IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 M Ma 
 
 V 
 
 <p>^ 
 
 vi 
 
 '/ 
 
 
 /. 
 
 y 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 IIIM 
 
 13.6 
 
 1.4 
 
 2.5 
 2.2 
 
 1 2.0 
 1.8 
 
 1.6 
 
 150mm 
 
 /^PPLIED_^ IM/IGE . Inc 
 
 .^= 1653 East Main street 
 .= r^ Rochester, NY 14609 USA 
 .S=:=. Phone: 716/482-0300 
 .^=r.s^s. Fax: 716/288-5989 
 
 © 1993, Applied Image, Inc., All Rights Reserved 
 
 .•\ 
 
 S\ 
 
 '4^ 
 
 4- 
 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 i. "O 
 
 ;\ 
 
 >.^ 
 
 '4 
 
\ 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 i^ 
 
 CIHM 
 
 ICMH 
 
 (3" 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Collection de 
 
 
 Series 
 
 microfiches 
 
 
 (l\Aonographs) 
 
 (monographies) 
 
 \\ 
 
 L\ 
 
 > 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de niicroreproductions historiques 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiqucs 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original 
 copy available for filming. Features of this copy which 
 may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any 
 of the images in the reproductioi;, or which may 
 significantly change the usual method of filming, are 
 checked below. 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommagee 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restauree et/ou pelliculee 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 □ 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 □ Coloured maps/ 
 Caites g^ographiques en couleur 
 
 Q Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 D 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 □ 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Relie avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serree peut causer de t'ombre ou de la 
 distorsion le long de la marge interieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may appear 
 within the text. Whenever possible, these have 
 been omitted from filming/ 
 il se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutees 
 lors d'une restauration appzraissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela etait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas ete filmees. 
 
 Additional comments/ 
 Ccinmentaires supplementaires: 
 
 This Item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est filme au taux de reduction indiqi*e ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X IHX 
 
 ; 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il 
 lui a eti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet 
 exemplaire qui sont peut-£tre uniques du point de vue 
 bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image 
 reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification 
 dans la methode normale de f ilmage sont indiqu^s 
 cidessous. 
 
 □ Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 The 
 to t 
 
 □ Pages 
 Pages 
 
 damaged/ 
 Pages endommagees 
 
 □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages restaurees et/ou pellicultes 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 Pages decolorees, tachetees ou piquees 
 
 n Pages detached/ 
 Pages detachees 
 
 The 
 pos 
 oft 
 film 
 
 Ori{ 
 
 beg 
 
 the 
 
 sior 
 
 oth< 
 
 first 
 
 sior 
 
 or il 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 
 
 □ Quality of print varies/ 
 Qualite inegale de I'impressi 
 
 pression 
 
 □ Continuous pagination/ 
 Pagination continue 
 
 □ Includes index(es)/ 
 Comprend un (des) index 
 
 Title on header taken from:/ 
 Le titre de I'entSte provient: 
 
 □ Title page of issue/ 
 Page de titre de la livraison 
 
 □ Caption of issue/ 
 Titre de depart de 
 
 The 
 shal 
 TIN 
 whi 
 
 Mar 
 diff« 
 enti 
 begi 
 righ 
 reqi 
 met 
 
 D 
 
 depart de la livraison 
 
 Masthead/ 
 
 Generique (periodiques) de la livraison 
 
 ■r>v 
 
 30X 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24 X 
 
 28X 
 
 32 X 
 
'il 
 
 et 
 e vue 
 
 on 
 
 IS 
 
 The cop/ filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 National Library of Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on thp last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol ^^ (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la 
 g6n4rosit6 de: 
 
 Bibliothdque nationale du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de l'exemplaire filmd, et en 
 conformity avec les condit'ons du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprim^e sont filmds en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le nas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole — ♦> signifie "A SUIVRE". le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour gtre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir 
 de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite. 
 et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre 
 d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la m^thode. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 22X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 

 '^' ^ 
 
 «• t-A. 
 
BRANDED 
 
BRANDED 
 
 IHonocjrapij on 
 irigon amork 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. BALLINGTON BOOTH 
 
 TORONTO : 
 
 WILLIAM BRIGGS 
 Montreal : C. W. Coaxes. Halifax : S. F. Hlkstis. 
 
 1807. 
 

