On the whole I am inclined to the belief that the best diet conditions prevail where the authorities let contracts for supplies every three or six months. In prisons where the number of prisoners is fifty or more the daily cost of maintaining a prisoner is from ten cents to twelve cents. I noted in one small county, where a rather profuse bill of fare is served, that the cost was about thirty cents a day. Vagrants, drunkards and railroad trespassers are often treated with considerable rigor. They may have bread and water for diet and a plank for a bed. In one prison a third offense of this kind is punished with confinement in a small, dark, unfurnished cell for thirty days on diet of bread and water. But in many of the smaller jails these distinctions of punishment are not observed. It is quite possible that men of just that laudable combination of talent which may fit them for both restraining and reforming the erring are rarely to be found, but surely more attention should be given to the selection of men who have adaptation for such an important work. A faculty for both ruling and governing is an important qualification, but in no field of labor is there more need of a sympathetic spirit, of power to implant new motives and to inspire with desires to lead a better life. These positions should not be regarded merely as a reward for political services. I am glad to report that some of the men in charge appear to realize their duties and responsibilities. Let me call attention to one warden, who, entirely unarmed, calls a company, largely belonging to the famous “Black Hand,” about him in the open yard and asks them to relate stories of their homes once under Italian skies. The same official spoke with feeling of the religious services on the Sabbath and of the conversions and requests for prayer. It is possible that those prison officials who report that all religious services accomplish not the slightest good are themselves not very susceptible to impressions of a religious nature. On the other hand, if these religious services are performed perfunctorily, with lack of evidence of Christian fellowship, the convicts receive little or no benefit.