PRISON BORN BABIES.

NZ Truth, Issue 140, 22 February 1908, Page 8

PRISON BORN BABIES.

Boston's Strange Gaol. How They're Treated. The most notable inmates of South Framingham Reformatory, Boston, U.S.A., one of the most remarkable prisons m the world, are the numerous babies who first see the light of i day from within its towering walls. , Their mothers are convicts serving sentences varying m length, and passed upon them as punishment for all sorts of offences, from petty pilfering to murder. While the parents are working out their time the chains of bondage are made as light as possible for the children whom an accident of fate has brought within the confines of , the prison. The mothers are not allowed to attend the babies during the day, the officials fearing that the "one ewe. lam)b" may get more attention than its due. However, each mother is privileged to visit the hospital three times a, day, and each sleeps m the pavilion- with a crib at her side, but . BABY MUST SLEEP 'ALONE, unless it be cold or .ailing. . Framingham Prison is remarkable m many ways, but certainly one of the most striking features of the establishment is "that it is „ entirely . managed by women-^-a woman as governor, women a? „ doctors,, .vdiueaj r as gaolers. -Not a man to. be seen, „,One hundred and -twenty criminals of the most vicious type under the sole supervision of 25 matrons ! In a man's prison every keeper is a. walking arsenal, and here these women go about with not even a hatpin with which to defend themselves. The prison inmates are divided into three grades. In the first grade the women have tablecloths, tumb-, lets, individual salt-cellars, and oth-, er .accessories of refined life.' Bad conduct at table is never tolerated . To these poor creatures, who have never known . ■ ■ ;: • -'-J ■ THE VIRTUES OF CLEAN ■ LINEN, the daintiness -of • a home appeals strongly. . " '' . v " The first week is spent m. tlifi.. annexe under the supervision . of the resident physician, who determines whether the prisoner's physical condition admits of work or she shall be sent to tfie hospital. These criminals are not of the "ladyfied" . .type, but have figured m court for every crime from murder down to the low; "est arts of knavery. While below the ordinary walks of life, they. are, perhaps, a .little above the degradation of the slums, and often are - : •■j.iore feeble-minded than vicious. Alter . being thoroughly . disinfected, the girl (and some of She girls are grandmothers), is taken to the officeV of Mrs Frances A. Morton, the superintendent, and she and the girl have a talk m absolute privacy. It- is explained to 'her that she will enter the second grade, from; which she can either rise or descend,, that good conduct Will shorten her time and give her certain privileges. - : Many old women brougfit to this establishment are delighted with the prospect of learning to read ; depriving them of school is A PUNISHMENT SO CRUEL that it Is never resortedto except m very extreme cases. Young people are so anxious to shorten time that very few remain m the lowest grade. If a woman be absolutely depraved, a chronic breeder of discontent, or unmanageable, she is isolated. The dark room is the last resource when all other methods fail, and follows destroying State property, threatening a life, or similar offences, but the moment repentance is apparent the woman may send for the superintendent, and she, will be released on promise of good behaviour. The. cells of the prisoners are far above the average poor man's -home. Iron cots have good shuck mattressesand one »pillow, ah under sheet, a goad, heav,^ double gray blanket, a chair, a table, with a magazine or two, washstand,. comb, tiny mirror. Mrs Morton, believing m infusing a home, air, saves all the pretty pictures she can. find, with or without verses, and personally pastes them on cardboard- to be hung .■ m the cells,changing them each week. Calendars also are put. into the rooms, and are a great source of comfort, 'as they enable a. woman to : - . ' KEEP HER OWN TIME RECORD.' All through the vast institution, plants, many of them m full bloom, add a home-like air. ■ There is an assembly . room m which the prisoners read and. play games, a mulberry park, where the babies get summer sunfoaths,, and where summer chapel is held, a soaphouse, where all the soap is made, a drying room for apples and other fruits. There are also numerous baths. All this immense domain is presided over •by one little woman, to whom credit is due for the many improvements and innovations that rob. the prison of its stigma by converting it into a home. . , Dr. Francis A. Potter, of the institution, .is said to be the only woman expert of the 'Bertillon system of ■measurements, and for prison purposes she has. a special room thoroughly equipped. \Vhen . ASKUD THE CAUSE OF CRIME, she asserted, . emphatically :— ;,'... "The growth of drug habit. W,heh they are sent: to Us, we. never , let them down easy, but shut it off at once. They suffer and beg piteously for a few days, but by attending to the diet no bad effects have ever resulted. Cigarette fiends, too, are brought here, and women suffering from all stages of inebriety." "And do you find that these women ever reform ?" she was asked. "I cannot say ; we always hope they may, and help the cause ,by building up the physical condition and making them self-supporting."