The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-26
sons to which they had listened had
had the desired effect upon the young
NOT VERY OPTIMISTIC.
Rev. w. c. Pope Says Americas Ex-
pertinent Is Fatal.

Prison sSHnaaysawas yesterday gen.
orally observed by the churches of st.
Paul by -specfal services dealing with
the question. of reformation of Grim
inals, The proper system to be en-
ployed in confinement and the subSe-
quent relation of society. to the re-
leased convict xewere@ reviewed from
nearly all of the local pulpits. Rev.
w c. Pope; ofs the Church or the Good
Shepherd, in treating the subject OF
"Penology," said, in part, as follows:
I'm the creation of prisons and the
treatment of prisoners two ideas ought
to be dominant, the deterrent influence
on those outside and the reformation OF
prisoners within. Until the. beginning
CT this century the chief object of
punishment Of evil doors was by Sc
verify to brighten others into good be-
haVior. Hanging was the penalty for
stealing a sheep. During this century
the reformation of prisoners has been
the chief aim In order to accom-
pilSh this it is necessary to believe In
humanity. In the Science of penology
there is no place for the Calvinistic
doctrine of total depravity In
Adams fall we sinned all, and each of
us has sinned and fallen short Of the
glory of God. - But man is not totally
Gepraved. There is abundance of good
in him. The object of prison reform
is tc place an evil doer in such a po-
sition that he finds that wrong doing
does not pay but that Virtue does
Mr.. Pope referred to the various in
situations in this city and state with
words of high commentator.
He pointed to the Efnira reformato-
ry as the highest type of Christian
prison reform institutions, and stated
that, while the existence Of God was
not recognized in the. constitution of
the United States, the effort was made
to elevate mankind to as high a level
as possible, leaving God as unthought
OF as He was invisible. What most
people could do was outside of prisons.
They could prevent the youth from go
ing there, or help them after their re-
lease. Train the youth in ways Of holt
ness Keep him from crime. Morality
not based on faith was a house built
upon the sand. Honesty is the best
policy" was a good enough maxim, as
long as man was free from tempta-
ton. but policy had not much strength.
Only a sense of responsibility to a
personal God would stand the time
OF trial. The church and not goddess
education was the leaven which a
woman hid in three measures Of meal
and which was to leaVen the world.
Church members, not teachers, were
the salt of the earth. Education was
an admirable thing, but when substi-
tuted for the church it was atheism.
now trying a gigantic experiment.
Through all the Christian era, religion
and education have gone hand in hand.
Now education without religion is be-
ing tried as a preventive of immoral
ity and the experiment is proving itself
a failure. Crime is on the increase.
Our Jail is not filed with illiterate
men. They are men who are splendid
1easoners and debaters and philoso-
piers after heather type. The young
men in the north corridor of the Jail
look like a class Of high school grad
yates. The intellects Of our people
are being cultivated, their wits sharp
ened, their ambitions increased, as
never before in any country, and re-
ligion is not keeping pace with educa-
ton. The criminals of the next gener-
alton will not be charged with petty
larceny, but with the unlawful acqui-
sition of millions. The powerful mind
and gigantic schemes of Napoleon Be-
naparte were not under control Of re-
ligion, but. on the contrary, the lust of
conquest in him included the church
as well as Spain and Italy, An educa-
ton without religion is training tens
Of thousands Of Napoleons In our
midst.
At the Presbyterian church at Mer-
RAM Park J. S. Dodge, Of the State
Prison association, and Rev. w. G.
Covert spoke. ~