The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-10-12
A Noble woman's work-Libraries for Pris-
Oufrs.

hliSo Ltbud oIlDCItt WIN HAS lOI uiuLt
years devoted her time and money to the
amelioration Of the condition of prisoners
and the improvement of jails and prisons,
is in st. Lewis, following up her life work.
She is canvassing the city for funds to be
expended in books for libraries in the vari-
Gus places Of detention in that city. The
great underlying theory of her work and
the basis of her labors is that ignorance
may be regarded as tho principal cause OF
crime, and is, in fact, literally and practi-
cally the root of all evil. She does not
fail to recognize the magnitude of the evil
resulting from intemperance, but that itself,
she says, may in : great degree be attributed
to ignorance, ignorance of tho ruin and DIS
aster to both body and soul which ~inevita-
bly, follow in the wake of the drunkard.
With appreciation of the necessary re-
suits of intemperance, she says, with much
good reason, would come a greater reform
than arbitrary liquor laws can effect. She
has made her special work the prisons,
and having visited nearly all the prisons,
jails and penitentiaries in this country, she
was most particularly struck by the lack of
libraries. This most wholesome means of
improving the mental, and through it the
moral, nature has been absolutely forgot
ten. Prisoners languish in our jails and
penitentiaries through days, weeks, months
and years Of solitude, when their mind is
ripe to receive good impressions, and yet
the golden opportunity is wasted, the best
and surest road to reach the COL science is
unused. With nothing to occupy his mind,
the prisoner is left to brood uninterruptedly
over his fancied wrongs, and little good ever
comes Of it, but rather a rank growth of
bad resolutions and bad purposes.
Miss Gilbert has determined to put good
books into the hands of prisoners, and
thus attack evil natures at their most
vulnerable point. She has already made COM
mendable progress in her labors, and in
Chicago, the city of her residence and birth,
she founded a library in the county prison
which had grown to considerable proper
tons and was doing a great deal of good
when the great fire in October last wiped
it, with the building in which it was, out of
existence. The worth of such a feature
was SO thoroughly appreciated thereafter
the practical test that had been given it, that
the county authorities have already deter
mined to renew it when their new building
is completed. Other similar libraries have
been established through her exertions in
Livingstone, La Sale and Sangamon counties
in Illinois, the number of books cores
ponding to the number of prisoners.
Miss Gilbert tells how she came to adopt
this noble mission. She was born in Chi
cago, in a building standing near the dilapi-
dated county prison. Passing this one Cay on
her way to school, an old man called to her
from one of the windows of the Jail, and
hauOaA p.tap,,c1y for hor 10 1npI h,,, o,n &c
her books to read. Having nothing suita-
BILE, she went home and related the cir.
cumstance to her father, who selected
from his library a historical work, which
she took to the old man in Jail. From this
an acquaintance between the child and the
prisoner sprang up, and she discovered that
he was a man of fine culture, speaking six
languages fuently. 1t was the old, sad
story, however. He had once been wealthy,
prosperous and respected, but in one evil
hour of temptation was led astray and com-
mitted a forgery, and the degradation into
which this dragged him he never recovered.
On account of the responsibility of his
family he had been committed to the coun.
ty Jail instead of the State prison. For
two years succeeding this she provided him
with books from her fathers library, and
carried him every day flowers and delica-
cies from the family table. Late one night
a message came to her that the old man
was dying, and wanted her to come and see
him. She went, accompanied by her father.
and remained with the dying man until the
breath left his body. He lived half an
hour after she went in his cell, long enough
for him to recite to her a touching little
poem, which he had composed and dedi-
Gated to her, and to tell her that she had
saved his soul. With his last breath he
beseeched her to promise to continue the
good work she had begun : "Then," she
says, ~ registered a vow to do so, and ]
have lived up to my promise"