The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-02
Do NOT JUDGE
MEN HASTILY.
The Unfortunate and ErriHg Are Not
Necessarily Criminal.
Instances Showing That They Are Sometimes
Hounded Into Crime by Injudicious
Applications Of the Law.

from the unfortunate and err!ng, my eyes
were arrested by sentence which l had
marked with a pencil, and which read thus:
God alone knows how ! tried to resist
temptation-how often / did resist it-aDd
at last how succumbed."
1t was sad letter all through, written by
young man with as fair a countenance as
you would want to look upon, who at the
time OF writing was serving out q sentence
III one OF our prisons, says the PitlSburg
Dispatch. Thus he pours forth his SORROWS
and poignant regrets: After the lapse OF
twenty years. what a sad thing it is to find
myself amid ruined houses. TO sit down in
my lonely cell and say: Thus far life has
been a failure Yet to how many is this
the wretched summing up at the end Of
single score of years from the time that rea-
son takes the helm. Also, that so few who
start wrong ever succeed in finding the right
way. life proving, even 10 its last burdened
years, a miserable failure. Am L to be one
of the few who shall succeed in finding the
right way? Or shall | go down with the
many who know no returning?
His story was sad one. When a mere
youth in another city he had been inveigied
into the commission of crime which re-
suited in his imprisonment. Without the
courage to face public opinion when his
city in the hope of redeemlng his character.
without advising his widowed mother and
sister of his intentions. Under an assumed
name he made brave effort to secure en-
ployment, without success, until he at last
found himself friendlesS and penniess
among strangers. At that critical moment
he encountered an acquaintance who had
served with him in prison, TO whom
HE DETAILED HIS TROUBLES.
His friend expressed a Willingness to help
him, and so placed in his hand a watch
which he requested him to pawn and retain
half the proceeds. He hurried off to
pawnshop, disposed of the watch and was
ON his way back to his companion, when
rude hand was laid upon his shoulder and
a harsh voice Informed him that he was
under arrest. After few weeks cOnfne-
ment in jail he was arraigned for having
stolen goods in his possession, aud after
very brief trial was sentenced to prison. 1t
was i'll vain for me 10 lnteTcede with the
Judge who sentenced him TO have mercy on
him. The poor fellows record was laid be-
fore the Judge stating that he had already
done time in prison, and SO he gave him a
severe sentence. 1t was when his time in
prison was almost out that he thus wrote to
me, and at the close of his letter he tells me,
what l had been advising him all along, "a
have taken means to inform my mother and
sister of MY Imprisonment, which thought
would be easier for them 10 bear than the
anxiety which my continued silence would
cause"
On being discharged he called to bid me
good-by, and then hurried home with the
earnest resolve TO lead straightforward
life. For q long time l hoped TO hear from
him, but no word was received, and so with
the many whom l had hoped TO hear good
things of but who had been caught in the
whirlpool of vice and ruined, ceased to
think about him. A year passed, and was
away enjoying brief season of rest at the
seashore. One night while passing along
the brilliantly lighted streets, which were
crowded with gay throng OF pleasure
seekers, | suddenly felt touch upon my
shoulder, and turning around l found N.Y.
self face to face with the young man whose
story l have just related. Leaning on his
arm was beautiful young lady who bore
a striking semblance TO him, and whom he
introduced to me as his sister. The moment
lie mentioned my name to her she ex-
claimed On my brother has
TOLD MOTHER AND ME ABOUT YOU.
And then the two went ON to tell me his
troubles, and how he had succeeded in find
ing honest employment and was at that time
enjoying a brief rest kindly given him by
his employer. happier. more hopeful
Young man | never talked with than this
one whom the Judge who sentenced him to
prison, In private conversation with me,
pronounced thief, and also warned me
that l was wasting my time in trying to do
anything for him.
i am very lfoo 10 tilGL the Sa09ulne
hopes inspired by those who have been over
taken in the commission of crime are often,
possibly in the large majority of cases,
doomed to be disappointed, yet l have
learned from long experience that the harsh
judgments which are sometimes expressed
by those whose duty it is to deal with Offend
ers are occasionally demonstrated to be
cruelty unjust. My experience further leads
me 10 the conclusion that hnitely more in-
justice is done to law-breakerS by undue
severity than by the judicious exercise of
mercy.
In the divine administration the most
prominent feature in the punishment Of Of
tenders is that of mercy always, and TO the
most palpably guilty. With us, a criminals
word never counts for anything, while
hound of a detective, who dogs the dis
charged criminals footsteps, bars him in
every possible way against finding honest
employment, and by his persistent persecQ-
ton compels him to seek the society of
those of like character with himself and be-
come partakers in their iniQuties is allowed
to blight and blast the unfortunate wretch
and compel him against his efforts and in
clinations to remain criminal TO the day of
his death.
Here is another letter in my batch, from
an unfortunate man, locomotive engineer
who had stopped over in our city, beng
temporarily out of employment and who
was accused of stealing watch while in a
state of intoxication. A Ii iserable old turnip
was the watch.
NOT WORTH DOLLAR AT THE BEST,
But in spite of the poor fellows pleadings,
and simply because he brought no one to
vouch for him, he got a hard sentence. The
fact was that the man was so utterly hui
inflated by it that he preferred to endure
anything rather than allow his friends to
know of his trouble. And so he was con-
fined to feon's cell, though he had spot
less character and a good record as skilled
engineer. The letter which now lies before
me requests me TO come and see him,
Through a friend, who keeps his secret for
him, he was enabled to hear from his family
regularly. His little child had just died. his
aged mother lay Frustrated with sickness,
while his wife was breaking her heart over
his strange and unexplained absence. I
trust that the good Lord will not deal too
barshly with an officer in the prison and n.y.
self for the white lies which we helped the
poor man to send to his wife apologizing for
his absence, but studiously coBcealing the
fact that he was serving out his sentence in
prison. And what a time we had of it
when the man was out getting him into
passably good shape and sending him home
to his dear ones. AS | sfterward learned,
his Identity never became known as having
done time in our prison, and by honest at
tention to his duties his unfortunate exper-
fence In this city was in measure forgotten.
Here IS another conclusion to which have
come. If those whose duty it is to pass
sentence upon their fellow-men had any
conception of what month or year taken
out of ones life really meant-if they only
knew the utter degradation felt by one who
is compelled to wear the garb Of prisoner
and bear the reproach through all the years
to come Of having been convict, they would
not SO fippantly mete out to the poor I'M
fortunate one-year or ten-year sentence.