Sioux City Academy of Science and Letters. 67 
is enlisted on the side of reformation. Of cruelty, prop- 
erly speaking, there is none; of severity much; of grace 
and mercy still more. The convict is kept from that idle 
ness of mind which is proverbially ‘the Devil’s work- 
shop;’ nor is he allowed that physical idleness which saps 
and ruins the bodily health. He is taught a practical 
trade, never open to him before, and thus he has the 
chance, if he will but avail himself of it, to become a use- 
ful member of society. And all this is found to be better 
protection to society than the bloody and vindictive 
punishments of the last century.” 
The Massachusetts Reformatory for Men at Concord 
Junction was opened December 20, 1884. The buildings 
were constructed for a state prison in 1878. They are 
situated on a farm consisting of 300 acres. The main 
buildings are in an enclosure of 20 acres, surrounded by 
a brick wall 24 feet in height. The offices and houses for 
the officials and guards are just outside the walls. There 
are four cell blocks with accommodations for over 1,000 
prisoners. There are buildings for dining room, chapel, 
storehouses, and workshop and trade-school buildings for 
1,000 men. There is also a school house, with lecture hall 
and class rooms for the same number. The cost of the 
land and buildings has been $1,319,300. “They are,” in 
the opinion of the present superintendent, Mr. Scott, 
“well adapted to the work, and among the best prison 
buildings in the United States.” 
The reformatory makes use of the same agencies as 
are relied upon at Elmira. The desire of the prisoner for 
release is utilized to get him started in directions that 
will ultimately, if persisted in, result in his reformation. 
His physical condition is improved; he is introduced to a 
course of training that will make him far more capable 
of earning his living when he is released; a marking sys- 
tem, based upon the regularity of conduct, habituates 
him to a course of conduct that meets with the approval 
of those in authority; his mind and thoughts are filled 
with new ideas which will crowd out the morbid and 
criminal recollections which tend to draw him back into 
evil ways. 
An unique feature of the work at Concord are the 
society organizations, designed to supplement the school 
