The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-06-13
THEN AND NOW.

TN AND NO"s
Letter by Former Inmate --SsA Man Is
What He EatS''--.HOnest Opinions
from One Who Has Had Experience
--COmparisOns--Wh What Is Most Needed
in Prisons To-Day.
The following letter. published in the
Minneapolis Star of June 2, was written by
All inmate of this institution in 1888, and is
now made public for the first time. Many
of the older inmates will readily recognize
the writer. and though it is written from
convict's standpoint it is fully as interest
ing as it would be if penned by some theo-
retical humanitarian:
DEAR FRIEND-YOu wished to know
what l think prison discipline ought to be.
Well, will tell you. My opinions will be
honest ones so far as they 60, though there
may not be much wisdom in them. | cor
talnly ought to know something about this
subject. | have had experience enough, and
they say the wisdom you get through eX-
perence is the genuine thing. We will
start out with couple OF well-knOwn facts
that is, they are well known to scientists
and philosophers, and all who have ''been
there and taken the medicine. A man is
what he eats. An ill-fed man is an ill-feel-
ing. irritable, mean- -dispositioned man. This
is well-knOwn fact. The other is: You
can't elevate one part of a mans nature and
leave the other part in the gutter. You
must elevate him as whole. or leave him
alone. 1t is only a waste OF time and effort
to try and improve moral nature. and
starve and degrade the physical nature.
These two facts state the convict's position
exactly. l can just imagine how some of
your wise friends. would smile if they should
hear me express this opinion. They would
say: what does he mean by this? Does
he want to establish fine hotel bill OF fare
for the prisoners?" No: don't mean any
thing of the kind. for there is great ex-
treme between hotel fare and prison fare
IN fact, the mere comparison is ridiculous.
What mean, and what have a right to
expect is good. wholesome food to keep me
in good, vigorous health, and don't think
the prison fare should be regulated according
to the standard of the lowest man in the
prison, letting the rest eat it or starve. What
may be good and wholesome food for a pig
may be very poor food for man. Every
one who has written on the subject of priS
on reform, or who has given it any thought
or attention, knows that the influences of a
prison are bad, and only bad. Now, why
is it? Here seems to be where you philOSO-
piers split or get frozen up altogether.
wonder if it ever entered the minds of those
wise men, those philosophers, to ask a
cOnvicts opinion on the subject. And it is
not the prison influence wholly which tends
to keep man criminal-the whole force
and influence OF society. is against him. both
while in prison and Out'of prison. People
are not sitistied with making you pay the
penalty for your crime in prison, but you
pay double and treble the penalty after you
get out.
Now l will give you little of my own
experience. When l left here-Stillwater
penitentiary-the first time, | went to St.
Paul and got job selling novelties and
machines for man in that place. did not
fancy the work much, but it was honest
and there was bread and butter in it, had
to go around town and solicit ORDERS and
had third of the city to work in myself.
One evening as l was going to my hotel to
supper met the chief of police and he said
''Well. when did you come down from the
hOme?'' l asked him what he meant and
he said, "Why, Saltwater" l told him
when | came to town and what | was doing
and he said: ''Come along with me down to
headquarters. l want to talk with you"
After reaching headquarters he said to me:
Now | want you to understand that we
are onto you down here. You can't give us
any such song and dance as that. for it won't
go down. You have got pretty good rack
ct. but it don't blind us, anyhow, and il l
hear Of any crooked work being done in any
of these houses which you have entered on
pretence OF soliciting orders, I will run you