The Lamar register., 1901-12-25

In an address before the Social
Science Department of the Woman's
Club in Denver recently Mrs. Mauue
Ballington Booth made an earnest plea
in the Interest of her work among the
prisoners of the United States.
Mrs. Booth began by telling some
thing of the causes which led to tho
formation of the Volunteers of Amer
lea, at the head of which stand she
and her husband. She emphasized the
fact that the organization is distinct
from the salvation Army. She said
that 1t is purely American in nll Its
characteristics. having for its watch
words For God and Country" Then
she told of the Volunteer Prisoners
League, which she has now established
in thirteen prisons of the United States.
She painted In touching words the pic
ture of the men in the prisons and the
absolute hopclcssncss and pity of their
lives. How when the prison door
clangs behind them they are entirely
cut Off from life, its love, its rush and
Its sunshine, and that when they come
forth again they come with Il brand,
MS it We're, upon their forehcnds. NO
one will trust them enough to give
them employment, no one will help
them to u shelter, and therefore 1t Is
that they become what is known aS
habitual criminals.
"rhere may be many within the
prison who have transgrcssed the law"
she declared. There are many, arc
there not, who have trnnsgressed tho
law who are still in the worldt a criIn-
lnal Is one who perpetratcs crime. and
there arc many such who do not stand
behind the bars OF prison. For tho
people who say Once Il thief, always Q
a. t..fp = l.... ~
l have suffered and felt and prayed
with my boys, and / know it is not so.
could not come closer to them except
commit some offense and be sentenced
to prison, and | know that what are
known as hnbitual criminals, men Of
whom wardcns have said, DO for them
what you will and they Will be here
again in three months are three and
four years after their release leading
honest. upright, Industrious lives. If
one Of our Christian ministers should
come into his pulpit some morning.
open his Bible, read II verse and then
begin, My dear people. you are selfish.
1t is too bad and | am sorry for it. but
there is no hope and | am sorry for 1t.
but there is no hope for you: once sell
fish. always scliish:' and to another
portion of his flock say, You are hypo-
critics. n sinful lot. But have no word
of cheer for you. Once hypocritc, al
ways hypOcritc-if n minister should
do this some day you would all be
amazed. yet he would be no more illog-
ical than those Of you who say. Once
II criminal. always criminal After
all, are not the little crimes just as Of
fensivc in the sight of God:
There are many righteous people.
righteous people whose integrity Is so
intense that they can feel no atom OF
sympathy for those who have been
weak or unfortunate. yet even these
people cannot help but at least pity
the struggling wives and the helpless
children of the men who are in prison."
Mrs. Booth then told something Of
her two Hope halls. which are, she
says. homes for men who come from
prison. where they are screened just ns
surely from curious and morbidly in
qusitive people as though they were
living in their mothers home. No re-
pOrtcrS have ever crossed the threslI-
hold: no one except those who have
served at least one year in the pcnltcn-
tiary.