St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-20

on the road to neIl?'' Don't
know that am,'' is the usual reply.
well, you are. God is angry with the
sinner every day. Don't you realize
that you may die any day? and after
death there is no repentance. God will
not listen to you then, but will doom
you to endless punishment" Under
this style of preaching it is we'll estab-
lished fact that the unconverted, eSpe-
cially convicts, become hardened. The
reason of this is simple.
They Are Already Condemned
both by the law of the land and their
own conscience. and the words which
should be unto life are only greater
condemnation, leaving the lost one more
hopelessly hardened. The human heart
today is already calloused by the beat
ings of this doctrine. But when you go
to uplift the fallen. appeal not to the
sense of sin and guilt. but appeal to the
divine love and longing. In brief, do
as Jesus did, for let me say once more,
the Christ in Jesus appealed to the
Christ i'll man, and unless the Christ in
us appeals to the Christ in fallen ones,
our efforts will fall short of salvation.
Assure man that he is still Gods child;
that nothing can change that fact, moth
ing dissolve that relationship; that his
divine individuality remains forever I'M
touched by sin, Just as pure in him to-
day as in the purest child; that God
ever sees that perfect, and loves him UNI
cbanginglY; that God never is and can
not be angry with him; that He does
not punish, but that sin inficts all pun
ishment; that God is the refuge from
sin. sickness and suffering. DO this and
you will soon see that Christ nature~re-
spending, as [ saw during my recent
three days visit at the North Dakota
penitentiary.
The gentlemanly warden of the peni-
Tertiary, G. Ii. Haggart, and his
estimable wife, did all in their power,
consistent with the discipline of the in
stitution, to facilitate my missionary
work among the inmates.
Strict discipline is maintained, and
perfect cleanliness marks every spot.
The inmates number above ninety;
more than at any time past in the
history of the penltentiary. One
feature was a great relief to me, and
that was the absence of the striped con-
Wet clothing. The men all wear the
garb nf a common laborer, and | trust
no change will ever be made. Just here
and now | want to rivet the thought OF
the people upon this subject. AS the
number of inmates becomes greater, |
AM told this clothing will be provided.
But, ask. is 1t necessary? Can it not
be avoided? This is serious matter,
though to those who have not given it
thought and attention it may not seem
to be. Bat know that when that ring
striped clothing is put upon a
man trans farrinp him info an
ugly animal, deep blow is
struck at his self-respect. 1t is one
more link in the chains of degradation,
and one that cuts every time the eye of
a visitor falls upon him. He wants to
stink out of sight and is filled constant
ly with a hatred of his garments. Strike
at mans self-respect and you strike
at his only redeeming quality; then
how can we expect to reform him?
There is far more manlineSs apparent
among the men at the North Dakota
peniteDtiary that where the convict dress
is worn. Let us not seek to crush that
manhood in any way. Punishment is
salutary; but humiliation, inflicted as
punishment, discourages and generally
prevents the uprising of all that is man
Iy in a man. Therefore, those who
have anything to do with criminals,
whether lawyers, judges or keepers,
should avoid anything and everything
humilating to the offenders, aside from
the humiliation of punishment. The
only humiliation that works good is that
which the sense of guilt and punish
ment inhicts.
Music Affects Them.
Although some of the prisoners Outlines
ieered after some Christian worker had
preached at the penitentiary, yet Mr..
Haggart had observed that music af-
fected them deeply, often to tears; and
| was surprised and delighted to find
bird cages hanging in front of the cells
on two tiers, with two or three birds i'll
most of the cages. A row of healthy
plants extends around the walls, and
can be seen from the cells. The singing
Of the birds in the large room sOundly
very sWeetly, and the men expressed
great appreciation of the sense of COM
panionShip their presence and notes af-
forded.
[ asked myself the question: "Why
does music call up the good and the
tender in hardened hearts?" And the
answer came like an echo: because
music expresses harmony" Then in
an instant came the thought: IF a
gospel expressing harmony be preached
to them it will touch the same feeliugS."
And during the three days visitation
among them | witnessed that this was
true.
Here in this prison home found men
of all ages, from the old man of prob
ably siXty-five down to the boy of six
teen. One old man said to me: Il
wish you could come here every Sun
day; you couldn't do anything with an
old man like me, of course, but there's
young boys here, and some OF them that
might do great thing for them, and |
want to see the I'm taking better way"
| answered.: You are mistaken when
you say nothing can be done for you;
there is just as much good in you as in
those who are younger" ooh. no, no."
Chris sa of any kind you are mis- O
taken again." answered. Love of
goodness is Christianity, and what was
that in you which made you say. L
want TO see those boys helped? 1t was
your love OF goodness-now that is
In an instant the old |
mans face was af1ame and eyes full of |
tears. The music had touched the |
chord supposed to be broken, and 1t was |
to the harmony OF love divine. |
Watch, OH, Christian, for the Christ in |
man, and you will find it.
About. week before my visit four
boys had been brought to the peniten-
tiary, the youngest being sixteen years |
of age. The two oldest were sentenced |
to three and half years. the two young
est for life. This last sentence is uni |
versally condemned, and our laws |
should forbid life sentence to be put |
upon young men under a certain age |
As the rosy face and black eyes of the |
youngest appeared at the cell door. l |
said: at looks strange to see this baby |
face behind prison bars" | have since |
thought much about these boys, and
long for the day when an institution for