The Sunday globe., 1901-07-21
TMelfth Pnper.


years imprisonment, he proposes In the
columns Of the Globe to tell 80 plain, unvar
nished tale Of life in modern penitentiary,
-EDIroRl
Surely the heart can not be corrupt
nor the mind diseased in the sense
that it is predisposed towards crime,
when verses such as have been repro
duced are the emanations of a convict
undergoing the penalty inflicted by law
for his alleged crime. And this crime
is 100 often alleged rather than
proven. which accounts for the nu-
merous pardons issued by the chief eX-
ecutives of the State and Nation. The
man who says that a criminal convict
ed in our criminal courts and SEN
fenced to a term Of imprisonment,
should be compelled to serve out his
sentence without cOmmutation or par
don is an individual who is thoroughly
ignorant of the procedure of our courts
of law. or he is a self-contained and
cold-blooded human being who was
never subjected to temptation and in
whose breast there is no sympathy for
his erring and unfortunate fellow man,
And, perhaps, if measured 10y the
standard of justice or mercy, or both,
which he would have enforced against
the fallen when his time comes to APP
pear in the heavenly dock before the
Great Judge of all he would discover
that even his perfection lacked sufii-
cient to prevent his translation from
an unfeeling mortal to a winged angel
But, in our association with tens Of
thousands of American convicts, we
have never encountered a solitary in
-N, nf a Nficnnnr aClfinu for
pathy or mercy in preference to an un.
prejudiced investigation into the mo-
tives and the crime for which he was
undergoing Imprisonment We refer,
here. of course. to the accidental or
first term prisoner The professional"
saws nothing either way. He is thor
oughly acclimated to the justice meted
out by the courts, and contents him
self with a sneer at the whole outft OF
Judge, jury, police and witnesses. He
never looks for exact justice, touching
the crime for which he is araigned al
though he may be guiltless of the same.
He knows and feels that he has COM
mitted numberless uhdetected crimes,
and hence he philosophically receives
a sentence for the particular otfense
which he did not commit as an equa-
tion, so to speak, for the many he es-
capped paying the panalty. He does not
brood in prison over the injustice
meted out to him; on the contrary he
felicitates himself on his smartness or
cunning in getting off with less num-
Der of years than he anticipated.
1t is not so with the large majority
Of first termers. BY our system of pay
ing in proportion to the convictions,
which prevails in almost all the States,
the prosecuting attorneys and farmer
iurys, or what is worse, professional
jurys" in cities, many innocent men
are sent to prison and others receive
punishment out Of all proportion to
their violations of law
But this paper was not intended to
cover the making of convict but the
unmaking of one, as far as the society
which immures him can do so. AS
preliminary to the introduction, with
some comments of a recent scheme in
this direction, we reproduce the follow
ing verses, left over from the last pa
per. on prison Reform" and call at
tention to the same as an evidence
of everything but that depravity which
a large section of the unthinking pub
lie believes is inseparable from the cit
izen who is tried, convicted and sent
to the penitentiary:
Low kneeling at my cot, in prayer
/ saw last night a Vision fair;
Her sighs perfumed the balmy air
Descending from above:
Soul thrilling as the throb Of lutte
Her angel voice in fond salute
"Rest, sad one rest" she said, and
mute
I gazed with soulful love.
Glowed her bright presence, till my
cell
Illumined with light; reflected fell
The dazzling radiance wherein dwell
Gods glist'ning gold rob'd choir:
In tender pity beamed her eyes
OF azure pure-fain would I rise;
She sees, and watts forgiVing skies
Our mutual hearts desire,
Rise soon thou shalt from earth" she
said
And gliding came, Light DER my
head
In glorious canopy she spread
Her plumed wings for fight:
peace and farewell-knowest thou
me"
Mother, cried-dear saint 'tis thee!
All! set thy weary first-born free
And end my troubled night!
The city bells of Christmas morn
Ring out their notes "a Christ is
bornl"
Rise sinners, rise! of freedom shorn
My Son will comfort thee!"
The changing bells and joyous chimes
Now me full walked And cares sad
lines
My brow left smooth, as in those times
climbed her sainted knee!
How gently falls on fresh young hearts
The love Of kin and early ties!
'Tis pure and soft as snow that starts
To mortal earth from heavily skies
But counter currents sometimes drive
The falling fakes in storm masses,
Thus outcasts OF the human hive
Are toss'd, till passions storm passes
The scenes Of youth so seldom fade
That mental pictures then obtained
OF all that pass, in light and shade.
Develop when they're fully trained;
And thus the kind or vicious mood
They see in parents love or strife
Directs their minds to peace or feud,
In counter currents all through life
Before the lens of youth we pose,
And Natures ties the mold retains,
In passion, as in calm repose
The impress of our lives remains.
Our actions caught upon such plates
When free, or barrd by dungeon door,
Stand forth to curse or bless their
fates