The Sunday globe., 1901-06-09

prison by some dyspeptic judge for a
term of years simply appalling, when
the consequence of their servitude is
realized or taken into account. And
what judge or jury ever goes deeper
into the verdict and sentence than to
put the convicted criminal behind pris.
on walls, where he will be no longer a
menace to society?
Separation from wife, children, rela-
tives and friends and subjected to the
ignoble routine of felon, without any
rights bat that Of mere existence, ac.
cording' to certain specified rules. All
the comforts, associations, indulgences
and privileges of the outside world cut
off, at one fell swOOp and restricted to
a cell, large enough to lie down in at
night and in the day time compelled
to labor, in silence, under the eye Of a
guard. One hour of such life is tor
ture, one day a never-to-be-forgotten
horror, and one month or year an eter-
nifty of hell, for month or year are
equally alike to the benumbed and
nightmare stalking automatum, who
sees everything transpire in his prison
environment as the sleeper sees the
actions and incidents of dream. He
will laugh to please his guard, or to
reassure his visiting relative of his
nerve, he will talk rationaAy and seem
interested to please anybody, he viii
look pleased and be the personitication
of obedience and deferential bearing
towards officials and visitors, he is a
man without temper, fault or vice
he is, in fact, perfection-in human
form, or he will be granted neither
privilege nor favor, such as writing
to a waiting and faithful wife or
mother, or speaking for a few min
utes to the one or the other on their
monthly or stated visits to the prison.
This unnatural restraint of all the
passions, impulses and emotions Of our
frail human nature goes on for years
nay, sometimes for ten and even
twenty years, The sufferer endures
this humane treatment with only the
one thought, idea or determination, of
which his benumbed faculties are ca
nightmare stalking automation who
uity, from hour to hour, day to day,
and year to yeaT-LIBERTY. Ay,
freedom: to once more have the ter
rible weight taken from off his head
and the right to be displeased even
with himself, To walk or to run,
whichever he chooses, to go to bed or
get up as the desire exists; nay! to
even have desire to do anything. But,
above all. and any Of these, to satisfy
his curiosity if the world really exists
as he thinks he once knew il did, or
whether his idea of the thing was
simply another one of the feeting hal
lucinations which chased each other
through his brain!
Under this humane system he has to
bow, cringe and play the hypocrite, In
so FAR as pretending to be pleased with
everybody, from the warden and chap
lain down to the guard who locks him
up, after working him twelve hours at
Iron molding or making hoes; and,
gracious heavens for all this he is re.
warded every Sunday by being permit
ted to talk at dinner with his wretched
fellows for the half-hour they are at
table, as, Of course, it does not take
five minutes to dispose of the elaborate
menu set in front Of him.
The only human being to recognize
the fact that the prisoner has soul,
under the modern and latest humane
treatment is the superintendent of the
kitchen. He tries to feed him; and,
without food even His Holiness, the
Pope, would soon be a pagan; at least
he wouldn't exist very long as live
Christian. The chaplain Of the mod
ern penitentiary does his duty like all
well regulated and regularly ordained
gentlemen of his cloth, in that per-
functory and unctuous manner which
has depopulated the churches on the
outside of the vast majority of male
communicates He distributes bibles
and tracts to the prisoners, breaches
to them from the selected texts, points
the road to heaven, and goes up town
for his dinner and carriage ride!
But. what treatment, then, If this
modern humane system does not fill
the bill, should the State extend to-
ward those it deems unworthy or NOR
ally and legally disqualified to be at
liberty?
I'VE are all sinners" eXclaims the
State, rather the bible upon which the
State is founded so eXclaims and en-
phasizes. The poor devil Of a prisoner
has no need for this exclamation. His
explanatory pronouncement that he is
a sinner is unnecessary. He has been
found out. There is this remarkable
difference between sin found out and
sin unconfessed-the former degrades
him who commits it, not alone in the
eyes of his fellow-men, but in his own
estimation or inward consciousness, So
peculiarly constructed is weak, vain
man that he is enabled, by a system
of mental logic, to convince himself
of his entire respectability correct be-
havior and good citizenship while COM
mitting sin or violating the legal stat
utes, until his fall or discovery 1t is
needless to say that he is accepted by
society and his fellow-man at his own
moral worth. But when discovered
when he falls, his reasoning faculties
bring home to him his moral turpitude
and degradation, and his fellow-cit1-
zens repudiate his fellowship He
then becomes a prisoner to the State,
and is compelled to pay the penalty
which the law provides for his partic-
ular sin or crime. And now the State
entrusts his reformation and the eXac-
ton of this penalty to its delegated
servants-the prison officials. While
the admission is public that we are all
sinners, it is a consoling thought to
some that we are not all equal sinners.
And the State, which knows, recog-
nizes this fact Now, the first Obliga-
ton the State owes the fallen sinner,
whom it has imprisoned, is to surround
him with environments that shall not
further degrade him; and, its first
dptv 20 antrIet his lypppinp IN ser.
wants who shall not, Pagan-like, as
sumo the attributes of gods, but who
shall be conscious Of their common hu-
man weaknesses to temptation and sin,
Who shall, in fact, be conscientious
Christian men and women. We are
grateful that we have lived to see