Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction November 1963. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
TAKE THE REASON PRISONER
No process is perfect ...
but some men always feel unalterably convinced
that their system is the Be all and End all. Psychology now,
should make prisons absolutely escape-proof,
and cure all aberrations....
JOHN J. McGUIRE
Illustrated by George Schelling
Major general (Ret.) James J. Bennington had both professionaladmiration and personal distaste for the way the politiciansmaneuvered him.
The party celebrating his arrival as the new warden of DuncannonProcessing Prison had begun to mellow. As in any group of men with acommon interest, the conversation and jokes centered on that interest. Therepresentatives and senators of the six states which sent criminals toDuncannon, holding glasses more suited to Martini-drinking elephants thanhuman beings, naturally turned their attention to the vagaries in thebusiness of being and remaining elected.
Senator Giles from Pennsylvania and Representative Culpepper ofConnecticut accomplished the maneuver. Together they smoothly cut thegeneral out of the group comparing the present tax structure to rape,past the group lamenting the heavy penalties in the latestconflict-of-interest law, into a comparatively quiet corner.
"Well general, no need to tell you that we are all as happy to haveyou here as Dr. Thornberry seemed to be," Senator Giles said.
Bennington nodded politely, though he had not been much impressed bythe lean, high-voiced man who had greeted him with such open delight.Dr. Thornberry had expressed too much burbling joy when he had beenrelieved of his administrative job as Acting Warden, had beenoverly-happy about resuming his normal duties as Assistant Warden andChief Psychologist.
"I'm very much interested in some of your ideas on reducing theoverhead here, general," Culpepper said, "although I'm also wonderingif they may not cost my good friend, the senator, some votes in hisdistrict."
"That will be no real worry," Giles said thoughtfully, "if I can showthe changes are real economies. Today that's the way to gain votes andI'd come up with more than I'd lose."
"But your turnover," Culpepper said. "I can see that in a regularprison, where they have the men a long time, it's easy to train themin kitchen work and supply. But here.... How long do you plan to keepthem, general?"
"I'll try to get back to the original purpose in setting up Duncannonas quickly as possible," Bennington said. "Dr. Thornberry agreed thatfive days is the maximum time his sections need to complete theanalysis of a prisoner and decide what prison he should go to. Afterthat, we will have sound reason to start charging the individualstates for each day we have to keep their consignment."
"Complicated," Giles said. "I mean, the bookkeeping."
"Not at all. I'll either hold the next top-sergeant that comes throughhere or borrow one from Carlisle or Indiantown Gap. He can set up asort of morning-report system, and when the states learn they willhave to pay us to handle the