In closing this chapter it would be well to suggest that every ex‐convict is not a dyed‐in‐the‐wool villian, but that persecution may make him such in the course of events. Is he entitled to a square deal? Most assuredly so, especially if he is employed at honest work and his every action shows determination to lead an upright life. He has sinned against society, it is true, but without question he has paid the debt of his transgression a hundred fold by his imprisonment. Still, after all has been said, a bad reputation is a difficult thing to live down, even that which clings to the free citizen. The discharged prisoner’s chief reliance, therefore, in the final analysis is to so circumspectly conduct himself as to place him above the carping criticisms of his new associates. If he follows this course his neighbors are not likely to keep their eyes on his “cracked” reputation. [Cell Door Decorative Illustration] DEPARTMENTS AND INDUSTRIES OF THE MINNESOTA STATE PRISON THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. The administration building is directly under the charge of Warden Wolfer. He has the power to appoint all subordinate officers and employes and discharge them for inefficiency and insubordination. As chief executive officer of the prison, under the supervision of the State Board of Control, the warden is directly responsible for its successful management, the humane treatment and reformation of the inmates placed in his care for safe keeping. Warden Wolfer is one of the best prison men in this country and the enviable reputation Minnesota’s penitentiary has attained is due entirely to his long and successful experience in handling criminals. He has headed the Stillwater institution for nearly twenty years and has conducted the affairs of the prison in a sane and business‐like manner. Under his unceasing vigilance the institution has emerged from a non‐paying to a profit‐earning enterprise, and today it is one of the best self‐supporting institutions in the world, for, in our opinion, Europe has nothing that can compare with it. Mr. Wolfer has received many flattering offers from other states to take charge of their penal institutions, but he has declined, preferring to remain at the head of the institution that he has worked so faithfully to perfect. The position of warden of the Minnesota state prison is no sinecure, for that presiding officer is one of the busiest men in the state. The business connected with the twine plant, conducted almost entirely on a mail‐order basis, is colossal in itself, there being nearly fifteen million pounds to be disposed of each year. In addition to this important item the task of maintaining peace and harmony among the officers, guards, employes and the (at present) seven hundred prisoners assumes monumental proportions. However, Mr. Wolfer has succeeded in performing this gigantic labor for all concerned year in and year out with rare tact and good judgment.