MINNESOTA STATE PRISONTHE PRISONER'S RECEPTION AT THE PENITENTIARY[pg 7]An incoming prisoner is designated by the inmates as a“fresh fish.”He enters the administration building, and, as a rule, if he has the reputation of being a“slippery chap”is handcuffed to the sheriff or one of his deputies. Handcuffs, in the vernacular of the underground world, are called“come-a-longs.”He now enters a room known as“between the gates.”(One of these gates leads to the outer world and the other to the inside of the prison.) Here the prisoner's commitment papers are examined, the deputy warden sent for to receive the new arrival, and slips are immediately made out notifying the several heads of departments of the man's name, county from which he came, the offense for which he was committed and the time that he shall serve.Upon the arrival of the deputy warden the prisoner is taken in charge and marched through the officers' barber shop and kitchen. Upon leaving the latter room the“fresh fish”is commanded to“turn to the right,”and a short distance ahead, about twenty feet, he is told to '“turn to the left.”He now enters the large cellhouse—his future home, to remain for the number of years that His Honor, the Judge of the District Court, has sentenced him to serve. The cellhouse contains 664 cells (referring to Minnesota's institution, which furnishes the[pg 8]nucleus for this article) and is in charge of an officer known as the Captain of the Cellhouse.This officer now takes the new arrival in charge and searches his person thoroughly, empties his pockets of everything they contain, and takes his coat, hat and vest. Any valuables found on him, such as money, jewelry, trinkets, tobacco, etc., are immediately tied up into a bundle and sent to the deputy warden's office. A duplicate receipt is made out for all articles of intrinsic value, is signed by the Captain of the Cellhouse and also by the new arrival so as to insure their safe keeping until the day of his release.The next move, and one that is a decisive reminder of his future status in the world, is to the bath room, where he takes a bath and puts on a“second-grade”uniform, there being three grades in all. The first is the highest. Its garb consists of a neat grey suit and cap. First grade prisoners are entitled to write one letter each week, to draw a ration (four ounces) of tobacco weekly, and to receive visitors once in four weeks. They have a dining room to themselves and are served with a greater variety of food than are the prisoners in the other grades. They have also such other privileges granted them from time to time as their general conduct warrants.Prisoners in the second grade are clothed in a black and grey check suit and cap. They are permitted to write one letter a fortnight, to draw a ration of tobacco weekly and to see visitors once a month. They also have a dining room of their own, but the food served therein is not as varied as that served to first grade men. The latter, for example, are served with butter and other relishes at stated intervals, but such things are not part of the diet of the second grade prisoners.Administration OfficeAdministration OfficeBetween the GatesBetween the GatesGroup Showing the Three Grades of PrisonersGroup Showing the Three Grades of Prisoners[pg 9][pg 10][pg 11]Inmates in the third grade wear black and white striped suits. They are denied tobacco, writing and visiting privileges and their meals are served in their cells, which are located in one portion of the cellhouse. In none of the grades are prisoners required to march with the“lock-step,”and excepting those in the third grade, all are permitted to wear their hair long enough to comb during good behavior. The prisoner, after his bath, is again brought into the cellhouse and the captain has one of the inmate barbers clip his hair and shave him. If the new arrival belongs to the respectable class, wearing a mustache and dressed well he will hardly recognize himself if he should chance to look into a mirror. In a few moments the proud American citizen has been supplanted by the convict. Those who belong to the so-called“criminal”class are not affected upon donning the prison uniform, but it is different with the first offender. If he is a proud, sensitive man the change is great enough to almost wrench his heart strings asunder. Many a new arrival, spending his first night in his cell, with its iron bed, whitewashed walls, scant furnishings, iron floor and the dimensions of the room only five by seven feet, has been known to break down completely. After such an ordeal (not your make-believe imprisonment, where some author has himself locked up for an hour or so to gain local coloring for a novel) one gets a clear idea of what prison life really is and places a higher valuation on the liberty that he so recklessly trampled under foot in his mad rush for riches, position and fame.After the tonsorial artist has completed his task the prisoner is conducted to the deputy warden's office, where he is weighed, asked innumerable questions, etc., instructed as to the rules of the institution, measured according[pg 12]to the Bertillon system, which is the standard adopted in this country and throughout Europe.BERTILLON MEASUREMENTSTo Dr. Alphonse Bertillon, the celebrated French anthropologist, the world is indebted for the knowledge of the scientifically demonstrated fact that no two persons are exactly alike in physical measurements. In fact any single individual can be identified from thousands of others by this cleverly thought-out system, which was first adopted in this country in 1887. The accompanying illustrations are self-explanatory.The system embraces three distinct parts: First, the measurement of certain unchangeable“bony lengths”of the body; second, a careful description of the features of the face; third, a careful localization of all scars and marks on the body. While the face may change, be even mutilated beyond recognition; while the scars and other marks may be removed, the“bony lengths”of the body remain unchangeable in adults. The parts measured of the bony lengths of the body are the length and width of the head, the cheek width, length of foot, the middle and little finger and the cubit, i. e., from the elbow to the tip of the little finger; the height standing, the height seated, the reach of outstretched arms, right ear length (which most authorities assert remains the same through life), the median line in front from the fork or hollow below the“Adam's apple”down, and, in the rear, the spinal column from the seventh vertebra to the base of the spine, are the anatomical or“guiding[pg 13]points”from which all descriptions of the body are recorded; in the fingers, the joints and flanges,—the flanges being the portions of the fingers between the joints. The calipers for measuring the head are provided with a graduated arch and are similar to a compass. In taking the length of the head the left point of the caliper is held at the root of the nose and the right point is brought against the occipital bone in the back of the head; the thumb screw is then tightened and the measurement checked by passing the instrument again over the head. The width of the head over the cheeks is taken in the same way. The measurement of the foot is taken with a caliper rule similar to that used by a shoemaker; the prisoner is posed standing on his left foot and steadying himself as shown in the illustration. The graduate stem is placed against the inside of the foot with the fixed arm in contact with the heel and the sliding arm then brought in tightly against the toe. In measuring the left middle[pg 14]and little finger the back of the caliper rule is used, two small projections being provided on the fixed and sliding arms. The finger is bent at right angles to the back of the hand and the measurement taken from the tip of the finger to the knuckle.Head Length Measurements.Head Length Measurements.The registering and record made of the foregoing, together with an accurate description of the face and all marks on the body, constitute the third and complete part of this system. To illustrate this part briefly,— measurements are all based on the French metric system, viz: Height, 1 metre, 71 centimetres, 3 millimitres;[pg 15]width, 14 centimetres, 5 millimetres; length of right ear, 6 centimeters, 3 millimetres; length of foot, 2.62; length of middle finger, 11.7; length of little finger, 7.1; length of forearm, 46.3. A metre is 39 inches, a centimetre about 3/8ths of an inch and a millimetre, 1-25th of an inch.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Left Middle Finger Measurement.Left Middle Finger Measurement.The description of heads range in 14 (head) classes, being reckoned from A to Z. The middle fingers have three classes; forearm, three classes; height, three classes, and the little finger, three classes. Only one millimetre or 1-25th of an inch is allowed as the difference between the measurements of any two operators of the Bertillon system in the“bony lengths”of the body. This is so infinitesimal that a measurement taken in France, England, the United States or in Russia by different operators will discover the prisoner, no matter where he may be, and there is no escape unless it be the grave.The technical terms used in the description of scars or marks are strictly medical. For instance, if a man has a scar on his left breast it is described as recitilnal, vertical, horizontal, inal—such a distance from the median[pg 16]line, and to the right, left, above or below the nipple. Scars on the fingers are described in the same terms, indicating the flange and joint, and so on through all parts of the body,—every mark, cut or bruise being measured in front, from the median line, and in the rear, from the spinal column, as stated.With reference to the ears, there are certain external features by which scientists assert criminals may be instantly detected. Have you a criminal ear? Dr. D. S. Lamb, at one time curator in charge of the Army Medical Museum, says there is such a thing as a“criminal ear.”Anthropologists have been giving a great deal of study to this matter of late, and their data points to the conclusion that the term“ear-mark”is something more than a mere figure of speech. No one has two ears just alike; all ears are faulty in one way or another, that is, as to size, shape or position, and these organs do not stop growing when the body pauses in its development. At[pg 17]all events, chronic malefactors are apt to be disfigured by certain malformations of that organ. It has been proven that abnormalities in the ear structure are characteristic features of degenerates. Such abnormalities are commonly found in idiots, imbeciles and epileptics, and the prisons contain quite a number of inmates with such ears. The sloping ear is bad; it shows a tendency to reversion to the primitive animal ear which slopes. The great Napoleon, Lord Byron, Henry Clay and Alexander Hamilton had sloping ears. Another objectionable type is the“wing ear,”which projects wing-like from the head. This type of ear is said to indicate a tendency towards degeneracy; are found in one individual out of every five among sane persons, in two out of five among the insane and in three out of every five in criminals, occurring twice as often among men as among women.Criminal Ear.Criminal Ear.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Considering all available data, it appears that ape-like traits, monkey-ancestry being commonly exhibited, are found far less frequently in the ears of women than in men. This fact would seem to prove that our female race has progressed the farthest from the ancestral type. By carefully feeling with the thumb inside of the edge[pg 18]of the ear and a little behind the top a very small lump of cartilage will be found, as if a foreign body had become imbedded in the tissue. This is a remnant of what was originally the tip of the ear, when hundreds of thousands of years ago that organ in our remote ancestors had a point on it. Among men of note,—statesmen, scientists, politicians, etc., it occurs less frequently by about ten per cent. The so-called“Darwinian tubercle”appears, as stated, less frequently in women than in men, and is unmistakably a trait reverting to the ape. Certain it is that no part of the body can be identified with greater accuracy than by the ears. Your own, for example, are not matched exactly by any other pair in the world; there are differences which are shown beyond the possibility of mistake, by careful measurements, as applied in the Bertillon system. In nine out of every ten persons the ear-lobe runs into the flesh of the cheek without any perceptible division between. Experts term this the“confluent lobule,”and it also is found more often in women than in men. It is said to occur in 92 per cent of the sane and in 47 per cent of the insane. The most remarkable feature in regard to the criminal ear, if it can be so called, is the prominence of the raised area just inside the outer edge, the outer edge being termed the“helix”and the part referred to the“anti-helix.”It appears that the overdevelopment of this portion of the aural structure is particularly characteristic of criminals.A student of this subject can tell a person's age more accurately by observation of the ears than by any other way. Even women, who, in other respects, preserve the youthfulness of their appearance to an advanced period are apt to betray their maturity through this organ, which acquires a sharp definition of contour, a tiny wrinkle[pg 19]appearing just in front of it. Some people are able to wag their ears slightly,—another indication of primeval animal traits: Our remote ancestors unquestionably wagged their ears, and every human being today is provided with ear-wagging muscles. In most individuals, however, these muscles have become so far rudimentary that they are useless for wagging purposes.THE FINGER PRINT SYSTEMOur new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next introduction is to what is known as the“finger-print”system, which method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison. All prisoners are at first compelled to have“photos”taken of the balls of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer has an inking-stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for“pulling”proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of identifying escaped or suspected offenders.The finger-print system was invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago, and is considered to be the safest method yet discovered for correct identification purposes. Today it is being extensively used in this country and in Europe. The United States Government has a perfectly organized bureau in operation in[pg 20]conjunction with its federal and military prisons. Hundreds of thousands of thumb prints have been made, but no two have yet been found exactly alike.The impetus given to the system in this country is perhaps due to Mark Twain, America's famous humorist, author, publisher, printer and lecturer. In“Puddenhead Wilson”Mr. Clemens has the village dunce riding a“hobby”at full tilt and that hobby was the taking of finger impressions. The citizens considered him a weak-minded fool, but to humor him they allowed impressions of the balls of their fingers to be taken. The names of their owners were recorded and then carefully filed away. Finally Puddenhead Wilson proved himself to be anything but a fool, for when a mysterious murder was committed in the village he apprehended the perpetrator of the crime, his sole clue being the bloody imprints of the murderer's fingers found on the woodwork in the room where the crime was committed. The finger-print system, since the advent of Mr. Clemens' book, has sprung into vogue in all parts of the country.There are to date several authentic cases on record where by means of this new method of identification prisoners were acquitted, notwithstanding the fact that circumstantial evidence in the hands of the prosecuting attorney was overwhelmingly against the accused. One case was that of a man who had broken his parole from a penitentiary. While absolutely innocent, he was arrested and charged with having committed a certain crime. He could offer no proof without divulging the fact that he had violated his parole, (he still had about two years to serve), but realizing that he was about to be sentenced for eight or ten years on the present charge, he chose the lesser of the two evils and informed the[pg 21][pg 22][pg 23]authorities of his identity. Investigation disclosed the fact that he had not been released from the penitentiary when the alleged crime was committed. This incident demonstrates conclusively that the finger-print system not only detects the wrongdoer, but greatly assists in preventing a miscarriage of justice.Visitor's Reception RoomVisitor's Reception RoomGovernor's RoomGovernor's RoomBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldAfter the operation of taking the new arrival's finger-imprints is completed, and instructions are given as to prison discipline, etc., the incoming prisoner is sent to the medical department, where he is given a thorough physical examination, and if he is affected with any disease it is noted in a book kept expressly for that purpose. If he needs medical attention he is told to come up to the“sick-call”in the forenoon at nine o'clock. All ailing prisoners can attend this call each morning.THE PRISONER IS ASSIGNED WORKBy this time the new arrival is, in all probability, wondering what will happen next, but he is soon enlightened. Work in one of the various departments will be assigned him, for instance, presuming that the shop where he is to be employed is the twine factory, he is turned over to the guard of that particular shop. This officer instructs him very minutely as to shop rules and duties that will devolve upon him, and usually accompanies his instructions with some good, sound advice as to how to best get along with the least possible trouble. The shop foreman now takes him in charge and instructs him how to perform the duties required of him.