The Sunday Oregonian., March 26, 1911, SECTION SIX, Page 7, Image 77

TTTE STjyDAY OREGOyiAy, PORTLAND, MARCH 26, 1911. "
COLORADO'S PENAL DRONES PLACED
ON HONOR; SET TO ROAD-BUILDING
ConTicta Choos to Work in Open and Relish Useful Oc cupations Terms Reduced by Faithful Services New
System round to Be Complete Success.
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II '-T 1 HfJv,r --" V - v,c- 1
BT TL'l 1 ISO l; eonTfc! crtmlnkla
"on honor and !lowlr.r thm to
do road bulMlnf auih rvtr to
tfca atate irainlnir them commutation of
italrnc olorjJo 4ni t hava aona
lone T towarJ lvinic tna bltiy
prvMm and the problrm of t unm
plnyxd convict at on and tha aara
Urn.
About half tha con t let a In tha Colo
rado Ctat renltrntlary t Car.yon CUT.
ar cmployad tn road work. Tha prlaon
popuia'tnn Tartea from ?(0 to 7&0. and
It l catiiratrd that tha labor thu aa
currd to tha maa an actuaj cah
valua of at Wat HOo.OuO par yaar. not
to iixtk of aolricr tha rezlnc qucatlon
of kf-plin crlmlnala amployad without
omrlli'tir.c with fraa labor. It la tl
rnatrd that, aa tha oyatam la astended.
thre-quartrra of tha conTicta will ba
ai:b: for road wo,r. and tha hl.1
waa can ba conatructrd at tha rate of
about a mlla a day. Moat of tha roada
In t'olurado. ml-. u-a la larfriy a moun
talnoua :ata. hava to ba hawn out of
a.;td roclc. hrnci tha work la trpmen
doualy dtfTlcult. thouah tha roada o
ronstractad X9 practtcaUiy Ir.destruc
ttbla. tulora1o la proud of Its convict-built
rtiswaa. Not lone aao. m hen tha
laad Man's Canyon road, from Colorado
tpr:nea to Canyon City, waa oprnd.
the Ooveroor and other hljrh oftlctala
attended the openlnc ceremonies, A
rope of rosea was stretched serosa the
road, and speeches were rr.ade before
this ropa waa broken and the road of
ficially opened to traffic. Tha states
prida In Uieaa highways comes not
a!ona from tha fact that they are mag
nificent pieces of road work.
Tha con vlct-bull t roads have not been
constructed by unwilling- men spurred
to their task by brutal overseers. Thera
are no jtuards at the Colorado aonrlct
road carcps. except an armed patrol
at night- Tha man work out In tha
open, many ml.es from tha penitentiary,
under no restriction. Thera la a fore
man of conatructlon. but he la not
armed. Tha convicts have glrta their
word to tha prison warden that they
will not try to escape. They are work,
tag- "on honor." and their faith la kept.
John Clee;horn. a former warden of
tha Colorado tate Penitentiary, la tha
man who conceived the Idea that con -vlcta
might voluntarily render tha slato
a great service by constructing needed
nlghwaya. Those "trusties" who had
shown they could ba depended upon not
to attempt to escape when allowed to
go out of the prison were to be allowed
1 days a month off their sentence, for
their work on the roada. in addition to
tha usual commutation for good be
havior. This plan gave the convict a
substantial Inducement for consclentl
oua work, but It la a remarkable fact
that the life-termers are as esger to
go out with the road gangs as those
who have short sentences to be cut
down.
Men Stick by Work.
Warden Cleghorn first put a small
road gang at work constructing a
scenic drive overlooking the Canyon
City Penitentiary. This Is now one of
tha most beautiful and unique drives In
th world, and even Switzerland has
nothing to surpass It. The road beglna
at the outskirts of Canyon City, and
rises In sweeping curves to the top of
a great "hog back." along whrrh It ex
tends for miles. The road follows the
top of this peculiar mountain, and on
both sides a matchless view can be had.
Over the neat atone parapet built by
the convicts, one can look down Into
valleys 100 feet below, to the right
and left.
