The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1898-04-21
Six Months so cents.

Whom l could name who have been
instrumental in reforming a number of
men by advising and aiding them un-
til such time as they could get en-
ployment. These men have never been
benefited by the criminal class. What
they do is done in an offhand way,
without ostentation or taking any par
ticular credit to themselves.
Showing man who is endeavoring
to reform that you have confidence in
him is of very great help to the man;
it has tendency to give him courage
to continue.
| remember the case of criminal
who had been put to work by sport
ing man at the earnest request of some
friends. On an occasion, shortly after
his employment he was intrusted with
several thousand dollars to convey to a
distant point of the city, to be used in
paying off. The money, placed in an
unlocked bag, was given him, and he
started on his errand alone En- route
it was necessary for him to pass
through tough neighborhood, which
had once been his resort, and he could
not resist the temptation to go short
distance out of his road to call in at
one of his old resorts and to open the
bag in the presence of the proprietor
and some of his old associates, to show
them the confidence that was placed in
him. There was little chance for
this man to go wrong; it was his pride
in his new life that caused him to
show his old associates the confidence
placed in him.
Reformed men, trusted in this way,
rarely go wrong; it is the exception to
the rule when they do. The man re-
ferred to in the case cited above is
reformed today, and occupies respon-
sible position. ] could cite a great
many cases Of reformation of profess
sional or supposed-to to- be- hardened Grim
inals, but space will not permit this.
The great trouble in bringing about
the reformation of criminals is the
difficulty of obtaining employment for
which they are adapted. individuals,
business firms or corporations will not
employ them without reference, and
there are not many who are willing to
give these men chance or who will
take any interest in them. L believe a
very large percentage of the people who
leave prisons after a first conviction
might be reformed if the opportunity
of employment were offered them; but
they arrive from the prison dressed in
prison clothes and shoes, with only
sufficient money to keep the wolf from
the door a few days, with no place to
obtain employment or assistance.
What are they to do?
The prison society and some of the
charity organizations may give tempo
rary relief, but prison associations have
not the means to keep men in idleness,
and they can not get employment for
all. Also, some of these men are too
independent to live on charity. They
run across their old associates, from
whom they receive assistance, and
finally yield to temptation. This is not
theory, but fact. 1 have known of
criminals begging for work and unable
to obtain it. 1 have known them to be
driven back into life of crime by the
pernicious system of running them
in" on suspicion, even while they were
employed. Some officers do not stop to
think of the great injury done by not
carefully investigating a case before
running in'' on suspicion man of
this kind. These men are very suspi-
cious, and consider themselves bounded
by these methods, and finally conclude
that they might just as we'll have the
"game as the name," and return to a
criminal career.