Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-03-20
YEARS
OF PRISON LIFE
MRS. FLORENCE MAVERICKS
STORY THRILLS BIG AUDI
ENcE AT OPERA HOUSE.
"cRlME IS A DISEASE,
Advocates Better Prison Conditions
No Bitter Word Enters Into Dis
cusson of Wrongs Sustained
BY Her.

: Artistically weaving comment, sta
tistics, quaint humor, a scarcely dis
tinguishable sarcasm and the knowl-
edge gained from years of study
ing prison conditions in this country,
with the thrilling story of her own life
and Imprisonment, Mrs Florence May
brick talked for nearly two hours at
the Grand opera house last night. 1t
was the fourth number of the Y. M.
c. A. Star course. All during that
period a dropped pin could have been
heard distinctly in any quarter Of the
peculiar qualities. 1t Is not loud nor
shril, but rather low, sweet and PEN
etrating
Her presentations are made in ex-
cellently chosen words with just a
suggestion of the southern accent. She
is a slight, active figure and although
her face shows the unmistakable i'm
prints of that long awful suffering,
animation Is not lacking and her fea-
lures lighted up frequently in response
the repeated applause her remarks
elected.
Mrs. Maybrick is on the lecture plat
| form in an endeavor to interest the
| people of the United States in prison
reform work. Unfortunately she adj
| dressed Ottumwans at time when
recent happenings and circumstances
made an entirely receptive mind well
nigh impossible to any talk of len
| iency toward criminals; but the most
prejudiced mind could not help but
| notice one strong feature of her re-
marks-the fact that not one word Of
| bitterness or criticism was uttered.
Her words rang at times with the
pathos Of mothers heart robbed Of
her children and the story of her cruel
wrongs drew tears from many eyes
| in the audience-but she uttered no
harsh words. She stated the facts as
they happened to her and left the peo-
pie to draw their own conclusions.
Few Criminals Dangerous.
After being introduced by Rev. R. j.
Locke of the First Congregational
church, Mrs Maybrick opened her re-
marks with a few comments on the
huge sums of money spent annually In
this country for the care Of prisoners
and maintenance of the thousands OF
prisons.
IF half of this amount was judicial
lily expended to prevent crime" Mrs
Maybrick stated, INSTEAD of caring
for the criminals after the crime was
committed. vast amount Of more
real good would be accomplished. Only
a very small per cent Of the criminals
in this country are really dangerous
very few are abnormal, and these
should never be released To free this
class is simply to give them opportun
ity to commit greater crimes.
There Is vast difference between
real crime and crime of statutes B,
far the greater number of the prison
ers in our cells today are people wht
have committed crimes of statutes
There are scores Of offenses which ou
ancestors could perpetrate In thei
day without even offending, while to
day men are imprisoned for years TO
the same acts"
Crime is Disease.
Crime, according to Mrs. Maybricl
! is nothing more nor less than dis
eased form of mind. Few people ar
addicted to this disease in it's danger
Gus state, she asserted, and these few
are incurable AS evidence of TIL
! statement that dangerous criminal
t are incurable she briefly related som
: history showing how scores of pun
, ishing and torturing devices used a
, one time to cure" prisoners, hav
been abandoned because of their inef
fectiveness. Criminals are the resul
of political and economic environ