St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-10-22
TALKING OF PRISONS.
Eminent Speakers at the
Meeting in the Grand
Opera House.
Scenes in County JailS Are
Graphically Portrayed by
Secretary Hart.
Gov. McGill Advocates the
Suggestion for a Par
don Board.
The Graded System Of Con-
viets at st. Cloud Proves
Successful.

morning well filled by members of the
Peoples church, whose interest was in
vOked in favor of occupants of prison
walls in the state and country. YeSter-
day was Prison Sunday, and recognized
as such throughout the United States
and Canada; and DR.. Smith, in his
capacity of pastor of the Peoples con-
gregation, had mapped out an appro-
pirate service, having secured as speak
erS Gov. A. r. McGill, Hon. Gordon E.
Cole. of Faribault. and Rev. Hastings
II. Hart, of the state board of correc-
lions and charities.
| Good music, good singing and good
| speaking are three essentials at the
Peoples church, and they were we'll
| eXemplified yesterday morning. The
| musical portion was first rendered, and
| was heartily appreciated by the cOngre-
CATION, which, in marked difference to
the audiences of many churches, con-
tanned as many gentlemen as ladies.
! The musicians were accommodated in
| the orchestra fronting the stage, and
| upon the latter were DR.. Smith and the
| speakers.
Rev. Hastings 81. Hart was first called
! upon to speak, DR.. Smith remarking that
in the capacity of secretary of the state
board of corrections and charities he
! had earned a national reputation in the
work of prison reform. Mr.. Hart de-
voted himself entirely to prison reform,
dealing largely with the condition of
! iailS and
LoCK-UPS IN MINNESOTA.
De Tocqueville, French writer, fifty
| years ago said the county jails of the
| United States were the worst prisons in
the world, and Mr.. Hart said that to-
day the county jails were little, if any,
better than they were then. There
were no public institutions so disgrace
| full or disheartening to those who
sought to improve the condition of the
| criminal classes. A county Jail was an
| institution maintained at the expense
| of the county, and was used for two dis
! tinct purpOSes-the temporary deten-
| ton of persons, and the punishment of
! criminals sentenced for few days up
| to two years imprisonment. "There is
| not, ;" continued Mr.. Hart, "a saloon in
| st. Paul that is such breeder of crime,
! laWleSSneSS and corruption as the
| county Jail-nOt that Ramsey county
| jail is worse than the average, because
| it may be taken as fair specimen of
| these lails. l mention it, because you
may go and verify what l say" Mr..
| Hart stated that some great changes
had been made in the Ramsey county
| Jail during the past three years, but
! it continued to be an abOmiDable
| institution and a disgrace to the COM
munity in which they lived. Three
! years ago, when he visited the jail, he
| found man held as a witness. This
man had been beaten and robbed in a
| saloon, and made complaint to the au-
! thOrlbeS, and the men were arrested
! and brought before the municipal court
| They were, however, fortunate in Secur-
| ing bail, but the man who thew had
| robbed and beaten could not give bail
| and had to go to Jail and mingle with
criminals. Criminals mingled with I'M
tried. and possibly innocent people,
| and at one time the women were not
| properly
SECLUDED FROM THE MEN.
You would be astonished," said Mr..
| Hart, IF you knew the utterly vile and
| abOminable practices pursued in these
| jailS. If prisoners have any money
| they gamble for it, carouse and plan
mischief. Go into Ramsey county Jail
| and you will find it ili-ventilated,
| nable in every respect, and the Off
GERS may do their best but they
cannot prevent the evils of
which l speak. The county iails
are crime breeders-simply schools
| of crime, where young men secure infOr-
nation which leads them to become
| adopts ian the pursuit of evil. How can
this be remedied? Simply by separa-
ton. Divide prisoners into classes.
Keep the better behaved prisoners to
| themselves and the women and chill
dren to themselves. We have now
| three jails in this state on the separate
system. at Fergus Falls, Red Wing and
Rochester. The condition of things
there has greatly improved, and even
the prisOnerS-th is the more respect
able portion of them-prefer it. We are
soon to build a new county jail in this
city, and hope the people will see that
it is builtin such way that the abOm-
Unable practices prevalent under the
present system will be entirely obYi-
ated"
Gov. McGIll was the next speaker, and
read an address which referred mainly
to the work of pardoning criminals. At
the outset he called attention
to indiscriminate sentences passed
| by Judges of district courts upon
prisoners charged with the same Of
| Tense, and made the suggestion that
| luu2tS Vi lu6SC CDuIlS dil-
| nual conferences with view of bar-
! mOniZing their sentences for
THE SAME CLASS OF CRIME.
1t was not right that one man should
| be punished more than another for
! similar effense, and the governor said
he noticed this discrepancy in sentences
occurred between those passed by city
! judges and those passed by country
/ judges. He accounted for it from the
fact that city judges had more work,
and in sentencing prisoners did not re-
strict themselves to month or two.
Then, addressing himself to the par
doning of prisoners, he said one of the
most important powers of the governor
of the state was the prerogative Of
granting and refusing pardOns. In this
state the power was complete;
the governor could make every
prisoner free, and there was no
authority to call his action
into question. While the eXerciseuof
the pardoning power was anything but
pleasant. he believed it should exist
and that it should rest with the chief
| executive of the state. To facilitate
| the applications of prisoners he sug-
/ geSted the establishment of an advisory
/ pardOning board. and it was his inten-
/ ton to recommend the same in the
! forthcoming message to the state legiS-
! lature. But two men out of the whole
number he had pardoncd had relapsed
| into crime, and one of them. when
drunk. said nc had briDed the governor
with 5000. Mr. McGill concluded:
In the exercise of pardoning power
each case should stand on its own par
ticular merits, and the person exercising
| this power, while bearing in mind the
rights of society as well as
! those of thn nrjCanar should