At a public meeting in New York, he told a story on himself of which
I was up to that time ignorant. Speaking of our first enrollment of
men in prison, he said, "When I saw those men, one hundred and seven
of them, stand up, I began to feel sorry for Mrs. Booth. Here were
the very hardest men I had to deal with in the prison; men constantly
reported for punishment. I took a list of their names for future
reference. I kept that list in my desk, and when the year had passed I
brought it out with a view of paralyzing that little woman. Would you
credit it? I learned to my own surprise and satisfaction on comparing
it with the punishment book that out of those who stood up in the
chapel that Sunday morning, only three had required punishment during
that entire year. I saw now what I had not realized before, namely,
that as an aid to the observance of discipline of the prison no plans
had ever equalled the influence of this work."
Warden Darby of Columbus, Ohio, writes:
"The organization of Post No. 10, Volunteer Prison League in the Ohio
Penitentiary, has been very gratifying to the prisoners, who are
looking forward to a brighter and better future, who are striving to
build a moral foundation that will withstand the tides of adversity and
trial. The League has been of incalculable benefit, for it has been
directly instrumental in bringing many to right thinking, an absolutely
necessary prelude to right doing.
"The good derived has not been limited to the League members alone,
others have been induced to strive for better, higher and nobler lives.
The influence of good will manifest its usefulness in any community and
the rule is equally applicable on either side of the prison wall.
"The Volunteer Prison League is a factor in bettering the discipline
of its members, since they who live up to the obligations must strive
to improve their conduct, this being one of the primary objects of the
organization."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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