[pg 24]At the noon hour he must take off his apron, wash his hands and face in a bucket of water placed conveniently near the shop runner, and when the guard blows another sharp blast with his whistle form in line with the other men and prepare to march to the dining room. He is now assigned a place in the ranks of his shop crew and told to always“fall in”at his place. The guard stamps his cane twice on the floor and the men begin to march to dinner.At first the“fresh fish”makes quite a number of mistakes: In the dining room he is somewhat bewildered as to how to make his wants known to the waiters, as he has been told that talking is strictly forbidden, but upon reading the rules in the library catalogue he easily comprehends the silent method of asking for food. If he wishes bread he must hold up his right hand; meat, his fork; soup, his spoon; vegetables, his table knife; coffee, his cup, and for water, the rule is to hold up the cup inverted. This form of the sign language is fully adequate for the situation.THE FIRST NIGHT IN HIS CELLAt the close of the first day's work the prisoner is marched to his cell. Just inside the entrance to the cell house he is handed his supper in a tin dish, goes to his cell, previously assigned to him, and remains standing with his right hand on the cell door until the evening count of the number of prisoners in the institution has been verified by the deputy warden. If the count is correct the prisoners are notified by the sounding of a gong near the desk of the cellhouse captain, at which signal they are permitted to sit down and amuse themselves as they see fit. Immediately after the ringing of the gong[pg 25 ]the gallery men pass around tea for the prisoner's evening meal in addition to what he received when he enters the cellhouse.Our subject now has an opportunity to take a glance at the cell wherein he must spend his“little bit”as the professional crook jocularly terms his sentence. This apartment is not commodious nor supplied with modern improvements of a first-class hostelry; its dimensions are five by seven, and contains: one Bible, two cups, one small mirror, one cuspidor, one spoon, one face towel, one dish towel, one piece of soap, one comb, blankets, sheets, pillow cases, matress, bedstead and springs, one wooden chair (for first and second grade), one earthen water jar with cover, one electric light, one small shelf, one library catalogue and all the library and school books desired. If the occupant is of a philosophical bent of mind he will now realize that the way of the transgressor is indeed hard. The first month or two are the most severe upon the new arrival. His environments force him to dwell continually upon the depths of degradation to which he has fallen, and he suffers the keenest possible mental torture; but after passing this period he begins to readjust his viewpoint and adapt himself to his surroundings and then calmly awaits the termination of his sentence. Few people have any conception of what the first offender endures during his first few months' imprisonment; the thoughts of his jeopardized liberty are ever before him. In summing up and planning for the future about the worst obstacle he fears,—the quintessence of human degradation,—is the baleful word“ex-convict.”That alone hurled at the public through the medium of the public press expresses the sum total of moral turpitude and degeneracy. No matter if[pg 26]the individual in question is pure-minded, the symbol of the culture of the age in which he lives, the hyphenated word“ex-convict”seems to conjure in the minds of the public a picture that causes them to shudder with fear for their safety. As a rule this fear is not shared in by prison officials. Only about ten per cent of the inmates cause them any anxiety, the rest are orderly, perform their work promptly and properly, and cause as little trouble as possible.Prisoners frequently remain at the work first assigned them until their discharge. However, if it is found too difficult the superintendent of the respective departments can assign other work. Should this be impossible a prisoner may put in an application to explain the situation to the warden. Each prisoner has the privilege of seeing the warden at least twice a month, who adjusts all differences of opinion between the guard and prisoner, or between prisoner and foreman. Every complaint of unjust treatment is investigated thoroughly by the warden, and equitable measures are employed to remove the bone of contention. If the guard or foreman is at fault a dignified but forcible lecture generally produces the desired result. This is also true where the inmate has been negligent in his work, causing the trouble.As previously stated, if the new arrival remains at the task first assigned him during his entire imprisonment the routine from day to day is almost identical. He can attend chapel on Sundays if he wishes to do so; a Catholic and Lutheran chaplain preach excellent sermons each alternate Sunday.Sixty days prior to the expiration of sentence the outgoing prisoner is given a shaving ticket, or if he desires to grow a beard he can do so, if not he can get a shave[pg 27][pg 28][pg 29]each week as usual. He is given a bath and change of underclothing each week, and if his clothes and shoes need repairing he is taken to the tailor department and supplied with a new outfit. A few days before his time expires he is taken to the tailor shop and fitted to his outgoing suit of clothes, and upon the day preceding his discharge is sent to the cellhouse barber shop, where he is given a hair cut and shave.Interior of Men's CellInterior of Men's CellEmployee's Dining RoomEmployee's Dining RoomOfficers' KitchenOfficers' KitchenTHE PRISONER'S RELEASENow arrives the day so anxiously anticipated by those incarcerated in our penitentiary. A new beginning and a new chapter in their life's history is before them. It is an event that so greatly excites the average outgoing prisoner that he hardly knows what he is doing, and in many cases his nerves are in such a condition that he is unable to sign the receipt for the money that he receives. The inmate in the forenoon is notified of his release, and is immediately taken to the tailor shop, where he dons his discharged clothing, is given any personal belongings that may have been in his cell by the captain of the cell-house, who inspects them in order to ascertain whether or not he is the owner thereof. He is now conducted to the administration building by the deputy warden, where he is given his discharge papers and twenty-five dollars in money, a sum provided by law for each released prisoner. Just before he walks into the world a free man the former inmate is told to step into the warden's office, and this gentleman gives his departing“guest”a few words of helpful advice, bidding him Godspeed on his journey.[pg 30]WHY SOCIETY SHOULD ACCORD HIM A SQUARE DEALThe discharged prisoner is now in the hands and at the mercy of society. If he is accorded a square deal he may become a useful citizen. If it is his misfortune to become associated with bigoted zealots who taunt him with his past degradation the chances are that he will become a criminal again and prove a source of great expense to the state.In closing this chapter it would be well to suggest that every ex-convict is not a dyed-in-the-wool villian, but that persecution may make him such in the course of events. Is he entitled to a square deal? Most assuredly so, especially if he is employed at honest work and his every action shows determination to lead an upright life. He has sinned against society, it is true, but without question he has paid the debt of his transgression a hundred fold by his imprisonment. Still, after all has been said, a bad reputation is a difficult thing to live down, even that which clings to the free citizen. The discharged prisoner's chief reliance, therefore, in the final analysis is to so circumspectly conduct himself as to place him above the carping criticisms of his new associates. If he follows this course his neighbors are not likely to keep their eyes on his“cracked”reputation.Cell Door Decorative Illustration[pg 31]
MINNESOTA STATE PRISONTHE PRISONER'S RECEPTION AT THE PENITENTIARY[pg 7]An incoming prisoner is designated by the inmates as a“fresh fish.”He enters the administration building, and, as a rule, if he has the reputation of being a“slippery chap”is handcuffed to the sheriff or one of his deputies. Handcuffs, in the vernacular of the underground world, are called“come-a-longs.”He now enters a room known as“between the gates.”(One of these gates leads to the outer world and the other to the inside of the prison.) Here the prisoner's commitment papers are examined, the deputy warden sent for to receive the new arrival, and slips are immediately made out notifying the several heads of departments of the man's name, county from which he came, the offense for which he was committed and the time that he shall serve.Upon the arrival of the deputy warden the prisoner is taken in charge and marched through the officers' barber shop and kitchen. Upon leaving the latter room the“fresh fish”is commanded to“turn to the right,”and a short distance ahead, about twenty feet, he is told to '“turn to the left.”He now enters the large cellhouse—his future home, to remain for the number of years that His Honor, the Judge of the District Court, has sentenced him to serve. The cellhouse contains 664 cells (referring to Minnesota's institution, which furnishes the[pg 8]nucleus for this article) and is in charge of an officer known as the Captain of the Cellhouse.This officer now takes the new arrival in charge and searches his person thoroughly, empties his pockets of everything they contain, and takes his coat, hat and vest. Any valuables found on him, such as money, jewelry, trinkets, tobacco, etc., are immediately tied up into a bundle and sent to the deputy warden's office. A duplicate receipt is made out for all articles of intrinsic value, is signed by the Captain of the Cellhouse and also by the new arrival so as to insure their safe keeping until the day of his release.The next move, and one that is a decisive reminder of his future status in the world, is to the bath room, where he takes a bath and puts on a“second-grade”uniform, there being three grades in all. The first is the highest. Its garb consists of a neat grey suit and cap. First grade prisoners are entitled to write one letter each week, to draw a ration (four ounces) of tobacco weekly, and to receive visitors once in four weeks. They have a dining room to themselves and are served with a greater variety of food than are the prisoners in the other grades. They have also such other privileges granted them from time to time as their general conduct warrants.Prisoners in the second grade are clothed in a black and grey check suit and cap. They are permitted to write one letter a fortnight, to draw a ration of tobacco weekly and to see visitors once a month. They also have a dining room of their own, but the food served therein is not as varied as that served to first grade men. The latter, for example, are served with butter and other relishes at stated intervals, but such things are not part of the diet of the second grade prisoners.Administration OfficeAdministration OfficeBetween the GatesBetween the GatesGroup Showing the Three Grades of PrisonersGroup Showing the Three Grades of Prisoners[pg 9][pg 10][pg 11]Inmates in the third grade wear black and white striped suits. They are denied tobacco, writing and visiting privileges and their meals are served in their cells, which are located in one portion of the cellhouse. In none of the grades are prisoners required to march with the“lock-step,”and excepting those in the third grade, all are permitted to wear their hair long enough to comb during good behavior. The prisoner, after his bath, is again brought into the cellhouse and the captain has one of the inmate barbers clip his hair and shave him. If the new arrival belongs to the respectable class, wearing a mustache and dressed well he will hardly recognize himself if he should chance to look into a mirror. In a few moments the proud American citizen has been supplanted by the convict. Those who belong to the so-called“criminal”class are not affected upon donning the prison uniform, but it is different with the first offender. If he is a proud, sensitive man the change is great enough to almost wrench his heart strings asunder. Many a new arrival, spending his first night in his cell, with its iron bed, whitewashed walls, scant furnishings, iron floor and the dimensions of the room only five by seven feet, has been known to break down completely. After such an ordeal (not your make-believe imprisonment, where some author has himself locked up for an hour or so to gain local coloring for a novel) one gets a clear idea of what prison life really is and places a higher valuation on the liberty that he so recklessly trampled under foot in his mad rush for riches, position and fame.After the tonsorial artist has completed his task the prisoner is conducted to the deputy warden's office, where he is weighed, asked innumerable questions, etc., instructed as to the rules of the institution, measured according[pg 12]to the Bertillon system, which is the standard adopted in this country and throughout Europe.BERTILLON MEASUREMENTSTo Dr. Alphonse Bertillon, the celebrated French anthropologist, the world is indebted for the knowledge of the scientifically demonstrated fact that no two persons are exactly alike in physical measurements. In fact any single individual can be identified from thousands of others by this cleverly thought-out system, which was first adopted in this country in 1887. The accompanying illustrations are self-explanatory.The system embraces three distinct parts: First, the measurement of certain unchangeable“bony lengths”of the body; second, a careful description of the features of the face; third, a careful localization of all scars and marks on the body. While the face may change, be even mutilated beyond recognition; while the scars and other marks may be removed, the“bony lengths”of the body remain unchangeable in adults. The parts measured of the bony lengths of the body are the length and width of the head, the cheek width, length of foot, the middle and little finger and the cubit, i. e., from the elbow to the tip of the little finger; the height standing, the height seated, the reach of outstretched arms, right ear length (which most authorities assert remains the same through life), the median line in front from the fork or hollow below the“Adam's apple”down, and, in the rear, the spinal column from the seventh vertebra to the base of the spine, are the anatomical or“guiding[pg 13]points”from which all descriptions of the body are recorded; in the fingers, the joints and flanges,—the flanges being the portions of the fingers between the joints. The calipers for measuring the head are provided with a graduated arch and are similar to a compass. In taking the length of the head the left point of the caliper is held at the root of the nose and the right point is brought against the occipital bone in the back of the head; the thumb screw is then tightened and the measurement checked by passing the instrument again over the head. The width of the head over the cheeks is taken in the same way. The measurement of the foot is taken with a caliper rule similar to that used by a shoemaker; the prisoner is posed standing on his left foot and steadying himself as shown in the illustration. The graduate stem is placed against the inside of the foot with the fixed arm in contact with the heel and the sliding arm then brought in tightly against the toe. In measuring the left middle[pg 14]and little finger the back of the caliper rule is used, two small projections being provided on the fixed and sliding arms. The finger is bent at right angles to the back of the hand and the measurement taken from the tip of the finger to the knuckle.Head Length Measurements.Head Length Measurements.The registering and record made of the foregoing, together with an accurate description of the face and all marks on the body, constitute the third and complete part of this system. To illustrate this part briefly,— measurements are all based on the French metric system, viz: Height, 1 metre, 71 centimetres, 3 millimitres;[pg 15]width, 14 centimetres, 5 millimetres; length of right ear, 6 centimeters, 3 millimetres; length of foot, 2.62; length of middle finger, 11.7; length of little finger, 7.1; length of forearm, 46.3. A metre is 39 inches, a centimetre about 3/8ths of an inch and a millimetre, 1-25th of an inch.