge of these various branches of husbandry are as proud of their work as if they were independent inde-pendent fanners struggling to rais the best animals for exhibit at the country fair. These prison farmers and the men in the workshops and quarries art rewarded for their efforts by plenty to eat and this is a third thing that builds up the constitutions of the convicts and makes them health red-cheeked men with no trace of prison pallor. HA E THEIR SWEETS. It may seem a peculiar principle of psychology, but sweets have the effect of keeping men in confinement in a cheerful mood. This is noticed in all penal institutions and a prisoner priso-ner can undergo no greater punishment punish-ment than to have his supply of molasses mo-lasses curtailed. Where prisoners are not furnished with plenty of sugary substances they developed a craving for drugs and alcohol and such a craving means trouble Warden Choisser said of the desire of men for sweets: "We are liberal with molasses because it is a valuable valua-ble food product and more particularly particu-larly because the men like it It Is more in demand than any other food we can furnish them. "We had 600 watermelons gather- u -tF- ed up here last summer, and I asned the boys if they vsould rather eat everyone of them or .sell some They rated to cat them and that's What u, did everyone was eaten and we all enjoyed them " Of Warden Choisser one prisoner Just released said. "That warden helped me a lot and I'm going to stay away from there. The boys know he Is a good man and is trying to do what is right. He has put an end to guards beating them. He will 3nD t 60 Art WUD fOOVv LAJS iH. $OlHU(&N Illinois ENifsMTiAV 5 leases Not as A Concf vrJitH IfcESEfWlEMf AMD -HATE KINDLED IN f4iS flEATUf AG-rVNS-f ALL SOCieV5 -3U AS A MAM RENEWED IN 'SODY AMD MIND -fo EffER. flHT His 9ftftE OF UFE. A4 j . ' ' Warden QaotssetL Relieves tma-t a uuM?rty OamnoI B IEFortfAEl) SO HE INSISTS upoN EVEftV CUE HMiHG- j CHANCE Foil All Food HE WANTS I see you and talk your troubles over with you and try to help you. He won't see you abused and I certainly certain-ly honor him." Choisser was appointed warden two years ago aftrr he had hien a member of the Illinois Prison Commission Com-mission He came to Chester prison with some new ideas and put them into practice in a most effective way THE W V RDKVS U PRINCIPLES. warden Choisser, afir realizing about their treatment or their sent- i that the first thing in a prison to be contended with is disease, and having hav-ing solved that question by exercises aud baseball games, took up the moral side of the prisoners. He demanded de-manded that guards and foremen treat the prisoners aa men. There is do carrying of black jacks, billies, bil-lies, canes or clubs in this prison The g'UMd who b-ats i prisoner is given his pay and marched out of the institution in a hurry The m g oner who refuses to obey is punish ed by the curtailment of his privi- ' leges, for there is neither coddling of prisoners nor abuse of them in this institution. I Choisser abolished the stripes so hateful to prisoners. The first- ,i grade convicts wear blue uniforms, the second graders gray, and the third grades or men under punish- J merit, tan. The prisoners are allowed al-lowed to write as often as they want and are even permitted to send complaints to newspapers either ence They are allowed to see rela- I tives at any time they call at prison. By these changes in rules, base- uf ball games, plenty of serclse and honesi toil this big, jovial warden I has changed a former penal InstitU- 1 Hon more into a borne than a pi is- I " a1"' l!" '"cn he sends forth are f fl free oi prison pallor thej hold up I their heads and they look the yorld 11 iu i ho face for they have beou pro- jl vided that great asset Hope' |