The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-26

States is another triumph of the spirit of
arbitration. Woman has been elevated TO
her rightful position The rights of chill
dren are being considered. Better houses
spaces, the Sabbah for their weekly rest
and government strong 10 protect the
weak an punish the wrongdoes are evil
dences OF the social amelioration going on
under the refining power OF the gospel.
I'VE understand the spirit of the gospel
more clearly when see IL embodied in a
life Such life was that of Paul, who
pleads for the restoration of this fallen
brother Such a life was John Towards,
VINO In lI1S began q tour of inspection among
Inc prisons of Europe and turned the
wretched conditions Of prison life. 1t is
well known that Howard fell a sacrifice 10
MS humanity, having caught contagious
fever from some wretched prisoners at
kherson, to whose extreme need he was ad-
ministering his charity and his consultations.
Burke has embalmed his memory In these
words: Howard was man who traversed
foreign countries, not to survey the sump-
tuousness of palaces or the stateliness OF
temples, not to make accurate measure
ments or the remains of ancient grandeur.
nor TO form scale of the curiosity of
modern art, not to collect medals or manu-
scripts, but TO dive into the depths of dun
geons, TO plunge into the infection OF hos
pltals, TO survey the mansions OF sorrow and
pain, to take the guage and dimensions OF
misery, depression and contempt, to remem-
Der the forsaken and to compare and collate
vie uiStTtSSeS OF all men unOer all
This man 'girding creation in one warm EN-
brace. outstretched his savior arm from
pole to pole. and felt akin TO all the human
race Howard found prisoners in the Ger
man empire who had been confined in soli-
tary cells for nearly three years without
being brought to trial. Solitary confine-
ment had weakened their minds and their
1ncapacitate them from making their de-
Tense. Thanks to this man who turned on
the searchlight- Our prisons are now sub
N 110r irasra inn and
stantly improving. The end is not yet, for
in our own State many of the county jails
are sadly deficient in accommodation. Their
atmosphere tends to foster rather than pre-
vent crime. But the public conscience is
being aroused.
Right views of the function of the State
were held by the trainers of the Constitu--
ton of the State of Indiana. They realized
the Importance of mans place in society;
OF his rights and responsibilities. In their
thought the prison was to be reformatory
In its character. Recent legislation has en-
phasized this long forgotten principle. The
insane, the blind the deaf and dumb, the
sick are cared for by the State. Physical
lnnrmaties appeal TO the sympathy OF State
and local charities. But the view now OBJ
tains quite extensively that the prison is
hospital for the morally weak. The prison
Is the stony conscience of the town. con-
stantly reminding the wrongdoer that sin
brings misery, but Ii is also the embodiment
of the spirit of the gospel which seeks to
make men less criminal and more human.
When the noble Shaftesbury put his hand
on the shoulder of a noted tramp who was
spending his life in evil and idleness and
said, Jack, We'll make a man of you yet
he saved the man, because back of the
loving touch of the hand was the sympathy,
tireless devotion and quenchless faith which
Is the secret of all true reform movements.
In this age of specialists we note with
gratitude the attention given to the prisoner
as an abnormal man. The prisoner is a
rebel child in the human family. He is
to be studied and treated for his moral in
firmities' as seriously and patiently as the
leper. Men are born with moral defects
just as truly as others are with physical
imperfections. Both heredity and environ
ment curse thousands from their birth.
have visited and preached to the men in
our Reformatory at Jeffersonville. Their
faces have been with me for many days
after visit. They drink in the gospel with
a relish. 1 rejoice in the distinct stages in
the treatment of criminals. The appeal to
their manhood Prison life is now made to
emphasize probation. Confinement becomes
a teacher. Shame, self-contempt, lost OPP
portunity, the capacity of suffering, these
are appealed to. Reformation is the aim
Readaptation recognizes the manhood of the
prisoner and by treating the discharged
prisoner as a convalescent patient Christian
societies and individuals are giving the
needed help and encouragement. Not aims
but friend, Is the beautiful motto of the
charity organization. Just what Paul asked
for Onesimus. Lend the hand OF sympathy
to those who are working in the rescue mis-
sions.' Seek out individual cases. Religion
simple, lofty and full of hope, is what these
men for whom Christ died need The State
by its indeterminate sentence law-its sys-
tenn of parole-its Juvenile Courts-is Crap
ping with the problem, but when these
men are released from the grasp Of the law
they must be greeted with grace, courtesy,
delicate feeling, tact and Kindness on the
part of Christian men and women. For the
saving of men. for the rescue of the fallen
and the cleansing of the polluted, for the
destruction of the evils which afflict society,"
for the reformation of character and the
elevation of manhood we have no power
equal to that force which has proved TO be
the power of God unto salvation"