The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1902-01-24


In an address before the Social
Science Department of the Woman's
Club in Denver recently Mrs. Maude
darlington 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 the
formation Of the Volunteers Of Amer
lea. at the head of which stand h
and her husband. She emphasized the
fact that the organization Is distinct
from the Salvation Army. She saiG
that It is purely American IN an its
characteristics, having for its watch
words "For God aud Country Then
She told Of the Volunteer Prisoners
Leaque. 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 hopelessness and pity Of their
lives. How when the prison door
clanrs behind them they are entirely
cut of from life. its love, It's rush and
its sunshine. and that when they come
forth again they come with a brand,
as Il were, upon their foreheads. No
one will trust them enough to give
them employment, no one viii help
them to a shelter, and therefore it is
that they become what is known as
habitual criminals.
There may be many within the
prison who have transgressed the law
she declared. "There are many, are
there not, who have transgressed the
law who are still in the world2 A Grim
inal is one who perpetrates crime, and
there are many such who do not stand
behind the bars of a prison. For the
people who say Once a thief, always a
thief I have no patience. I know, and
l have suffered and felt and prayed
with my boys, and 1 know It is not so.
1 could not come closer to them except
l commit some Offense and be sentenced
to prison, and l know that what are
known as habitual criminals, men Of
whom wardens have said, Do for them
what you win 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 q verse and then
begin, My dear people, you are selfish.
1t is too bad and I am sorry for 1t, but
there /. no hope and 1 am sorry for it,
but there is no hope for you; one sell
fish always SELFISH and to another
portion of his flock say, You are hypo-
critics, a sinful lot. But I have no word
Of cheer for you. Once a hypocrite, al
ways a hypocrite-if a minister should
do this some day you would all be
amazed, yet he would be no more illOg-
zeal than those Of you who say, Once
a criminal, always a criminal After
all, are not the little crimes just as Of
fensive 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
Che struggling wives and the helpless
Children Of the men who are in prison
MIS-. Booth then told something Of
her two Hope halls, which -are, she
says, homes fQr men who come from
prison, Where they are screened just 1s
surely from curious aud morbidly i'm
quisitive people as though they were
living in their mothers home. No re-
pOrters have ever crossed the thresh-
hold; no II except those who have
served at least one year in the peniten-
tiary.