The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1893-03-30

makes them deaf to suggestions of the
Jail, the gallOwS and withered reputa-
ton; they are possessed" and cannot
shake off the desire that drives them to
deeds of darkness and shame. The third
class of criminals is composed of those
who habitually lead a life of vice: they
do not start out with the intention of
committing crime; they are led to it by
their vice. The drunkard has no inten-
ton of beating his children or of steal
ing his neighbOr's property, or of plung-
ing the knife into his cOmrade. but he
is led to these acts under the influence
of his vicious habit The gambler sits
at the table with a conscience at peace
with the whole world, but the necessi-
ties of his profession, the associations
he maintains, the sort of life into which
his vice leads him, the vulgarities and
prOfanities to which he is obliged to
listen and to give utterance, the terrible
risks he takes, the sudden feverish ex-
elements to which he is eXpOsed-al
drag him down, down.
The fourth class is composed of those
who are criminals by inclination; the
bent of their mind is in that direction:
crime is congenial to their malignant
nature. Strange as it may seem, they
represented by men who, after passing
through several stages, acquire the dis
position which seeks crime for crimes
sake The point at which crime is per
petrated, not to attain any object by it.
but solely for it's own sake: not as a
means to all end. but as delight in it.
self, is the eliminating point in the
criminals career. In criminals of this
character there is perfect perversion
of conscience: instead of feeling re-
morse for the wrong they have done.
they feel remOrse for the wrong thew
have not succeeded in doing. 1t may
take number of years of criminal ex-
perience before this metamOrphosis of
conscience takes place, before the light
in the soul is changed into darkness.
These four classes may be grouped
into two ranks-criminalS by accident
and confirmed criminals. In conclusion.
the criminal is a man whose faculties
are not we'll balanced. In other words.
the development in him is not harmO-
NOUS; some parts of his nature are ex-
aggerated and others manned. Crime
is theresult of yOking together unequal
ly developed parts. Let man have
ambition, but if his sense of right is as
vigorous as his ambition the one will
neutraliZe the other and the conduct
will be even. Let man have lively
taste for costly things, for jeWelry and
pictures, let him cOvet them with all
his might, but if he has also keen sense
of dignity he will not cOndescend to
soil his name at any price. His passion
for one object will be cOunterbalanced
by his equally burning passion for an
other, and these two tendencies will
keep him steady.
Our schools and churches, our moral
platforms must have for their aim the
harmonious education of man. A child
who has well-developed imagination
but a poorly developed memory will be
continually tempted, in spite of relig-
ious restrictions, to eXaggerate. He
imagines more than he remembers. If
we would devote closer attention to the
moral training of children from the
cradle there will soon be stronger and
purer humanity.
Just as the twig is bent the trees
Inclined"