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THE JEFFERSONIAN
Vol. 111. No. 24
State Sollies Conbict Problem ‘Building 'Roads
ALFRED DAMON RJJNYON, in Denber Netos.
Trinidad, Colo., May 26. —-Under the gor
geous blue and white skies of southern Colo
rado, in shadow of the regal Snowy range, sur
rounded on every hand by peace and beauty*—
and freedom—eighty-eight men, branded by
the dread iron of the law as criminals, are
working out their own salvation and the solu
tion of one of the greatest problems that has
ever confronted the state of Colorado.
Eighty-eight men, enough to form a big
company of soldiers, and every one stamped
with the fearful word “convict,” are toil
ing peacefully through a magnificent little
valley off toward the New Mexican line, where
all about them is green and gold, and above
them is God’s wide kingdom, and the name of
nearly every man, now almost wholly sub
merged in an awkward number, has furnished
columns of reading matter in the papers of
the state in times agone.
The peace, the purity and the glorious
beauty of their surroundings make it almost
inconceivable that among those eighty-eight
men moving along the quiet hillsides, with
pick and shovel, are outcasts of society; that
some of them bear the notoriety of desperate
criminals; that some of them have committed
the most daring acts of burgulary, of highway
robbery and assault; that the hands of some
are even stained with the blood of their fellow
men.
Some Notorious Criminals On Road Work.
But it is true. Among the eighty-eight are
men whose names have been bywords in the
criminal history of Denver, Pueblo and other
towns of Colorado, and some have even gained
state renown, either through their pro
minence or the viciousness of their crimes.
Many have been long forgotten in the lapse
of time, and their deeds only recur to police
memory when some ancient record is being
thumbed, or when a parallel case is brought
to light. And here they are threading the
rugged mountains of southern Colorado with
what may eventually become a national high
way, doing a useful work, and presenting an
answer to the question:
“What shall we do with our convicts?”
The first attempt to utilize on a large scale
the men confined in the state penitentiary at
Canon City is being made near Trinidad. It
bears the earmarks of a complete success. They
are building the road which is expected to be
carried out clear across the entire state.
Segment in a Great Road Over Three States.
New Mexico is building a road across that
territory by convict labor. It is nearing the
Colorado line, and Colorado has taken up the
work and will carry it on to the Wyoming
A Weekly Paper Edited by THOS. E. WATSON and J. D. WATSON.
Atlanta, Ga., Thursday, June 11. 1908.
line. Wyoming is expected to carry it on
from there, and eventually it is hoped that a
great national highway will be the result.
The Colorado convicts have gone at their
task in a manner which has already had ma
terial results. So far the plan has been an
entirely satisfactory one. It is largely up to
the convicts themselves. They are working
practically upon their honor. Five officers are
in charge of the camp, but obviously they can •
not be expected to guard eighty-eight con
victs, and they do not attempt any close sur
veillance.
If a man wants to escape it is conceded that
he can easily do so—that is, he can get away
from the camp. That he may be retaken else
where follows as a matter of course. By work
ing in the camp he gets a great reduction in
his prison sentence, gets back the health con
finement has commenced to undermine, and
enjoys liberties and freedom unheard of in
the management of state prisoners.
And if the sentiment of a score of convicts
with whom I talked may be taken as indicat
ing the sentiment of all, they will not violate
their trust to any great extent.
Two men have made their escape since the
camp was established . That number may be
considered a very small percentage. On the
face of it, the thing looks like a dangerous
experiment, but every indication up to now
points to a success.
Greatest Fear of the Men Is going Back.
To see the convicts at their work, no armed
guards anywhere, and no distinguishing badge
in the way of clothing, it is hard to realize
that they are men who have committed infrac
tions of the law; who were regarded as so
dangerous to their fellow man that they were
sent away to be confined for long terms of
years.
The greatest fear they have entertained,
judging from what was said to me by many
of them, is that the state will stop the work
for some reason or another, and they will be
sent back to Canon City.
Credit for establishment of the camp is
due to A. A. Willey, for many years night
captain at the penitentiary, and one' of the
bravest and ablest officers ever connected with
the institution. Abe Wiley, as he is known,
is a young man, bronzed by the sun, and
hardened like an athlete by a life of activity;
a picturesque figure, garbed in miner’s half
boots, corduroy trousers, a black slouch hat
and soft black shirt, who swings his lithe form
sideways in his cowboy saddle as he points
®ut the features of the great work he has
undertakes.
He is well liked by the convicts. He is
kind, has a cheery word for every man he
passes—and he seems to know them all by
name —but he is firm. The camp shows his
quality as an executive officer.
For location he chose a spot on the banks
of a little stream, on the main line of the
Santa Fe just this side of Morley, where the
railroad climbs the big hill to Raton, and about
three or four miles beyond the coal camp of
Starkville. This makes the convict camp about
eight miles from Trinidad.
Camp in a Beautiful Spot; Escape Easy.
Early this morning I enlisted the services
of Chester E. Stratton, the general manager
of the Colorado Telephone company here, who
knows the country like a book, and is a
personal friend of Wiley, and we made record
time behind a fast team over roads which
indicate the need of the work the convicts
are doing.
The camp setting makes a beautiful picture,
the snowy tents backgrounded by the green
hills, with a dotting of little cottonwood groves
here and there. The Santa Fe’s huge “hogs,”
maneuvering long trains over the giant divide,
are constantly puffing laboriously by, fur
nishing an easy avenue for departure by any
member of the camp if he desired.
The camp was started May 12 last, and it
took a vast amount of work to put it in its
present shape. The state had an appropria
tion of $10,006 to start with, and it took
$6,000 to get the thing going. This means
that Colorado must somehow raise money to
continue the work, and it is understood that
it has been done.
The counties through which the road will
pass must assist to the extent of building the
culverts and keeping the road in shape after
it is completed. Delay in delivering the
lumber for the culverts has kept back Willey’s
work for some time, but the lumber arrived
while we were inspecting the camp.
The guards under Willey’ are D. C. Simp
son, Frank Smith, J. E. Pool and B. C. Howe,
all old, experienced officers, noted for their
ability to handle men kindly but effectively.
One large tent is devoted to their sleeping
quarters. The convicts are divided into dif
ferent gangs for road work and each officer
has charge of a g-ang.
Officers Do Not Carry Arms; No Idea
of Force.
Let it be understood in the beginning that
there is absolutely no suggestion of force, or
of durance about the camp. The officers do
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Price Five Cents.