The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-01-30


to keep the wolf of crime from the door of
his heart? Suppose the convict comes out
with $500. This would form breaStwOrk: !:
fortress behind which the man could fight
temptation. If this were done thousands
OF cOnvicts would think of the pententlary
as the place in which they were saved.
They would think that the verdict OF guilty
rescued them from the abyss of crime. The
heart of the poor convict, instead of being
filled with malice, would overflow with
gratitude. He would feel the benefits of
this course, and the results would be good.
not only to him, but to the nation. If the
convict worked for himself. he would do
the best he could. and the wares produced
in the penitentiaries would not cheaper the
labor of other men. There are, however,
men who pursue
CRIME AS A VOCATION.
as profession. What shall be done with
these men and women? Put 1000 hardened
thieves on an island, compel them to pro-
duce what they eat and use. Those who
worked would not permit those who did not
to steal the result of their labor. Such a
community would be self supporting. Let
women of the same class be put by them.
selves. Those who are beyond the power
of reformation should not have the liberty
to reproduce themselves. They should
dwell apart. and dying should leave no
heirs" Col. IngersOll then argued against
the death penalty for murders, and gave
striking instances showing that judicial
killing not only does not deter from murder,
but inspires to further murders. He also
remarked that such killing encourages mob
violence. as the mob reasons that the GRIM
inal should be killed any way, and might as
we'll be killed without trial as with. Re.
ftryy ,p,trf ff,f fto r
criminals. the orator said: 'If we are to
change'the conduct of men we must change
their conditions. Extreme poverty and
crime go hand in hand. AS long as chill
dren are raised in the tenement and gutter,
the prisons will grow full. The gulf be-
tween the rich and the poor will grow wider
and wider. One will depend on cunning,
the other on force. 1t is great question
whether he who lives in luxury can afford
others to exist in want. The value of prop
erty depends not on the prosperity of the
few, but on the prosperity of very large
majority. The poverty of the many is a
perpetual menace. If we expect prosper
GUS and peaceful country. the
CITIZENS MUST HAVE HOMES.
The more homes. the more patriots. the
more virtue, and the more security for all
that give worth to life. We need not re-
peat the failure of the old world. TO di-
vide lands among successful generals or
among favOrtes of the crown, to give vast
estates for services rendered in war. is no
worse than to allow men of great wealth to
purchase and hold vast tracts of land. The
result is precisely the same That is to
say, a nation composed of few landlords
and of many tenaDtS-the tenants reSOrting
from time to time to mob violence, and the
landlords depending on standing army
1t would be WE'LL it seems to me, for the
Legislature to fix the amount of land that a
private citizen might own. The amount to
be thus held will depend upon many local
circumstances. Let me suppose that the
amount of land that may be held for
farmer for cultivation has been fixed at 100
acres. and suppose that A has several
thousand acres, B wishes to buy 100 acres
or less of his land, for the purpose of max
ing himself home. A refuses to sell. Now
[ believe that the law should be so that B
can invoke this right to eminent domain
and file his petition, have the cause brought
before jury or before commissioners, who
shall hear the evidence and determine the
value and on the payment of the amount
the land shall belong to b. l would extend
the same law to lots and houses i'm cities and
villages-the object being to fill our country
with the owners of homes. so that every
child shall have fireside. every father and
mother roof, provided they have the in
telligence. the energy and the industry to
acquire the necessary means. Tenements
and flats and rented land are. in my judg-
ment. the enemies of civilization. They
make the rich richer and the poor poorer
They put few in palaces. but they put
many in prisons. The home is
THE UNIT OF CIVILIZATION
the foundation of good government. and to
secure homes for a great majority of our
citizens. would be to lay the foundation of