The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1914-01-08
WILL PRISONS
BE ABOLISHED !?
A Wide Spread and Spontaneous Agitation
for More Humane Treatment of Grim
inaIS may Result in the Adjustment
of Present System.
TO SUBSTiTUTEFARMS

TO SUBSTITUTE FARMS
Hardly day goes by that does
not bring with it some new evidence
of the strong public demand now
being made all over the country,
| for more human and more mod
ern and sensible method of dealing
with men and women who have bro
ken the laws of the land. 1nhuen-
tial papers everywhere have taken
up the slogan and are agitating the
absolute abolishment of the present
system, and substituting for il, health
full and elevating environments
which will prove materially benefi-
cial to the prisoner and serve to
bring about a more speedy reforma-
| ton.
The following editorial, clipped
from the Duluth Herald is sample
of what the progressive press is
doing in this connection.
What is penitentiary for? II it
is only to punish, then the average
prison is precisely what we need.
If it is merely to confne dangerous
men, then something as sc cure but
more sanitary and humane will do
as we'll as the grim, thick walls and
the dark. grim cells. If it is to re-
form it's inmates. then something
entirely different from the present
type of prison is Ueeded.
| There is an interesting tendency
in this direction. Cleveland long
ago abandoned its workhouse or city
jail and substituted for it a farm.
Duluth and St Louis county are
establishing work farm. Ohio has
bought land for a prison farm and
plans the early abandonment of the
penitentiary at Columbus. New
Jersey has bought thousand acres
for prison farm. Pennsylvania
has bought FART of five hundred
acres and plans to use it instead of
new penitentiary. The Federal
government Is building house of
correction on thousand acres near
Washington.
| Western States
Says the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Several Western states have virtu-
ally abandoned their crime breeding,
disease breeding cell blocks and are
putting their prison wards at work
on highways and other public I'M
provements which call for labor in
the open air. The effort in all direc-
tions is to combine protection for
society with reformation for the
wrongdoers.
This is not only humane and kind,
but wise. The whole effect of the
ancient prison system is to confirm
its victims in crime if it does not
kill them with it's insanitary condi-
tivns. The whole purpose of mod
ern thought is to turn into useful
citizens as many of the prison in
mates as possible.
| What is convict, and wherein
does he differ from his fellows?
The barbarous theory that Grim
inals form distinct type has been
abandoned. Any mar who looks
upon the shaven head and stripe
covered form of convict may we'll
say, as Samuel Johnson said when
he saw besotted wretch in his rags
pass in the street. There, but for
the grace of God, goes Samuel
Johnsonp'
Asa matter offact, convicts are
folks, like the rest of us--our bro
theirs no less than those who walk
abroad unshackles and unconfned!
If they differ fropl the rest, it is al
most invariably due to bad heredity
or bad environment-fa more like
| ly the latter than the former because
there is percious little in the notion
| that acquired characteristics are
hereditary, Many are classed as
lbad because they lacked fair oppor-