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Left Middle Finger Measurement.Left Middle Finger Measurement.The description of heads range in 14 (head) classes, being reckoned from A to Z. The middle fingers have three classes; forearm, three classes; height, three classes, and the little finger, three classes. Only one millimetre or 1-25th of an inch is allowed as the difference between the measurements of any two operators of the Bertillon system in the“bony lengths”of the body. This is so infinitesimal that a measurement taken in France, England, the United States or in Russia by different operators will discover the prisoner, no matter where he may be, and there is no escape unless it be the grave.The technical terms used in the description of scars or marks are strictly medical. For instance, if a man has a scar on his left breast it is described as recitilnal, vertical, horizontal, inal—such a distance from the median[pg 16]line, and to the right, left, above or below the nipple. Scars on the fingers are described in the same terms, indicating the flange and joint, and so on through all parts of the body,—every mark, cut or bruise being measured in front, from the median line, and in the rear, from the spinal column, as stated.With reference to the ears, there are certain external features by which scientists assert criminals may be instantly detected. Have you a criminal ear? Dr. D. S. Lamb, at one time curator in charge of the Army Medical Museum, says there is such a thing as a“criminal ear.”Anthropologists have been giving a great deal of study to this matter of late, and their data points to the conclusion that the term“ear-mark”is something more than a mere figure of speech. No one has two ears just alike; all ears are faulty in one way or another, that is, as to size, shape or position, and these organs do not stop growing when the body pauses in its development. At[pg 17]all events, chronic malefactors are apt to be disfigured by certain malformations of that organ. It has been proven that abnormalities in the ear structure are characteristic features of degenerates. Such abnormalities are commonly found in idiots, imbeciles and epileptics, and the prisons contain quite a number of inmates with such ears. The sloping ear is bad; it shows a tendency to reversion to the primitive animal ear which slopes. The great Napoleon, Lord Byron, Henry Clay and Alexander Hamilton had sloping ears. Another objectionable type is the“wing ear,”which projects wing-like from the head. This type of ear is said to indicate a tendency towards degeneracy; are found in one individual out of every five among sane persons, in two out of five among the insane and in three out of every five in criminals, occurring twice as often among men as among women.Criminal Ear.Criminal Ear.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Considering all available data, it appears that ape-like traits, monkey-ancestry being commonly exhibited, are found far less frequently in the ears of women than in men. This fact would seem to prove that our female race has progressed the farthest from the ancestral type. By carefully feeling with the thumb inside of the edge[pg 18]of the ear and a little behind the top a very small lump of cartilage will be found, as if a foreign body had become imbedded in the tissue. This is a remnant of what was originally the tip of the ear, when hundreds of thousands of years ago that organ in our remote ancestors had a point on it. Among men of note,—statesmen, scientists, politicians, etc., it occurs less frequently by about ten per cent. The so-called“Darwinian tubercle”appears, as stated, less frequently in women than in men, and is unmistakably a trait reverting to the ape. Certain it is that no part of the body can be identified with greater accuracy than by the ears. Your own, for example, are not matched exactly by any other pair in the world; there are differences which are shown beyond the possibility of mistake, by careful measurements, as applied in the Bertillon system. In nine out of every ten persons the ear-lobe runs into the flesh of the cheek without any perceptible division between. Experts term this the“confluent lobule,”and it also is found more often in women than in men. It is said to occur in 92 per cent of the sane and in 47 per cent of the insane. The most remarkable feature in regard to the criminal ear, if it can be so called, is the prominence of the raised area just inside the outer edge, the outer edge being termed the“helix”and the part referred to the“anti-helix.”It appears that the overdevelopment of this portion of the aural structure is particularly characteristic of criminals.A student of this subject can tell a person's age more accurately by observation of the ears than by any other way. Even women, who, in other respects, preserve the youthfulness of their appearance to an advanced period are apt to betray their maturity through this organ, which acquires a sharp definition of contour, a tiny wrinkle[pg 19]appearing just in front of it. Some people are able to wag their ears slightly,—another indication of primeval animal traits: Our remote ancestors unquestionably wagged their ears, and every human being today is provided with ear-wagging muscles. In most individuals, however, these muscles have become so far rudimentary that they are useless for wagging purposes.THE FINGER PRINT SYSTEMOur new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next introduction is to what is known as the“finger-print”system, which method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison. All prisoners are at first compelled to have“photos”taken of the balls of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer has an inking-stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for“pulling”proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of identifying escaped or suspected offenders.The finger-print system was invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago, and is considered to be the safest method yet discovered for correct identification purposes. Today it is being extensively used in this country and in Europe. The United States Government has a perfectly organized bureau in operation in[pg 20]conjunction with its federal and military prisons. Hundreds of thousands of thumb prints have been made, but no two have yet been found exactly alike.The impetus given to the system in this country is perhaps due to Mark Twain, America's famous humorist, author, publisher, printer and lecturer. In“Puddenhead Wilson”Mr. Clemens has the village dunce riding a“hobby”at full tilt and that hobby was the taking of finger impressions. The citizens considered him a weak-minded fool, but to humor him they allowed impressions of the balls of their fingers to be taken. The names of their owners were recorded and then carefully filed away. Finally Puddenhead Wilson proved himself to be anything but a fool, for when a mysterious murder was committed in the village he apprehended the perpetrator of the crime, his sole clue being the bloody imprints of the murderer's fingers found on the woodwork in the room where the crime was committed. The finger-print system, since the advent of Mr. Clemens' book, has sprung into vogue in all parts of the country.There are to date several authentic cases on record where by means of this new method of identification prisoners were acquitted, notwithstanding the fact that circumstantial evidence in the hands of the prosecuting attorney was overwhelmingly against the accused. One case was that of a man who had broken his parole from a penitentiary. While absolutely innocent, he was arrested and charged with having committed a certain crime. He could offer no proof without divulging the fact that he had violated his parole, (he still had about two years to serve), but realizing that he was about to be sentenced for eight or ten years on the present charge, he chose the lesser of the two evils and informed the[pg 21][pg 22][pg 23]authorities of his identity. Investigation disclosed the fact that he had not been released from the penitentiary when the alleged crime was committed. This incident demonstrates conclusively that the finger-print system not only detects the wrongdoer, but greatly assists in preventing a miscarriage of justice.Visitor's Reception RoomVisitor's Reception RoomGovernor's RoomGovernor's RoomBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldAfter the operation of taking the new arrival's finger-imprints is completed, and instructions are given as to prison discipline, etc., the incoming prisoner is sent to the medical department, where he is given a thorough physical examination, and if he is affected with any disease it is noted in a book kept expressly for that purpose. If he needs medical attention he is told to come up to the“sick-call”in the forenoon at nine o'clock. All ailing prisoners can attend this call each morning.THE PRISONER IS ASSIGNED WORKBy this time the new arrival is, in all probability, wondering what will happen next, but he is soon enlightened. Work in one of the various departments will be assigned him, for instance, presuming that the shop where he is to be employed is the twine factory, he is turned over to the guard of that particular shop. This officer instructs him very minutely as to shop rules and duties that will devolve upon him, and usually accompanies his instructions with some good, sound advice as to how to best get along with the least possible trouble. The shop foreman now takes him in charge and instructs him how to perform the duties required of him.[pg 24]At the noon hour he must take off his apron, wash his hands and face in a bucket of water placed conveniently near the shop runner, and when the guard blows another sharp blast with his whistle form in line with the other men and prepare to march to the dining room. He is now assigned a place in the ranks of his shop crew and told to always“fall in”at his place. The guard stamps his cane twice on the floor and the men begin to march to dinner.At first the“fresh fish”makes quite a number of mistakes: In the dining room he is somewhat bewildered as to how to make his wants known to the waiters, as he has been told that talking is strictly forbidden, but upon reading the rules in the library catalogue he easily comprehends the silent method of asking for food. If he wishes bread he must hold up his right hand; meat, his fork; soup, his spoon; vegetables, his table knife; coffee, his cup, and for water, the rule is to hold up the cup inverted. This form of the sign language is fully adequate for the situation.THE FIRST NIGHT IN HIS CELLAt the close of the first day's work the prisoner is marched to his cell. Just inside the entrance to the cell house he is handed his supper in a tin dish, goes to his cell, previously assigned to him, and remains standing with his right hand on the cell door until the evening count of the number of prisoners in the institution has been verified by the deputy warden. If the count is correct the prisoners are notified by the sounding of a gong near the desk of the cellhouse captain, at which signal they are permitted to sit down and amuse themselves as they see fit. Immediately after the ringing of the gong[pg 25 ]the gallery men pass around tea for the prisoner's evening meal in addition to what he received when he enters the cellhouse.Our subject now has an opportunity to take a glance at the cell wherein he must spend his“little bit”as the professional crook jocularly terms his sentence. This apartment is not commodious nor supplied with modern improvements of a first-class hostelry; its dimensions are five by seven, and contains: one Bible, two cups, one small mirror, one cuspidor, one spoon, one face towel, one dish towel, one piece of soap, one comb, blankets, sheets, pillow cases, matress, bedstead and springs, one wooden chair (for first and second grade), one earthen water jar with cover, one electric light, one small shelf, one library catalogue and all the library and school books desired. If the occupant is of a philosophical bent of mind he will now realize that the way of the transgressor is indeed hard. The first month or two are the most severe upon the new arrival. His environments force him to dwell continually upon the depths of degradation to which he has fallen, and he suffers the keenest possible mental torture; but after passing this period he begins to readjust his viewpoint and adapt himself to his surroundings and then calmly awaits the termination of his sentence. Few people have any conception of what the first offender endures during his first few months' imprisonment; the thoughts of his jeopardized liberty are ever before him. In summing up and planning for the future about the worst obstacle he fears,—the quintessence of human degradation,—is the baleful word“ex-convict.”That alone hurled at the public through the medium of the public press expresses the sum total of moral turpitude and degeneracy. No matter if[pg 26]the individual in question is pure-minded, the symbol of the culture of the age in which he lives, the hyphenated word“ex-convict”seems to conjure in the minds of the public a picture that causes them to shudder with fear for their safety. As a rule this fear is not shared in by prison officials. Only about ten per cent of the inmates cause them any anxiety, the rest are orderly, perform their work promptly and properly, and cause as little trouble as possible.Prisoners frequently remain at the work first assigned them until their discharge. However, if it is found too difficult the superintendent of the respective departments can assign other work. Should this be impossible a prisoner may put in an application to explain the situation to the warden. Each prisoner has the privilege of seeing the warden at least twice a month, who adjusts all differences of opinion between the guard and prisoner, or between prisoner and foreman. Every complaint of unjust treatment is investigated thoroughly by the warden, and equitable measures are employed to remove the bone of contention. If the guard or foreman is at fault a dignified but forcible lecture generally produces the desired result. This is also true where the inmate has been negligent in his work, causing the trouble.As previously stated, if the new arrival remains at the task first assigned him during his entire imprisonment the routine from day to day is almost identical. He can attend chapel on Sundays if he wishes to do so; a Catholic and Lutheran chaplain preach excellent sermons each alternate Sunday.Sixty days prior to the expiration of sentence the outgoing prisoner is given a shaving ticket, or if he desires to grow a beard he can do so, if not he can get a shave[pg 27][pg 28][pg 29]each week as usual. He is given a bath and change of underclothing each week, and if his clothes and shoes need repairing he is taken to the tailor department and supplied with a new outfit. A few days before his time expires he is taken to the tailor shop and fitted to his outgoing suit of clothes, and upon the day preceding his discharge is sent to the cellhouse barber shop, where he is given a hair cut and shave.Interior of Men's CellInterior of Men's CellEmployee's Dining RoomEmployee's Dining RoomOfficers' KitchenOfficers' KitchenTHE PRISONER'S RELEASENow arrives the day so anxiously anticipated by those incarcerated in our penitentiary. A new beginning and a new chapter in their life's history is before them. It is an event that so greatly excites the average outgoing prisoner that he hardly knows what he is doing, and in many cases his nerves are in such a condition that he is unable to sign the receipt for the money that he receives. The inmate in the forenoon is notified of his release, and is immediately taken to the tailor shop, where he dons his discharged clothing, is given any personal belongings that may have been in his cell by the captain of the cell-house, who inspects them in order to ascertain whether or not he is the owner thereof. He is now conducted to the administration building by the deputy warden, where he is given his discharge papers and twenty-five dollars in money, a sum provided by law for each released prisoner. Just before he walks into the world a free man the former inmate is told to step into the warden's office, and this gentleman gives his departing“guest”a few words of helpful advice, bidding him Godspeed on his journey.[pg 30]WHY SOCIETY SHOULD ACCORD HIM A SQUARE DEALThe discharged prisoner is now in the hands and at the mercy of society. If he is accorded a square deal he may become a useful citizen. If it is his misfortune to become associated with bigoted zealots who taunt him with his past degradation the chances are that he will become a criminal again and prove a source of great expense to the state.In closing this chapter it would be well to suggest that every ex-convict is not a dyed-in-the-wool villian, but that persecution may make him such in the course of events. Is he entitled to a square deal? Most assuredly so, especially if he is employed at honest work and his every action shows determination to lead an upright life. He has sinned against society, it is true, but without question he has paid the debt of his transgression a hundred fold by his imprisonment. Still, after all has been said, a bad reputation is a difficult thing to live down, even that which clings to the free citizen. The discharged prisoner's chief reliance, therefore, in the final analysis is to so circumspectly conduct himself as to place him above the carping criticisms of his new associates. If he follows this course his neighbors are not likely to keep their eyes on his“cracked”reputation.Cell Door Decorative Illustration[pg 31]