Tha Sky Line drive was completed
without the loss of a man. Tha con
victs worked cheerfully, and the leas
fortunate men In the penitentiary clam
ored for a chance to work with tha
road outfit- Warden Cleghorn grad
ually extended his ache ma. Ha began
work on needed highways miles from
tha penitentiary. Pessimists predicted
that soma day there would be a con
certed "getaway." and that a whole road
carr.p would "turn up missing." But
the warden knew human nature better
than did his critics, ile 'sized up" his
working force In the penitentiary and
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is
picked oat the men who could be trust
ed. Xot once was his faith betrayed.
The growing miles of splendid highway
In Southeastern Colorado aoon testified
to the practical nature of the warden's
reform.
Today convict road camps are estab
lished In Colorado hundreds of- miles
away from tha penitentiary. The cas
ual visitor at one of these camps never
would suspect Its nature. The convicts
are dressed In khaki working clothes
and look like ordinary laborers. They
are bronxed by the sun and win and
there Is no "prison pallor" In evidence.
They sleep In tents, and at night a soli
tary guard, armed with a rifle, patrols
the camp. This firearm la the only
weapon in evidence, and that only at
night.
After breakfast, prepared by a con
vict cook and served by convict waiters,
the road gang aets forth. Under the
guidance of skilled engineers and road
builders, the men perform their allot
ted tasks of drilling or working with
pick, shovel and wheelbarrow. Much
blasting has to he done on these rock
highways of Colorado. Generally there
is a set of shots to be exploded about
noon. Then, after the fuses are lit,
the convicts troop back to camp for
dinner. The explosions are heard, one
after another, ahatterlng the silence of
the mountains, and then the men go
back, after having had a good dinner,
and wheel away the debris and bring
the road to its desired level.
It costs about 34 cents a day to keep
a convict tn a road camp, as against
1! cents a day in the penitentiary.
Tha men must have better food when
engaged In such hard manual labor,
and this forms the chief Item of added
expense. But even this expense has
been saved to the general taxpayers of
Colorado, aa the countlea through
which the roada are built contribute
the extra 24 cents per day per man.
This tax Is gladly borne by the coun
ties, as they receive most of the benefit
from the construction of the roads.
Convict labor, on the Colorado plan,
costs only. about 20 per cent of the
amount that would have to be psJd
tha averare contractor hiring free la-
; bor. But It Is practically Impossible
to get laborers for road work. Men do
not Ilka to go to isolated road camps.
They prefer to stick to the Urge cities
where there Is a chance of picking up
' steadier work and large wages. This
' is the chief difficulty in the way of
, good roads construction in the United
. States and it ia here that convict la
bor promises to step in and solve the
difficulty.
Some states have made a praotlce of
conatructtng roads with convict la
bor, but under compulsion. In such
states it Is a common sight to see
men., in striped suits, taken out of
the prisons under heavy guard. Many
times they work In chains. There is a
general public sentiment against con
vict road work under such conditions.
The men are sullen and are evidently
looking for a chanee to escape at the
first opportunity. Then, too, such gangs
cannot be taken far from the perxHen
tlsry, except at great risk.
There is no hint of peonage in the
Colorado plan of employing convict la
bor. ' The convict does not hnve to
work on th eroad. but rather regard
It 'as a matter of privilege. He must
M . .A K- 1 V. Y . 1
I worthy of trust. His conduct Is
watched from the first hour he enters
the prison, and If he proves worthy of
confidence, at the end of SO days ha is
given minor employment with Hhe
"trusties" near the penitentiary. If
his behavior contlnuea good, he is ad
vanced to one of the road gangs, and
aoon he finds himself out In the open,
surrounded by walls of canvas Instead
of stone, and with the odor of pines In
his nostrils. Instead of the hated smell
of the prison. The chances are he
shows his appreciation of these privi
leges by working hard and faithfully
and making a material reduction in
the time of his sentence. In case he so
far forgets himself as to folate some
rule of the camp, he is returned at
once to the prison and taken off the
eligible list. If his offense has been
severe, he is put into stripes and given
a prison haircut.
What Changes. Will Panama
Canal Make?