 Kntered a-cordlne to Act ot the Parii.meM of c»n.d. 
 by T , T °''Vf "" "*'" """""" """ "i-tr -eve," 
 
 " 
 
 911396 
 
BRANDED. 
 
 A DARK night with chilly wind and 
 surging billows, a dangerous coast, 
 a ship in distress, would bring from 
 their happy firesides and homes of com- 
 fort a great, anxious crowd. Many eyes 
 would be strained to watch the fight of 
 the human souls in peril; many would 
 wait with bated breath and follow their 
 struggles with the fierce waves with pain- 
 ful suspense. When at last they leaped 
 from the drifting wreck, and life depended 
 upon strength of arm and courage of 
 heart, and they were seen battling shore- 
 
Branded. 
 
 ward, buffeted by foaming wave-crests 
 threatened by chilly depths and increas- 
 ing exhaustion, — then hearts would 
 almost stop beating and lips would part 
 in an agony of prayer, "God help 
 them ! " I imagine the distance safely 
 covered, the struggling swimmers reach- 
 ing shore, their weak, benumbed hands 
 stretched out to grasp and hold, with the 
 grip for life, to the seaweed and rocks. 
 You would then look to see every strong 
 arm extended to help them, warm, loving 
 hands grasping theirs firmly, while every 
 muscle was strained to save them from 
 the angry, foaming waves. What a chill 
 of horror, what a thrill of indignation 
 would overwhelm you if you saw the 
 
Branded. 
 
 crowd on the beach lean over and delib- 
 erately loosen those poor cold hands, and 
 push back into the hungry waters the 
 poor wretches who had made so brave a 
 fight for life. You turn from my pic.are 
 with a smile and say, " Such a scene would 
 be impossible ; men are too human ; no 
 one could do so foul a deed of cruelty, 
 or should one even attempt it, scores 
 would defeat his object and rescue his 
 victim ! " I agree with you, — upon an 
 ocean beach in a civilized world, no such 
 fate could await a shipwrecked crew ; and 
 yet I can dra^v' an analogv from this pic- 
 ture, and I am prepared to prove that 
 the attitude of the world towards the 
 criminal to-day is such that in his struggle 
 
8 
 
 Branded. 
 
 back to honest and right living he is 
 thwarted and cast back into the sea of 
 despair and vice in precisely as cruel and 
 inhuman a way as I have described. 
 
 One of the greatest problems of the 
 hour is that which affects the criminals in 
 this, our free America, and it seems to 
 me that one of the first questions to be 
 asked is, « What has made the problem 
 so unsolvable, and where does the respon- 
 sibility lie ? " With what I have seen 
 and what I have learned I cannot hold 
 the criminal entirely responsible for his 
 seemingly unreachable and irreclaimable 
 position. While the .orld despises and 
 distrusts him, while it adheres to its old 
 adage, "Once a thief, always a thief I" 
 
 f 
 
f 
 
 f 
 
 Branded. 
 
 while it closes to him all avenues of 
 escape, the responsibility cannot rest 
 wholly at the door of the criminal. Is it 
 not manifestly wrong to punish a man 
 indefinitely for a crime he has expiated 
 in the eyes of the law, merely because it 
 is possible he may commit another similar 
 offence ? Is there anything more calcu- 
 lated to rob him of all hope for his future 
 than a sentiment against him that makes 
 a criminal slink from the prison door 
 on the first day of his release, a very 
 Cain, marked and branded, with the con- 
 sciousness burned into his very soul that 
 his imprisonment has made him an object 
 of contempt to his fellow men? Is it a 
 wonder that a man distrusts his own 
 
10 
 
 Branded, 
 
 power to be good or to make a success of 
 life when he is made to feel that no one 
 else will trust him or believe him capable 
 of good? I speak from an intimate 
 knowledge of prisoners, and I can say 
 emphatically that much of their hopeless- 
 ness and loss of confidence as to their 
 ever regaining a place amongst the honest 
 and honorable citizens and wage-earners 
 of the country, springs from the feeling 
 that they are regarded as having fallen 
 from a position which the world feels 
 they can never regain. 
 
