The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1895-05-09
THE PRISON SCHOOL
About To Close for the Term Of l894-5-lts
Great And Lasting Benefits to In
mates Told by Themselves
Every Inmate in The Institution Able to Read and
Naturalization a Factor
in Discipline.
in Discipline.


them and their own against the
world" it has been hideOusly portrayed;
and the impressions left upon the
minds of men were that all those be-
hind iron bars were fends and bruteS,
and were so used. The fact is, that
we are like any other large community;
our lives are as we make them. A
description of convict's life, how
ever, is not our purpose in this paper.
But with deep interest in everything
that tends to build up our fellow exile,
to make him better, and fit him to take
his place among men. we wish to show
the progress made during the past few
years to that end, especially in Still
water; and commencing with the
FIRST SCHOOL EVER ORGANIZED
in this prison, trace it to its present
perfect condition, thereby demonstrat-
ing that, what at first was considered
experimental, with no real faith in its
permanency or usefulness, that it would
ever have the least effect upon the
minds or hearts of men confined in
prison. has proven one of the greatest
agencies in driving crime from
their hearts and minds; by instilling
new hopes in life, new ambitions, and
wholesouled desires to rise above ex-
isting conditions, and become useful
| of ofu T
them in touch with those grand lives
that have moulded the worlds history,
by teaching them to read the
biographies and histories of noble men,
1t has opened their eyes to the vastness
of the worlds resources, when in their
ignorance they could not see beyond
the narrow confines of their own being
and little world. They begin to think
a thing they did not do before, and fol
the thinking man there is always hope
EXTRACTS FROM THE WARDEN S BIEN
NAL REPORT FOR 1884,
A cursory glance at this documen
clearly proves the great aid the schoo
has been toward a higher degree o
, prison discipline:
"It has been we'll said that education
! is the key to reformation. That with
= out the inculcation of good physical
mental, moral and industrial habits a
9 a basis, prison reform is out of tn
/ question:
: Again the report says:
e "The discipline of the climates durin
y the past two years has tended toward
- gradual improvement. The necessar
5 standard has been kept up with les
: punishment and with greater harmon
e than one or two years ago. There al
q fewer serious breaches of discipline
- and rarely an aggravated one; in COZ
sequence of which harsh methods {
n treatment have been wholly unnece
% sary. Corporal punishment neve
IT under any circumstances, inflicted"
- What is the cause of this better di
l. cipline? Simply that men are, undo
J. the school influence, becoming bette
They are studying, and the more me
study, the more subdued become tt
passions Instead of the mind beir
ly continually reverting to the past,
n the misery of the present, it is occ
pied with some new thought taxi
N from the school room, and the result
it that each man endeavors to do his be
Te to obey the rules, earn the respect
it his keeper, and shorten his stay
d, prison so that he may the sooner be
st | liberty to place in action the new res