By J. T. Howe
Secretary State Board of Control.

The last Kansas Legislature made few changes in the laws regulating the treatment and government of prisoners in the several prisons. The State has always endeavored to treat its prisoners as humanely as possible, and but few laws were ever passed relative to this because the prisons are under a board that has authority to make all necessary rules for governing these institutions.

The principal changes made by the last Legislature were in the scope of the several boards. The penal institutions, namely, the Penitentiary, Boy’s Reformatory, Boy’s Industrial School and Girl’s Industrial School were placed under the Board of Corrections. The Schools for the Deaf and Blind were placed under the control of the Board of Administration which has charge of all the State Schools. The Board of Control has charge of the charitable institutions, namely, asylums, State Orphans’ Home and has supervision over all private hospitals, home-finding societies and charitable institutions in the State.

The two important laws passed were the parole law and the payment of wages to prisoners. The new parole law permits the judge to parole any person except in certain cases, before he or she has been committed to an institution. The law best explains itself.

“Any person convicted of any felony, except murder, forcible rape, arson, or robbery, such convictions being for a first offense and imprisonment in the penitentiary, Kansas State Reformatory, or Industrial Schools for Boys and the Industrial School for Girls, the court before whom the conviction was made may parole such person either before or after sentence has been pronounced, if the court is satisfied that if permitted to go at large he would not again violate the law. He may be permitted to remain at large until such parole has terminated, provided that the court shall have no power to parole any person after he has been delivered to any of these institutions.”

This is considered one of the best laws passed regulating paroles.

The bill providing for the payment of wages to convicts provides that the Board of Corrections may allow a prisoner not less than $.10 nor more than $.25 each day for work done, over and above the day’s task as assigned. This money is to be sent to the family of the prisoner, which is dependent upon him for their care and keep. If the prisoner have no family, the money can accumulate until the expiration of the prisoner’s term and is then given to him. He may draw at any time from such fund for his personal needs so long as he does not use it improperly. This law does not fulfill its purpose. Its weakness is that in the average prison, a convict is assigned about all the work he can do and has but little time for extra work, owing to his physical condition. A better plan proposed would be for the State to allow to the prisoner a specified sum for each day at work, or for the county from which the prisoner comes to pay the family a certain monthly sum, paying such sum as may be agreed upon by the county commissioners. By the old method, the Board allowed them $.033 per day. For certain offenses the prisoners are fined and the fine is paid from this fund. The payment of a wage or the providing of some plan of caring for the needy families is a growing question, and so far Kansas has found no satisfactory method, but this question will probably be taken up by the next Legislature.

Another law passed was that permitting the county commissioners, in counties having over 35,000 population, to appoint a matron for the county jails. This has often been done, but was never legally authorized until the last Legislature.

Taking the Kansas laws as a whole, they seem to be adequate to meet the present prison conditions. The State law places all these institutions under the Board who have exclusive control in their management and in adopting of rules and regulations necessary to their government. The only question is the proper method of dealing with the families of the convicts. There has been little complaint regarding the treatment of the prisoners and there will be but few changes in the laws until some demand is made.