MINNESOTA STATE PRISONTHE PRISONER'S RECEPTION AT THE PENITENTIARY[pg 7]An incoming prisoner is designated by the inmates as a“fresh fish.”He enters the administration building, and, as a rule, if he has the reputation of being a“slippery chap”is handcuffed to the sheriff or one of his deputies. Handcuffs, in the vernacular of the underground world, are called“come-a-longs.”He now enters a room known as“between the gates.”(One of these gates leads to the outer world and the other to the inside of the prison.) Here the prisoner's commitment papers are examined, the deputy warden sent for to receive the new arrival, and slips are immediately made out notifying the several heads of departments of the man's name, county from which he came, the offense for which he was committed and the time that he shall serve.Upon the arrival of the deputy warden the prisoner is taken in charge and marched through the officers' barber shop and kitchen. Upon leaving the latter room the“fresh fish”is commanded to“turn to the right,”and a short distance ahead, about twenty feet, he is told to '“turn to the left.”He now enters the large cellhouse—his future home, to remain for the number of years that His Honor, the Judge of the District Court, has sentenced him to serve. The cellhouse contains 664 cells (referring to Minnesota's institution, which furnishes the[pg 8]nucleus for this article) and is in charge of an officer known as the Captain of the Cellhouse.This officer now takes the new arrival in charge and searches his person thoroughly, empties his pockets of everything they contain, and takes his coat, hat and vest. Any valuables found on him, such as money, jewelry, trinkets, tobacco, etc., are immediately tied up into a bundle and sent to the deputy warden's office. A duplicate receipt is made out for all articles of intrinsic value, is signed by the Captain of the Cellhouse and also by the new arrival so as to insure their safe keeping until the day of his release.The next move, and one that is a decisive reminder of his future status in the world, is to the bath room, where he takes a bath and puts on a“second-grade”uniform, there being three grades in all. The first is the highest. Its garb consists of a neat grey suit and cap. First grade prisoners are entitled to write one letter each week, to draw a ration (four ounces) of tobacco weekly, and to receive visitors once in four weeks. They have a dining room to themselves and are served with a greater variety of food than are the prisoners in the other grades. They have also such other privileges granted them from time to time as their general conduct warrants.Prisoners in the second grade are clothed in a black and grey check suit and cap. They are permitted to write one letter a fortnight, to draw a ration of tobacco weekly and to see visitors once a month. They also have a dining room of their own, but the food served therein is not as varied as that served to first grade men. The latter, for example, are served with butter and other relishes at stated intervals, but such things are not part of the diet of the second grade prisoners.Administration OfficeAdministration OfficeBetween the GatesBetween the GatesGroup Showing the Three Grades of PrisonersGroup Showing the Three Grades of Prisoners[pg 9][pg 10][pg 11]Inmates in the third grade wear black and white striped suits. They are denied tobacco, writing and visiting privileges and their meals are served in their cells, which are located in one portion of the cellhouse. In none of the grades are prisoners required to march with the“lock-step,”and excepting those in the third grade, all are permitted to wear their hair long enough to comb during good behavior. The prisoner, after his bath, is again brought into the cellhouse and the captain has one of the inmate barbers clip his hair and shave him. If the new arrival belongs to the respectable class, wearing a mustache and dressed well he will hardly recognize himself if he should chance to look into a mirror. In a few moments the proud American citizen has been supplanted by the convict. Those who belong to the so-called“criminal”class are not affected upon donning the prison uniform, but it is different with the first offender. If he is a proud, sensitive man the change is great enough to almost wrench his heart strings asunder. Many a new arrival, spending his first night in his cell, with its iron bed, whitewashed walls, scant furnishings, iron floor and the dimensions of the room only five by seven feet, has been known to break down completely. After such an ordeal (not your make-believe imprisonment, where some author has himself locked up for an hour or so to gain local coloring for a novel) one gets a clear idea of what prison life really is and places a higher valuation on the liberty that he so recklessly trampled under foot in his mad rush for riches, position and fame.After the tonsorial artist has completed his task the prisoner is conducted to the deputy warden's office, where he is weighed, asked innumerable questions, etc., instructed as to the rules of the institution, measured according[pg 12]to the Bertillon system, which is the standard adopted in this country and throughout Europe.BERTILLON MEASUREMENTSTo Dr. Alphonse Bertillon, the celebrated French anthropologist, the world is indebted for the knowledge of the scientifically demonstrated fact that no two persons are exactly alike in physical measurements. In fact any single individual can be identified from thousands of others by this cleverly thought-out system, which was first adopted in this country in 1887. The accompanying illustrations are self-explanatory.The system embraces three distinct parts: First, the measurement of certain unchangeable“bony lengths”of the body; second, a careful description of the features of the face; third, a careful localization of all scars and marks on the body. While the face may change, be even mutilated beyond recognition; while the scars and other marks may be removed, the“bony lengths”of the body remain unchangeable in adults. The parts measured of the bony lengths of the body are the length and width of the head, the cheek width, length of foot, the middle and little finger and the cubit, i. e., from the elbow to the tip of the little finger; the height standing, the height seated, the reach of outstretched arms, right ear length (which most authorities assert remains the same through life), the median line in front from the fork or hollow below the“Adam's apple”down, and, in the rear, the spinal column from the seventh vertebra to the base of the spine, are the anatomical or“guiding[pg 13]points”from which all descriptions of the body are recorded; in the fingers, the joints and flanges,—the flanges being the portions of the fingers between the joints. The calipers for measuring the head are provided with a graduated arch and are similar to a compass. In taking the length of the head the left point of the caliper is held at the root of the nose and the right point is brought against the occipital bone in the back of the head; the thumb screw is then tightened and the measurement checked by passing the instrument again over the head. The width of the head over the cheeks is taken in the same way. The measurement of the foot is taken with a caliper rule similar to that used by a shoemaker; the prisoner is posed standing on his left foot and steadying himself as shown in the illustration. The graduate stem is placed against the inside of the foot with the fixed arm in contact with the heel and the sliding arm then brought in tightly against the toe. In measuring the left middle[pg 14]and little finger the back of the caliper rule is used, two small projections being provided on the fixed and sliding arms. The finger is bent at right angles to the back of the hand and the measurement taken from the tip of the finger to the knuckle.Head Length Measurements.Head Length Measurements.The registering and record made of the foregoing, together with an accurate description of the face and all marks on the body, constitute the third and complete part of this system. To illustrate this part briefly,— measurements are all based on the French metric system, viz: Height, 1 metre, 71 centimetres, 3 millimitres;[pg 15]width, 14 centimetres, 5 millimetres; length of right ear, 6 centimeters, 3 millimetres; length of foot, 2.62; length of middle finger, 11.7; length of little finger, 7.1; length of forearm, 46.3. A metre is 39 inches, a centimetre about 3/8ths of an inch and a millimetre, 1-25th of an inch.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Left Middle Finger Measurement.Left Middle Finger Measurement.The description of heads range in 14 (head) classes, being reckoned from A to Z. The middle fingers have three classes; forearm, three classes; height, three classes, and the little finger, three classes. Only one millimetre or 1-25th of an inch is allowed as the difference between the measurements of any two operators of the Bertillon system in the“bony lengths”of the body. This is so infinitesimal that a measurement taken in France, England, the United States or in Russia by different operators will discover the prisoner, no matter where he may be, and there is no escape unless it be the grave.The technical terms used in the description of scars or marks are strictly medical. For instance, if a man has a scar on his left breast it is described as recitilnal, vertical, horizontal, inal—such a distance from the median[pg 16]line, and to the right, left, above or below the nipple. Scars on the fingers are described in the same terms, indicating the flange and joint, and so on through all parts of the body,—every mark, cut or bruise being measured in front, from the median line, and in the rear, from the spinal column, as stated.With reference to the ears, there are certain external features by which scientists assert criminals may be instantly detected. Have you a criminal ear? Dr. D. S. Lamb, at one time curator in charge of the Army Medical Museum, says there is such a thing as a“criminal ear.”Anthropologists have been giving a great deal of study to this matter of late, and their data points to the conclusion that the term“ear-mark”is something more than a mere figure of speech. No one has two ears just alike; all ears are faulty in one way or another, that is, as to size, shape or position, and these organs do not stop growing when the body pauses in its development. At[pg 17]all events, chronic malefactors are apt to be disfigured by certain malformations of that organ. It has been proven that abnormalities in the ear structure are characteristic features of degenerates. Such abnormalities are commonly found in idiots, imbeciles and epileptics, and the prisons contain quite a number of inmates with such ears. The sloping ear is bad; it shows a tendency to reversion to the primitive animal ear which slopes. The great Napoleon, Lord Byron, Henry Clay and Alexander Hamilton had sloping ears. Another objectionable type is the“wing ear,”which projects wing-like from the head. This type of ear is said to indicate a tendency towards degeneracy; are found in one individual out of every five among sane persons, in two out of five among the insane and in three out of every five in criminals, occurring twice as often among men as among women.Criminal Ear.Criminal Ear.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Considering all available data, it appears that ape-like traits, monkey-ancestry being commonly exhibited, are found far less frequently in the ears of women than in men. This fact would seem to prove that our female race has progressed the farthest from the ancestral type. By carefully feeling with the thumb inside of the edge[pg 18]of the ear and a little behind the top a very small lump of cartilage will be found, as if a foreign body had become imbedded in the tissue. This is a remnant of what was originally the tip of the ear, when hundreds of thousands of years ago that organ in our remote ancestors had a point on it. Among men of note,—statesmen, scientists, politicians, etc., it occurs less frequently by about ten per cent. The so-called“Darwinian tubercle”appears, as stated, less frequently in women than in men, and is unmistakably a trait reverting to the ape. Certain it is that no part of the body can be identified with greater accuracy than by the ears. Your own, for example, are not matched exactly by any other pair in the world; there are differences which are shown beyond the possibility of mistake, by careful measurements, as applied in the Bertillon system. In nine out of every ten persons the ear-lobe runs into the flesh of the cheek without any perceptible division between. Experts term this the“confluent lobule,”and it also is found more often in women than in men. It is said to occur in 92 per cent of the sane and in 47 per cent of the insane. The most remarkable feature in regard to the criminal ear, if it can be so called, is the prominence of the raised area just inside the outer edge, the outer edge being termed the“helix”and the part referred to the“anti-helix.”It appears that the overdevelopment of this portion of the aural structure is particularly characteristic of criminals.A student of this subject can tell a person's age more accurately by observation of the ears than by any other way. Even women, who, in other respects, preserve the youthfulness of their appearance to an advanced period are apt to betray their maturity through this organ, which acquires a sharp definition of contour, a tiny wrinkle[pg 19]appearing just in front of it. Some people are able to wag their ears slightly,—another indication of primeval animal traits: Our remote ancestors unquestionably wagged their ears, and every human being today is provided with ear-wagging muscles. In most individuals, however, these muscles have become so far rudimentary that they are useless for wagging purposes.THE FINGER PRINT SYSTEMOur new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next introduction is to what is known as the“finger-print”system, which method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison. All prisoners are at first compelled to have“photos”taken of the balls of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer has an inking-stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for“pulling”proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of identifying escaped or suspected offenders.The finger-print system was invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago, and is considered to be the safest method yet discovered for correct identification purposes. Today it is being extensively used in this