286 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



ing and attitude is manifest from the fact of its springing up 

 under varying conditions in different countries. In 1892 the 

 Belgian Government began the organization of Merxplas in a 

 barren and desolate region twenty-five miles from Antwerp. 

 This is a penal colony established primarily for vagrants, but 

 which receives offenders with sentences as long as seven years. 

 There are at present about five thousand prisoners. The grounds 

 are laid out on a broad, general plan. The men have con- 

 structed the buildings, including a fine church. They take 

 pride in caring for the surrounding lawns, the trees and flowers, 

 the gardens and orchards. The group is in the midst of a great 

 tract of cultivated fields, green pastures, and planted pine for- 

 ests. Director Stroobant estimates the present value of the 

 estate at a million dollars. To develop all of this out of the 

 naked, barren land must awaken interest and hope in the hearts 

 of man}' of the laborers. Those who had special tasks in the 

 care of the stock seemed to feel an ownership in the horses and 

 cattle. One prodigal son showed us a young pig which he had 

 in his arms. 



With a small military guard as a reserve, these five thousand 

 irregulars and unfortunates are controlled and directed by a 

 staff of only eighty wardens. Some of the better prisoners as- 

 sist in the supervision of the work. The most serious offenders 

 are confined in buildings with large interior courts. They are 

 thus held more securely, and also kept from direct association 

 with the others. Their open courts, however, furnish oppor- 

 tunity for much outdoor life and labor. 



In addition to work on the farm, other industries are carried 

 on, such as brick and tile making, wood-working, mat, boot and 

 shoe making, weaving, and tailoring. The men receive small 

 wages, a part of which is paid in colony money, which they can 

 spend. The balance is paid to them on their discharge. As one 

 sees the multitude of men, quiet and orderly, going to their va- 

 ious places of employment, he is convinced that it is possible 

 to conduct even a great centralized prison on the general colony 

 plan. 



In many ways the model prison farm of Europe is "Witzwill. 

 It is on a mountain-girt plain about thirty miles west of Berne, 

 Switzerland. The great tract of two thousand acres, which for- 



