The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1911-10-19
SATURDAY
4G NIGHT
SERMONS
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OUR BROTHER IN BONDS.

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OUR BROTHER IN BONDS.
Text. "I was in prison and ye came
unto rns."-Matt. XIV. S.
Ever meet him-your brother in
bonds? Think Of him as wild beast
to be manacled, kept behind stone
walls and iron bars? You may find
him quiet, commonplace, fond Of chill
drea and flowers; possibly reminds you
Of your cousin Bob out west Truth is.
he's just your brother caught in SIM
The saddest and most pathetic story
In the history Of the world IS our treat
ment OF those who go astray. Ine
criminal Is a defective. He commits
crimes not because OF strength. but CT
weakness. He is sick child Hygiene.
nutrition. education and environment
would have changed his course. So
ciety must be protected from him as
from smallpox. and the sick one must
be cured. The condition that produces
this criminal ought to be remedled.
Hes ignorant-not in reading. ritlns
and 'rithmetic.' but his view is wrong.
Society is first possible victim. then
q vindictive enemy Government IS pol
itics, police part of the gang. Hunger.
drink, illegitimacy. an unjust soc1al
system, are slippery stones in his path.
He doesn't know that which you know
that most causes and most remedies
Tha l-;no6on of vice and virtue, lie
within him.
a System That's Wrong.
Our prison systems wrong. It's
ghastsy~ farce sending a man TO jail.
where he Will be fed and sheltered.
while the innocent members Of the
family are ief, outs jail walls to
starve-or worse W!i"S punished
the man or his little twelve-year-old
girl soliciting male passersby? He
ought to be allowed TO work and earn.
isss, after Jail board BILL be sent to
that family. In my county man stole
500 worth Of copper wire from cor
roration that is daily robbing the poor.
It was his first offense, but ne got
three y@ears Sas an example. The
state robbed him Of three years OF his
manhood, and he has come back 10 So
ciety imbittered ard actually driven
to steal again. He now has Il record
He is being logged and siadowed.
Three times ne has goi work and three
times has been discharged-a jail
bird" The police and detectives to
keep up their record" will hound him
till they have him back Of the bars
again. Then, again, the long fixed SEN
tence Is wrong. A crime is committed
Public demands heavy punishment
Five, ten, twenty years are given.
There's a thrill Of gratifed vindictive-
a>sSs The penalty is awful. The public
= aassst with shudder Of horror.
s. Essssten. The victim
Ses away to suffer. the public
las long since forgotten 1t he is still
undergoing punishment. Consumption
#sets In; rheumatism racks his body;
j hair Is gray: skin is CHASTITY. It's a
mistake, shocking perversion Of JUS
Gce. He is buried alive. The electric
chair is more merciful. Reformed? Re
pented? Yes. years ago. Then parole
him. Our right to keep man in prison
stops when he ceases to be criminal.
The system is kind" to the erring.
however. OF 600 graves saw in lit
tie cemetery Of our most famous prison
100 had died between the ages Of twen-
II and thirty! Others go mad Mattea-
wan tells the story. God be merciful!
Thieves and Thieves.
eyes, preacher. but he was pick
pocket, embezzled. used false pre-
lenses" know. but why isn't it
criminal when corporation does it?
The gas company bribes city council
and cssssas S11-asof eighfy cent gas ~Oil,
beef, sugar. -four are raised because
one man corners" the market Others
drug food and babies die, sell fourteen
ounces to the pound and cheat the
poor. Hard times I'LL prisons. Arrests
increase as price Of food goes up. One
house Of correction warden tells me he
had 900 more cases in last panic year
than today. Petty larceny done in
despair was chief cause Street walk
ers went up in numbers IS per cent
"All poor people," he added thought
fully. Why weren't there any rich
in the number? The answer is food
for thought 1t also explains growth
Of socialism. Then frequently men
Of wealth escape. If man is poor
and has poor lawyer or none he IS
convicted, thereby establishing lis
guilt. If he has money and gets one
or many skilled lawyers he may es-
cape and so is declared innocent. Let
the prisoner stand up" says "Hiz-
zoner." where's his lawyer" he
doesn't have any or one not skilled IN
defense. Then Of course he's guilty.
It's quick job
The Caught and the uneausht.
The number Of uncaught criminals
Is ten times as great as the caught.
The real jail is out Of doors. If get
SIS worth Of groceries and move away
without paying Pm as much thief as
the fellow who broke in the back win
dow and took that amount from the
shelves. At least Christ said so! From
great manufactory waste "byprod-
ucts" are now used and represent
good share Of value. The criminal is
the waste product Of society, once
valueless and hopeless. Punishment
for vengeance only. But modern
Christ men are at work, saying that
the criminal is still a human being,
even though be has sinned against So
ciety, and that saving a man IS great
deal bigger business than burying him
alive. Maude Ballington Booth-let
her name be writ large-helped US
nightly to remember Pilates prisoner
who was condemned and executed and
who said, 81 was in prison and ye
came unto me-"