 I have heard over and over again until 
 my heart has ached the story of how hope- 
 fully the "first term" man has stepped 
 forth once more to liberty. He has 
 
Branded, 
 
 II 
 
 learned his bitter lesson, has seen his folly, 
 and has looked hopefully to the time when 
 he would at last have a chance to live 
 and work in the free, outside world and 
 make a brave fight to regain what he had 
 lost of the esteem and confidence and 
 friendship of others. Plans and hopes 
 fill his waking and dreaming thoughts, and 
 it is with a glad, joyous heart that he 
 steps forth after the last long wakeful 
 night, once more a free man. The garb 
 of shame, the bolts and bars of convict 
 life, the hated lockstep, the narrow cell, 
 are all behind him, and he says as he 
 turns away, '' I will never, never come 
 back ! " Some of those who have seen 
 a little more of life in just these channels 
 
12 
 
 Branded. 
 
 
 have said to him, " Others have left, say- 
 ing they would never come back, and yet 
 they have come back ! " but he smiles 
 pityingly at their weakness, knowing his 
 resolve is firm, and thus he goes forth 
 bravely to fight and struggle, fearing not 
 but that he will succeed. But alas ! It 
 is often all in vain ! He has a little 
 money, a suit of clothes. If he has a 
 home there is a shade more hope for him, 
 but in many cases he is homeless, and 
 perhaps has no friends in this country; 
 or maybe his mother or wife has died 
 since he left home, or, as in some cases, 
 his friends have disowned him because of 
 his disgrace. '* Well, never mind," says 
 the world, « he must expect that, he is 
 
Branded. 
 
 13 
 
 
 suffering for his sin. Let him go to work 
 and prove that he is in earnest ! " That 
 is precisely what he wants to do ; but will 
 the people who say this so easily without 
 a thought of all it means, tell us how and 
 where he is to get work ? Day after day 
 passes, and he begins tc realize how hard 
 it is. He tramps the streets from early 
 to late; he answers advertisements; he 
 offers his services here, there, and every- 
 where, until hope begins to wane. His 
 money is going ; he is weary and hungry, 
 and he has to face the facts and they are 
 not as he would like them to be. He is 
 willing to work for his !>.ard and lodging, 
 but even this he cannot do, — nobody 
 wants him ! The bright hope fades from 
 
H 
 
 Branded. 
 
 his sky ; sullen despair and hopelessness 
 settle on his soul. Then comes the time 
 when money is gone ; he still walks the 
 street looking for work, but his step is 
 lagging and unsteady from faintness, and 
 he has to sleep in the Park at night or 
 walk on and on through the lonely, 
 deserted streets. Hunger is followed by 
 starvation and desperation, and then 
 alas ! though not till then, thank God, 
 for he was in earnest, he gives way to the 
 tempter, "You must live; you have at 
 least a right to live. Every human being 
 has, and if no one will help you, if no one 
 cares whether you live honestly or not, 
 what are the odds? You know how you 
 can get money, while by right living you 
 
Branded. 
 
 15 
 
 ( 
 
 can only starve ! " This is the natural 
 argument that goes on in the heart that has 
 become hopeless and despairing, and feels 
 to the full the bitter irony of the situation. 
 Then, he gives up the fight, and not so 
 very long after, perhaps, he stands once 
 more before the bar of Justice. " Second 
 offence ~ only so long from State prison " 
 — so the history goes, and with hardened 
 heart and embittered soul he joins again 
 the marching thousands to whom the 
 lockstep has become the tread of fate. 
 Those who remember him smile bitterly 
 and gain fresh hopelessness as they pass 
 the word along, " back again," taking it 
 as one more sign of the inevitable doom 
 that falls on those who are once branded 
 
i 
 
 i6 
 
 Braiidcd. 
 
 with the name " convict." To the man 
 who has had more than the one term, is 
 generally added the constant haunting of 
 ever watchful detectives, who follow him 
 about from place to place, always expect- 
 ing that he is up to some new game, and 
 who are e\ er too quick to inform against 
 him should he gain honest employment. 
 
