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©he flrioon Vol. 3. N 0.48. IN THE STATE’S PRISON. It’s carious, isn’t it Billy— Ths changes that twelve months may bring, Last year I was at Saratoga, As happy and rich as a king, 1 was raking in pools on the races. And feeing the waiters with "tens,” And sipping mint-juleps by twilight; And to-day I am here in the "pen.” “What led me to do it? What always Leads men to destruction and crime? The prodigal son whom you’ve read of, Has altered somewhat in his time. He spends his substance as freely , As the Biblical fellow of old; But when it is gone he fancies The husks will turn into gold. Champagne, a box at the opera High steps while fortune is flush; The passionate kisses of women Whose cheeks have forgotten to blush The old, old story, Billy, Of pleasures that end in tears; The froth that foams for an hour; The dregs that are tasted tor years. Last night as I sat here and pondered On the end of my evil ways, There arose like a phantom before me The visions of my boyhood days. I thought of my old home, Billy, Of the school-house that stood on the hill, Of the brook that flowed through the meadow, I can e’en hear its music still. Again I thought of my mother, Of the mother who taught me to pray. Whose love was a precious treasure. That I heedlessly cast away. I saw again in my visions The fresh-lipped careless boy. To whom the future was boundless. And the world but a mighty toy. I thought of all this as 1 sat here, Of my ruined and wasted life; And the pangs of remorse were bitter. They pieroed my heart like a knife. It takes some courage, Billy To laugh in the face of fate. When the yearning ambitions of manhood Are blasted at twenty-eight. —Western Good Templar A Prison School. The following account of the school at Charlestown state prison, was written by a prisoner and published in the Woman’s Voice and Public School Champion at Bos ton: The Chaplain has during the past six or seven years, (both at Concord and Charles town,) made the most strenuous and self denying efforts to supply educational facil ities for the prisoners; it being the goal of his ambition to procure for them all the benefits accruing thereto —but for the want of adequate backing and co-operation, he failed to establish a permanent means of tuition, until supplemented by the cordial sympathy and practical, energetic aid of the warden and prison commissioners, he was enabled to witness the culmination of his dearest and most sanguine hopes in the founding of the M. S. P. evening school in September 1889. Thus endorsed and pressed upon the attention of the State Executive, it received the ready sanction of the Legis lature who promptly granted an appropri ation for the building and equipment of a school-house. Through the untiring and energetic personal supervision of the warden, it was built, furnished, and pro vided with all the essential educational ap pliances, and on the Ist of September, 1889, it was formally opened and permanently organized for practical work as a prison school, by the chaplain and a teaching staff of twelve volunteer teachers selected from the prisoners. More than 350 men out of the 600 in mates desired to avail themselves of the ad vantages offered, but as only 125 could be accommodated, (owine to the limited capac ity of the school-house) the successful ap plicants were divided into two sections, the junior classes meeting on Mondays, Wed nesdays and Fridays, and the senior or ad vanced class on the Tuesdays and Thurs days of each week from 6:30 to 7:30 each evening. The unsuccessful applicants were furnished with the necessary books to study in their own rooms, a privilege of which they joyfully availed themselves. The ages of the prisoners in both classes range from 18 to 60 years, and includes all nationalities. When the junior class was “ IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND.” Stillwater, Minn., Thursday, July 10,1890. first organized, two-thirds of the mem bers did not even know their letters, most of them could neither read nor write, and four could not speak English. The foreign element includes Russians, Spaniards, Frenchmen, and one Turk, in all number ing eighteen or twenty, besides a considera ble number of colored men. In conse quence of the great diversity of ages, and the varied capacities and conditions of the men, either collective teaching or grading was found to be impracticable; they were therefore divided into groups of three or four, each group being under the charge of one teacher, each teacher adopting the sys tem of teaching best suited to the capacity of the pupils in his charge. The rapid progress made by these illiterate bordered on the marvelous. We might cite a score or more instances of extraordinary and un parelleled advancement from total illiteracy to comparative fluency in reading and spell ing, and a thorough practical knowledge of writing and arithmetic. Suffice it to say that at this moment, there is not a single member of the class who cannot read at sight intelligently, and the majority can write and cipher fairly. The curriculum of study in the junior classes is reading in the Ist, 2d, 3d, and 4th Readers, writing and arithmetic as far as fractions. In the advanced class, the studies embrace spell ing from dictation, reading sth and 6th Readers and History, writing in the upper grades of copy books, and the enlarged edition of Greenleaf’s arithmetic. There is also a short-hand class comprising twenty members (the majority of whom are quite proficient, writing from 100 to 150 words per minute). The