reasoning it can be made to appear that this is not in effect a pardon of the prisoner is beyond my comprehension." And also, quoting the language of the opinion, " This act also con fers upon the Board of Control judicial power." Mr. Justice Grant says " such laws are humane, and their tendency is to reform criminals and to protect society." He seeks to show a precedent of like power as that granted to the Board of Control in this act in question, by pointing to the "good time" allowed certain prisoners to be set off against the full time of their sentence which is fixed by the prison inspector and warden, and which the Supreme Court of Michigan has sustained. "When of old I studied grammar, A verb was said to be Something to do and suffer, And also to agree With different moods and tenses, Syntactically applied, I never thought that I might be A mood personified. "There 's ' perhaps ' and ' if it's possible,' And ' might be it's too late;' And another word subjunctive Called ' indeterminate.' 1 'm a living conjugation Of the latter mood and tense, — A flesh and blood contingent Environed by suspense. "There 's a high old court at Lansing Which plunges mighty deep, And knocks my mood subjunctive Into a clear promiscuous heap. ' Perchance ' and * if it's possible ' To patience have and wait, The potential mood will lift us clear Of ' Indeterminate.'" This is now the most popular song in our penal institutions, and is said to be sub stituted for the usual " Gospel Hymn " in the chapel exercises, at least by those most affected by the recent dispensation. In the mean time there is much cause for rejoicing on the part of a score or more of convicts in the different penal institutions of the State. They have only to await the
expiration of the minimum time fixed by law in their cases, and the all-powerful Ha beas Corpus will bring them forth once more to commingle with their felrow-men in the world of social reform; but, presumably, they will not be found much better because of these humane efforts in their behalf. What a choice job lot of partially reformed material to turn loose on society! But mov ing along the line of argument used by the reformers, it is the society of their fellowmen which is to be the means of working out the salvation of this class. Mr. Eugene Smith, Secretary of the Prison Association of New York, in his report says : " Those methods of prison management are the best calculated to reform the prisoner which as similate his condition to that of the free work men outside; which cultivate in him the same habits, appeal to the same motives, awaken the same ambitions, develop the same views of life, and subject him to the same tempta tions that belong to the free community of which he is fitted to become a member." All this sounds very nice, and no doubt the writer was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Christian charity when he gave ex pression to the above, and filled with a desire to do good in this cause. But in dealing with a subject " of the earth, earthy," as this certainly is, such a poise of reform is impracticable; it is chimerical. If the mixing with the great body of soci ety whose robes do not smell of the prison under this parole system is to work the transformation claimed for it, a rubbing up against this same untarnished world unre strained by the now defunct authority of the Board of Control should produce something like the same result, since such subjects are governed more by convenience than senti ment. If this be true, then society will not be the loser. Placing men hardened and sharpened by vicious living and adversity upon their good behavior solely is like placing food before a hungry man, and putting him on his honor not to touch it.