 Now, perhaps you say this picture is 
 overdrawn. I answer from a personal 
 knowledge of the histories of many, " It 
 is not," and I feel pretty sure that War- 
 dens, Chaplains, and Keepers within the 
 State prisons would most emphatically 
 endorse what I have said. Of course 
 there are many cases where the man is 
 fortunate enough to find work, but alas 1 
 
 I 
 
Branded, 
 
 17 
 
 even then it is often only to have his bright 
 hopes blighted by the discovery being 
 made that he was once in State prison, 
 which means discharge ; and in many 
 cases is added the extra handicap of 
 a weakened constitution and shattered 
 nerves. When men have come to me 
 first from State prison, I have noted the 
 trembling hand, the nervous hunted look, 
 the stammering words, and I have said to 
 myself, " If no hand is stretched out to 
 help him, how can this man be expected 
 by the w^rld to take his place in society 
 again at once and earn his own living?" 
 I turn away, not to marvel that so many 
 fall, but rather to wonde* how any escape. 
 I wish some of the good and righteous 
 
»^ 
 
 i8 
 
 Branded, 
 
 members of the community who look 
 down upon the criminal as a weak degen- 
 erate who gravitates naturally to crime, 
 could find themselves for a short time in 
 his tight place. Should you tell such a 
 one that the one-time prisoner often gets 
 to the place where he must steal or 
 starve, they say with righteous self-con- 
 sciousness, " Well, I would rather starve ! " 
 Would they ? They have not tried it, nor 
 have they tried what is far worse to bear, 
 — the watching of dear ones' faces grow- 
 ing whiter and thinner for the need of 
 food; the bare room and the dread of 
 losing even that semblance of home, and 
 I tell you if they had, many of your 
 honest, righteous '<^.f,xi of to-day would be 
 
 11 
 
m^ 
 
 Branded. 
 
 19 
 
 just where our poor " boys " are, — be- 
 hind the bars ! 
 
 I do not want to justify crime. I 
 loathe it. I do not want to sentimental- 
 ize over the prisoner. The "boys" in 
 prison know that I am too practical to 
 be a sentimentalist; but I do want to 
 show up bare facts, horrible as they may 
 seem to be. I maintain that many of 
 those who fall again make a braver fight 
 before that fall in trying to regain an 
 honest position in life, than the honest 
 and righteous man makes to keep his 
 c^oan, good record and his honorable 
 position. It is far easier to remain in 
 the r ight p ath when you have been 
 trained to walk therein than it is to re- 
 
20 
 
 Branded. 
 
 gain that path when you have once 
 strayed from it^ Of course, there are 
 many and many of them who go from 
 State prison without any thought of 
 struggling for a new life. They gravi- 
 tate back to their old habits, their old 
 companions, and old acts, but of them I 
 am also forced to say that I do not 
 wonder. Hunt up the life history ; take 
 into consideration the evidence which no 
 court of justice would listen to but the 
 great court of high heaven, and then 
 your view of their reckless, lawless lives 
 may change, and you may find for them 
 some pity and sorrow. Perhaps they 
 have never had a chance; never were 
 loved or trained or inspired with good 
 
Branded. 
 
 21 
 
 desires. No work of reformation has 
 ever readied them. They do not see 
 the good of working hard to gain a 
 meagre existence, when they can get 
 plenty by skill of hand or plot of brain 
 in an unlawful way. Again, many of 
 these have become so hopeless of any 
 other life being possible to them that 
 they have just settled down to accept 
 the inevitable. These old-time habitual 
 criminals are many of them good at 
 heart, ~ thieves, burglars, robbers, bank- 
 wreckers, I grant you, and yet they have 
 feelings of large-heartedness and gener- 
 osity which are sometimes lacking in some 
 law-abiding citizens. When talking of 
 the heathen and little children, are we 
 
22 
 
 Branded. 
 
 not accustomed to say that people are 
 held responsible for the light they have 
 and not for the light that has not been 
 shed on their paths? Have we a right 
 to judge these men in State prison from 
 our happy and fortunate standpoint? 
 When I have come time and time again 
 in contact with lives to whom had never 
 come the inspiration of a vitally loving, 
 practical religion before, I have seen 
 them grasp at it with hearty earnestness 
 and follow with a childlike, practical obe- 
 dience each guidance of the newly 
 awakened conscience, and I have said 
 / to myself, " I would that those who have 
 j so many chances would appreciate them 
 ^, as do these who have never had a chance 
 
 „. 
 
 .1 
 
>h 
 
 « 
 
 Branded. 
 