progress made in the advanced class has been as marked and satisfactory as that of the junior division. But to resume our history of the school. The progress of the scholars during the first ten weeks of its operations, were so marked and encouraging that the prison commis sioners and authorities saw the paramount necessity of extending their operations and enlarging the staff of teachers. Accord ingly, they secured the services of a gentle man whose reputation and success as an organizing master had deservedly become a household word throughout the state (Mr. G. S. Turner), under whose skillful and ex perienced management, it has since become one of the most successful and effective agencies in the development of the moral and intelligent faculties of the men that could possibly be'conceived. The staff of teachers was increased to twenty-five, many of whom are in attendance nightly, and de vote all their talents and enereies, without fee or reward of any kind, to the promo tion of the best interests of their fellow prisoners. It is contemplated and confidently hoped shortly to extend the school curriculum so as to include geography, grammar, composi tion, the study of words and book-keeping. The scholars are very orderly, quiet, and gentlemanly in their deportment, arduous in their studies, and so honorable in their bearing, that the stigma attached to the ti tle “Prison school”almost amounts to an in justice. Notwithstanding the constant change go ing on in the school from the admission of new scholars, and the periodical departure of the old scholars to take their places in the busy scenes of the world outside these walls, there is no diminution of interest in the school work; on the contrary, both scholars and teachers evince increased en ergy and determination as the time goes on; and all they desire is an enlargement of the sphere of action and increased facilities for work. There is always a long list of appli cantstbefore the principal, all of whom are anxiously watching for any vacant desk, and great is the disappointment among those who fail to obtain it. And now we would, before closing, say a word or two about the working staff of twenty-five teachers, who so nobly and gen erously sacrifice all their spare time, and cheerfully give up attention to their own af fairs for the purpose of conferring a benefit on their fellow-prisoners. They are gentle men in character and conduct, though “wearing the gray,” and would favorably compare with any equal number of men in the outside world. They volunteer their services without the slightest idea of remuneration or reward, either from their fellow-prisoners or from the prison authorities. They enjoy no additional privileges, but on the con trary, deprive themselves of those which they enjoy in common with their fellow-suf ferers, in order that they may impart to those hitherto deprived of the advantages of a good common school education, the blessings, consolations and lasting benefits consequent on the acquisition of knowledge. While they seek no remuneration or equiv alent in money or kind for the services so cheerfully rendered, are they not entitled to expect the proper appreciation of those serv ices, not only by the prisoners receiving those services, but by the public, in the re turn of that esteem and confidence which has been so long withheld from them? What they do for their fellow-prisoners is purely a labor of love and genuine sympa thy; in endeavoring to build up the charac ter and improve the mental and moral con dition of their fellow-inmates, they give tangible and incontrovertible evidence of their ability to control themselves, and their fitness to resume their duties as citizens of the world. They feel that their efforts are gratefully and thankfully appreciated by those whom they teach; and they only de sire and hope for the recognition and en couragement of their efforts to reclaim their lost position as good citizens and honorable men. In conclusion, we would briefly call the attention of your readers to a few of the many benefits which this school and its in structions have conferred on its attendants, which may not at first suggest themselves to their minds. Could you but walk through the corridors of this prison, in the evening, you would see numbers of men who, prior to the establishment of this school were rapidly sinking into hopeless despondency, or frantic with reckless despair, now, in place of the scowling brow, the lustreless eye, the shiftless, lounging gait of the hope less, aimless idler, you will see the quick, bright glance of a soul awakened by intelli gence and hope, the firm springy step of resolution and determined energy, that beaming serenity of feature which betokens thankfulness for escape from past evils and dangers, and joyful anticipations for the future. And why this change? The brief period in which they have received these educational advantages, has snapped the chains of iernorance, vice and despairing apathy which previously bound them: they see within their grasp limitless possibilities of honorable and remunerative employment forever separating them from the loose and vicious associations of the past, the liquor saloon and gambling rooms of former days, is now supplanted in their minds by the an ticipated pleasures of the happy family cir cle. of intellectual interchange of thought, and of the glorious fact that they are no longer animals, but men—men with all the impulses and aspirations of true manhood, men who can boast of and fully appreciate the blessings and happiness which accom pany true