The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-05-26
FOR UNRULY STUDENTS.
The Academic Dungeon Is a Stern
Fact in Germany-PrisOn
Discipline.


committed to prison only by the civil
authority. In Oxford, it is true, the
vice chancellor deals with undergradu-
ate naughtiness, principally in the form
of debt and INSTRUMENTATION, for which
he may impose momentary penalty,
but he does not deprive the defaulter of
liberty. There is, or was, legend that
certain apartment under the old Clar-
endon building was really the UNIVERSE
ty ''quod,'' but for it's authenticity it is
impossible to vouch. Cambridge has it's
spinning house for female offenders
not lady students, but ladies who might
prove a delusion and snare to the mere
male undergraduate. There, if we ex-
cept the irksome penalty of ''gatfng"
(confned to college or lodgings after
stated hour), our academic efforts at
Incarceration may be said to end.
In Germany, however, the academic
dungeon is very stern fact. The Held
elberg "career" is famous. Every read
err of Mark Twain will recall his
entertaining description OF the place,
and how. he contrived to visit it. even
unwittingly enlsting as his guide
''herr professor" His pretext was to
see young friend who had ''got" "a
hours and had conveniently arranged
the day to suit Mark-for the German
student convict goes to prison on the
first suitable day after conviction and
sentence. If Thursday is not conven-
lent, he tells the officer sent to take him
to jail that he will come on Friday or
Saturday or Sunday, as the case may be.
The officer never doubts his word, and it
is never broken.
The prison is UP three flights of stairs,
and is approached by "Zugang" as
richly decorated with the art work of
convicts as the cell itself. That a part
ment is not roomy, but bigger than an
ordinary prison cell. It has an iron
grated window, small stove, two
wooden chairs, two old oak tables and
narrow wooden bedstead. The furni-
ture is profusely ornamented with carv-
ing, the work of languishing captives,
who have placed on record their names,
armorial bearings, their crimes and the
dates of their Imprisonment, together
with quaint warnings and denuncia-
tons. Walls and ceilings are covered
with portraits and legends executed in
colored chalk and in SCOT, the prison
candle forming handy pencil. The
prisoner must supply his own bedding,
and is subject to various charges. On
entering he pays about ten pence, and
on leaving similar sum. Every day
i'll prison costs sixpence; fire and light,
sixpence extra. The jailer supplies cof-
fee for trife. Meals may be ordered
from outside. Every prisoner leaves his
carte-de-v;site, which is fixed, with
of others, on the door of the
cell. This queer album is glazed to
protect the photographs.
Academic criminal procedure in Held
elberg is curious. If the city police ap-
prehend student, the captive shows
characterization card. He is then asked
for his address and set free, but will
hear more of the matter, for the civil au-
thority reports him to the university.
The Oxford regulation, by the way, is
in certain cases almost identical. In
Heidelberg the university court try and
pass sentence, the civil power taking no
further concern with the o4fense. The
trial is very often conducted in the pris-
oner's absence, andhe, poor wight, may
have forgotten all about his peccadillo
until the university constable appears
to conduct him to prison. But thither,
seeing he may choose his day, he al
ways repairs cheerfully. - London
Sketch.