 23 
 
 A truly hopeless problem, you may say, 
 after looking upon the picture that I 
 have drawn of the convicts' future, and 
 I agree with you, — an absolutely hope- 
 hss one when looked at from the human 
 standpoint. Look down upon the 
 ground and into the shadows, and the 
 night looks black and gloomy indeed; 
 but look up at the sky, and star after 
 star gleams out with rays of hope and 
 comfort. God, who placed these mil- 
 lions upon millions of stars in the far- 
 away heaven, who knows each one and 
 has planned and watched over their 
 course for ages, who Himself created 
 them, is the same God who, in tender 
 love, can watch and bless each wander- 
 
24 
 
 Branded. 
 
 ing soul in the night of sin and despair, 
 and His power can indeed bring hope 
 into this problem. A very bright hope it 
 is to those who have been looking at it 
 long enough to gather all it means for 
 the future. 
 
 Time and space do not permit me to 
 go into all the much I might say on this 
 subject, but I will try to outline some- 
 thing of our plans of work, and I would 
 like to add that they are approved and 
 endorsed by the thousands of men who 
 know all about the problem, ■— not from 
 statistics or from study, but from experi- 
 ence. It is this great hope, this new in- 
 spiration that has been born within the 
 prisons, that is to my mind the strongest 
 
 i 
 
 
 \ 
 
Branded. 
 
 25 
 
 endorsement of the practical wisdom of 
 our plans of \ ork. " You have struck 
 the right chord," have said the wardens 
 to me. "You have found the solution 
 of at least a part of the problem," have 
 said lawyers and judges and other 
 thoughtful men after we have spoken of 
 the work; but I turn from these voices as 
 of minor importance, and I hear the pro- 
 longed shout to cheer us on, and to my 
 heart like a veritable inspiration comes 
 the message from the "boys" them- 
 selves. " Go on, we are with you ; we 
 believe in this work and will help you 
 prove to the world that the problem can 
 be solved and the criminal can be re- 
 claimed ! " I do not give away to the 
 
 I 
 
26 
 
 Branded. 
 
 public the many hundreds of letters that 
 come to me from prison cells, but in all 
 of them comes not only a message of 
 love and appreciation, but a thorough 
 endorsement of the work, and a growing 
 hopefulness concerning their own future. 
 
 I maintain that work for the men when 
 they leave State prison would be well- 
 nigh impossible except in close associa- 
 tion with work within the walls. These 
 men are not coming out to knock at 
 doors or to hunt for the offices of stran- 
 gers who might be willing to help them. 
 They are not tramps and professional 
 beggars, and though they are from State 
 prison, the large majority of them have 
 pride and self-respect. They would 
 
 . 
 
 , 
 
 111 
 
Branded. 
 
 27 
 
 . 
 
 , 
 
 rather battle for themselves and struggle 
 and suffer, and I think in many cases 
 would rather go under in the unequal 
 struggle, than become mendicants at the 
 door of charity. They will, however, 
 turn to their friends, — those in whom 
 they have confidence, those to whom 
 they have learned to go for help and ad- 
 vice ; and the very fact that they have a 
 friend is to many of them a safeguard. I 
 feel that our work within the prisons 
 forms the link that will draw them to us, 
 and I believe that it also qualifies us to 
 know just how to help them and teaches 
 us the much we ought to know before we 
 can learn how to deal justly with each 
 case. I must say that where these men 
 
28 
 
 Branded. 
 
 trust, where they love, and where they 
 place their confidence, it is with a whole- 
 hearted appreciation and gratitude that 
 is almost pathetic in its intenseness. For 
 the homeless ones we have opened a 
 Home to which they can go in the in- 
 terim between regaining liberty and find- 
 ing employment; and for all whom we 
 know to be in earnest we try to find 
 work, thus standing by them as their 
 friends at a time when of all others they 
 are in danger and sore pressed by temp- 
 tation and trial. Our first Home, which 
 is situated on the outskirts of New York, 
 accommodates forty men, but we have 
 only begun. As funds come to us we 
 shall go on increasing our capacity until 
 
 , 
 
Branded, 
 
 29 
 
 , 
 
 ' 
 
 hundreds will, I hope, be thus cared for. 
 The place is not stigmatized as a " Pris- 
 oners' Home" or an "Ex-Convicts* 
 Shelter," ^Z ^^/«?r«. We chose the name, 
 and after it had been approved in State 
 prison we felt it would do, so " Hope 
 Hall" is the Home to which many a 
 "boy" to-day looks with bright hopes 
 for his home-coming. The place is 
 prettily and tastefully furnished. I did not 
 want it to have anything of the Institu- 
 tion look about it. Its white curtains and 
 white beds will always be appreciated by 
 the one who has been used to the gloom 
 of a prison cell. Its bright library and 
 sitting-room, its pleasant dining-room, 
 and bright flowers all go to banish the 
 
30 
 
 Branded, 
 
 memory of the past, and to speak of the 
 gladness of the future. 
 
