The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-12-27
LIT is NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND"


that a young man behaves himself and
writes fearful letters to superintendent or
teachers about his good resolutions. for a
few months after regaining his liberty. The
question is where he will be ten years hence.
We have known resolutions. even diluted
with tears. prove but a cross grained crutch
to lean upon. when the environments of his
personality had thrown him on himself
Then his fral support gives way, and he is
gone.
s The criminal lacks moral storage capacity.
His normal compartments are not built for
heavy seas. He is an ethical puzzle which
mathematical demonstration can never
solve. His spiritual architecture needs not
only remOdeling. but it must be remade.
while his surroundings are all favorable, he
often moves along with seeming pleasure in
his new estate; but let cross current rip
pile owes his path and he is swamped. Yet,
with innocence beaming from his eyes, he.
looks up and Dlames the ripple. 1t was no
fault of his. The most spotless innocence
on earth may be found in the mouth of
some Infamous scoundrel. That is one of
the symptoms of his disease. We are very
fond of raising canary birds. Some time
ago. we received pair of Norwich Eng
land) canaries. They were very beautiful
in colOr-feathers like FURNISHED gold; but.
when the young were hatched. fifty per
Gent OF them were fO0tless. Long years
before i'm Old England. the peasants had
bred only for cOlOr-sacrticing trilling song
lzsiad physical form for golden hues and ex-
quisite feather. Now, four thousand miles
west of their native home. they are breed
ing back half century. disclosing secrets
the English bird fanciers thought hidden
away forever There is nothing covered
that shall not be revealed" l chloroformed
the young. and sent them to my bird loving
friends as Norwich secrets laid bare.
With physical. so it is with moral de-
fOrmitieS. The sins of the father are Wis
tied upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation Of the transgressOr. men
tally. morally and physically. This is not
evolution: it is the law of the Almighty
governing the universe. 1t is no uncommon
thing for us to have each male member of the
family. as they grow old enough. BE- under
our care sometimes three brothers serving
sentence together. very often two, and be-
fore coming to us. have, occasionally.
passed their apprenticeship in some private
institution. Reform such boys! Their
parents don't want them reformed in many
cases. The boys are good enough, if the
''cops'' would only let them alone.
We know business man in the west
whose success in measure consists in the
fact that his parents don't know his address.
The home news sent such boys consists of
police court itemS-arreStS and sentences.
A little parcel is received for a dear boy,
containing the Life of Jesse James," with
copy of Sunday school paper called the
Young Reaper enclosed. Pitch and piety
at one dose! Jesse James as an antidOte
for the pOisons of the Young Reaper; and
we will stake our regulations on the aSSer-
tiOn that ninety-nine per cent. of such boys
and parents will select Jesse for study, and
leave the Young Reaper until he grows
older. Blood will tell.
Take that notable illustration of the
much talked of Juke family. analyzed by
Mr.. McDOugall. of New York. Six genera
tween 174O and ITO, of whose mother
nothing is known; but. from the excellency
of her progeny in producing their like, she
origin springs line of eight hundred and
thirty-four persons whose public record is
known. besides several hundreds whose his
tory is lost. OF these eight hundred and
thirty-four persons, two hundred and six
were paupers, and received assistance
in the aggregate to eight hum
dred and thirty years. Seventy-six were
convicted of one hundred and fifteen crimes,
and served in prison one hundred and six
teen years. In the family were one hnn-
dred and twenty-eight prostitutes.
The longer we live, the more it is i'm
pressed on our hearts that. for the class OF
criminals we have been talking about. edu-
s,,l, rso1