independence of thought and ac tion and integrity of purpose; men who have acquired that true and indomitable courage which will enable them to sur mount every difficulty. Such are a few of the inestimable results which have accrued from the first nine months’ operation of the Massachusetts State Prison Evening School! Is not edu cation, after all, the real Archimedean lever which shall lift the overwhelming in cubus of crime and woe which has hitherto so grievously distressed the philanthropists and social reformers of the state of Massachusetts? Fred’k J. Garbit. A Remonstrance. Mr. Editor: Knowing your sympathy for the oppressed, maligned, and downtrodden of the human race, I feel sure you will grant me a little space in your valuable pa per for the utterance of my wail of woe. In the first place, allow me to state that lam a proud man. Not the sort of pride which would prevent our friend, who has “done time” —I mean, lived “Under Two Flags”—from sawing wood, nor yet the kind which prevented "Bock” making a “scab” of himself, but a pride born of my belief in my superior education, intelli gence, and distinguished personal appear ance. And it is the wounding of this pride which has elicited this remonstrance. Ever since the trial by jury, of a celebrated case, which occurred in the chapel of this in stitution July 4, A. D. 1890, and in which I was employed by the honorable and per secuted defendant, my ears have been as sailed on all sides by sueh epithets as, “il literate pettifogger,” “foghorn lawyer” and “full-extent man,” until my waking hours have become a burden, and my sleep a hideous nightmare. Of course, from the majority of the members of this benighted community, I regard it all as chaff, but when my old F"ive Gents. friend “Innisfallen,” for whom I have al ways cherished the most kindly feelings of friendship, carries his vituperative abuse out, of the court, and continues, from day to day. to hurl it at my devoted head. 1 must say with Cmsar, when he saw Brutus stab, “this is the most unkindest cut of all.” Now, I have seen lawyers, during the heat of a trial, hurl the most abusive epi thets, pass the lie, and even shake their fists in each others face, but immediately on the adjournment of court, they might be seen proceeding, arm in arm to an adjacent depot o*f liquid refreshments, where, after shaking the dice, they would drink their lemonade as amicably as the most famil iar of bosom friends. But this seems to be an altogether different case. In conclusion I will say that I am not a blood-thirsty individual, and as a general thing do not countenance such things as happened in Phoenix Park some years since, but the oppressor must be taught that the worm will turn sometime, and if this abuse is not discontinued I may as was the case in the above mentioned instance, be driven by desperation to some such re taliation. Patricio. How They Spent The Fourth in Joliet Prison. The Fourth was celebrated at the Joliet, (111.) prison in an original manner. At 9 o’clock Warden Berggren marshalled his force of 1,400 in line and marched them to the east side, where music was provided, and when the order was given to break ranks the men uttered a cheer, and in fact rushed into each others arms yelling to each other “Hello, Bill,” “Hello, Bill,” “How long you got,” “When did you get settled,” etc., and it was an animated scene. Oscar Neebe rushed wildly about when the order was given to break ranks, in search of his fellows, Fielding and Schwab. When he did find them the greeting was cordial and the conversation too rapid for any one to keep track of. There were other noted con victs who came to the front and attempted to find their fellows, among whom were such men as Burke, „ Coughlin and O’Sul livan, the Cronin murderers. When they met there was a comparison of notes and experiences behind the bars that was very interesting to those concerned. Warden Berggren provided the men with an excellent dinner and did his best to make it an enjoyable occasion, so that each one should feel that the day was a holiday for all. For dinner the warden gave the pris oners the following bill of fare, and there were over 1,400 of them who partook of it, viz.: Roast beef with boiled onions, wheat rolls with coffee, milk, onions, bread, lem onade and cigars. After dinner the warden gave each inmate a chance to write home to sweetheart, wife or mother, so that nearly 1,400 letters went, from the prison to friends in the outside world. One of the funny features of the day was witnessed on a dancing platform erected in the yard. Here were some twenty-five or fifty darkies who created great sport by their evolutions in dancing Juba, double shuffle and the plantation walk around. Take it altogether this was one of the most enjoyable days ever experienced by the con victs at Joliet, and when the sport was over every man retired to his cell feeling that this was one day out of the 365 when the prison was a play house and not a place of punishment.—Chicago Evening Journal. Same Thing. Neighbor: I’ve come to tell you about your husband. Dissipated Neighbor’s Wife: Is he in his cups? Neighbor: No, madam; he’s in the lock-up.—Texas Siftings. They Were Too Heavy. She (reading the paper): Another cyclone out West! It has swept dozens of farms clear of everything. He: I’ll bet the mortgages didn’t budge an inch.—Texas Siftings. The Wrong Man Convicted. Visitor (in court room): “What das tardly crime was committed by the prisoner who was just convicted?” “He stole a ride on a railroad.” “And the man who got free?” “He stole the railroad.” —Ex.