The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-07
LUClFER ON PRISONS.
Writer in Convict Newspaper De-
Clares Devil Invented Penal
Code.
Hutchins Hapgood IN Ainslee's.

Hutchins Hapgood IN Ainslees.
"A very Interesting and able article in
Star OF Hope. the convict's newspaper. IS
Lucifer on Prisons published January I3
| or this year. The superintendent objected
to this ar. lie. APPARENTLY not SO because OF
| fits specific criticism as for its general cyni-
cal condemnation Of the criminal code and
penal Institutions Sing Sing 3.2--the au-
thor of several other able papers-tslls
how he was sitting in his cell when a
sprucely dressed individual appeared to him
and talked on the administration OF crirai-
nal lava maa more qualified to speak
authoritativeiy on such subjects than any
man now living This was Lucecfirer. The
writer. nevertheless. assures the inmates Of
having eaten nothing but dry bread, Drank
nothing but that curious concocuon served
10 US thrice day which some sarcastic
individual has dubbed coffee Lucifer saws
he has run up 20 Sing sing to look after
The Penal Code. which he claims to have
invented He has been in Mas, chusetts
ana other States trying to coun = act the
reforms IN prison regulations. an, then
came hess and found the same Old rules in
Lucifer had brought a number OF cigars 10
give to his friends among the keepers and
after ngnting one proceeded to tell the
story OF his TWO pet Inventions the Perai
Code and the punitive system He told
Very cleyerly how he had fooled mankind
INTO the adoption of the present system.
ranged to contiHe the convict5 for certain
terms IN prison under circumstances which
would make them serve him exceiiently. 1t
was, or course, necessary TO have love and
justice left out of the arrangement. II was
also necessary to decrease seif-respect, 50
he invented the prison stripes, the shaving
system As the growth OF Individuality IS
essential to progress. Lucifer arranged to
suppress it.
To this end 1 would ticket them with
numbers. like speciments In museum, 1
would establish rules that should confront
and throttle every natural expression OF the
ego; rules which, In their innexible bar
barity. should require that a man become
a machine. thus weakening the mental and
sappin gthe moral strength. would bar
fellows by which alone the good that Is
Is In him may find at once It's stimulus and
its expression
AS u final step. in order TO avoid the
chance of a convict becoming a good citi-
zen, LUcifer invented the lockstep. in Or
der To brand him forever In society as a
man who had done time
The iockstep u rather ingenious; It re-
quires a peculiar and noticeable carriage
OF the BODY. and an equally eccentric move,
time, these become habitual, and the re-
suits are rounding and slanting Of the
are QUITE unmistakabIe. The iockstsp is
also valuable in that, like the prison gaIb.
and the hair-ciipping. 1t hurts mans self
respect
Mrs. Booth and her work IN the prisons
Lucifer described as thorn In hts flesh:
She beats the DEVIL he said, and explained
that her doctrines were against his inter
ests because they practically inouicate that
prisons do not protect society:
punishnert It II largely-frst.
the effect Of social conditions; second, the
product Of the prison itself Direct your
efforts to removing causes, and effects as
appear The value of all punishment Is de-
termined solely by its practical utiity as
q deterrent: void of such utility II becomes
Immoral, In that punishment as punishment
is the prerogatiye Of the Almighty alone