2. The men do more and better work in the shops than before the school was organized.

3. All the officers of the institution testify to the better disposition of the men universally.

If these things shall continue, it will be found that the best discovered means of prison discipline is the Christian Sabbath school.

The chaplain, Rev. Joseph McDowell, adds his testimony in these words:

The success of our religious instructions has been, by the blessing of God, such as to give a confident hope that practical good has been accomplished. When I commenced my labors, there were thirty-four convicts who could neither read nor write. They were taught as well as could be done with the very limited accommodations for the purpose, but since the organization of the Sabbath school they have made great progress. Twelve of them can now read quite understandingly in the word of God, and all the others are rapidly improving.

The Sabbath school has indeed had a marked effect upon all the convicts. There is a noticeable reformation in all of them, to be directly traced to the practical inauguration of the school. From all I can discover, not a few of the men are hopefully changed for the better. In this great work of the Sabbath school, officers, guards and contractors have shown a deep interest, the most of them being always present to assist in the instructions. It is a fact worthy of special mention, that the contractors have always accorded to me every kindness and seconded every effort I have made in the religious instruction of the men, not objecting to my labors-on any occasion when I have thought proper-among them, when their time was at the disposal of the contractors.

The results in religious instruction cannot be added up like sums in arithmetic; but there is no doubt that the instructions here given have been blessed, and, we may hope, may bring forth fruit in the future that shall be plainly manifest.

The liberality of the contractors, as stated above, is worthy of all commendation; and it is all the more noticeable, as being in such sharp contrast with the general conduct of the gentlemen holding this relation to the labor of the convicts.

KANSAS.

The report of the officers of the Kansas State prison, for 1868, is an interesting and encouraging document. It shows that the prison is making healthy progress, both as regards the theory and practice of penitentiary discipline. The administration has been changed in its personnel during the year, and the change appears to have been a decided gain to the institution. The board of directors, in their report, say:

The books of the institution were, at that time [viz., when they assumed charge, a fact to which we also directed attention in our last report], in a very unintelligible condition, owing to the fact that the business of the institution was formerly transacted partly by the warden and partly by the chairman of the board of directors. They add:

Through the untiring efforts and ability of the new clerk, Freeman Bell, order has been brought out of chaos, and the books are now intelligible and in a satisfactory

condition. The condition of the prison, under the able management of the warden, J. L. Philbrick, is all that could be desired, and we congratulate the State on having secured the services of a man so peculiarly adapted to perform the duties of this responsible position; assisted by his deputy, H. Hopkins, the best interests of the State will be advanced by their supervision.

Mr. Philbrick thus expresses his views in regard to the value of farm labor in a prison:

Last spring, deeming that the interests of the State demanded some land for till. ing, I rented about fourteen acres, at seven dollars per acre. This ground was plowed, planted, worked and harvested entirely by convicts, and the proceeds from it are: 1,060 bushels of potatoes, at 50 cents...

$530

72

21

50

$673

Thus it will be seen, notwithstanding we had a very bad season for late vegetables, on account of the grasshoppers, this was a profitable investment; and I do most earnestly hope that the board will use their influence with the Legislature in getting them to grant the authority and means to purchase more farming land for the institution, knowing that the interests of the State cannot be better advanced than by making such a purchase. As I have referred to this matter in one of my monthly reports, I will not again go into details, but will simply say that all of the grain and vegetables needed on the premises, both for convicts and horse-feed, can be raised with but trifling expense to the State, if we only had the ground; and it will be many years before the institution can be made self-sustaining in any other way; but by raising all of its own produce, at least $10,000 can be saved per annum.

These remarks touch only the question of the pecuniary value of agricultural labor of imprisoned convicts; but Mr. Organ, late superintendent of liberated convicts in Ireland, has shown that it has even a higher value as respects their reformation, its moral influence being most bracing and salutary.

