FRANCIES AND HIS FIVE THOUSAND ACRES
[At Bellefonte, Pa., the State of Pennsylvania has bought what is probably the most wonderful farm prison site in the world. The editor of the Delinquent made a recent visit to Warden Francies, and can enthuse over the site without any reservations. The following article, from the Pittsburg Gazette Times, tells of Francies and his farm.]
Prison reform is to be realized in the Western Penitentiary now in course of erection in the Nittany valley, Centre county, about five miles from Bellefonte, Pa.
One hundred and thirty convicts with terms ranging from 2 to 15 years, too busy with their day’s labor or their evening’s sports to think of evil, are building the new penitentiary or tilling the soil. Only nine hours a day, that time allotted for sleep, are the prisoners under lock and key. They go about their various duties under the direction of a guard or overseer, but the shotgun or rifle, usually accompanying such officer, is conspicuous by its absence.
The prison gives promise of being the ideal penal institution of the world.
The site is ideal for the work to be accomplished. It stretches from the Nittany Mountains across the valley, almost to the Muncey Mountains, being more than six miles long at its greatest length. In width, it reaches out in some places over three miles and covers an area of 5,250 acres.
Fertile farms in this vicinity have been combined into one magnificent estate. In a few years it will be one of the most beautiful parks found anywhere. Aside from the building to be erected for prison purposes, prisoners will build roads and bridges, remove unsightly objects from farms, trim out forests into sylvan retreats and in a thousand ways add to the work of nature.
How long it will take to complete the entire plan of Warden John Francies is even with him a matter of much conjecture. He does not believe the plant will be ready to transfer the entire prison body from the Woods Run institution to the Centre county farm for several years. While there are 130 men now employed at the work there, this number will be increased from time to time, but he believes it will be several years before the plans are worked out. Warden Francies hopes in the future to see the prisoners of the new penitentiary manufacturing such goods as are required in State institutions. He believes that it would be better for the State if furniture for use in State institutions were manufactured in the prison than to send to Michigan for such furniture, and that shoes for the State’s charges could also be made by prison labor instead of the money being sent to Massachusetts, the seat of the shoe industry.
Should he be able to work out his plans with the aid of the State governing bodies, he hopes to be able to pay each prisoner for labor, deduct the amount of the prisoner’s keep from his earnings and turn over to those dependent upon the prisoner the surplus, thus preventing the privation to families and saving the State and municipal governments money spent through charity departments for the maintenance of those families.
Events leading up to the acquiring of the land for penitentiary purposes were by no means favorable. Even after the Board of Prison Inspectors had decided to adopt the farm idea, many obstacles were to be overcome. Warden Francies, in asking the legislature on February 14, 1911, to pass a bill which had been drawn up authorizing a purchase of land and the erection of a penitentiary and other necessary details, opened his address by declaring “if the Western Penitentiary was not a tragedy it would be a screaming farce.”
The legislature, after listening to his arguments, passed the bill without a dissenting vote, there being no semblance of party feeling.
With the act signed by Gov. Tener, the matter of a location was then taken up and in all over 200 sites were offered. All of these had to be examined and the merits and defects of all gone into carefully.
The Rockview farm territory was finally decided upon by the warden, and when he asked the governor and the prison inspectors to view that site it was unanimously decided to accept it. Options were secured on over 5,000 acres, but some little technicality developed and it became necessary to reoption the big tract comprising 40 parcels of ground. It was finally purchased at an average cost of less than $50 an acre. Payment was made direct to the owners by the State treasurer.
The first work on the new prison was done in July, 1912. At that time Warden Francies took one prisoner from the Western Penitentiary to the farm and put him to work tearing paper from the walls of the old home on the Ishler farm. A week later two more prisoners were taken up and the next week four, to be followed a week later by eight prisoners. After that the prisoners were taken up as needed.
The old Ishler home was thoroughly renovated and changed to suit their needs. As the number of prisoners increased, the needs became greater and last September work was begun on the erection of a larger building. An annex was built to the home. It will later be known as the merit house. The annex is a two-story concrete building and is regarded as one of the finest pieces of reinforced concrete construction in the State. It is practically one piece. The first floor contains a bath room, with numerous showers, a dining room and kitchen. The second floor contains one large room which, although now occupied as sleeping quarters, will be a resting room. In the old farm house now occupied as sleeping quarters the prisoners will sleep when matters are adjusted later. Fifty men will find accommodations in the merit house.
The concrete in this building will later be faced, giving it the appearance of dressed stone construction. Every bit of stone and sand in the construction of this annex was taken from the farm. In fact, stone and sand for all buildings and roads will be quarried on the farm. Only cement will be purchased.
A pen and corn crib near the home was removed and the best material saved and used in the construction of a machine shop and laundry. An old barn and other outbuildings likewise furnished lumber for a power house and other temporary buildings.
Timber worth $3,500 has been taken from the woods on one tract and converted into lumber needed about the place. It is estimated that a like amount can be cut from the same tract. Although the woods on this farm comprised only a small part of the acreage, the farm cost the State only $16,000 and in addition to the lumber taken from it, thousands of dollars worth of limestone has been quarried.
With the passage of the act abolishing hanging, it became necessary to prepare for the new method of execution. The erection of the electrocution house is now under way. The foundation has already been constructed and is a remarkable piece of work. This building will be complete in itself. It will be two stories in height, with wings of one story on each side, and about 230 feet long and 31 feet wide. In the basement of the main building will be the heating and ventilating system and dynamos for generating the current.
The first floor will contain the office of the deputy warden and observation room. The second floor will contain cell rooms and the electrocution chamber. Such an arrangement will prevent tampering with the wires from the outside of the building. The concrete walls will be two feet thick with an imbedded network of one-inch iron bars.
This is the first building to be erected within the acreage allotted for the prison proper. The entire group of buildings will be enclosed with a 30-foot high concrete wall. The enclosed area will be about 50 acres, or five times the acreage now enclosed on the North Side in Pittsburg. Inside this inclosure will be the complete prison, including the big cell room where the prisoners will sleep, workshop and hospital, which occupies a site on the hill, half a mile from the railroad and facing the beautiful gap in the Nittany Mountains known as McBrides Water Gap.
The site presents marvelous natural advantages. Spring Creek will be harnessed and experts declare it will flow even during the dryest season at the rate of 100,000,000 gallons during each 24 hours. The riparian right to the State of this stream has been estimated to be worth no less than $1,000,000, just 80 per cent. of the total cost of the entire farm. This trout-filled mountain creek will furnish the power that will turn the wheels of industry on Rockview farm, provide the electric light and fill other wants and still leave a surplus in reserve power. For three miles up the beautiful valley its waters will be held back in check until the time arrives for its use. A dam 55 feet high at the breast will be constructed. More than six miles across the farm and up in the mountain is a stream which will furnish 1,000,000 gallons of pure mountain water.
The question may be asked, in what relation does the warden of the Western Penitentiary stand with his convict farm hands? He is one of the boys. Could you but see him in the evening on the top of one of the great hills near the merit house during the baseball game you would be convinced of the statement. He jumps from his automobile, flings his coat on the ground and takes a seat on the grass among the prisoner spectators and is prepared to enjoy the game.
In the working out of this undertaking the welfare and future of the prisoner after he has served his sentence has not been lost sight of. This is best illustrated in the words of Warden Francies.
“Our mission is to turn out not worse men, but better men.”