The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-03
W0RkHOUsE IS HOME
TO MANY OFFENDERS
SEVERAL PRISONERS WISH NO
OTHER HOME.
Police Judges Puzzled to Know How to
Deal With Petty Criminals Who Com
init Crime Merely to Be Sentenced
to Workhouse Where They Are Fed
and Lodged, 500 /

As~orkhouse cell is home, sweet home
20 more than a dozen men in Mime
apolis who for many years have had no
other residence or wished for any.
The strange desire of these men to
spend their lives doing time for some
petty offense and their satisfaction
with their surroundings is puzzling the
police judges and others who come in
contact with the criminal class. Time
and again, tickets have been purchased
to send some of these men away IN
order to give them new start in life;
They have gone as far as Montana anu
have kept straight for time p %an saaey
Place. They call it home and are al
ways glad to get back.
Story of Jones.
- One of these men, John Jones, or
"rMonkey Wrench Jones, as he, is
better known, has committed petty lar
ceny more than fifty times in order to
get a cell at the workhouse.
Several years ago Jones walked the
streets in search of work or meal and,
becoming discouraged, he stole a
monkey wrench from a wagon on
Bridge square and tried to sell it. He
was caught and sent to the workhouse
for a short term. He was so pleased
with his treatment there that he had
not been out three hours when he stole
another wrench from another wagon and
was stolen and since the first theft he
has had his office and residence at Cam
den place.
Avoids Worry.
Another pioneer on the workhouse
grounds is William Kelley. For twelve
years Kelley has lived at the place. and
he is one of the men sent out Of the
state for a new start. "There is too
much worry when you have to look out
for YOURSELF he says to the officers
when he comes up for his regular ninety
days. elley becomes intoxicated once
every three months and between those
periods he is serving the city for his
good time. Every piece of tinware now
In use at the workhouse was made by
Kelley. He is not lazy, is a model
prisoner, and is willing to do expert
work simply for his board and cell.
Charles Picket. Tim Ryan and Oh
Larson, all of them approaching. the
eighty year mark, have no desire for
better home than the workhouse. They
sheer at the idea of going to the poor
farm. They will commit some small
crime in order to be sent to their home
but they are always clever enough tl
make the crime so trivial that they vii
only draw a workhouse sentence. There
are many others who have kept pace
with these men and who for many years
have not spent solid week outside
the workhouse grounds.
Men Of Ability.
Every one of these old timers is wei
above the average in education. They
all have good trades and have BEEN ex
perts in their line, but they don t have
to hunt for Job when they are lockcc
ND and, simply to avoid responsibility
they lose their pride and become faith
q full employees of the city.E@The men are
not properly criminals and no one Of
them is dangerous or vicious They arr
all pleasant fellows but are simply e
little wrong some place.
For the psychologist they make tn
most interesting problems for they ar
apparently sound mentally, but the,
are out of the criminologist s class. s.
slight is their criminal tendency tina
the police have never vet looked TO
one of them Instead when they hav
done wrong they look for the police
Petty violations Of law is their business
and it brings them living that even
fair pension could not furnish.