The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-03-10
81. Stil1VMater Minn. Thursday, March 10, 1892.

to the path OF honesty at the age of SO
years after criminal career of A years, to
devote his life to the conversion of crimi
nails. And yet there are men who main.
tain that man who has served two or three
terms in prison is incOrrigible. find in the
last issue of this paper an article on which
1 have bestowed much thought. At the con-
ference of the New York Prison association
Judge Wayland expressed his opinion, that
meA who had by second or third cOnvic
ton shown that they were bent on crime,
could properly be called incorrigibles. He
said the state should pass law to confine
such men in prison for an indefinite term,
to terminate with death or reformation.
Others took the theological side of the
question. that every man was susceptible to
the grace of God and consequently could be
saved. This latter view seems to my mind
to be the right One l compare humanity
with plant or tree. If you put the seed
into good soil and take care of it, it will
flourish and bring forth good fruit. Again.
take young tree out of good and open soil
and put it in close proximity-say two feet
of grown tree and you will find that the
progress of its growth will be very slow and
it will have dry and withered appearance.
Why is this so? Simply because the grown
tree has its roots extend around the young
one and needing more nourishment draws
all the vitality away from the latter.
Transplant it again and give it proper care.
it will shoot up into the air and spread its
branches in short order. So it is with hui
manity. A boy who has been born of
criminals, has the seed of crime inculcated
in him even before his birth. What wonder
then. that being associated with low and
|debased people he should drift into the path
of crime and make the acquaintance of the
prison at an early age. Take this same boy
away from his surroundings. teach him the
truth of the Gospel, surround him with
proper associates and nine times out of ten,
he will be saved. Now, take a young man,
brought up by respected parents and sur.
rounded by the best of influences, he gives
hopes of an exemplary career. But alas.
for the hopes of his parents and friends
the serpent fingers near him. He makes
the acquaintance of some young men,
whom he believes quite respectable. Night
after night they meet. spending their time
in saloons or carOusing in houses of ill fame.
By and by he visits gambling dens. and
lOOsing more money than he wins, he
wishes to replenish lis pocket; his salary
being small. and knowing not how to pay
his debts he at last resorts to rObbing his en-
plOyer or, if baked in this scheme, he way
lays. some unSuSpecting stranger and re-
lieveS him of his cash. Caught, tried and
convicted he is sent to prison for term
of years. and all this because he has left his
good associates and has been thrown into
the society of low and debased men, who
like the tree. have sucked the vitality and
good out of his heart and left it bare.
After the expiration of his sentence on re,
turning home he finds that all his former
friends turn their backs on him. A few.
perhaps, tender their kind advice and we'll
wishes and there their efforts for his refOr.
nation cease. The fact of the matter is,
that most of the so called charitable people
do less than nothing for the ex convict
a few kind words of advice and he goes
from their presence. And yet, as L said
before, there is some good left in every hu-
man heart. l remember years ago on visit
ing an eastern penitentiary seeing pris
Oner with tears in his eyes. My brother on
mentioning it to the warden. was Informed
that one of his co prisoners had been killed
that day by belt from one of the machines
and that the shock of this event was the
cause OF his crying. This shows that there
was some feeling left in his heart. and
am confident that il some one would have
taken charge of him and rekindled the fire
which had almost died out. it would have
sprung up with stronger flame than ever
before. But in order to accomplish refOr-
nation of prisoners on large scope we
need scattered over the United States hun
dreds of such phiIanthrOpists as, for in
stance, Miss Linda Gilbert. who will sacri.
fee their lives and fortunes for the redemp-
ton and elevation of the ex criminal.
HECTOR.