The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-03-07

NOT

their position is their reward; and they
know that if they become vicious they will
lose that position. Their employers must
show their appreciation, by the natural law
that makes all men respect the truly good.
We often hear man say, ''1'm as good as
any one else," but in his heart he must ac-
knowledge his moral and intellectual su-
periOr when he meets him, no matter how
much he may dislike to do so. The emplOye
knows that by any wrong act against the
laws he will disgrace himself and family,
and besides his virtues, if they are true, will
not permit him to do the wrong; so that
irrespective of his employers opinion, he is
still virtuous. The fact of man being a
soldier, statesman, minister or layman, does
not make him good man. and was speak
ing of the truly good. said no GOOD man
wanted his virtues Haunted in the face of
the world. Texas should look up this
word ''faunted."
1 still hold that good or bad treatment
while in this prison will not change my
course when l leave. 1t may make me
respect or dislike these men but will have
no effect on men not here. If am worthy
of good treatment and do not get it, l will
| despise the man that treats me wrOngfully.
but will not despse the next man on that
account. AS [ said before. l must respect
good man when | meet one, whether /
want to or not. The fact is. take all men
as l find them, and one individual cannot
| make miSanthrOpe of me.
| did not get my ideas from the histories
of the dark ages, as regards the punishment
of criminals; if I did then the laws of this
country are built from the same material.
The state never proposes to reform individu-
ais; our penal laws are not refOrmatOry in
their character; nor do they pretend to be.
| People who commit crimes are punished, as
they should be, but the punishment does
| not, as rule, make them any better morally.
and those who make the laws know this as
| we'll as l. The law will not send man to
state prison for being thief; he must
steal, and be caught stealing, before the law
| will hold him; yet he is fit subject fol
reform before he is caught stealing. ''TeX-
as'' says that there are many high in the
professions of law and religion who hold to
my doctrine; but they are fifty years behind
the times Now, | am willing to Staud
with these and assert that we are not fifty
years behind the times, but he is about
twenty years too soon.
His ideas may come into vogue in time,
but that time has not yet arrived. That men
are not sent here to reform is proven by the
fact that l have seven years to serve. Why
was sentenced to any set number Of years
or why did not every man here get seven
years? Perhaps it takes longer to reform
some men than others, and the judges are
capable of knowing how long is required in
each case. l was sentenced to seven years
to keep others from doing what had done.
Suppose | reform in two years, will be re-
leased? No. sir! l must pay the penalty
for the wrong / have done. On the other
hand: if l am worse on going out of here
than was coming in, will they keep me un-
til do reform? Again, no! The law will
not allow them to keep me even if they were
morally certain that will commit some dep
radiation before leaving town. When judge
sentences man to state prison he generally
expresses hope that he will reform, but
whether he does or not, he must serve five,
ten or fifteen years, as the case may be.
would like to add his (''Texas'') idea to
with things as they are and not as we would
like to have them.
He says: nowhere in the bible will you
find that God punished one man for
another" and yet we are told that the sins
of the father shall be visited upon the
children to the third and fourth generation.
1 wonder if the teachings of the bible are
fifty years old? But aside from that have
known quite number of cases where man
has been punished by man for the acts of
another. Again he says: ''Do they kill one
who has contagious disease to prevent the
disease from spreading? No, they send him
to a pest-house and set him free when he is
cured" He was very unfortunate in his
Simile; for when a man is sent to state priS-