St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-16
PRISONS AND PRISONERS.
Rev. William Wilkinson on tn
Duty OF the State.

Rev. William Wilkinson on the
Duty of the State.
Rev. William Wilkinson went to the
st. Cloud reformatory last week, and
yesterday gave to his ~pariShioners the
result of his observations on The State
and Its Prisoners" He said:
One of the most difficult and compli-
Gated subjects with which the state has
to deal is the treatment Of its prisoners.
1t is an easy thing for men, with a the
orY. who have never seen inside a Jail,
to describe methods of dealing with the
criminal classes; but the facts presented
by crime are so many and so terrible;
the ideal to be reached so high and de-
sirable: the power of habit so strong,
and the influence of association so great
that even the WiSeSt plans, severity on
the one hand and tender, even Senti-
mental love on the other, has been able
to put Into operation, have failed of
their aim in a large number of
eases. We have not yet arrived
at the mecca of prison ideals,
but all the time we are improving, and
specialists are doing much to advance
with rapid strides prison life for these
wards of state. 1t is to be doubted il
ally w GSINll Onll OllOH vi
rangements, and at least, one of our de-
partments better results than Mime
sofa. At st. Cloud there is the state re-
formatory. it is for males under thirty
a of age. The indeterminate SEN
tence plan is adopted, and the indus
trious plan | may call it. No person
sent there can serve less than six
months. He may have to serve much
more, even as long as five years; it de-
ponds upon his conduct. Every help
full influence is thrown round him. and
every encouragement given to make Of
him a useful and trustworthy member
of society. AS he shows that he can
be trusted, he is cOnided N by
slow stages till he is sent
home on parole. The prisoners are
made to work, and it is hard work, in
the stone quarry and in stone dressing.
To me it looked as if at such heavy
work with such constant, unremltting
diligence, the hours-ten for the greater
part of the year-are too long. Eight,
supplied with well-cooked food. They
are not let talk to each other, except
the frst-class men. who may talk at
dinner. The men who first go to prison
have to eat in the cell alone. The cells
are large, light, warm aud airy.
There is a good deal of, as l think,
undue alarm felt 10y the stone men of
st. Cloud lest the prison interfere with
their interests. S~elfiShnesS is at its
base, surely: that the state has a right
to use its criminals in honest work.
and make the best of that work
is a s%elf-eyident fact. But the state
would and the state could have no
moral right to sell stone or any other
product of prison labor for less money
| than like things could be produced by
ordinary methods of trade. or the state
would demorallZe commerce and dam
age the interests of its own business,
contribute to oppressive wages and III
duce crime. This unaerselling, the SUI
perintendent told us,Ehas never been
done by st. Cloud; indeed, all the
stone yet sold is only $4,000 worth. 1t
building, as much is needed at the re-
formatory, and much of the stone quar-
ried by the men held there be used. 1t
is very needful that the work be
varied. Seed growing would be pleasant,
light, refining, useful and probably
profitable work for a large number of
those who are not physically fit to work
on stone. 1t should be taken in hand,
and other industries also if possible, SO
that all the work be not in one line, or
in competition with one trade.
"a careful study of the last report of
the reformatOry is very instructive, but
| fear, if it is honestly done, by many
persons it will shatter their views--the
man VINO thinks, for instance, that edu.
cation will keep the people %virtuous.
Here were this last year no men, only
10 of whom ann read and write. Very
many of them belonged to trades