The following observations by Mr. Philbrick on the qualifications of officers, on the means of securing permanently the services of such as prove themselves competent, on the true end and method of prison discipline, on the intellectual and disciplinary value of prison libraries, and on the evil effects of unduly short sentences and of the almost universal expectation and scramble for pardon among convicts, are pertinent and timely:

The officers connected with the prison at this time manifest an earnest desire to faithfully discharge their duties, but during the time I have had charge of the prison several changes have taken place among them, some because the pay was not sufficiently remunerative, while others have been discharged because they did not possess the necessary qualifications to control convicts, the reformation of a convict being the great aim in view. Brute force alone will not answer, and muscular power is only one of the essentials; a good officer must have a clear intellect, a sound judgment and a perfect control over his own temper at all times to enable him to act quickly,

firmly and justly, in order that the proper discipline may be maintained which is so necessary in an institution of this kind. Such men can usually command more pay than they get here, and, if they come at all, their stay is short, and by the time they have become sufficiently acquainted with the prison and convicts to be useful, they have secured situations or engaged in some kind of business where they can get more for their services; and I am of the opinion that officers just appointed, entirely unacquainted with the discipline and business of an institution like this, should not receive the same compensation for their services that officers do who have served one or two years; and in order that the officers who have proved themselves properly qualified by nature and experience may be retained, I would recommend that all who serve one year should have their salary increased one hundred dollars, and those who serve two years two hundred, making the salary for the first year five hundred dollars, the second year six hundred dollars, and the third year seven hundred dollars. This, I think, would stimulate them to retain their office by faithfully discharging their duties, and would at all times keep a number of old officers, who by their experience (other things being equal) are worth more to the State than any new or inexperienced one can possibly be. One officer who has learned the nature and dis. position of the convicts can control more with safety, and maintain better discipline and get along with less trouble with the prisoners, than two new ones can. Hence I believe it is a matter of economy to the State to retain them even by increasing their salaries.

There are now in the library about five hundred volumes of useful reading matter, one hundred and sixteen of which have been added this year, and the largest portion of the convicts confined here manifest great interest in it. By a very wise provision of the law passed last winter, three hundred dollars from visitors' fees and earnings of the prison were set apart annually for the purchase of a library. This will in time produce one both creditable to the State and useful to the inmates of the institution.

A well selected library in an institution of this kind is one of the most important things connected with it, for it not only aids the convict in gaining useful knowledge which will prove a benefit to him when discharged, but materially assists the officers in maintaining that discipline without which a prison life would prove intolerable, and all of its influences, instead of tending to reform, would be wholly demoralizing, making the bad worse and the extremely vicious still more vile. Many people think that is the result of all prisons. That some, in times gone by, may have been so conducted as to produce such results may be true; but all are not so, and I feel confident, by the time another year rolls around, God helping me in my endeavors, that I will be able to show to the people of Kansas that a larger percentage of the convicts of this institution have been reformed and are following honorable occupations and gaining honest livings than have been turned out from any other institution in the country. That every man in the institution will be reformed is impossible, but I believe that fifty per cent of all that are discharged now, and are to be discharged the ensuing year, will become honest men in the community.

One of the greatest evils I find to contend with among the convicts is the everlasting subject of pardon. This seems to be uppermost in the mind of nearly every convict in the penitentiary. A majority of all the letters written by the convicts' friends outside dwell upon the theme, and imply that their pardon is the only thing lacking to make themselves and the rest of the world perfectly happy. Many of the parties applying for pardons are ready to join a vigilance committee and help hang a man for stealing a horse, while under the excitement of the moment, who will use all of their influence in getting a convict pardoned (who is under sentence of one or two years) when he has been here but three or four months. Again, the friends in most cases represent that the convict is innocent, that the guilty one has not been [Senate No. 21.] 15

arrested, etc., when the convict himself had already confessed his guilt to me, and expressed sorrow for his crime and the shame brought upon himself and family, thus making the convict (if any difference between them) the most honorable of the two; still he wants to be and is all the time thinking that he will be pardoned.

This keeps him uneasy and irritable about his work, manifesting in every thing that he does a restless disposition, unpleasant to his fellow convicts and in some cases causing them to get punished for misconduct, all in consequence of this evil influence upon their minds. This not only prevents that reformation essential to the safety of the community and the welfare of the convict when he is released from prison, but places the officers of the institution in a false position, for most of the convicts think that they only need the recommendation of the warden or deputy to be discharged; hence, neither the warden nor any other officer has that power over the mind and actions of the convict that he ought to and would have, if it were not for this continual idea of pardon.

There is a portion of a class in the community who seem to make this branch of business a specialty, and have manifested a great interest in getting convicts pardoned; but, so far, I have never known them to intercede for any one, unless the convict or a friend who was come-at-able had money, showing their judgment to be that poverty is a crime and must be punished.

