In Our Care: Episode 10 - Fort Madison Part 3

this of course is part of the work duties of the men here they cook the food that the men e it's a large kitchen and takes lots of men lots of men's full duty is working either working in the kitchen or serving these many many convicts at the prison we spoke to you about rehabilitation and training the fact that these men couldn't didn't seem to know how to work one of the very important parts of this training program is a school where the men can get regular academic education and certain degrees and other thing is the Ford school the Ford Motor Company has made arrangements whereby men can be trained as mechanics and Ford will help them to get jobs as authorized Ford mechanics in fort garages all over the country in this place they actually work on cars and are turned out as finished mechanics twelve hundred and seventy men require much supervision and much care the man at the helm is the warden the warden of the Iowa State Penitentiary is Percy lainson warden lainson is here with me tonight and I'd like for you to meet him and let's ask him some questions mr. lainson seems to me that these prisoners are pretty well treated over there I was under the impression that men were sent to prison for punishment no no men are not sent to prison for punishment or sent to prison as punish you mean just their very presence there is all the punishment that's required about all the punishment that you can give any man is to deprive him of his liberty and he's freedom and they probably understand that better than anybody else in the world well what are you able to do for these men if you if you don't punish them while you have them there we've talked about the rehabilitation what are you able to do in that direction in rehabilitation well it seems very simple that it's our duty as officials of any penal institution in Iowa to send the men back to society and better than we receive it so therefore we have to establish some form of rehabilitation in a solid program what how do you accomplish this what are you able to do for them specific what are their needs well needs are many that would cover an hour to without any what about their education present well in order to really rehabilitate individuals first you got to determine if he has the qualities to be rehabilitated therefore we have a guidance committee which at the present time is not at full capacity we don't have the necessary psychologists and so forth to give us the information then after we determine what potential this individual has then of course we select the program and suggest to the deputy warden that this man be placed in under those conditions and used well with your rehabilitation and training programs that you have and fixing the man up ready to go out to society just what value is that when he goes out into a society is antagonistic against ex-convicts well you're correct in saying that but it's been a lack of education today one of our chief duties we might say is to tell the taxpayer of Iowa who by right of his being a taxpayer is a stockholder in my business that he should take an interest in the things that we are doing and put over to him some type of a program because the society is willing if they only knew what they could do in other words you need to educate society into accepting these men at their face value that's correct you had ins correct you can prepare them to go out into society but after that it's up to society that's correct and the society should know that ninety-five percent of all the men we have in prison come back to them well they have their responsibilities along this line I can agree with you very much on that score I would definitely say that to the reception of these people back into society is a big responsibility for the public I'd like for you now to hear what I consider a very unusual group made these films also on one of my trips to Fort Madison and they call it a barbershop chorus let's listen before we hear the group saying I'd like you to meet the leader of the group with Floyd Conant Floyd where are you from I'm from Peoria Illinois are you been doing this kind of work very long yes for four or five years now I've been doing it almost exclusively how long have you been working with this group here at the prison we started here the first monday in january have been going every monday since so you've worked it up pretty good since that time that I think you ever they really enjoy it do you ever break them up into quartets and let them sing that way yes we do that occasionally do you work with other barbershop quartet groups yes I have barbershop courses all over the state of Illinois practically I have eight of them I say that's your regular work these days that is right well I think now we'd like to hear this course and so if you'll give them the downbeat while we all hear how they can do we'd be glad to Oh I Kentucky ah I Oh the worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them but to be indifferent to them that's the essence of inhumanity this has been a public service feature produced in the studios of wo itv ames iowa by ray Stewart the program was directed by Lamar Smith scrip for in our care is prepared by hazel ellen with production research by fern bonhomie the technical director was Charles Holly portions of the program were on film next week we will present the story of the women's reformatory at rockwell city this is Bob heskett speaking