The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-10-31
A Comparison.
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Continued from First Page.)
ing to get rid of troublesome patient who
had been left there sick by passing crimi-
nal party, ordered the man to be sent for
ward to mis- destination, Notwithstanding
the fact that he was in dying condition.
The unfortunate prisoner lived only long
enough to reach the first stop, fifteen or
twenty miles away.
SIN 1885 an official connected with a pro-
vincial prison in one of the northern prov
inceS of European Russia. published in the
Juridical Messenger, the organ OF the Moss
COW Bar Association. two long and care
fully prepared papers entitled, IA Russian
Prison and it's Life" The author did not
hesitate to assert that the laws, which are
supposed to regulate Russian prisons. bear
hardly Sembance of relation to the real
facts of prison life. Nine tenths of the
laws. he says. are not enforced at all. and
the other remaining tenth is enforced in a
way very different from that which the
statutes contemplate. In 1880 the prison
described BY Mr.. Reve. was he says, a
little tsardom. where the highest law was
the word OF the warden. and where the SUI
periOr officials of the province either did not
dare or did not care to show their faces.
The officer who was required by law to
visit the prison once a week, came once or
twice year. The prison workshop was in
chaotic disorder, and the prisoners instead
of working in it, spent large portion of
their time in smoking, gambling, quarreling,
or fighting. Hardly pretenSe was made
of feeding them decently or regularly. The
trade in Intoxicating liquor was all Organ-
lied system. and the warden, himself, set
the example of drunkenness. Disciplinary
punishment was inflicted at his caprice,
and he executed his own sentence by beat
inr tho in tho fa0Q with Ect
The prison officers who should have super
vised ard controlled the whole domestic
economy OF the prison, were absolutely in
active. 1t was not Mr.. Reve says, a living
institution, but mere bureaucratic fiction
1t seems almost incredible that such state
of things as this should have been allowed
to exist in any prison in European Russia,
and modern civilization, but the statements
are made by all official over his own sigma
ture and the articles were printed in the
most influential legal journal of the empire,
presumably with the consent of the Mos
COW CensOrial committee. What can be
expected under such circumstances, except
complete disorder and disorganization? A
prison so managed is like the proverbial
child with seven nurses, who always grows
up crooked:
The priest whose legal duty it was to look
after the moral training of the prisoners and
to conduct religious services every Sunday
for their benefit, made but one visit to the
prison in the course of twelve months, and
went there only at the urgent solicitation of
an officer, for the sake of form and de-
cency. The prison turkeys, who received
salaries from 50. so to S4.50 month, acted
AS purchasing agents for prisoners who had
money, and supplied them with intOXicat-
ing liquor.
''AnybOdy wishing to investigate the
truthfulneSs of the above can do so by pro-
curing copies of the Russian Juridical Mes
senger. No. ). May. 1885 and No. and 7
June and July. 1885,"
If any of us who are ir-minded per-
sons, compares the management of such
prisons as above only partly and poorly de-
scribed. with the management of our prison
here and the treatment that we receive, he
will be able to see our advantages. We
must admit that we have proper and clean
and warm clothing. and of being fed regu-
larly. and no cruel treatment by officers
that can for moment compare with that
of Russian Prison. We have religious
service held here every Sunday forenoon i'm
the chapel for our benefit, and now that
they have prohibited contract labor surely
there is no reason for discomfort for those
who wish to live in idleneSs We have had
trial of it and one or two days can be
spent in idleness very well. but | am afraid
that If these convict labor abolitiOnists
would have to continue in idleness and be
locked up in cells, five feet by seven.
Tor only say SIX months, (but one month
would bring the most of them 'round) it
would get rather mOnOtOnOuS to the LATEST
mortal here and he would gladly resume his
old position in the shops. CA.