The prison that now neglects to provide suitable educational facilities for the instruction of its inmates is considered behind the times. A great many inmates of penitentiaries are illiterate, and the prison night schools afford an excellent opportunity to acquire the fundamentals of a good education. This department is under the supervision of the superintendent of public schools of Stillwater, who is assisted by a corps of teachers chosen from among the inmates. The course of study [pg 79] corresponds to the course pursued in the state primary and grammar schools. There are fourteen classes, ranging from a, b, c class to one in advanced bookkeeping. Three sessions are held weekly, and the school is popular among the prisoners. Those serving reformatory sentences are compelled to attend, but the voluntary attendance is always in excess of the compulsory. During the season of 1907-08 the average attendance was 164, and of this number 48 were compelled to attend, while the balance, 116, attended voluntarily.
The prison night school is in operation eight months during the year, and is well partronized, many inmates receiving their first instructions in reading and writing during their period of service. To the ambitious man there is plenty of opportunity for self-improvement, so it can readily be seen that no one need wholly waste the time that he is compelled to serve for infraction of state laws. When school is not in session inmates are granted permission to have all the school books they require in pursuance of studies.
THE SHOE INDUSTRY.
This factory is conducted by the Western Shoe Co., and annually employs about 225 prisoners. There is an excellent opportunity here for the inmate to learn a trade at which he can make a good living upon his release. Few citizens are employed at this work, but a competent citizen-foreman is in charge of each shop. As far as possible prisoners are taught the business of making shoes, and many of them become very proficient at this work.
The company pays a stated price for each piece of [pg 80] work turned out, and the per diem earnings of the prisoners is larger than in any other prison in the country. The volume of business of these two industries amounts annually to more than $2,000,000. Of this total, returns from the twine factory, operated on state account, amount to $1,300,000, while the shoe company, operated on the piece-price system, does a business in excess of $800,000.
THE REPAIR SHOP.
All the repair work of the institution is performed in this department, and in this shop are located the tinner, plumbers, carpenters, painters, machinists, etc., all under the supervision of a first-class foreman. The tinner makes all the tinware used in the various departments of the prison and attends to its repairing. As the entire institution is heated by steam, the plumbers are kept constantly employed during the winter repairing radiators and overhauling wornout steam pipes. As repairs and improvements are constantly being made and as the prison buildings are quite old, considerable carpenter work is also necessitated each year.
Perhaps the busiest men in this shop are the machinists, whose business it is to see that all machinery, shafting, etc., are kept in repair, thus reducing breakdowns to the minimum. This shop is run in an economical manner and annually saves the state thousands of dollars.
TAILOR SHOP
In this department is located the tailor shop, laundry and bath room, about twenty prisoners being constantly employed in the former, making and repairing clothing [pg 81] [pg 82] [pg 83] for the inmates; the second and third rooms, of course, are devoted to washing and drying of clothes and bathing of prisoners. As there are about 700 prisoners whose clothing must be mended and washed each week, the employes of this shop find all the work they wish to do.