The Labor enquirer., 1883-12-15
PRISON INIQUITY.
How in this Country Of Boasted Insti
tutions Misery is Fostered
BY Law.

know an estimable young man. He
leads a clean personal life, neither In
dulging in tobacco, stlmulants nor any of
the forbidden lusts of the flesh. Heis
protesting Christian of the stern old
Puritan type, reads his bible studiously,
and pursues prayerful. God-fearing life.
We are compelled to respect such a life,
where hypocrisy and insincerity are abb
sent, whatever Be our creed, or whether
We have any creed at all or not. il.
This man is one Of the commissioners
of the board of charities and correction
appointed by the legislature of my state.
His duty is to visit and supervise the
jails, prisons, and charitable institutions
supported out of the state treasury, q
duty into which he enters with deep
philanthropic and religious spirit. Ger
tainly no Office of trust and, response
bility can be more important than this
and the gentleman seems to have true
and sincere realization of it.
It happened to be my pleasure to spend
an evening alone with this gentleman
one day last summer at his delightful
country residence, and he gave me a
very interesting and instructive recital of
the whole method of prison organization
and discipline under his supervision,
interspread with anecdotes and incidents
that had come within his official expe-
rience of the most fascinating and touch.
ing character.
Of all the startling things which he
said, however, the one which most
shocked me and stirred in me the pro-
foundest sensation was the following
statement. He said that of the prisoners
sentenced to long terms none went rarely
over fifteen years without completely
losing their minds. After this the
earthly lamp of the soul went out and
their minds were as feeble and helpless
as sucking babes. Poor drooling i'm
beetles, they were sent into the hospital
or insane department to grope out the
remainder of their days in almost total
mental darkness. The gentleman even
told me of one instance where man
after being imprisoned some eighteen
years was finally found to be presum-
edly innocent, but when the news was
carried to him his intellect had become
90 feeble that he did not know what it
meant, and he driyelled out some sense
less ejaculation with baby laugh-he
had become a complete and incurable
idiot!
Yet this is the nineteenth century of
Christianity, and the prison laws under
which these unfortunate children of
God are deliberately robbed of their
God-giyen intellects are made by Chris
tian men in Christian state. I confess
that am utterly at loss to know how
such things are tolerated among civilized
and professedly humane Christians.
Among the most touching incidents
attending the outbreak of the French
Revolutions the story of a once brilliant
and learned French statesman who was
taken out at the storming of the Bastile,
after having been incarcerated thirty
four years in that celebrated dungeon.
The poor wretch, once gifted with per-
feet knowledge of seven languages, and
whose mind had been stored with all the
learning and graces which his age afford
ed, had even forgotten his own name;
yea, be had lost the power of speech
itself-the lamp of intelligence was
totally extinguished-he was as helpless
and dumb IS an oyster. Many tender
maiden has shed tear over the page
thst records this touching incident, and
many 8 young man has shuddered At
spcb barbarity - he read Of It; but then