Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-01

was about to marry her, but it seems that he
stepped on some other fellows corns, and he
went to the girls mother. She undertook to
break the match up, but she couldn't. The
eirl--the young fellow told the girl all about
himself would not break it up. To do that, in
the bitterness Of her heart, the mother went,
to the employers, ana told them the whole
story she had learned The employer knew
that knew this man, because when we met
it was constant thing for me to bow, but /
seldom would speak, but
ALWAYS BOWED TO HIM
When 1 met him on the street, as 1
would to any other gentleman l would meet
on the street. He came running up one day
in the greatest CONSERVATION and told me he
had just learned that his man had served
three terms in the penitentiary, and he wanted
to know right off whether it was true or not
He said, "You know he has got charge OF all
my business and handles all my money" l
says, Eyes, is that ?" He says, eyes"
| says, "How long has he been with you %
He says, "Well, he has been with me now
over five years. Keeps your accounts ?" l
asked. Says he. "Oh, yes" Says 1.
Found anything wrong in them?" Says
he, Nothing" SaysI, "Didyou ever miss
a dollar!" Not penny" Says 1. An
other thing you haven't told me; you sent
him East once, didn't you. with letter con-
tanning s4O,o 900. to buy material and ma
chinery?" Says he, YES" Says 1. How
did better than we did," Says T, SIS that
%" Aud l said to him, "And yet you
come to me-" And I said, :'You room with
him, too. Don't you occupy the same bed
room with him-separate bed in the same
room ?" He says Yes" And l SAYS,
You are constantly together and as insep-
arabic as two brothers" He says, "Yes."
And l says, land yet you have got the har-
dihood to come to me and ask me if this man
has ever been in the penitentiary," and gave
him
A TERRIBLE LAsHING.
He went away and came back in about an
hour crying. He begged of me for Gods
sake never to let this man know he had ever
spoken to me about it. gave him such ter
rible lashing The man remained with him
till he got well off and retired from business.
He now has large business himself, and is
doing we'll This man is one of those whom
know has had great deal of trouble in the
way l speak of, by men who knew him in the
structions to him were if they wouldn't
let him alone to just knock them down,
which he did, and they finally let him alone;
because one fellow would tell another,
Don't you go near this chap, because if
you do he will knock you down." He got
along splendidly. l have just such another
case as that. | have stood up and helped
the man financially as well as otherwise.
The greatest drawback to a man who wants
TO reform is the convicts themselves. The
low and debased will lean on the others and
try and get a few dollars from them. OF
course if he gave few dollars to one, and if
it was only one it might be a different thing (;
but it gets noised abroad, and one swoops
down on him after another, and it just takes
the bread out of his mouth, and finally, I'M
less he is a very strong-minded man. he gives
up in despair and goes back in his cid course.
THIS coNGREGATE SYSTEM
Tends to make convicts acquainted with one
another. Ii they were separated they
wouldn't know each other; and, then,
when they got out, one convict couldn't
identify another one. And there is another
thing, too. The name should be dropped in
prisons. There is a greater reason for it than
appears in the first glance, because if man
wants to reform, he is known by name to
every convict in that prison, and when he
gets out he must either take new name, or
be known by it. Now, you see if his name is
dropped, the minute he enters the portals of
the prison he is simply known by his num-
Der. The convicts may know one another by
sight by just merely getting glance of each
other, but they never can know his name.
Q.-What system could be devised to pro-
tect the convict who wants to do right?
A-Well, that is most difficult question
to answer. I don't know any other way to
do than to do what told this fellow to do
TO knock them down. When man gets out
he must do something to prevent the bad man
from leaning ON another for the purpose of
tearing his little supplies from him.
Mr.. Gibbs-Captain, you said that the
Judge might withhold the sentence, did you
not?
A.-No; they can't under the present
law. l say it would be a good system to
adopt in my judgment. There are TO-
stances of young fellows who could be
that have vile thoughts put into
their heads by being sent to the prison, some
thing that they never overcome, have not
strong minds enough to do it, while if the
mere conviction was recorded against them,
with sentence suspended over their heads,
it is
SOhI VI DREAD
Holding over them for future good behavior.
1t is like the lash you hold over them only
let it fall when they misbehave themselves
again.
Q-You have heard Ct cases of boys sent
to the State Prison from Is down to IL, in
fact one II years of age?
A.-Well, that is simply infamous. l
L -
that know Of The State Prison was not
made for babies in swadding clothes.
On regard to the letters that are written
from the prisoners themselves to the outside
world, what effect do they have upon the
criminal character?
A.-So long as the prison system-and that
is no fault particularly of the management
so long as the contract system exists, which
is about to be abolished now, believe those
letters will get out, and they m aintain regul r
communication between one another, which,
in my Judgment, should be controlled to the
greatest possible extent. There should be
days of writing. In other prisons there is
time regularly kept, and one day in each six
months the prisoner is taken from his cell to
a small room where there are desks and
paper and ink and blotters for him, and he
writes his letter and then returns to the cell.
The letter system-this indiscriminate writ
be stopped. 1t is bad for both
those in the prison and those out. The
library should be o well selected one-one in
tended to correct the morals of prisoners, and
they should be allowed to read as much as
possible when they have leisure time, not 10
working hours, of course. They should be
in that because my idea is that
reading certain class of reading matter is
the greatest moral institution in the world.
Daily papers should never be known in the
prisons. They bring prisoners in contact with
the world there is no isolation. 1t IS not a
prison If the prisoner knows what is going on
every day and every hour in the day. There
is no isolation about that. He still feels to
be living in the world.
THE PRISON SHOULD BE PRISON
There is no humanity in making prison
play. ground. 1t should be prison in the
strictest sense There is not moral streak
running through their minds enough to guard
them against committing crimes, and those
who haven't that moral streak will be pre-
vented from coming back if the prison dis
cipline is right. If the man is net prevented
from crime by conscience the State must de-
pend upon the rigors of its prison system.
Q.-Now in regard to educated and ignor-
ant criminals, have you ever noticed amy diff
ference?
A.-Well, my experience has been sad 10
that respect that is, | have found that the
more highly educated the man was, if he was
a " rascal" using this term to express natural
instincts, he was the most dangerous criminal