The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-03-27
NDOinS TiIne.,,

ssDOing Time.''
The other day, during an idle moment, 1
observed our Foreman rush up to and stop
the machine of one of my fellow convcts
the while exclaiming, What in the old
scratch are you doing here?"
My f. C. who had been brooding over and
busily watching his work, his mind no
doubt filled with the pleasant fancy of how
well he was doing, while he was really
spelling it, looked up with the utmost inno-
cence and naively answered. Doing time"
The aptness of the answer proved to
much for the anger of the foreman who
burst out laughing and kindly set him right.
The episode amused me exceedingly for
some time until finally before my minds eye
arose these two questions: How many of us
here are merely doing timer" and Is that
all we can do here? That quite number
in this and every other institution of like
character are merely doing time" is very
evident; and you can size them up on very
short acquaintance. They do nothing ex-
cept they are forced; take no interest in
what little labor they do perform. They
read nothing unless it amuSes them, and are
l.
seem, on their arrival, to settle down with
the conviction that so many months or
years. as the case may be- are to be blank,
and so make no effort to make them any
thing else. And right here let me remark
that l consider this class of men one of the
prime causes of the severity of prison dis
cipline.
Satan finds work for idle hands to do"
and these men will be idle. and get into
mischief too, if they are not closely
watched.
So, with shirking their work. grumbling.
eating and sleeping, they ''dO" their ''time."
are released; and Immediately rush off.
hunt up ''de gang" not man of whom had
remembered during their incarceration that
they were alive, bowl them up to the eX-
tent of the few dollars they have received
on their release, and finally when broke,
commit some petty depreciation for which.
being an eX, convict, they are Immediately
hustled back here or to some other institu-
tion of like character to begin over again the
old experience of doing tme.''
Now. the other and better way on arriv-
ing would be to say; Well Pm here. and
as I've got to stay, how can l most profit
ably employ my leisure time. what useful
knowledge can | gain that will be benefit
to me when am released.
Of course the uneducated are under
disadvantage here, as in all other places,
but for those who can read. the prison Ii
brary contains fund of knowledge, not soon
exhausted, besides all the other books and
papers owned by us and now freely passed
from one to the other. Then again. in the
shops at our daily toll, we are working with
skilled artisans and with little close at
tentiOn can acquire knowledge OF trade
which though we may not care to follow as
a means of gaining living may still prove
useful to us at some future time. And we
have also plenty of time to look Squarely at
our situation, review our past. study our
weak points. and fit ourselves to guard in
the future against a recurrence of the evils
that have proved so fatal to us in the past.
Not an hour of the whole twenty four
need drag. for. with interest in our work
and our evenings prOfitably employed in
reading or studying, TAPS" will sound all
too soon. but find us tired enough to turn in
and Immediately embrace the drOwsy god.
Try this plan. boys. and when your
time" is ''dOne" don't hunt up ''de gang"
Don't get drunk just because you can, don't
90 to and hang around any town where you
have a rep" and where the police will
make scapegOat OF you for the first crime
that is committed in the municipality. Go
to some new town where you are unac-
quainted and there, by sobriety, honesty
and industry, build for yourself different
reputation; and l will guarantee you will
be done "dOing time" PATRICO.
He knows little who will tell his wife all