Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1913-11-21
THE PRISONERS PROBLEM.

The Houston Chronicle of last Satur
day contained an article by a man who
has spent ten years on what he calls
The slave farms of Texas meaning
thereby the prison farms of the state.
The article is numbered seven i'm a Sc
ries of articles printed in the Chronicle
2 The story deals with one of the crle
aspects of prison life for which there
does not appear to be any remedy in
heaven or earth except possibly the
gradual creation of an c%nliehtdned. pub.
lie conscience OH that subject III the
thinking part of the community
1t must be confessed that civiii2ation
has not been over wise in its treatment
of offenders against the law, nor over
just. Doubtless it never intended to be
nnwise or unjust. according 80 It's.
lights. Unhappily its lights were not
overly good. Of communities, as Of in
dividuals, it may be said, IF the light
that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that ~darkncSS!'
Originally the great point of society
was to "brin" the criminal To Justice.
VT Ill OtutI NOGNS To DIInG Hllll llitD
a much pain and sorrow as the con
sciences of lawmakers and Judges
would permit: and at the beginning.
consciences were elastic in the matter
of permissible pains and penalties for
the law breaker.
Nevertheless. even from the hginning
it was perceived dimly that the duty
of human Sarin1l ulS- nat fIllN. dis
charged toward the offenders when he.
had been set III III .St0ck~. whipped. 4
branded and imprisoned because Of The
wrongs he had donc-or had been con
victed Of doing. Back in The eighteenth
century a great lawyer, among the most
humane and enlightened mcp Of his
country said, The cbiert of punish
ment is the prevention Of crime and
the reformation Of the criminal" This
enlightened %iurist did not appear 10
doubt that either, or both these ends
might be attained bv the modes Of pun
ishment then in vogue; though he did
not attempt to explain how. We. IN tho
early years of the twentieth century.
are beginning to have grave doubts as
to the methods of our day both rs pre-
~ventive and a. rcformatorv agents.
The case of the writer in the Chron
icle makes clear to us some good
grounds for misgivinG. All through his
imprisonment good people were saving
to him and his fellow prisoners:
Leave here with the dctermina-
ton to lead an upright life: show
them that YOU have repentcd the
error Of your WAYS; convince by
your actions that Won Will not lapse
again; that YOU mean TO live Il
down-be a man-and Won Will
find welcome awaiting YOU
Abstra>.ly speaking there could III
no fault to find with celebrations like
this. Concrete'y speaking the advice
was as absurd and impossible Of at
tainment as if they had had advised
him to huv 4 truck farm with water
rights on one Of the cana's in Mars.
To live an honest life and become = man
among men il is necessary that the lc-
leased prisoner must have food and raj
meme. TO get them honestly he must
work for them in some honorable On
ploymcnt; to get the emp oymcnt with
ont fcttinw his employers know n has
been in prison would not b. honest.
This man, wishing to be honest, with 4
patience and heroism that WIS rather
marvellous, found il impossible - gF!
work for which he was well fttcd. some
times he daS refused rudciE sometimes
almost tearfully, but he could not ca;
noble sentiments and kind words, The
people who had given him 50 much no
BILE advice seem to have overlooked the
trials he would have to face. Many OF
them may be painfully surprised, no
doubt. when so many Of the peop'"
whom they had visited in prison, came
back to prison sooner or later Ii thcH
had known all the elements Of the prob
lem they would have been surprised II
the Offenders had not rturncd.
If tire is any genuine wish on the
part of human society 90 reform
the men in the prisons, let il first
study diligently the conditions tina
stand in the way of that reform and let
If seek diligently to change these comb
tions.