The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-04-22
What's a Prison FOr7

What's a Prison For2
WHAT is prison fort Is it to be simply a
place of punishment9 Or ought we in it to make
some attempt to make men better.
Certainly the latter, everybody answers. But
notice this: just the moment that any attempts
to make states prison convicts better all the world
rises up and declares that he is turning prison into
parlor, instead of Furnishing criminals he is giving
them good time.
This is the fate that has overtaken j. c. Sand
ers warden of the state prison at Fort Madison
Iowa. Warden Sanders believes in trying to release
his prisoners better and women than when they
entered his prison. All of believe this of course
but great many of Us are just now objecting to
Warden Sanders methods bis baseball mines, his
convict gee club and orchestra his course of lectures
at the prison chapel, his night school, his flower
gardens and his abolition of the striped suit in ia
vor of prison gray. Baseball, the very idear' we
gasp why, that's giving the convict good time
That's not furnishing him." WE'LL what's prison
for3
Very probably baseball, and glee clubs and
flower gardens and night schools help to make life
inside of prison walls endurable Somehow
we recoll from the idea of doing anything to make
the life of convict more bearable. The underlying
feeling is that the criminal ought to have hard lot,
his sin ought to be pressing down hard upon him
all the time. convict ought to be forever bending
his back to grievous burden, he ought always to
go about with his eyes cast down. We have OBJ
lection to his imagining bright future if he can,
but the present ought to be made just as black as
possible for him. However we may theorize about
reforming the convict this is practically the way
feel about him. He has sinned against us and if he
has been sentenced to ten years in prison for his
sin, they ought to be ten long, dreary, burdensome
years.
It is this feeling that the convict ought to be
punished, together with crude notion that punish
men means the entire withdrawal of love- that causes
us to object to baseball and flower gardens for the
convict. We overlook the fundamental fact that
the convict is not committed to prison to punish
him, but to remove him from society to which he is
menace. "Vengence is Mine, will repay" saith
the Lord. Punishment of his fellows is mono of
mans business So far as the murderer himself is
concerned, if one day behind prisoa bars would
make him void of future offense against society,
that day he ought to be released The state aims
to make it's prisons protection to society. If it SO
treats those who confined in prison that they
come forth worse men than they went in, the state
mas IL the SLRt0can make us cOnVlctS over
into honest, upright men, it will succeed in protect
ing itself and in blessing humanity.
Denial of liberty is the most grievous burden
that can be inflicted upon man. Baseball cannot
make life behind prison walls pleasant Flower
gardens and glee clubs may make life in prison more
endurable, but barren hillside with freedom were
better place to live If we compel the convict to
bow his head forever within his prison wallis in
evitably make him grow worse, AMI we release him
at last more dangerous to society than when he
tered, but if make him lift up his head make
him aspire to better things, give to his mind and
his body something good to work on, shall make
him better man, and when he returns to society
he may be its helper, its benefactor not it's enemy
IL we are not to have wardens like Warden
Sanders, what kind are to have? All other kinds
as have proved to bitter cost, have returned
us convicts..that have hurt us. Warden Sanders OF
Iowa. and others like him, are trying to give back
men who will join hands with as instead Of turning
their hands against us-Duluth Herald.