CONTINUED FROM PAGE FiVE
When we learn, as we may, that some
form of reciprocity in our commercial
laws, aome encouragement of our mer
chant marine, such as Is extended to Its
subjects by other countires. Is a neces
sity, and when we realize if we ever
can that our belief in our own Infalli
bility and capacity, is not shared by
the rest of the world; when we find
from bitter experience, that conceit is
not the only valuable asset in foreign
trade, and that some concessions must
be made to secure customers, then pos
sibly, in the distant future, some of
the millions going into the "big ditch"
will come back to us, and the genera
tions to come will grant to our memo
ries, the tribute of great foresight.
Assuming the late estimate of the
cost of the canal, exclusive of the in
terest charge during construetlon, will
be lltu.000.000. the yearly Interest on
this amount at Z per cent will be llO.i
lOO.OOO. Add to this the cost of opera
tion and maintenance, which has been
figured at various times at about two
and one-half millions, also a sinking
fund of 111,000,000 yearly to provide, at
the end of SO years an amount suffi
cient to retire the bonds.
Thus we will have a charge of t!5.
S00.000 to be met by gross earnings,
which can come from only one source,
that of tolla of passing traffic The
Sues Canal was 10 yeara In attaining a
yearly traffic of 11.160,000 net tons.
This amount of traffic applied to the
Panama Canal, with a rate of toll of
11.50 per ton. the highest rate yet sug
gested, would give a gross yearly rev
enue of 110,740.000, 11.1(0.000 less than
enough to meet fixed and operating
charges In Its 10th year.
The Sues Canal opened In 1170, show
ing a net tonnage the first ysar of
400,000. which gradually Increased In
10 years to 11.160.000 net tons In 1106
(by net tonnage is meant the actual
tonnage on which, under our rules of
measurements, tolls would be collect
ed). This would give an average for
the 16 years at Sues of 6,100.000 tons.
Assuming, however, that the increase
In tonnage at Panama would be SO per
cent more than actually occurred at
Sues, then the yearly average tonnage
at Paaama would be S.000.00O tons,
which, at 11.60 per ton, would amount
to 112,000.000 yearly earnings at Pana
ma, which, taken from 126.100,000, the
theoretical yearly charges shown above.
would leave a yearly deficit at Panama
of $11,100,006. which deficit In 36
years would amount to 1406.800.000, or
146.000.OOO more than the original cost
of the canal or putting it another way.
in si rears we will hsve been at the ex-
pence of rebuilding the canal.
it is understood, of course, that a re
funding, instead of a retirement of the
bonds, at their maturity, would elim
inate the necessity for a sinking fund.
But on the other hand, the assured ton
nage la undoubtedly too high, as ia
also the assumed rate of toll. It has
been suggested, and with many argu
ments In its favor, that American ships
ba given free passage. If our mer
chant marine la ever to be re-estab
lished It must be given some encour
agement.
A direct subsidy is not likely to
meet with popular approval, and free
cajial paasage would be subsidy in an
indirect lorm. The Suez Canal cost
less than 1100.000,000. and little to op
erate and maintain, owing to Its pe
culiar topographical features, and the
dry climate, so It pays commercially.
Its tolls are high, but the very na
tion -which owns its shares, subsidizes
Its ships, and thus Indirectly gives
them free or reduced tolls, and I think
such a policy would be a good one for
the United States to -adopt at Panama.
There Is. however, a value in the
Panama Canal to the United States,
over and beyond its military and com
mercial value. The republics of South)
America are rapidly assuming a com
manding position among the nations of
the world, and tn order that the United
States may profit socially and commer
cially by their natural Intercourse with
these republics, we must take such
steps as will impress upon them, as
well as upon the balance of the world,
the fact that we are a great nation and
will become greater and greater as
time goes on. The formation of the
Bureau of American Republics, with
which organisation you are doubtless
well acquainted, has been a long step
In the direction of a cloae social and
commercial amalgamation between the
two Ajnerlcan - continents, and the
building of the canal by the United
States Is bound to add still further to
our prestige with the. South American
people.
If the United States had not built
the Panama Canal, some European na
tion would, or at least would have
tried to have done so, and the so
called Monroe Dletrine would have
come still more forcibly to the front
in the future than it has in the. past.
And without world-wide expanding in
terests, which hsve taken on in the
last few years such great development.