country and in Europe. The United States Government has a perfectly organized bureau in operation in[pg 20]conjunction with its federal and military prisons. Hundreds of thousands of thumb prints have been made, but no two have yet been found exactly alike.The impetus given to the system in this country is perhaps due to Mark Twain, America's famous humorist, author, publisher, printer and lecturer. In“Puddenhead Wilson”Mr. Clemens has the village dunce riding a“hobby”at full tilt and that hobby was the taking of finger impressions. The citizens considered him a weak-minded fool, but to humor him they allowed impressions of the balls of their fingers to be taken. The names of their owners were recorded and then carefully filed away. Finally Puddenhead Wilson proved himself to be anything but a fool, for when a mysterious murder was committed in the village he apprehended the perpetrator of the crime, his sole clue being the bloody imprints of the murderer's fingers found on the woodwork in the room where the crime was committed. The finger-print system, since the advent of Mr. Clemens' book, has sprung into vogue in all parts of the country.There are to date several authentic cases on record where by means of this new method of identification prisoners were acquitted, notwithstanding the fact that circumstantial evidence in the hands of the prosecuting attorney was overwhelmingly against the accused. One case was that of a man who had broken his parole from a penitentiary. While absolutely innocent, he was arrested and charged with having committed a certain crime. He could offer no proof without divulging the fact that he had violated his parole, (he still had about two years to serve), but realizing that he was about to be sentenced for eight or ten years on the present charge, he chose the lesser of the two evils and informed the[pg 21][pg 22][pg 23]authorities of his identity. Investigation disclosed the fact that he had not been released from the penitentiary when the alleged crime was committed. This incident demonstrates conclusively that the finger-print system not only detects the wrongdoer, but greatly assists in preventing a miscarriage of justice.Visitor's Reception RoomVisitor's Reception RoomGovernor's RoomGovernor's RoomBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldAfter the operation of taking the new arrival's finger-imprints is completed, and instructions are given as to prison discipline, etc., the incoming prisoner is sent to the medical department, where he is given a thorough physical examination, and if he is affected with any disease it is noted in a book kept expressly for that purpose. If he needs medical attention he is told to come up to the“sick-call”in the forenoon at nine o'clock. All ailing prisoners can attend this call each morning.THE PRISONER IS ASSIGNED WORKBy this time the new arrival is, in all probability, wondering what will happen next, but he is soon enlightened. Work in one of the various departments will be assigned him, for instance, presuming that the shop where he is to be employed is the twine factory, he is turned over to the guard of that particular shop. This officer instructs him very minutely as to shop rules and duties that will devolve upon him, and usually accompanies his instructions with some good, sound advice as to how to best get along with the least possible trouble. The shop foreman now takes him in charge and instructs him how to perform the duties required of him.[pg 24]At the noon hour he must take off his apron, wash his hands and face in a bucket of water placed conveniently near the shop runner, and when the guard blows another sharp blast with his whistle form in line with the other men and prepare to march to the dining room. He is now assigned a place in the ranks of his shop crew and told to always“fall in”at his place. The guard stamps his cane twice on the floor and the men begin to march to dinner.At first the“fresh fish”makes quite a number of mistakes: In the dining room he is somewhat bewildered as to how to make his wants known to the waiters, as he has been told that talking is strictly forbidden, but upon reading the rules in the library catalogue he easily comprehends the silent method of asking for food. If he wishes bread he must hold up his right hand; meat, his fork; soup, his spoon; vegetables, his table knife; coffee, his cup, and for water, the rule is to hold up the cup inverted. This form of the sign language is fully adequate for the situation.THE FIRST NIGHT IN HIS CELLAt the close of the first day's work the prisoner is marched to his cell. Just inside the entrance to the cell house he is handed his supper in a tin dish, goes to his cell, previously assigned to him, and remains standing with his right hand on the cell door until the evening count of the number of prisoners in the institution has been verified by the deputy warden. If the count is correct the prisoners are notified by the sounding of a gong near the desk of the cellhouse captain, at which signal they are permitted to sit down and amuse themselves as they see fit. Immediately after the ringing of the gong[pg 25 ]the gallery men pass around tea for the prisoner's evening meal in addition to what he received when he enters the cellhouse.Our subject now has an opportunity to take a glance at the cell wherein he must spend his“little bit”as the professional crook jocularly terms his sentence. This apartment is not commodious nor supplied with modern improvements of a first-class hostelry; its dimensions are five by seven, and contains: one Bible, two cups, one small mirror, one cuspidor, one spoon, one face towel, one dish towel, one piece of soap, one comb, blankets, sheets, pillow cases, matress, bedstead and springs, one wooden chair (for first and second grade), one earthen water jar with cover, one electric light, one small shelf, one library catalogue and all the library and school books desired. If the occupant is of a philosophical bent of mind he will now realize that the way of the transgressor is indeed hard. The first month or two are the most severe upon the new arrival. His environments force him to dwell continually upon the depths of degradation to which he has fallen, and he suffers the keenest possible mental torture; but after passing this period he begins to readjust his viewpoint and adapt himself to his surroundings and then calmly awaits the termination of his sentence. Few people have any conception of what the first offender endures during his first few months' imprisonment; the thoughts of his jeopardized liberty are ever before him. In summing up and planning for the future about the worst obstacle he fears,—the quintessence of human degradation,—is the baleful word“ex-convict.”That alone hurled at the public through the medium of the public press expresses the sum total of moral turpitude and degeneracy. No matter if[pg 26]the individual in question is pure-minded, the symbol of the culture of the age in which he lives, the hyphenated word“ex-convict”seems to conjure in the minds of the public a picture that causes them to shudder with fear for their safety. As a rule this fear is not shared in by prison officials. Only about ten per cent of the inmates cause them any anxiety, the rest are orderly, perform their work promptly and properly, and cause as little trouble as possible.Prisoners frequently remain at the work first assigned them until their discharge. However, if it is found too difficult the superintendent of the respective departments can assign other work. Should this be impossible a prisoner may put in an application to explain the situation to the warden. Each prisoner has the privilege of seeing the warden at least twice a month, who adjusts all differences of opinion between the guard and prisoner, or between prisoner and foreman. Every complaint of unjust treatment is investigated thoroughly by the warden, and equitable measures are employed to remove the bone of contention. If the guard or foreman is at fault a dignified but forcible lecture generally produces the desired result. This is also true where the inmate has been negligent in his work, causing the trouble.As previously stated, if the new arrival remains at the task first assigned him during his entire imprisonment the routine from day to day is almost identical. He can attend chapel on Sundays if he wishes to do so; a Catholic and Lutheran chaplain preach excellent sermons each alternate Sunday.Sixty days prior to the expiration of sentence the outgoing prisoner is given a shaving ticket, or if he desires to grow a beard he can do so, if not he can get a shave[pg 27][pg 28][pg 29]each week as usual. He is given a bath and change of underclothing each week, and if his clothes and shoes need repairing he is taken to the tailor department and supplied with a new outfit. A few days before his time expires he is taken to the tailor shop and fitted to his outgoing suit of clothes, and upon the day preceding his discharge is sent to the cellhouse barber shop, where he is given a hair cut and shave.Interior of Men's CellInterior of Men's CellEmployee's Dining RoomEmployee's Dining RoomOfficers' KitchenOfficers' KitchenTHE PRISONER'S RELEASENow arrives the day so anxiously anticipated by those incarcerated in our penitentiary. A new beginning and a new chapter in their life's history is before them. It is an event that so greatly excites the average outgoing prisoner that he hardly knows what he is doing, and in many cases his nerves are in such a condition that he is unable to sign the receipt for the money that he receives. The inmate in the forenoon is notified of his release, and is immediately taken to the tailor shop, where he dons his discharged clothing, is given any personal belongings that may have been in his cell by the captain of the cell-house, who inspects them in order to ascertain whether or not he is the owner thereof. He is now conducted to the administration building by the deputy warden, where he is given his discharge papers and twenty-five dollars in money, a sum provided by law for each released prisoner. Just before he walks into the world a free man the former inmate is told to step into the warden's office, and this gentleman gives his departing“guest”a few words of helpful advice, bidding him Godspeed on his journey.[pg 30]WHY SOCIETY SHOULD ACCORD HIM A SQUARE DEALThe discharged prisoner is now in the hands and at the mercy of society. If he is accorded a square deal he may become a useful citizen. If it is his misfortune to become associated with bigoted zealots who taunt him with his past degradation the chances are that he will become a criminal again and prove a source of great expense to the state.In closing this chapter it would be well to suggest that every ex-convict is not a dyed-in-the-wool villian, but that persecution may make him such in the course of events. Is he entitled to a square deal? Most assuredly so, especially if he is employed at honest work and his every action shows determination to lead an upright life. He has sinned against society, it is true, but without question he has paid the debt of his transgression a hundred fold by his imprisonment. Still, after all has been said, a bad reputation is a difficult thing to live down, even that which clings to the free citizen. The discharged prisoner's chief reliance, therefore, in the final analysis is to so circumspectly conduct himself as to place him above the carping criticisms of his new associates. If he follows this course his neighbors are not likely to keep their eyes on his“cracked”reputation.Cell Door Decorative Illustration[pg 31]
THE PRISONER'S RECEPTION AT THE PENITENTIARY[pg 7]An incoming prisoner is designated by the inmates as a“fresh fish.”He enters the administration building, and, as a rule, if he has the reputation of being a“slippery chap”is handcuffed to the sheriff or one of his deputies. Handcuffs, in the vernacular of the underground world, are called“come-a-longs.”He now enters a room known as“between the gates.”(One of these gates leads to the outer world and the other to the inside of the prison.) Here the prisoner's commitment papers are examined, the deputy warden sent for to receive the new arrival, and slips are immediately made out notifying the several heads of departments of the man's name, county from which he came, the offense for which he was committed and the time that he shall serve.Upon the arrival of the deputy warden the prisoner is taken in charge and marched through the officers' barber shop and kitchen. Upon leaving the latter room the“fresh fish”is commanded to“turn to the right,”and a short distance ahead, about twenty feet, he is told to '“turn to the left.”He now enters the large cellhouse—his future home, to remain for the number of years that His Honor, the Judge of the District Court, has sentenced him to serve. The cellhouse contains 664 cells (referring to Minnesota's institution, which furnishes the[pg 8]nucleus for this article) and is in charge of an officer known as the Captain of the Cellhouse.This officer now takes the new arrival in charge and searches his person thoroughly, empties his pockets of everything they contain, and takes his coat, hat and vest. Any valuables found on him, such as money, jewelry, trinkets, tobacco, etc., are immediately tied up into a bundle and sent to the deputy warden's office. A duplicate receipt is made out for all articles of intrinsic value, is signed by the Captain of the Cellhouse and also by the new arrival so as to insure their safe keeping until the day of his release.The next move, and one that is a decisive reminder of his future status in the world, is to the bath room, where he takes a bath and puts on a“second-grade”uniform, there being three grades in all. The first is the highest. Its garb consists of a neat grey suit and cap. First grade prisoners are entitled to write one letter each week, to draw a ration (four ounces) of tobacco weekly, and to receive visitors once in four weeks. They have a dining room to themselves and are served with a greater variety of food than are the prisoners in the other grades. They have also such other privileges granted them from time to time as their general conduct warrants.Prisoners in the second grade are clothed in a black and grey check suit and cap. They are permitted to write one letter a fortnight, to draw a ration of tobacco weekly and to see visitors once a month. They also have a dining room of their own, but the food served therein is not as varied as that served to first grade men. The latter, for example, are served with butter and other relishes at stated intervals, but such things are not part of the diet of the second grade prisoners.Administration OfficeAdministration OfficeBetween the GatesBetween the GatesGroup Showing the Three Grades of PrisonersGroup Showing the Three Grades of Prisoners[pg 9][pg 10][pg 11]Inmates in the third grade wear black and white striped suits. They are denied tobacco, writing and visiting privileges and their meals are served in their cells, which are located in one portion of the cellhouse. In none of the grades are prisoners required to march with the“lock-step,”and excepting those in the third grade, all are permitted to wear their hair long enough to comb during good behavior. The prisoner, after his bath, is again brought into the cellhouse and the captain has one of the inmate barbers clip his hair and shave him. If the new arrival belongs to the respectable class, wearing a mustache and dressed well he will hardly recognize himself if he should chance to look into a mirror. In a few moments the proud American citizen has been supplanted by the convict. Those who belong to the so-called“criminal”class are not affected upon donning the prison uniform, but it is different with the first offender. If he is a proud, sensitive man the change is great enough to almost wrench his heart strings asunder. Many a new arrival, spending his first night in his cell, with its iron bed, whitewashed walls, scant furnishings, iron floor and the dimensions of the room only five by seven feet, has been known to break down completely. After such an ordeal (not your make-believe imprisonment, where some author has himself locked up for an hour or so to gain local coloring for a novel) one gets a clear idea of what prison life really is and places a higher valuation on the liberty that he so recklessly trampled under foot in his mad rush for riches, position and fame.After the tonsorial artist has completed his task the prisoner is conducted to the deputy warden's office, where he is weighed, asked innumerable questions, etc., instructed as to the rules of the institution, measured according[pg 12]to the Bertillon system, which is the standard adopted in this country and throughout Europe.
