The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-07
a CONVICT NEWSPAPER.
Everything From TypesettinS TO
Editing On the Star of Hope Done
bv Prisoners.
Hutchinc Hapgood in Ains!ee's,

Eutchin: Hapgood In Ains.eeS o.,or
The STAG oi Hope, the CONVICT He"sptIpeA
nj Sins-Slng may 90 more 10 MAKE Ano",.
10 The whole world the character anu ASoHS
OF the men OF the smaIie. anu Hio no. "a.
Fortunate world than any number OF visits
TO IN. prison. Remarkable articles iiasS
been written In this paper. written ~ IS
ularlable men. after the Gays MoIk ~ o'e
Ia their damp and unhealthy ceiIs-esIls -
bad as any, and strongly cThueuhed '! ti-o
uTesence superintendent. Ihelr i1eds @oous
society about the courts, the causes anu
chnract.r OF crime, ideas on prison reform,
the local color OF the PRISON, the cHat
acteriSiic language OF croShsi more ~.
ytrsa!ly. their sentimeHtauties, thsir Au-
,,orous attributes, their humanity IN gen
eral: the strange fact that they are hAe
AIN Uouy else. with d zine! SHSe uuS ~ -
environment in and out or prison, are iiiaSo
manifest ia these articles Inc result Is
iIG,.ed human document, ana II ~ouAd DC
hard to say too much III praise % tno NJ
raj poIicy which allows Such a Tree paper
10 De. published. The conNicts are theISSy
immensely benefited, and society may DC
helped to understand those VINO nave slL d 20
against it, and 10 progress In its inetnod Oh
'.'rhe editor, the contributors. the typeset-
ters the copy readers. all concern witi ths
editorial or mechanical aspect Of the Star OF
Hope wear the prison stripes. ano tiie pa
per is circulated only within the walls OF ti1e
State prisons of New York at SinS-SinG.
| Clinton and Auburn. although II occasional
| IN finds its way outside ,.
THE original idea was conceived oy sung
Sing No so 1.-THE editor-ln-Cnfeil, ana
heartily indorsed by the superintendent u
! STATE prisons, the Honorable Cornelius V.
, Collins No. l.So- and the announcements ii ,i,nt
I "A paper published by the convicts Wouiu
| have great educational value WITHIN the
prison and would exercise the minds OF the
! inmates, and thus fill d portion OF the lone
l ly hours which every convict must pass IN
/ his narrow cell. The sympathy between
| these two men. one an inmate OF tne prs,
| on serving a seven years sentence, ana
! III. other a prominent official, has given
the Star Of Hope breadth ana re epp,,d na,
] have attained Both men are very lnteiii-
| gently interested. not only In the point 0,
! View of siciety, but also in the welfare ana
| WAYS of thought and feeling Of the inmates:
| That accounts for the fact that many OF
, the articles in the paper express quite lear
| Icssly the criminals point Of View. Never,
! or at least. very seldom. does anything
, appear which allies Itself with essential
| wrong against essential right: the editor is
| srai onsiaughts on the existing order OF
things. on particular Judges. officials etc.
! Intelligent criticisms OF the machinery oil
| law and of society's methods in restrain
ing crime and treating criminals. The ed
itor and the superintendent are reformers
1 consequently the superintendent seems Ia
| allow the editor practically his own way
He desires free outlet Tor the ACTIVITY
IN the interest of free labor preventing
goods made in prison from being sold out
Side State institutions.
AS a matter of form, the chaplain of the
| prison is constituted censor. He looks ovel
! the proofs. but very seldom. indeed use'
the blue pencil. Lately however. there ha:
/ been change OF chaplains. and IL may b
I that the new man may act 50 that th'
/ uaper will become somewhat less sincerel.
the inmates organ than IL has been; tina
! 1; may tend to be limited more and NOR
! by a narrow and conventional censorship
This fear Is given point by an editorial II
, the anniversary number, April q. whicl
contains the warning: Articles critictsin
Z or indirectly rejecting upon society, III
courts, any public official cannot be pub
lished in our paper" But as this warming
had already appeared in earlier numbers
, and as articles had continued to appea
which. while essentially always on the sid
OF society, yet found things to eriticise i
some of the practical workings OF its ma
Z chinery. it il probable that it was only in
| tended TO explain to the more violent an
3 unreasonable contributors that mere abus
! OF existing conditions was not acceptable