The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-05-19

ness of that lonely cell is born new pur-
pOse-a purpose which carried out, will do
more for himself and society than all the
prisons and penalties Ill the world.
Now what should the State do to encour.
age this penitent, hopeful man? We know
what it does do. Turns him out empty.
handed. utterly dependent. to face alone a
cold and scOrnful world. He is despised
and rejected by men. The reminders of his
crime follow him like haunting spirit. At
every turn he meets a sneer or taunting
smile. After herOically struggling to re.
form, he yields again to temptation. He
steals another horse. burglarizes another
house, or fOrges another check. Not be-
cause he was not in earnest when he formed
that resolution in his prison cell. but be-
cause, from his own basis of reasoning,
there seemed nothing else in the world for
him to do. Good resolutions are highly
cOmmendable. but they do not satisfy
hunger. Noble resolves challenge our
warmest admiration, but they do not clothe
the naked. The cravings of hunger. the
WretchednesS of exposure, and the hope
lessnesS of despair are powerful incentives
to crime. Necessity for the moment over
comes the better purpose. The once peni-
tent prisoner is again driven to his life of
crime. Society is again made to suffer.
The State is encountered with additional
expense and in spite of all precautions the
rigors of the law have proved in vain.
The enactment Of some law, for the
amelioration of the condition and prospects
of eX-cOnvicts. should provide for two
things-a sufficient sum to enable the pris.
Oner to support himself while starting anew
and guarantee of employment for linn
tod fir1n Oft h ro1n
enough to enable him to 20 to a remote part
of the world and begin life anew. far more
than half of the difficulties of reform would
be removed. But turned out. as he is. with
only money enough to last him until he be-
comes desperate from hunger and lack OF
employment, the result is always inevitable
and the same. Before prisoner is liber-
ated he should be allowed to fit himself for
the life to which he is to return. and be
gradually relieved OF prison restraints.
Such treatment would soften the heart of
the prisoner and molify his feelings of bit
terness. and teach him that life of recti-
tude is worth living. The discipline ap-
piled to him should be humane. 1t should
prepare him for liberty. 1t should permit
him to earn. before his release. sufficient to
make him partially independent of the cold
patronage of his fellow men-appealing to
reliable charity of society.
If the more fortunate are unwilling to
offer helping hand, what shall these poor
Outcasts do to be saved from ruin and de.
structiOn? Whittier shall they look for aid
and encouragement? What shall they do
to escape fate worse than death? These
are questions which society must answer
questions not only of life and duty, but of
time and eternity. All the voices of right,
charity, justice and truth ask them again
and again. Sixty thousand human beings
in penal servitude! Forty thousand under
twenty one years of age-mere youths with
plastic and uniformed characters-born with
hopes and aspirations; born with faults and
faltering weaknesses; endowed with minds
and immortal souls. If God has created all
men equal. the ninety.a and nine should
strive to reclaim the one who has gone
astray.
In every heart, whether it be that of the
rudest savage or the most highly developed
specimen of manhood, there blooms. at
some time. in pure and undefiled loveliness,
the immortal flower of hope. Cherished
and cultivated. it may be made to supplant
everything nOXious and debasing. and be-
come a thing of everlasting beauty and
goodness. Obstructed and perverted it may
become nOxiOuS itself and communicate its
blight to all with whom it may come in CON-
tact. Should we not prevent blight, decay.
deterioration and death by cultivation,
rather than to try to cure the evil results of
negligence, apathy and carelessness by the
destruction of the unfortunate victim?
When the object of law shall have become
two fold; to reform the prisoner as well as
punish the crime; to reclaim the offender as
we'll as protect the offended; to stay the
evil tendencies of the heart as we'll as man
acle the hands; to strengthen the conscience
as we'll as oppose the evil purpose; to ex'
hibit gentleness in reproving as we'll as
sternness in punishing-the tenderness of
Christ and the justice of God-the object of
punishment will have been accomplished
and the results effective and satisfactory.