An incoming prisoner is designated by the inmates as a“fresh fish.”He enters the administration building, and, as a rule, if he has the reputation of being a“slippery chap”is handcuffed to the sheriff or one of his deputies. Handcuffs, in the vernacular of the underground world, are called“come-a-longs.”He now enters a room known as“between the gates.”(One of these gates leads to the outer world and the other to the inside of the prison.) Here the prisoner's commitment papers are examined, the deputy warden sent for to receive the new arrival, and slips are immediately made out notifying the several heads of departments of the man's name, county from which he came, the offense for which he was committed and the time that he shall serve.
Upon the arrival of the deputy warden the prisoner is taken in charge and marched through the officers' barber shop and kitchen. Upon leaving the latter room the“fresh fish”is commanded to“turn to the right,”and a short distance ahead, about twenty feet, he is told to '“turn to the left.”He now enters the large cellhouse—his future home, to remain for the number of years that His Honor, the Judge of the District Court, has sentenced him to serve. The cellhouse contains 664 cells (referring to Minnesota's institution, which furnishes the[pg 8]nucleus for this article) and is in charge of an officer known as the Captain of the Cellhouse.
This officer now takes the new arrival in charge and searches his person thoroughly, empties his pockets of everything they contain, and takes his coat, hat and vest. Any valuables found on him, such as money, jewelry, trinkets, tobacco, etc., are immediately tied up into a bundle and sent to the deputy warden's office. A duplicate receipt is made out for all articles of intrinsic value, is signed by the Captain of the Cellhouse and also by the new arrival so as to insure their safe keeping until the day of his release.
The next move, and one that is a decisive reminder of his future status in the world, is to the bath room, where he takes a bath and puts on a“second-grade”uniform, there being three grades in all. The first is the highest. Its garb consists of a neat grey suit and cap. First grade prisoners are entitled to write one letter each week, to draw a ration (four ounces) of tobacco weekly, and to receive visitors once in four weeks. They have a dining room to themselves and are served with a greater variety of food than are the prisoners in the other grades. They have also such other privileges granted them from time to time as their general conduct warrants.
Prisoners in the second grade are clothed in a black and grey check suit and cap. They are permitted to write one letter a fortnight, to draw a ration of tobacco weekly and to see visitors once a month. They also have a dining room of their own, but the food served therein is not as varied as that served to first grade men. The latter, for example, are served with butter and other relishes at stated intervals, but such things are not part of the diet of the second grade prisoners.
Administration OfficeAdministration Office
Administration Office
Between the GatesBetween the Gates
Between the Gates
Group Showing the Three Grades of PrisonersGroup Showing the Three Grades of Prisoners
Group Showing the Three Grades of Prisoners
Inmates in the third grade wear black and white striped suits. They are denied tobacco, writing and visiting privileges and their meals are served in their cells, which are located in one portion of the cellhouse. In none of the grades are prisoners required to march with the“lock-step,”and excepting those in the third grade, all are permitted to wear their hair long enough to comb during good behavior. The prisoner, after his bath, is again brought into the cellhouse and the captain has one of the inmate barbers clip his hair and shave him. If the new arrival belongs to the respectable class, wearing a mustache and dressed well he will hardly recognize himself if he should chance to look into a mirror. In a few moments the proud American citizen has been supplanted by the convict. Those who belong to the so-called“criminal”class are not affected upon donning the prison uniform, but it is different with the first offender. If he is a proud, sensitive man the change is great enough to almost wrench his heart strings asunder. Many a new arrival, spending his first night in his cell, with its iron bed, whitewashed walls, scant furnishings, iron floor and the dimensions of the room only five by seven feet, has been known to break down completely. After such an ordeal (not your make-believe imprisonment, where some author has himself locked up for an hour or so to gain local coloring for a novel) one gets a clear idea of what prison life really is and places a higher valuation on the liberty that he so recklessly trampled under foot in his mad rush for riches, position and fame.
After the tonsorial artist has completed his task the prisoner is conducted to the deputy warden's office, where he is weighed, asked innumerable questions, etc., instructed as to the rules of the institution, measured according[pg 12]to the Bertillon system, which is the standard adopted in this country and throughout Europe.
BERTILLON MEASUREMENTSTo Dr. Alphonse Bertillon, the celebrated French anthropologist, the world is indebted for the knowledge of the scientifically demonstrated fact that no two persons are exactly alike in physical measurements. In fact any single individual can be identified from thousands of others by this cleverly thought-out system, which was first adopted in this country in 1887. The accompanying illustrations are self-explanatory.The system embraces three distinct parts: First, the measurement of certain unchangeable“bony lengths”of the body; second, a careful description of the features of the face; third, a careful localization of all scars and marks on the body. While the face may change, be even mutilated beyond recognition; while the scars and other marks may be removed, the“bony lengths”of the body remain unchangeable in adults. The parts measured of the bony lengths of the body are the length and width of the head, the cheek width, length of foot, the middle and little finger and the cubit, i. e., from the elbow to the tip of the little finger; the height standing, the height seated, the reach of outstretched arms, right ear length (which most authorities assert remains the same through life), the median line in front from the fork or hollow below the“Adam's apple”down, and, in the rear, the spinal column from the seventh vertebra to the base of the spine, are the anatomical or“guiding[pg 13]points”from which all descriptions of the body are recorded; in the fingers, the joints and flanges,—the flanges being the portions of the fingers between the joints. The calipers for measuring the head are provided with a graduated arch and are similar to a compass. In taking the length of the head the left point of the caliper is held at the root of the nose and the right point is brought against the occipital bone in the back of the head; the thumb screw is then tightened and the measurement checked by passing the instrument again over the head. The width of the head over the cheeks is taken in the same way. The measurement of the foot is taken with a caliper rule similar to that used by a shoemaker; the prisoner is posed standing on his left foot and steadying himself as shown in the illustration. The graduate stem is placed against the inside of the foot with the fixed arm in contact with the heel and the sliding arm then brought in tightly against the toe. In measuring the left middle[pg 14]and little finger the back of the caliper rule is used, two small projections being provided on the fixed and sliding arms. The finger is bent at right angles to the back of the hand and the measurement taken from the tip of the finger to the knuckle.Head Length Measurements.Head Length Measurements.The registering and record made of the foregoing, together with an accurate description of the face and all marks on the body, constitute the third and complete part of this system. To illustrate this part briefly,— measurements are all based on the French metric system, viz: Height, 1 metre, 71 centimetres, 3 millimitres;[pg 15]width, 14 centimetres, 5 millimetres; length of right ear, 6 centimeters, 3 millimetres; length of foot, 2.62; length of middle finger, 11.7; length of little finger, 7.1; length of forearm, 46.3. A metre is 39 inches, a centimetre about 3/8ths of an inch and a millimetre, 1-25th of an inch.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Left Middle Finger Measurement.Left Middle Finger Measurement.The description of heads range in 14 (head) classes, being reckoned from A to Z. The middle fingers have three classes; forearm, three classes; height, three classes, and the little finger, three classes. Only one millimetre or 1-25th of an inch is allowed as the difference between the measurements of any two operators of the Bertillon system in the“bony lengths”of the body. This is so infinitesimal that a measurement taken in France, England, the United States or in Russia by different operators will discover the prisoner, no matter where he may be, and there is no escape unless it be the grave.The technical terms used in the description of scars or marks are strictly medical. For instance, if a man has a scar on his left breast it is described as recitilnal, vertical, horizontal, inal—such a distance from the median[pg 16]line, and to the right, left, above or below the nipple. Scars on the fingers are described in the same terms, indicating the flange and joint, and so on through all parts of the body,—every mark, cut or bruise being measured in front, from the median line, and in the rear, from the spinal column, as stated.With reference to the ears, there are certain external features by which scientists assert criminals may be instantly detected. Have you a criminal ear? Dr. D. S. Lamb, at one time curator in charge of the Army Medical Museum, says there is such a thing as a“criminal ear.”Anthropologists have been giving a great deal of study to this matter of late, and their data points to the conclusion that the term“ear-mark”is something more than a mere figure of speech. No one has two ears just alike; all ears are faulty in one way or another, that is, as to size, shape or position, and these organs do not stop growing when the body pauses in its development. At[pg 17]all events, chronic malefactors are apt to be disfigured by certain malformations of that organ. It has been proven that abnormalities in the ear structure are characteristic features of degenerates. Such abnormalities are commonly found in idiots, imbeciles and epileptics, and the prisons contain quite a number of inmates with such ears. The sloping ear is bad; it shows a tendency to reversion to the primitive animal ear which slopes. The great Napoleon, Lord Byron, Henry Clay and Alexander Hamilton had sloping ears. Another objectionable type is the“wing ear,”which projects wing-like from the head. This type of ear is said to indicate a tendency towards degeneracy; are found in one individual out of every five among sane persons, in two out of five among the insane and in three out of every five in criminals, occurring twice as often among men as among women.Criminal Ear.Criminal Ear.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Considering all available data, it appears that ape-like traits, monkey-ancestry being commonly exhibited, are found far less frequently in the ears of women than in men. This fact would seem to prove that our female race has progressed the farthest from the ancestral type. By carefully feeling with the thumb inside of the edge[pg 18]of the ear and a little behind the top a very small lump of cartilage will be found, as if a foreign body had become imbedded in the tissue. This is a remnant of what was originally the tip of the ear, when hundreds of thousands of years ago that organ in our remote ancestors had a point on it. Among men of note,—statesmen, scientists, politicians, etc., it occurs less frequently by about ten per cent. The so-called“Darwinian tubercle”appears, as stated, less frequently in women than in men, and is unmistakably a trait reverting to the ape. Certain it is that no part of the body can be identified with greater accuracy than by the ears. Your own, for example, are not matched exactly by any other pair in the world; there are differences which are shown beyond the possibility of mistake, by careful measurements, as applied in the Bertillon system. In nine out of every ten persons the ear-lobe runs into the flesh of the cheek without any perceptible division between. Experts term this the“confluent lobule,”and it also is found more often in women than in men. It is said to occur in 92 per cent of the sane and in 47 per cent of the insane. The most remarkable feature in regard to the criminal ear, if it can be so called, is the prominence of the raised area just inside the outer edge, the outer edge being termed the“helix”and the part referred to the“anti-helix.”It appears that the overdevelopment of this portion of the aural structure is particularly characteristic of criminals.A student of this subject can tell a person's age more accurately by observation of the ears than by any other way. Even women, who, in other respects, preserve the youthfulness of their appearance to an advanced period are apt to betray their maturity through this organ, which acquires a sharp definition of contour, a tiny wrinkle[pg 19]appearing just in front of it. Some people are able to wag their ears slightly,—another indication of primeval animal traits: Our remote ancestors unquestionably wagged their ears, and every human being today is provided with ear-wagging muscles. In most individuals, however, these muscles have become so far rudimentary that they are useless for wagging purposes.
To Dr. Alphonse Bertillon, the celebrated French anthropologist, the world is indebted for the knowledge of the scientifically demonstrated fact that no two persons are exactly alike in physical measurements. In fact any single individual can be identified from thousands of others by this cleverly thought-out system, which was first adopted in this country in 1887. The accompanying illustrations are self-explanatory.