It would seem that the construction of
the csnal - by the United States had
been forced upon us, and whether it
pays or not. In terms of dollars and
cents. It will pay" as a matter of senti
ment. It has been well planned. Is
being well and honestly built, and I
believe the verdict of the future, to
which all of our acts must be sub
mitted, will be that its conception and
execution, were for the best Interests
of our great and expanding; country. ,
"GOOGOO, EYES, FLUFFY HAIR, POUTY
LIPS," NOT REAL AMERICAN BEAUTY
Famous Artist, Harrison risher, Picks Out California Girl With "Slashing Head and Good Jaw" as His Ideal
of True Beauty Type.
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MIS3 MAURiNH RASMUSSEX.
daughter of Charles Rasmussen.
a noted artist of San Francisco,
hss- been selected by Harrison Fisher,
the famous New Tork artist and delin
eator of beautiful American woman
hood as the Ideal American beauty.
Harrison Fisher's parents live In
Alameda, Cat., and on a recent visit
to his old home the artist announced
that he had come in quest of a girl In
the Oolden West, whose fc might
be Immortalised by bis pen and brush
as a typical American beauty. The an
nouncement of this romantlo quest
'caused a furore among the friends.
relatives, parent and sweethearts of
beautiful California women, and the
San Francisco newspapers ran hun
dreds of photographs suggesting that
perhaps among the scores ' of attrac
tive women shown, there might be se
lected the type that Artist Fisher
sought to perpetuate In his future
sketches.
Mr. Fisher Was enthusiastic over the
photographs of, the scores, of beautiful
Western girls shown him, but none
seemed to satisfy the complete. Ideal
that the artist had in mind. Upon bis
arrival In San Francisco he had de
scribed definitely the type he had come
across the continent to find.
"The girls I have drawn are not my
Ideals of American beauty. I want to
get away from the combination of goo
goo eyes and fluffy hair and little noses
and pouty lips. The girl I am looking
for must have a broader face a
stronger face a face with character
in it- Her head must be set well on
her shoulders; there must be about her
a suggestion of American independ
ence and resolution. A slashing head
with a good jaw, while she must, of
course, be essentially feminine. Some
how I have alwaya felt that I should
find the girl I am looking for here In
the West. She Is really a Western
type.
Artist Fisher's dream was realized.
Shortly after the excitement of the
public announcement of a search had
subsided a friend of Miss Rasmussen
took him her picture. The artist was
enthusiastic. "By George, that girl is
a beauty!" he cried. "She is my ideal
type of American womanhood. She
Is the ideal type of the new American
girl."
Miss Rasmussen met the artist, and
at his request arranged , to go to New
York, where she will pose for his
sketches of the new Anferlcan girl.
She Is Tall, Slender, Graceful.
The girl who is destined to be the
new type for which Fisher searched so
long and diligently Is a beauty worthy
of the distinction. She is tall and slen
der with a graceful carriage of the
head crowned with a wealth of darks
hair. The ideal American girl must
be something of a cosmopolitan beauty,
so that Miss Rasmussen may point
with pride to the fact of her Irish and
Danish descent. She has the dark
blue eyes of the Celtic race with the
fair complexion that has made the
daughters of Denmark famous.
. Miss Rasmussen has the type that
Harrison Fisher demanded In the new
type of loveliness for which lie sought
so successfully in California. She is
five feet eight inches tall, and is 25
years of age the age that every mod- ,
era novelist insists that his heroine
should have attained before the first
chapter of romance. Miss Rasmussen
Is of a sensitive, high-bred type.
The name of Miss Maurine Rasmus
sen is significant of her Celtic ex
traction. The Maurines bf Ireland are
famed in song and story, and the quaint
form of the name of Mary has been
cherished by the pretty possessor on
account of its romantic history. Miss
Rasmussen is not merely pretty,, but
is conceded to be the salshing type of
beauty that Fisher insisted should be
the model for his future work.
Model Is Also Artist.
Miss Rasmussen Is herself an artist
of note having achieved a singular
distinction in water color work, espe
cially in painting water colors of Chi
nese women and children in San Fran
cisco. The work affords her a gener
ous Income and it is much in demand
among the wealthy people of San Fran
cisco and elsewhere. Miss Rasmussen
bears her honors modestly and prefers
not to discourse on the characteris
TENDING TABLE PUT IN
REALM OF FINE ARTS
Schools for Waiten Established in Big Cities and Complete Course of
Instruction Provided f or . Would-Be Waiters.
