The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-03-21
Eat What You Take Home.


Editor Mirror:
Whatever may be the defects in the COM
position of these paragraphs hope the ef-
fort will meet the appreciation and indorse-
ment of all who are in possession of the
spirit of common decency. There are
people in this world, and even in this pris-
on, who never know what they want. and
there are people who know what they want
but do not know what they need; and if by
chance they do come across something they
need and know they need it they are at
loss to know how much of it they want. |
refer to that class of cOnvicts whose eyes
are larger than their stomachs, who carry
more bread to their cells than they can eat.
After rendering it as unfit to eat as they
know how, beside keeping it over night, they
bring it back sometimes covered with mo-
lasses, etc. where it is. as it should be,
served out again. But the men it is intend
ed for miss it more times than they get it.
There is no need of this. A man may have
a half slice of bread left sometimes. but
there is no necessity of a whole slice and
sometimes two. This is hOggiShness. We
should be clean in all our actions, especially
in things that we can be clean as we'll as I'M
clean. Cleanliness is held by good people
to be next to goodness. Three times day
we are permitted 10 help ourselves from
large baskets of nice fresh bread-gOOd
enough for anybody to eat (even myself.
1t reminds me of pearls cast before swine.
Why, to pass by and look at these baskets
ought to be good meal for us sometimes,
minnesota is noted for its good bread)
without trying to carry it all to our cells. If
man should happen to get more bread into
his cell than he can eat at one meal he
ought to be gentleman enough to keep it for
his next meal, thus doing away with this
large OverpluS of stale bread, although stale
bread is better than fresh bread, if it is
clean. l will take stale bread all the time.
but don't want it after it has been thrown
around some cell all night, and no man who
has any respect for himself will bring back
two and three slices of bread, as some do,
thinking. no doubt. that it will be thrown
away. But you are mistaken. 1t is not
done in the best hotels in the country.
''Give not that which is holy to the dogs"
l have seen men call for stale bread who
were paying four dollars day for their
board. from one end Of the year to the
other. l notice some cOnvicts in here who
have just come over addicted to this habit,
too How strange it is that they learn the
prOdigality of the country before they learn
anything else. Stop this and respect your
selves, and then you will deserve the respect
of others. If you had been brought up like
me you could not wilfully waste bread as
some of you do. When | was a boy flour
was eight and nine dollars barrel and very
poor at that. Well-to-do people could only
afford to eat flour bread on Sunday. One
barrel of flour lasted six months in family
of eleven. Why, the very first stealing l
ever did was the filling my pockets full of
biscuits from the tray on their way between
the dining room and the kitchen. Then
often stole more than l wanted, simply be-
cause they were biscuits. l really thought
l would go to heaven when ! died if ate
flour bread. Nobody from the south can
waste bread, especially those who were there
in war times, and still they have enough
and some to spare.
The men who take more bread than they
can eat and leave it in such condition that
at cannot be eaten are anything but gentle
men, no matter who they are We don't
want to eat your leavings. The deputy
should put stop to it. There is large
difference between stale bread and old.
mouldy bread, too. Don't forget that, and
when say stale bread is good l don't mean
old bread. A man who never knows what
he wants nor what is good for him ought to
be in prison, but I have great respect for a
man who knows what he wants in prison,
for believe he will know what he needs
when he gets out. w. L.