The system embraces three distinct parts: First, the measurement of certain unchangeable“bony lengths”of the body; second, a careful description of the features of the face; third, a careful localization of all scars and marks on the body. While the face may change, be even mutilated beyond recognition; while the scars and other marks may be removed, the“bony lengths”of the body remain unchangeable in adults. The parts measured of the bony lengths of the body are the length and width of the head, the cheek width, length of foot, the middle and little finger and the cubit, i. e., from the elbow to the tip of the little finger; the height standing, the height seated, the reach of outstretched arms, right ear length (which most authorities assert remains the same through life), the median line in front from the fork or hollow below the“Adam's apple”down, and, in the rear, the spinal column from the seventh vertebra to the base of the spine, are the anatomical or“guiding[pg 13]points”from which all descriptions of the body are recorded; in the fingers, the joints and flanges,—the flanges being the portions of the fingers between the joints. The calipers for measuring the head are provided with a graduated arch and are similar to a compass. In taking the length of the head the left point of the caliper is held at the root of the nose and the right point is brought against the occipital bone in the back of the head; the thumb screw is then tightened and the measurement checked by passing the instrument again over the head. The width of the head over the cheeks is taken in the same way. The measurement of the foot is taken with a caliper rule similar to that used by a shoemaker; the prisoner is posed standing on his left foot and steadying himself as shown in the illustration. The graduate stem is placed against the inside of the foot with the fixed arm in contact with the heel and the sliding arm then brought in tightly against the toe. In measuring the left middle[pg 14]and little finger the back of the caliper rule is used, two small projections being provided on the fixed and sliding arms. The finger is bent at right angles to the back of the hand and the measurement taken from the tip of the finger to the knuckle.
Head Length Measurements.Head Length Measurements.
Head Length Measurements.
The registering and record made of the foregoing, together with an accurate description of the face and all marks on the body, constitute the third and complete part of this system. To illustrate this part briefly,— measurements are all based on the French metric system, viz: Height, 1 metre, 71 centimetres, 3 millimitres;[pg 15]width, 14 centimetres, 5 millimetres; length of right ear, 6 centimeters, 3 millimetres; length of foot, 2.62; length of middle finger, 11.7; length of little finger, 7.1; length of forearm, 46.3. A metre is 39 inches, a centimetre about 3/8ths of an inch and a millimetre, 1-25th of an inch.
Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.
Measurements of Outstretched Arms and Left Foot.
Left Middle Finger Measurement.Left Middle Finger Measurement.
Left Middle Finger Measurement.
The description of heads range in 14 (head) classes, being reckoned from A to Z. The middle fingers have three classes; forearm, three classes; height, three classes, and the little finger, three classes. Only one millimetre or 1-25th of an inch is allowed as the difference between the measurements of any two operators of the Bertillon system in the“bony lengths”of the body. This is so infinitesimal that a measurement taken in France, England, the United States or in Russia by different operators will discover the prisoner, no matter where he may be, and there is no escape unless it be the grave.
The technical terms used in the description of scars or marks are strictly medical. For instance, if a man has a scar on his left breast it is described as recitilnal, vertical, horizontal, inal—such a distance from the median[pg 16]line, and to the right, left, above or below the nipple. Scars on the fingers are described in the same terms, indicating the flange and joint, and so on through all parts of the body,—every mark, cut or bruise being measured in front, from the median line, and in the rear, from the spinal column, as stated.
With reference to the ears, there are certain external features by which scientists assert criminals may be instantly detected. Have you a criminal ear? Dr. D. S. Lamb, at one time curator in charge of the Army Medical Museum, says there is such a thing as a“criminal ear.”Anthropologists have been giving a great deal of study to this matter of late, and their data points to the conclusion that the term“ear-mark”is something more than a mere figure of speech. No one has two ears just alike; all ears are faulty in one way or another, that is, as to size, shape or position, and these organs do not stop growing when the body pauses in its development. At[pg 17]all events, chronic malefactors are apt to be disfigured by certain malformations of that organ. It has been proven that abnormalities in the ear structure are characteristic features of degenerates. Such abnormalities are commonly found in idiots, imbeciles and epileptics, and the prisons contain quite a number of inmates with such ears. The sloping ear is bad; it shows a tendency to reversion to the primitive animal ear which slopes. The great Napoleon, Lord Byron, Henry Clay and Alexander Hamilton had sloping ears. Another objectionable type is the“wing ear,”which projects wing-like from the head. This type of ear is said to indicate a tendency towards degeneracy; are found in one individual out of every five among sane persons, in two out of five among the insane and in three out of every five in criminals, occurring twice as often among men as among women.
Criminal Ear.Criminal Ear.
Criminal Ear.
Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.
Right Ear and Trunk Measurements.
Considering all available data, it appears that ape-like traits, monkey-ancestry being commonly exhibited, are found far less frequently in the ears of women than in men. This fact would seem to prove that our female race has progressed the farthest from the ancestral type. By carefully feeling with the thumb inside of the edge[pg 18]of the ear and a little behind the top a very small lump of cartilage will be found, as if a foreign body had become imbedded in the tissue. This is a remnant of what was originally the tip of the ear, when hundreds of thousands of years ago that organ in our remote ancestors had a point on it. Among men of note,—statesmen, scientists, politicians, etc., it occurs less frequently by about ten per cent. The so-called“Darwinian tubercle”appears, as stated, less frequently in women than in men, and is unmistakably a trait reverting to the ape. Certain it is that no part of the body can be identified with greater accuracy than by the ears. Your own, for example, are not matched exactly by any other pair in the world; there are differences which are shown beyond the possibility of mistake, by careful measurements, as applied in the Bertillon system. In nine out of every ten persons the ear-lobe runs into the flesh of the cheek without any perceptible division between. Experts term this the“confluent lobule,”and it also is found more often in women than in men. It is said to occur in 92 per cent of the sane and in 47 per cent of the insane. The most remarkable feature in regard to the criminal ear, if it can be so called, is the prominence of the raised area just inside the outer edge, the outer edge being termed the“helix”and the part referred to the“anti-helix.”It appears that the overdevelopment of this portion of the aural structure is particularly characteristic of criminals.
A student of this subject can tell a person's age more accurately by observation of the ears than by any other way. Even women, who, in other respects, preserve the youthfulness of their appearance to an advanced period are apt to betray their maturity through this organ, which acquires a sharp definition of contour, a tiny wrinkle[pg 19]appearing just in front of it. Some people are able to wag their ears slightly,—another indication of primeval animal traits: Our remote ancestors unquestionably wagged their ears, and every human being today is provided with ear-wagging muscles. In most individuals, however, these muscles have become so far rudimentary that they are useless for wagging purposes.
THE FINGER PRINT SYSTEMOur new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next introduction is to what is known as the“finger-print”system, which method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison. All prisoners are at first compelled to have“photos”taken of the balls of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer has an inking-stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for“pulling”proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of identifying escaped or suspected offenders.The finger-print system was invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago, and is considered to be the safest method yet discovered for correct identification purposes. Today it is being extensively used in this country and in Europe. The United States Government has a perfectly organized bureau in operation in[pg 20]conjunction with its federal and military prisons. Hundreds of thousands of thumb prints have been made, but no two have yet been found exactly alike.The impetus given to the system in this country is perhaps due to Mark Twain, America's famous humorist, author, publisher, printer and lecturer. In“Puddenhead Wilson”Mr. Clemens has the village dunce riding a“hobby”at full tilt and that hobby was the taking of finger impressions. The citizens considered him a weak-minded fool, but to humor him they allowed impressions of the balls of their fingers to be taken. The names of their owners were recorded and then carefully filed away. Finally Puddenhead Wilson proved himself to be anything but a fool, for when a mysterious murder was committed in the village he apprehended the perpetrator of the crime, his sole clue being the bloody imprints of the murderer's fingers found on the woodwork in the room where the crime was committed. The finger-print system, since the advent of Mr. Clemens' book, has sprung into vogue in all parts of the country.There are to date several authentic cases on record where by means of this new method of identification prisoners were acquitted, notwithstanding the fact that circumstantial evidence in the hands of the prosecuting attorney was overwhelmingly against the accused. One case was that of a man who had broken his parole from a penitentiary. While absolutely innocent, he was arrested and charged with having committed a certain crime. He could offer no proof without divulging the fact that he had violated his parole, (he still had about two years to serve), but realizing that he was about to be sentenced for eight or ten years on the present charge, he chose the lesser of the two evils and informed the[pg 21][pg 22][pg 23]authorities of his identity. Investigation disclosed the fact that he had not been released from the penitentiary when the alleged crime was committed. This incident demonstrates conclusively that the finger-print system not only detects the wrongdoer, but greatly assists in preventing a miscarriage of justice.Visitor's Reception RoomVisitor's Reception RoomGovernor's RoomGovernor's RoomBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldAfter the operation of taking the new arrival's finger-imprints is completed, and instructions are given as to prison discipline, etc., the incoming prisoner is sent to the medical department, where he is given a thorough physical examination, and if he is affected with any disease it is noted in a book kept expressly for that purpose. If he needs medical attention he is told to come up to the“sick-call”in the forenoon at nine o'clock. All ailing prisoners can attend this call each morning.
Our new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next introduction is to what is known as the“finger-print”system, which method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison. All prisoners are at first compelled to have“photos”taken of the balls of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer has an inking-stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for“pulling”proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of identifying escaped or suspected offenders.
The finger-print system was invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago, and is considered to be the safest method yet discovered for correct identification purposes. Today it is being extensively used in this country and in Europe. The United States Government has a perfectly organized bureau in operation in[pg 20]conjunction with its federal and military prisons. Hundreds of thousands of thumb prints have been made, but no two have yet been found exactly alike.
The impetus given to the system in this country is perhaps due to Mark Twain, America's famous humorist, author, publisher, printer and lecturer. In“Puddenhead Wilson”Mr. Clemens has the village dunce riding a“hobby”at full tilt and that hobby was the taking of finger impressions. The citizens considered him a weak-minded fool, but to humor him they allowed impressions of the balls of their fingers to be taken. The names of their owners were recorded and then carefully filed away. Finally Puddenhead Wilson proved himself to be anything but a fool, for when a mysterious murder was committed in the village he apprehended the perpetrator of the crime, his sole clue being the bloody imprints of the murderer's fingers found on the woodwork in the room where the crime was committed. The finger-print system, since the advent of Mr. Clemens' book, has sprung into vogue in all parts of the country.
There are to date several authentic cases on record where by means of this new method of identification prisoners were acquitted, notwithstanding the fact that circumstantial evidence in the hands of the prosecuting attorney was overwhelmingly against the accused. One case was that of a man who had broken his parole from a penitentiary. While absolutely innocent, he was arrested and charged with having committed a certain crime. He could offer no proof without divulging the fact that he had violated his parole, (he still had about two years to serve), but realizing that he was about to be sentenced for eight or ten years on the present charge, he chose the lesser of the two evils and informed the[pg 21][pg 22][pg 23]authorities of his identity. Investigation disclosed the fact that he had not been released from the penitentiary when the alleged crime was committed. This incident demonstrates conclusively that the finger-print system not only detects the wrongdoer, but greatly assists in preventing a miscarriage of justice.
Visitor's Reception RoomVisitor's Reception Room
Visitor's Reception Room
Governor's RoomGovernor's Room
Governor's Room
Board of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are HeldBoard of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are Held
Board of Control's Room, where Monthly Meetings are Held
After the operation of taking the new arrival's finger-imprints is completed, and instructions are given as to prison discipline, etc., the incoming prisoner is sent to the medical department, where he is given a thorough physical examination, and if he is affected with any disease it is noted in a book kept expressly for that purpose. If he needs medical attention he is told to come up to the“sick-call”in the forenoon at nine o'clock. All ailing prisoners can attend this call each morning.
THE PRISONER IS ASSIGNED WORKBy this time the new arrival is, in all probability, wondering what will happen next, but he is soon enlightened. Work in one of the various departments will be assigned him, for instance, presuming that the shop where he is to be employed is the twine factory, he is turned over to the guard of that particular shop. This officer instructs him very minutely as to shop rules and duties that will devolve upon him, and usually accompanies his instructions with some good, sound advice as to how to best get along with the least possible trouble. The shop foreman now takes him in charge and instructs him how to perform the duties required of him.[pg 24]At the noon hour he must take off his apron, wash his hands and face in a bucket of water placed conveniently near the shop runner, and when the guard blows another sharp blast with his whistle form in line with the other men and prepare to march to the dining room. He is now assigned a place in the ranks of his shop crew and told to always“fall in”at his place. The guard stamps his cane twice on the floor and the men begin to march to dinner.At first the“fresh fish”makes quite a number of mistakes: In the dining room he is somewhat bewildered as to how to make his wants known to the waiters, as he has been told that talking is strictly forbidden, but upon reading the rules in the library catalogue he easily comprehends the silent method of asking for food. If he wishes bread he must hold up his right hand; meat, his fork; soup, his spoon; vegetables, his table knife; coffee, his cup, and for water, the rule is to hold up the cup inverted. This form of the sign language is fully adequate for the situation.
