The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-07-03
Rn(SN THE STATE PRISON
FACE TO FACE WITH ONE or The
UGLY TRUTHS OF TO-DAY.

Legal Process, In san Quentin. Cal
InwiIiin.ne>, to Learn Trades the
Chief 4 Ause of Downfall
Here We are face TO face with the uslest
truth in the Unitei states. Twenty live Of
this. boys are only l. years oil As te'
f0Ie stated, there are many others much
younger. tind here in this prison forty
tive boys who are not yet quite years Ok
all native born, all handsome, healthy, ami
finely educated lads. as rule
They do not seem TO be vicious Ia fact,
tue record vi their crimes show that they
we're good natured petty bursla hanging
about the cities, ami not given 10 biuSiy
deed, at all hut not Que Of them hal
ever done an honest days work until here
Tney are mostly employed In the Jute fac
tory alon, With the Cinnamon The thi
nes.5 are placed there / o ause they are, as q
rule, more sAllltul than white nrn Then
the boys are put there because they will
thus he shut oily from the older criminals T.
IA great extent All who work in this Won
ierful factory, which Is going to te proiuc-
tive of much good 10 both state AMI citl,
en-givins the farmers cheap Tags Tor
grain, receive some extra pay, and 50 " Ill
not leave the prison penniles>
But at the very best the outlook for these
hundreds u boy couvits /, grim indeed
The outlook for the state Of California Is
still worse And il, Us has been said before,
california Is the focus AMI emphasized eN'
Preston of the tnited states In advance,
What sal things are to he pa oih, sis, Il of our
coming generation all over the lanl, ! call
the attention VI the country to thi. condition
OF thing, out here ami point out that eni
ployn.ent might lac found by many good
plilanthroIlst IN looking after the young
men IN the cities east by compelling them to
10 q work. The problem Is not 81 much
concerning those who are ia the prisons
nov as those on their way there
CuNN EK>AiioN Win toi toNNICI~ :
What are You here for, my son
burglary
The boy, pale blonde, did not lift his
eyes. Tie wa, sitting at dinner along With
all the Others in u remote corner Of a vast
dining hall with its ,;as' guest. Fur away
IN another remote corner sat tho Sob China
men, all silently catlns ny themselves Tho
colorti people also We're in u group To
grther. The lniians TT IN almost any
where.
"Burgaryl first time | hope.
First ami last, sir can't you get mo out
y here"
The palo little fellow hardly lifted hi,
Vol az ALL and ho declined To lit his eye,
III the least, but kept stirring his soup In a
nois.le>s AMI nervous fashion, as II his
thon.ht, were far away.
3. A III ,.I,, Ia, 4 l.,
hire"
They won't lot me talk. sir and 81 you
SOC cant tell you iiut Won't yon pleas,
get me out
Yes, they will let you talk. They let mo
wanir all about and talk With whom |
please, and want to talk with you
r,ue,, Ia better not talk mu h but oh.
gosh | wish yodd get ny out - here AMI
tine boy went IN stirring his soup And ~
he did not lift his eyes or say more passed
on around 10 II full-faced AMI black haired
Ia whosacycs were everywhere. burglary
That me. Second oiiense sorry you let
and won't never do ~ again You see, |
knew just what you want, t. ask AMI an
swer IN advance to save You Il ouhle Now,
Won you please try AMI get mo out
The hardened littL, con>i let poke his fel
low prisoner with his elbow, ani they both
gisglc,i rs they lent their head, to their
tin soup plates,
But the tact is you get but little infor
nation from these lads they put ON "a sort
of l,anter aud air Of defiance the minute you
app roach them, and lie right along to keep
up their courage AMI show of hariihooj. |
was told by one of the officers that this same
boy spent u good deal VI his time In tears
And ] am bound to admit that, personally
and dire tly, | did not get much light on
the sub ect of inquiry from any one Of these
two hundred boys at san Quentin But my
old time friend ten Barnes, ono Of tho
eminent lawyers of San Francisco, spent
weeks where have only spent days In this
investigation, and he tell, me, as he has told
the public oftentues IN his lectures on this
subject that these boys are In the states
prison because the commonwealth permits
them no other place because they are not
permitted to work elsewhere
II Is PARTLY THEIR OwS rAULT
Gen. Barnes boldly testiiies that these
boy, have not been permitted to learn
tralc- He had the Present apprentice law
Of California placed on the STATUTE books
skilled workinen from Europe has shut up
every possible avenue or opening for the
Americans Thee men from abroad, ho
say, ARE better skillad than tue American
/, willing to make himself And 50 he can
get employ mrnt while the native talifurnan
must star>c or Turn b. crime for bread
lcs, it /, to h. admitted that it Is partly
the Americans own taut For These boys,
every one Of them, ought to be still under
the master, control and Still learning
trades. In tact, some Of them are even too
youn- to- become apprentices SO you $50
the test law ia the baud that could 10 dc
,i~, 4 could not save, OF even help, some of
THEM And 50 ~ must 20 still farther back
aud deeper down for the reason Of this
Juvenile dcpraVlty.
or my own art never come full face
before any Of these terrible problems Of life
without i%ing more and more persuaded Of
til wisdom AMI iurethutight OF our fathers
and the divine wisdom vi holy wit In the
sweat II thy face halt thou eat bread ali
the day. OF thy life There Is more good,
and u bsget eni better lesson IN this one
Ia f hnr Of tue Bhle Spare tue rol and
spoil the chLII than all the books that have
ls,n written in America
What IA the worli l., the matter With
,our young men Of california asked Of
the fafnuu, anl much loved bishop the other
day.
iterty was the lac one answer Then
the l>ho, took oif hls ,Iecta ies AMI wiped
them slowly Nth Ia, large White silk hand
k..rlhrf lnI a, H. tooke,l seriously at TIL.
ilip tir -ai - sir, liberty leisure \
man an no longer correct bis chill without
bein- reported society mt.rferes They