The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-03-10
SreCia1 Contributors.
SOME OF THE DANGERS OF THE
REPUBLIC.
BY REV. EDGAR LEAvITT.
oshkosh, Wis.,
II.-Crime and Criminals.


Again the law is violated in its spirit
and intent and in it's very letter even
by the large liberties that are allowed
to persons under sentence. a wealthy
criminal is sent to Jail under indict-
ment to aw; = trial, and instead of tax
ing the cell that Jne ordinary man
would have to take and living on the
fare that is furnished other prisoners,
he is permitted to take large room,
fit it up with carpets, rugs, furniture,
pictures and books from his palatlal
residence and flowers from the conser-
vatory, to be served with meals from
the best restaurants, receive his friends
and family, transact business, go out of
prison and about the city, either under
charge of an officer or on parole, so that
his Imprisonment is such only in name.
And often after conviction wholly
unwarrantable liberties are allowed.
The McGarigle case in Chicago is a
case in point. The idea Of allowing
prisoner nnder indictment to go to his
home, transact business, take bath
and escape The jail of Cook county
should contain all necessary conven-
fences for cleanliness and health and
safety. The foolishness and careless
ness manifested in the Anarchist cases
were most reprehensible. Allowing Mr..
Spies and Miss Van Zandt to be mar
ried, even by proxy; the allowing Of
their friends to visit them and take
things to them so freely after sentence
Of death had been passed, so that one
of them was permitted to commit sui
eide with dynamite bomb, and might
easily, like Samson, have destroyed the
whole prison and all that were within
it with him, was perfectly beyond rea-
son and common sense
The only excuse for those in author
ity is the utterly loose and demoralized
condition to which prison management
and law administration has generally
come in this country. We say these
things not out of special animosity to
the Anarchists or others who may be
in prison, but for the sake of the gem
eral principles of justice, reason, com
mon sense and safety, which are con
tinually violated by those in whose
hands the administration of the law il
placed.
Recently the California papers re
ported that man who has been sup
posed to be serving out a sentence in
the penitentiary of San Quentin has
been discovered to have been boarding
for over a year past at one of the first
class city hotels. This seems startling
and yet it is only a somewhat empha-
sized instance of what is not altogeth
er uncommon in the case of those who
have money or influential friends to Sc
cure favors for them which mitigate
the traditional horrors of their impris-
onment Indeed the traditional hor-
rors of Imprisonment at the present day
are largely a fiction at all first class
penitentiaries.
The prisoners are fed the Whitest
and most wholesome of bread. a
strong, nOurishing diet is supplied suf-
ficiently regular and mingled with suf
fcient exercise to keep body and mind
employed. A well-selected library of
books, regular attendance at chapel,
served by a clergyman of more than or
dinary ability; a chance to learn trade
by those who have not one, and chance
to reduce the term by good conduct,
about the only drawback being the dis
grace of conviction and imprisonment.
Such is the happy lot of prisoners un-
der the modern humanitarian refOrma-
tory theory of prison management.
The poor criminal finds better adyan-
tages in the way of food, clothing, shell
ter, literature and other opportunities
for comfort and self-impTOvement in the
prison than he would probably secure
for himself outside. / can see thatit may
be somewhat irksome not to be master
of ones own movements and time, but
how many of the regular operatives
in our manufacturing establishments
are masters of their movements or of
their time? The prisoners cannot leave
the prison town; but many so-called
free men can not leave town either.
And as to the disgrace we should re-