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Is (his prison a place to punish,
or should it try to help men find
a place in society? Many believe
hope and not despair is its goal.
rehabilitation is reaching many people
and turning them into supporters of pro
gressive penology.
Primarily, they are trying to prove that
when a criminal is rehabilitated, the threat
he posed to society both physical and
financial is removed. When a prisoner
travels the long road to rehabilitation he
benefits himself and society. He takes up
a normal, happy life; and society is richer
by one tax-paying citizen in place of a cum
bersome burden.
rPHE iowa Penitentiary, the oldest one west
of the Mississippi, maintains its own
power plant, supplies its own water, and is
generally a self-supporting institution.
There are four cell houses with a capacity
of 1,116 men. The rest of the 1,300 inmates
work outside the walls on trusty units and
honor farms.
Each cell accommodates one man and is
furnished with a. bed, table, stool, toilet,
wash basin, and a radio earphone which is
centrally controlled.
The 30-foot-high walls surrounding the
penitentiary are manned by armed guards
The Iowa State Penitentiary is proving that
with vocational training and public understanding,
convicts can become useful, law-abiding citizens.
by Dutch Vanderneese
This article was written from firsthand ex
perience by two inmates of the Iowa State
Penitentiary at Fort Madison. Dutch Van
derneese is a pseudonym used by them.
I he ever-rising crime rate has finally
shocked the American people into investi
gating the problem. For the past hundred
years, while all other phases of life have
moved steadily forward, treatment for
criminals has been at a standstill. Most of
our prisons are ancient and heavily over
populated. This is one big reason for the
alarming repeater rate (more than 50 per
cent) in our penal institutions.
In times past, prisoners were locked in
cells on their arrival, there to languish, un
occupied by anything constructive, until
their release. Then, around 1850, convicts
were put to work in makeshift prison shops,
but the work for the most part was unnec
essary and pure physical drudgery.
Today, thanks to increased public interest
and enlightenment, prisons are equipped
with facilities to teach inmates useful trades.
The empbtuas now is on turning better men
out of prison, instead of merely confining
them ana releasing them unchanged.
Only a few men can be called habitual
criminals, and the public is becoming aware
of this fact. Most prison inmates are "one
shotters" or men who have simply not been
able to adjust to the fast pace of modern
society. In many cases, the lack of a trade
has sent a man to prison.
A good example of steps being taken to
turn former criminals into contributing citi
zens may be found in the rehabilitation
program of the Iowa State Penitentiary at
Fort Madison. Under the direction of Percy
A. Lainson, president of the Warden's As
sociation of America, the prison has moved
far ahead in the struggle to return better
men to society.
What Warden Lainson and his staff need
most to accelerate their program are public
interest and support Their biggest problem
is convincing people that prisoners can be
rehabilitated. Slowly but surely, Iowa's
prison is accomplishing this important public-relations
job. Through a prison publica
tion, "The Presidio," and a weekly radio
program, "Prison on the Hill," the story of
o; J .1.
mm WL
Two prison editors prepare copy for a magazine at Iowa
I Family WrrklV. July M. IJJ7