IN SOME of the larger c'ties there are
schools for men who desire to be
come acquainted with the art of serv
ing the patrons of restaurants and ho
tel dining rooms. London has three of
these institutions, Paris more and New
York one. There is a regular course of
lectures and "clinics" which the recruit
must absorb before he is qualified to
take charge of a table. "'The most es
sential thing," says the professor in
the Philadelphia Enquirer, "is to be
clean, the second thing Is to be quick,
and the third thing is to be graceful.
By graceful I don't mean you've got to
Imitate the Apollo Belvedere or a danc
ing master, but you mustn't be awk
ward in your movements. And you've
got to have a good memory. There's
nothing annoys a customer so much as
a waiter saying he 'forgot.' "'
The first ch'apter is table laying. A
cloth was produced, and, with the as
sistance of a pupil, a demonstration
was given of how a table should be
laid plates, knives, forks and glasses,
bread, salt, napkin and the rest.
"There are as many ways of folding
napkins as there are of cooking egrgs,
namely, 714. but the leading ways rec
ommended in the best houses are these.'lsj
Here the professor slowly perforYned
several simple feats in napkin folding,
after which he proceeded:
"We now assume that a diner has sat
down. Now. of course, I needn't tell
you that diners are of various kinds,
each of which has to have rather dif
ferent, treatment. We'll begin this
morning with . restaurant diners. The
customer arrives.
"If he hasn't been previously to the
cloak room, which in this class Is prob
able, you must bow like this and
take his hat, coat and umbrella and
placing them on a chair for a moment
help him to be seated and hand him
the menut While he Is studying the
menu you dispose of his hat and coat
tics which have made her favored by 1
the artist.
"Mr. Fisher is a wonderful ' artist." ;
she said, "and he has the power to
Idealize the type which he seeks."
However, everyone who has seen
Miss Rasmussen or one of her photo- ''
graphs believes that this beautiful glrll
embodies all that Is ideal in feminine ;
appearance. ;
"For years," said Mrs. Rasmussen to-
day, "our friends here in San Francisco !
have urged that Maurine was a typical !
Harrison Fisher girl, and that the art- 3
1st would find In her the type of beau-J
ty which Is best expressed in his work."
We have not, however, sought to have '
Maurine brought forward as we do not :
care for publicity. However, since the''
matter has already received publicity.
In the local papers, there can be no"
harm in stating that Maurine will leave
for New York about the first of March.
as soon as she serves as bridesmaid '
for a friend, and that she will pose for '
Mr. Fisher. She also expects to prose- .
cute her own art studies, in which she
is Intensely Interested, and in which
she has been successful."
and return, taking up your position oa
bis right like this.
"The exact pose you ought to assume
In various circumstances is not to be '
learned in a day. A year's study will
hardly do it. I know one w:.ter wh-rt
has made it the special study of a life-;
time. The poses of one waiter at a .c
certain private hotel makes a diner '
forget when the soup Is cold or the Ices
hot. He is so dignified that he ac-'-tually
takes his tip with his back to
the customer quite an extinct fash
ion. "Is the diner table d'hote or a la'.c
carte?: If It is table d-hote, after serv-. .
Ing the hors d'oeuvres you ask, 'Thick, J
or clear soup. sirT' Never try to be ..
original. There's no room for original
ity in our vocation. What we do is the ;.,
evolution of centuries conduct in itsv
relation to the inner man. I once knew .,
a waiter who invariably asked 'Clear,
or thick, sir?" but it put the customer
off his feed at once.
"Suppose the customer asks you what...
Postage a la St. Germain is; you tell
htm, because you have previously asked ',
the head waiter what it is. You al- .
ways get the menu translated before-.,
hand that is, if you don't happen to
know 'chefs French' naturally.
"Then there's the question of tipping.
If you wish it to be seen that you are
disappointed with your tip, you don't
do it by a rude scowl. There's a way
of letting a customer know you are
disappointed. You convey a mild re
proach and yet a desire to please on the
next opportunity, which ho won't for
get." Tells the Parson to Hurry.
Boston Transcript.
Jack I understand that their mar
riage was a hasty affair?
Tom Yes. the wedding party went to
the church in taxicabs and the registers
kept running, . . .
I'.