The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-04-17
A Reply to '.G. T.

II ~ LAoA WCCh uIhItOh tuoT0 dp-
| peared an article signed by one
sc. T." which amused us greatly.
We admired its caustic irony, its
| lflippant disregard for truth, its match
less wit, its broad charitableness, its
paucity of facts, and the artless man.
ner in which &c. T." attempts to make
us believe that buttermilk is really ice
cream, even after we had. personally
picked up spoon and tasted bit of
each. All this amused US greatly; and,
as we perused his essay on to the end,
we could not help imagining that &c.
T." was either suffering from an en-
| bryo tombstone on top of his head or
else is under the impression that be-
cause he, &c. T." (which we are inclined
to think stands for Great Thoughts)
believes that the ex-prisoner is much
abused individual, others would think
likewise after reading what he said on
the subject.
According to Sc. T., there is no hope
whatever for the ex-prisoner; and that,
to use his own words, she is only in de-
mand by the police after some crime
has been committed and a substantial
reward has been offered"
If wooden Indian had penned the
foregoing sentence he certainly would
have blushed on reading it over. AS a
bit of satire it is sublime and quite
tropical; but, if 1t has been launched
in good faith as profound logic, then
it is too utterly absurd to demand
further attention. We know that this
is vastly overdrawn. We also know
that when the police make an arrest
that it is not u leap in the dark affair
with them. We also must acknowledge
that when the ex-prisoner deliberately
throws himself into the vortex of the
so-called under world, it is not surpris-
ing if he finds himself among the first
to be suspected. Right here we may
ask: What sent him to such unsayory
surroundings? Did Moses lead him
there? Was it the police that drove
him to take the plunge? Was it the
church? Was it society-or perhaps it
| was the unleashed mob that did it
Candor must compel him to admit that
it was none of the above forces. Echo,
however, answers that he himself is re.
sponsible for being found there.
When the discharged prisoner once
more takes up the duties of citizen,
would it be paying investment for
him to attempt to conceal his past rec
ord, reject all kindly offers of assist
ance in the way of employment, etc.
| The many failures of those who have
attempted to do this refutes the propo-
sition as being both unwise and in-
sanely foolish. Ii you reject such
assistance through pride and an ex-
alted confidence in your own ability to
succeed alone, then blame no one if
you have the misfortune to make a
miserable failure of it. But, on the
| other hand, you accept such assistance,
| and this means not an immediate royal
road to-wealth and an influential posi-
ton, but it does n can an opening
which eventually may bring you wealth
and influence. If, no ever, you are a
misanthrope, conditions will be ad-
justed according to your individual in
c1inatiOns.
&c. T." also sagely remarked chat
the discharged prisoner should not ex-
pect q brass hand to meet him on the
day of his release" Ye gods! what ir-
repressible wit is encompassed in those
few linesl Ii is q shame that sc. T."
neglected to have his article copy
righted. We deeply sympathize with
him in his misfortune. But does the
author of the above quoted lines really
imagine that there is anyone in here
hankering for brass band to meet
him at the gate3 Perish the thought!
We do not even suspect ssG. T." of try
ing to establish precedent along this
line. Nosirl
II Is our honest belief that the pros