The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-10-24

might nave never Deen committed. Inc
matter now stands in statu quo"
The wOrkhOuse commissioners deserve
and should have the commendation of all
good citizens for refusing to comply with all
ordinance, the provisions of which are
clearly unconstitutional. Does the fact of
a man having served term in the work
house take away any of the rights guaran-
teed by the constitution? The individual
members of the council do not appear to ell
tertan such an opinion on election day. By
what right or authority does the council as
sumo to confer upon the police judicial
functions and allow them to re- arrest and
dispose of a discharged prisoner in such a
manner as they may deem fit? Why not go
step farther and abolish the courts alto
gether? :Oh, "say the police, these hard
ened criminals must be inspected, must be
scrutiniZed, must be interrOgated;it may be,
that during their temporary seclusiOn they
meditated and planned some dire deed which
they are anxious and eager to impart to us
if we but give them an opportunity; should
they not happen to be in the mood to make
communications of confidential nature. all
that remains for us to do, is to order them
to move on. go to Minneapolis. or to hades.
anywhere outside of our jurisdiction 1t
would greatly simplify the duties of the pO-
lice. were they to be garrisOned in the City
Hall and the chief authorized to issue proc
lamatiOns from time to time, calling upon all
who contemplate violating the law. to re-
port for inspection both before and after
the commission of the deed. In such case
the worthy citizen who is assaulted by the
festive hoOdlum will not have to vainly in
qure. "where'S the pOlice?"
Now, as to the many ''hardened crimi-
nals' who constitute 50 large a proportion
| Of xynrEhnuSn nOnnlofinn %Xbn
will take the trouble to inquire into the
matter, can readily ascertain that the hard
or professional criminal SO seldom puts in
an appearance there. that he is looked upon
as veritable ''rara avis" The professional
criminal regards commitment to the work
house in the light of an irremedable mis-
fortune. as by such means he forever loses
caste among his fellow craftsmen.
But let us take the impartial evidence of
gentleman whose knowledge of the mat
ter none can gainSay. Deputy Superintend-
ent Whalen, of the Minneapolis wOrkhOuse,
who has had upwards of dozen years eXpe-
rience as a prison official in various cities
throughout the country. in communication
to the Pioneer Press, less than one year
ago. has this to say on the subject 'Min-
neapolis like all large and growing cities.
has certain per cent of people who are
thrftless. careless and imprOvident. given
to drinking and broiling, which are called
by the ordinances of the city, ..'misdemean
Ors." They are for the most part working
people. When they disturb the public
peace the police arrest them and the pen
atty by ordinance prescribed is inflicted by
the police justice. Now these people are
not to be called criminals. And yet out of
the 1927 men committed to the Minneap-
oils workhouse last year, 1114 (nearly
three-fourths) were of this class. or first of
Tenders. 1t is now winter and almost
every day we send men and women from here
whose time is out with hardly any clothing
and not a cent in their pOckets-nO work.
no friends. We cannot give away pair of
stockings, or if one of them is barefOOted,
as is often the case, we dare not give an
old pair of shoes. The city council, by
resolution, fOrbidS us to do it. Do you ex-
pect such people to keep honest and sober?
Where will they get their dinner? Where!
Why. steal it; where else?"
And these are the people whom it is pro.
posed to inspect, ScrutiniZe, interrOgate,
and to what end? To satisfy their hunger,
to clothe their nakedness, to minister to
their wants or to assist them in any man.
ner? No. none of these; but to terrOrize
them place them under marching orders,
drive them to desperation and further
crime, and eventually to places of this kind,
as it is from such sources that our pOpula-
tiOn is largely recruited. Oh! most wise,
potent and reverend city fathers, why not
order general inspection? The guardians
of the peace of the Sanity City have not
undergone such an ordeal for 10! these many
years; and it is doubtful whether they
would come forth from such a test scath-
less. 1t is now about four years since they
have had an inspection of police in Mime
apolis and, to judge from recent indications,
another one would not be out of order. At