Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-07-04
BOYSIN THE STATE PRISON

DUBLIN 10E OlAlE L hlNUN
FACE TO FACE WITH ONE OF THE
UGLY TRUTHS OF TO-DAY.
The Growing Generation Locked Up by
Legal Process in San Quentin, CAL
Unwiningnsss to Learn Trades the
Chief Cause Of Downfall
Hero We arc face to face with the ugliest
truth in the United States Twenty-Five Of
these boys are only II years old As be-
fore stated, there are many others much
younger. find here in this prison forty
i've boys Who are not yet quite 20 years old
al native born, all handsome, healthy, and
finely educated lads, as a rule.
They do not seem to be viciouA In fact,
tho record Of their crimes show that they
were good-natured petty burglars, hanging
about the cities, and not given to bloody
deeds at all But not one Of them had
ever done an honest days work until hera
They are mostly employed in the jute fac
.ory along with tho Cinnamon The Chi
ness are placed there because they are, as Q
rule, moro skillful than white men Then
tho boys are put there because they will
thus Be shut Of from the older criminals to
great extent All who work in this won
dsrful factory, which is going to be produc-
zen-giving the farmers cheap bags for
grain,-receive some extra pay, and so will
not leave the prison penniless
But at the very best the outlook for these
hundreds Of boy convicts is grim indeed.
The outlook for the state of California is
still worse And it. as has been said before,
California is the focus and emphasized e1-
preston Of the United States in advance,
what sad things are to be prophesised of our
coming generation all over the land / call
the attention Of the country to this condition
Of things ont here, and point out that en-
ployment might be found by many a good
philanthropist in looking after the young
men in the cities east by compelling themto
60 to work The problem is not so much
concerning those who are in the prisons
cow As those on their way there.
CONVERSATION WITH BOY CoNvIcTS
What are you here for, my SOM
Burglary"
| Tho boy, a pale blonde, did not lift his
| eyes He was sitting at dinner along with
al the others in a remote corner OF q vast
dining hall with its 800 guests. Far away
1 In another remote corner sat the 200 China
men, all silently eating by themselves. The
colored people also were in a group to-
getber. 40 Indians fit in almost any
| where
"Burglaryl first time, 1 hope"
First and last, sir; can't you get me out
o. heres'
The phe little fellow hardly lifted his
| voice at oil, and he declined to lift his eyes
in the least, but kept stirring his soup in a
aoiseless and nervous fashion, as if his
! thoughts were far away.
Will you tell me why such fine led is
lcre,'
They went let me talk, sir; and SO you
| ,et me oati'
Yes, they will let you talk. They let me
| wander all about and talk with whom
please, and want to talk with you"
Guess I'd better not talk much; but oh,
gosh, wish you'd get me out o. here" And
the boy went on stirring his soup. And rs
| he did not lift his eyes or say more passed
ON around to fullfaced and black haired
lad whose eyes were everywhere. Burglary
That's me Second offense; sorry; you let,
and won't never do so again You see, l
knew just what you wants to ask; and an
swer in advance to save you trouble. Now,
won't you please try and get me OUT"
The hardened little convict pokei his fell
iow-prisoner with his elbow, and they both
Ei.gled as they bent their heads to their
lin soup plates
But the fact is you get but little infor-
nation from these lads They put on a sort
Of banter and air of defiance tine minute you
approach them, and lie right along to keep
up their courage and show of hardihood |
was told by ono Of the officers that this same
boy spent good deal Of his time in tears
And am bound to admit that, personally
and directly, did not get much light on
the subject of inquiry from any ono of these
two hundred boys at San Quentin But my
old time friend Gen Barnes, one Of the
eminent lawyers of San Francisco, spent
weeks where have only spent days in this
investigation, and he tells me, as he has told
tho public oftentimes in his lectures on this
subject, that these boys arc in the states
prison because the commonwealth permits
them no other place-because they are not
permitted to work elsewhere.
IT IS PARTLY THEIR OWN FAULT.
Gen Barnes boldly testifes that these
boys have not been permitted to learn
trades He had the present apprentice law
of California placed on the statute books.
But he says that the custom Of bringing
skilled workmen from Europe has shut up
every possible avenue or opening for the
Americans These men from abroad, be
says are better skilled than the American
is willing to make himself And so be can
get employ ment while the native Californian
must starve or turn to crime for bread
Yes, it is to be admitted that il is partly
the Americans own fault For these boys,
every one Of them, ought to be still under
the masters control, and still learning
trades IN fact, some of them are eyen too
young to become apprentices So you see
tho best law in the land that could lie do
vised could not save, or even help, some Of
them And SO we must so still farther back
and deeper down for the reason of this
Juvenile depravity.
For my own part l never come full face
Jefore any Of these terrible problems of life
without being more and more persuaded of
the wisdom and forethought Of our fathers,
snd, the divine wisdom Of holy writ In the
sweat Of thy face shalt thou eat bread all
the days Of thy life" There is more good,
and q bigger and better lesson in this one
half line of the Bible, Spare the rod and
spoil the child, " than all the books that have
been written in America
What in the world Is the matter with
your young men Of California;" l asked OF
the famous and much-loved bishop the other
day.
Liberty" was the laconic answer. Then
the bishop took of his spectaces and wiped
them slowly with his large white silk hand
lerchief And as he looked seriously at the
ire he said: Yes, sir, liberty; leisure! \
man can no longer correct his child without
icing rsported; society interferes They
would Lac taken the side OF Absolom
against David Men have become wiser
than the Billie with all its record OF expert
.nco in human nature No man can put
ais children out to work without the inter-
ference Of others No man can 60 TO work
himself without the Interference Of a lot OF
strangers tell you the world is crazy
With its prosperity, progress and bountiful
harvestS The head Of q family is no longer
the head A boy or girl grows up I'M
trained, undiscip,ined, and proposes TO live
without work. The wisdom Of those who
have their futures at heart is despisei You
can see the results at San Quentin jon
quin Miller in Chicago Times
new name in England for books OF the
penny dreadful sort il Shilling shockerxr
Some Suggestions Concerning Matrimony.
There are still, thank heaven pure love
vssatrhsa Int thea ara often looked upoa