More than twenty years ago I became an officer in a penal institution, and was connected with a prison several years, and since that time have been familiar with the workings of different prisons in this country, and will venture to say that there is hardly a man, whose experience with prison life and convicts entitles him to consideration, but will sustain me in saying that pardons, as a general thing, produce more evils than they do good; for while one may be made happy by it, hundreds are made miserable, for they think, and in most cases know, that they are as much entitled to one as the party was who received it. That there are some cases that ought to be pardoned I do not deny, but they are much fewer than the people think, unless the whole are pardoned. If the reformation of the convict is the aim in view, which I claim should never be lost sight of, the practice of sending so many men to the penitentiary for three or four months, or any term less than a year, is an evil one, for before the prisoner learns the rules of the prison, or learns to respect himself or any body else, he is discharged and goes out into the world a worse instead of a better man, and his influence over the convicts left in the institution has a bad effect, and, knowing that he has but a short time to stay, he looks upon every thing like reforming with contempt. While I do not look upon extremely long sentences as the most desirable for reformatory purposes, extremely short ones are the worse of the two, and if it is necessary to restrain this last class, it should be done by sending them to the work house, or county jail, instead of the penitentiary. Convicts with sentences from two to ten years, are capable of being moulded into useful men and women again, with very few exceptions. There are men sentenced here for five years, for horse stealing, from one county, and for four months for the same offense in another county. This seems very unequal justice, and there is no class of people in the world who feel and criticise the actions of the courts more than the convicts themselves, and it is a common expression among them, when a man is sentenced here for a few months for grand larceny, that he had a soft thing of it, and that he was going to do all of his stealing in that place hereafter.

The following passage from the report of Mr. Mitchell, chaplain, will be read with interest:

When I made my last annual report there were in the prison 125 prisoners. There are now 170-123 white males, 35 colored, 5 Indians, 3 Mexicans, and 4

women. Of these, 86 can read and write, 65 can read but not write, and 25 can neither read nor write. Fifty-two of these prisoners have both parents living; 30 have fathers only; 18 mothers only; 48 have neither parents living, and 22 know nothing of their parents. Hence, a very large per cent of these unfortunate persons are orphans, and as such have special claims upon our benevolence and mercy. We have held divine services every Sabbath except in a few instances when providentially hindered, during the year. The religious services of the prison consist of a prayer and social meeting, Sabbath morning at nine o'clock. Preaching at two Bible class at four P. M., and prayer meeting on Wednesday evening. Those who are members of the prison church, or who desire to be Christians, attend the Sabbath morning social meeting and the Wednesday evening prayer meeting. All attend preaching, and a mixed number the Bible class. All who desired it have been baptized, and to all who have professed faith in Christ, the Lord's supper has been administered. About forty of these prisoners are members of the prison church, and of this number none have tried to escape, neither have any been returned to the prison for a second offense, while nearly all of this class who have gone out by pardon or expiration of time, have sought connection with some branch of the Christian church, and are trying to live exemplary Christian lives.

P. M.

The physician's report is interesting; but we cannot make room for extracts. His department, when he took charge of it, appears to have been in the same chaotic state as the rest of the prison; but he has brought order out of the confusion; and his administration seems to be both methodical and efficient.

Since writing the above, the report for 1869 has been received, evincing solid progress in every direction. Financially, the prison came within ten thousand dollars of being self-supporting; its discipline has been greatly improved, while the punishments have, at the same time been reduced in equal ratio; the library has received important additions; the taste of the convicts for reading grows stronger, and their knowledge visibly increases; the religious services of the prision, preaching, prayer meeting, and Bible class, have been attended with increasing interest; and a regular prison school has been organized, numbering forty-five scholars, none of whom knew the alphabet a few months ago, but many of them can now read quite well. The Kansas State penitentiary is evidently advancing by rapid strides to take its place in the front rank of American prisons.

The only punishment in use here is the ball and chain on the leg, the prisoner the while being kept constantly at work. The authorities congratulate themselves that the shower bath, lash, iron cap, tying up by the thumbs, stocks, etc., etc., are punishments quite unknown there, further than by report.

KENTUCKY.

No report of the State penitentiary of Kentucky for 1868, has reached us. We have received some statistical items in manuscript