St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-26
PRISON SUNDAY.

1t Is FittingIy Remembered in the
Sermon of Rev. I'll. NJ. Simmons.
From the various forms of imprison-
ment for crime in our country, some
10000 persons are liberated every year.
If MANY of these were not SO liberated,
it would doubtless be much better both
for the country and for them. But the
fact remains and will, that all this mass
of men who have been criminals are
they will among us. Hence the
one important question is, what is
the prison treatment that shall best fit
them for this freedom. The old method
was to leave them in idleneSS, and often
in association with others worse than
themselves. and this method is still
seen in most of our jailS. But idleness
demoraliZes much, and evil companions
still more. Many Of our lalls are we'll
called colleges of crime, compulsory
schools of crime" where comparatively
innocent youths quickly learn its worst
lessons.
Another old method was to treat
prisoners cruelty, so as to warn them
and others against crime. But cruelty
rather hardens and embitters them into
enemies of society, and crimes have
generally flourished most where GRIM
Enals were most cruelty treated. Hence
we are learning to abandon these old
methods and to make Imprisonment
period for kindly but most careful and
ievere training for the duties Of life.
Prisoners must be we'll fed and fur
nished physically, but kept at work in
body and mind. and subjected to dis
cipline that trains them in self-contIol.
They must be taught by experience in
prison that great gain comes from we'll
doing and great loss without it, and
they must be generously encouraged i'll
every effort TO reform.
These principles have been tried in
many places with excellent results. In
England, prisoners for short term are
allowed to gain various privileges for
industry and good behavior, and those
for a longer term are allowed, besides,
to shorten it by nearly one-tourth, and
then to be released cOuditionally on a
ticket-of-leave. This and connected re-
formatory work have succeeded SO well
that commitments for crime in the
whole United Kingdom are less
than half as many as fifty years ago,
and in proportion to population
only about one-third as many. In our
country, snch experiments seem to sue
coed we'll where tried. At the Elmira
reformatory, criminals whom DR.. Wey
pictures as apparently hopeless-with
abnormal body and brain, with vicious
instincts and ungovernable temper,
without will power OF conscience
yet, by curriculum of strict diet.
baths. dumb-bells. steady work, hard
discipline and careful training
of habits, almost transformed. I'm
der a system of mingled sever
ity and incentives, they greatly
shorten their Imprisonment, and still
leave so improved that so per cent of
them become safe citizens. Encourag-
ing results attend the new methods
where tried in other states. The new
census reports show that crime has not
been increasing in our country the last
decade TO any such extent as in previ,
Gus ones, and Mr.. Wines tells us that a
closer study of the returns may show
that serious crimes have been decreas.
ing. No wise man doubts that proper
prison treatment will much aid theil
further decrease.