By this time the new arrival is, in all probability, wondering what will happen next, but he is soon enlightened. Work in one of the various departments will be assigned him, for instance, presuming that the shop where he is to be employed is the twine factory, he is turned over to the guard of that particular shop. This officer instructs him very minutely as to shop rules and duties that will devolve upon him, and usually accompanies his instructions with some good, sound advice as to how to best get along with the least possible trouble. The shop foreman now takes him in charge and instructs him how to perform the duties required of him.
At the noon hour he must take off his apron, wash his hands and face in a bucket of water placed conveniently near the shop runner, and when the guard blows another sharp blast with his whistle form in line with the other men and prepare to march to the dining room. He is now assigned a place in the ranks of his shop crew and told to always“fall in”at his place. The guard stamps his cane twice on the floor and the men begin to march to dinner.
At first the“fresh fish”makes quite a number of mistakes: In the dining room he is somewhat bewildered as to how to make his wants known to the waiters, as he has been told that talking is strictly forbidden, but upon reading the rules in the library catalogue he easily comprehends the silent method of asking for food. If he wishes bread he must hold up his right hand; meat, his fork; soup, his spoon; vegetables, his table knife; coffee, his cup, and for water, the rule is to hold up the cup inverted. This form of the sign language is fully adequate for the situation.
THE FIRST NIGHT IN HIS CELLAt the close of the first day's work the prisoner is marched to his cell. Just inside the entrance to the cell house he is handed his supper in a tin dish, goes to his cell, previously assigned to him, and remains standing with his right hand on the cell door until the evening count of the number of prisoners in the institution has been verified by the deputy warden. If the count is correct the prisoners are notified by the sounding of a gong near the desk of the cellhouse captain, at which signal they are permitted to sit down and amuse themselves as they see fit. Immediately after the ringing of the gong[pg 25 ]the gallery men pass around tea for the prisoner's evening meal in addition to what he received when he enters the cellhouse.Our subject now has an opportunity to take a glance at the cell wherein he must spend his“little bit”as the professional crook jocularly terms his sentence. This apartment is not commodious nor supplied with modern improvements of a first-class hostelry; its dimensions are five by seven, and contains: one Bible, two cups, one small mirror, one cuspidor, one spoon, one face towel, one dish towel, one piece of soap, one comb, blankets, sheets, pillow cases, matress, bedstead and springs, one wooden chair (for first and second grade), one earthen water jar with cover, one electric light, one small shelf, one library catalogue and all the library and school books desired. If the occupant is of a philosophical bent of mind he will now realize that the way of the transgressor is indeed hard. The first month or two are the most severe upon the new arrival. His environments force him to dwell continually upon the depths of degradation to which he has fallen, and he suffers the keenest possible mental torture; but after passing this period he begins to readjust his viewpoint and adapt himself to his surroundings and then calmly awaits the termination of his sentence. Few people have any conception of what the first offender endures during his first few months' imprisonment; the thoughts of his jeopardized liberty are ever before him. In summing up and planning for the future about the worst obstacle he fears,—the quintessence of human degradation,—is the baleful word“ex-convict.”That alone hurled at the public through the medium of the public press expresses the sum total of moral turpitude and degeneracy. No matter if[pg 26]the individual in question is pure-minded, the symbol of the culture of the age in which he lives, the hyphenated word“ex-convict”seems to conjure in the minds of the public a picture that causes them to shudder with fear for their safety. As a rule this fear is not shared in by prison officials. Only about ten per cent of the inmates cause them any anxiety, the rest are orderly, perform their work promptly and properly, and cause as little trouble as possible.Prisoners frequently remain at the work first assigned them until their discharge. However, if it is found too difficult the superintendent of the respective departments can assign other work. Should this be impossible a prisoner may put in an application to explain the situation to the warden. Each prisoner has the privilege of seeing the warden at least twice a month, who adjusts all differences of opinion between the guard and prisoner, or between prisoner and foreman. Every complaint of unjust treatment is investigated thoroughly by the warden, and equitable measures are employed to remove the bone of contention. If the guard or foreman is at fault a dignified but forcible lecture generally produces the desired result. This is also true where the inmate has been negligent in his work, causing the trouble.As previously stated, if the new arrival remains at the task first assigned him during his entire imprisonment the routine from day to day is almost identical. He can attend chapel on Sundays if he wishes to do so; a Catholic and Lutheran chaplain preach excellent sermons each alternate Sunday.Sixty days prior to the expiration of sentence the outgoing prisoner is given a shaving ticket, or if he desires to grow a beard he can do so, if not he can get a shave[pg 27][pg 28][pg 29]each week as usual. He is given a bath and change of underclothing each week, and if his clothes and shoes need repairing he is taken to the tailor department and supplied with a new outfit. A few days before his time expires he is taken to the tailor shop and fitted to his outgoing suit of clothes, and upon the day preceding his discharge is sent to the cellhouse barber shop, where he is given a hair cut and shave.Interior of Men's CellInterior of Men's CellEmployee's Dining RoomEmployee's Dining RoomOfficers' KitchenOfficers' Kitchen
At the close of the first day's work the prisoner is marched to his cell. Just inside the entrance to the cell house he is handed his supper in a tin dish, goes to his cell, previously assigned to him, and remains standing with his right hand on the cell door until the evening count of the number of prisoners in the institution has been verified by the deputy warden. If the count is correct the prisoners are notified by the sounding of a gong near the desk of the cellhouse captain, at which signal they are permitted to sit down and amuse themselves as they see fit. Immediately after the ringing of the gong[pg 25 ]the gallery men pass around tea for the prisoner's evening meal in addition to what he received when he enters the cellhouse.
Our subject now has an opportunity to take a glance at the cell wherein he must spend his“little bit”as the professional crook jocularly terms his sentence. This apartment is not commodious nor supplied with modern improvements of a first-class hostelry; its dimensions are five by seven, and contains: one Bible, two cups, one small mirror, one cuspidor, one spoon, one face towel, one dish towel, one piece of soap, one comb, blankets, sheets, pillow cases, matress, bedstead and springs, one wooden chair (for first and second grade), one earthen water jar with cover, one electric light, one small shelf, one library catalogue and all the library and school books desired. If the occupant is of a philosophical bent of mind he will now realize that the way of the transgressor is indeed hard. The first month or two are the most severe upon the new arrival. His environments force him to dwell continually upon the depths of degradation to which he has fallen, and he suffers the keenest possible mental torture; but after passing this period he begins to readjust his viewpoint and adapt himself to his surroundings and then calmly awaits the termination of his sentence. Few people have any conception of what the first offender endures during his first few months' imprisonment; the thoughts of his jeopardized liberty are ever before him. In summing up and planning for the future about the worst obstacle he fears,—the quintessence of human degradation,—is the baleful word“ex-convict.”That alone hurled at the public through the medium of the public press expresses the sum total of moral turpitude and degeneracy. No matter if[pg 26]the individual in question is pure-minded, the symbol of the culture of the age in which he lives, the hyphenated word“ex-convict”seems to conjure in the minds of the public a picture that causes them to shudder with fear for their safety. As a rule this fear is not shared in by prison officials. Only about ten per cent of the inmates cause them any anxiety, the rest are orderly, perform their work promptly and properly, and cause as little trouble as possible.
Prisoners frequently remain at the work first assigned them until their discharge. However, if it is found too difficult the superintendent of the respective departments can assign other work. Should this be impossible a prisoner may put in an application to explain the situation to the warden. Each prisoner has the privilege of seeing the warden at least twice a month, who adjusts all differences of opinion between the guard and prisoner, or between prisoner and foreman. Every complaint of unjust treatment is investigated thoroughly by the warden, and equitable measures are employed to remove the bone of contention. If the guard or foreman is at fault a dignified but forcible lecture generally produces the desired result. This is also true where the inmate has been negligent in his work, causing the trouble.
As previously stated, if the new arrival remains at the task first assigned him during his entire imprisonment the routine from day to day is almost identical. He can attend chapel on Sundays if he wishes to do so; a Catholic and Lutheran chaplain preach excellent sermons each alternate Sunday.
Sixty days prior to the expiration of sentence the outgoing prisoner is given a shaving ticket, or if he desires to grow a beard he can do so, if not he can get a shave[pg 27][pg 28][pg 29]each week as usual. He is given a bath and change of underclothing each week, and if his clothes and shoes need repairing he is taken to the tailor department and supplied with a new outfit. A few days before his time expires he is taken to the tailor shop and fitted to his outgoing suit of clothes, and upon the day preceding his discharge is sent to the cellhouse barber shop, where he is given a hair cut and shave.
Interior of Men's CellInterior of Men's Cell
Interior of Men's Cell
Employee's Dining RoomEmployee's Dining Room
Employee's Dining Room
Officers' KitchenOfficers' Kitchen
Officers' Kitchen
THE PRISONER'S RELEASENow arrives the day so anxiously anticipated by those incarcerated in our penitentiary. A new beginning and a new chapter in their life's history is before them. It is an event that so greatly excites the average outgoing prisoner that he hardly knows what he is doing, and in many cases his nerves are in such a condition that he is unable to sign the receipt for the money that he receives. The inmate in the forenoon is notified of his release, and is immediately taken to the tailor shop, where he dons his discharged clothing, is given any personal belongings that may have been in his cell by the captain of the cell-house, who inspects them in order to ascertain whether or not he is the owner thereof. He is now conducted to the administration building by the deputy warden, where he is given his discharge papers and twenty-five dollars in money, a sum provided by law for each released prisoner. Just before he walks into the world a free man the former inmate is told to step into the warden's office, and this gentleman gives his departing“guest”a few words of helpful advice, bidding him Godspeed on his journey.
Now arrives the day so anxiously anticipated by those incarcerated in our penitentiary. A new beginning and a new chapter in their life's history is before them. It is an event that so greatly excites the average outgoing prisoner that he hardly knows what he is doing, and in many cases his nerves are in such a condition that he is unable to sign the receipt for the money that he receives. The inmate in the forenoon is notified of his release, and is immediately taken to the tailor shop, where he dons his discharged clothing, is given any personal belongings that may have been in his cell by the captain of the cell-house, who inspects them in order to ascertain whether or not he is the owner thereof. He is now conducted to the administration building by the deputy warden, where he is given his discharge papers and twenty-five dollars in money, a sum provided by law for each released prisoner. Just before he walks into the world a free man the former inmate is told to step into the warden's office, and this gentleman gives his departing“guest”a few words of helpful advice, bidding him Godspeed on his journey.
WHY SOCIETY SHOULD ACCORD HIM A SQUARE DEALThe discharged prisoner is now in the hands and at the mercy of society. If he is accorded a square deal he may become a useful citizen. If it is his misfortune to become associated with bigoted zealots who taunt him with his past degradation the chances are that he will become a criminal again and prove a source of great expense to the state.In closing this chapter it would be well to suggest that every ex-convict is not a dyed-in-the-wool villian, but that persecution may make him such in the course of events. Is he entitled to a square deal? Most assuredly so, especially if he is employed at honest work and his every action shows determination to lead an upright life. He has sinned against society, it is true, but without question he has paid the debt of his transgression a hundred fold by his imprisonment. Still, after all has been said, a bad reputation is a difficult thing to live down, even that which clings to the free citizen. The discharged prisoner's chief reliance, therefore, in the final analysis is to so circumspectly conduct himself as to place him above the carping criticisms of his new associates. If he follows this course his neighbors are not likely to keep their eyes on his“cracked”reputation.Cell Door Decorative Illustration[pg 31]
The discharged prisoner is now in the hands and at the mercy of society. If he is accorded a square deal he may become a useful citizen. If it is his misfortune to become associated with bigoted zealots who taunt him with his past degradation the chances are that he will become a criminal again and prove a source of great expense to the state.
In closing this chapter it would be well to suggest that every ex-convict is not a dyed-in-the-wool villian, but that persecution may make him such in the course of events. Is he entitled to a square deal? Most assuredly so, especially if he is employed at honest work and his every action shows determination to lead an upright life. He has sinned against society, it is true, but without question he has paid the debt of his transgression a hundred fold by his imprisonment. Still, after all has been said, a bad reputation is a difficult thing to live down, even that which clings to the free citizen. The discharged prisoner's chief reliance, therefore, in the final analysis is to so circumspectly conduct himself as to place him above the carping criticisms of his new associates. If he follows this course his neighbors are not likely to keep their eyes on his“cracked”reputation.
Cell Door Decorative Illustration