 All the work of the Home is done 
 by the men themselves, — the laundry 
 work, taking care of the horses and 
 cows, the gardening, et cetera, as also 
 repairs, painting, and improvement of 
 the premises. We do not have a fac- 
 tory attached to the Home where brooms 
 and shoes and brushes are made. My 
 ideas upon this line may perhaps differ 
 from the ideas of others, but from my 
 knowledge of the men, I think my view 
 of the case is correct. Were we dealing 
 with lazy tramps, I should think it ad- 
 visable to set them all to some such 
 labor as this; but we are dealing with 
 
Branded. 
 
 31 
 
 I » 
 
 men who are longing to work ; men who 
 want to go forth as soon as possible and 
 gain a living as other citizens, — they 
 are not men willing to be supported by 
 work created for them. They have been 
 making brooms and brushes and shoes 
 for the State for a long time past, and 
 now we want them to feel the necessity 
 and possibility of going forth into the 
 world again just as soon as possible, to 
 gain a living in the way of ordinary 
 citizens. No visitors are allowed to 
 come to this Home. The feelings of 
 the men within it are to be considered as 
 though they were in their own mother's 
 home, shielded from all curious eyes. 
 The "old timer" who has served his 
 
32 
 
 Branded. 
 
 four, five, or even six terms in prison, 
 and the young fellow who has been up 
 for his first forgery, and feels bitterly 
 his first blight and shame, will alike be 
 welcomed within the walls of Hope Hall. 
 The " boys " appreciate Hope Hall, be- 
 cause its name does not , brand the 
 place with a haunting shadow of their 
 past lives. They have left prison ; they 
 have satisfied the law ; why should they 
 be looked upon as ex- convicts; why 
 should the stigma attach itself to them 
 still, or to their place of residence ? We 
 call our " boys " who go forth into the 
 world from this bright home "gradu- 
 ates," and we are hoping in time that 
 the cruel word " ex-convict " will be 
 
Branded. 
 
 33 
 
 unused. I very rarely quote from the 
 letters of my friends in prison, but one 
 that has just come to my hand I will give, 
 that the opinion of a man who stands in 
 the position where he ought to know all 
 about the problem, may be read by the 
 readers of this article, who might criticise 
 my views from their outside standpoint. 
 
 Dear Mrs. Booth, — As you gave all 
 of us " boys " an invitation to write to 
 you, why, I thought that I would do 
 so, and earnestly hope my letter will 
 in no way displease you, and should my 
 letter contain anything which is not 
 just right, please to overlook it. 
 
 I want to tell you just how your words 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 Branded. 
 
 affected me, but honestly speaking, I 
 don't know how to start, but will do 
 the best I can, so here goes. 
 
 Our chaplain told us two weeks ago 
 that you would soon come to speak to 
 us, and I have been waiting and watch- 
 ing for your coming. 
 
 When you rose to speak to us, my 
 eyes filled with tears. I could not ex- 
 plain why the7i or now^ and as you went 
 on and spoke of your work, and spoke 
 of your efforts to aid the poor unfor- 
 tunates in prison like myself, why, two 
 little streams started down my cheeks; 
 I could not keep them back, try as I 
 would, and if any one would have told 
 me that I could be moved so, why, I 
 
 / 
 
/ 
 
 ., 
 
 Branded. 
 
 35 
 
 would have thought they were crazy. 
 Oh, my dear friend, I can speak from 
 my own personal experience, and tell how 
 hard it is for a man leaving prison to do 
 what is right. No doubt you think you 
 know pretty nearly how a man feels, but 
 no one who has not experienced it per- 
 sonally can fully realize the struggle. I 
 was brought up by kind parents, who 
 tried all in their power to make a man 
 of me. When quite young I became 
 a slave to gambling, and was soon be- 
 hind bars. I "graduated" from one 
 of the "colleges" you visit on the 
 Hudson, and with a strong desire to do 
 what was right and to earn an honest 
 and respectable living. I did try, and 
 
36 
 
 Branded. 
 
 was for a time successful. While work- 
 ing, a "gentleman," just like some of 
 those you spoke of having trouble with 
 in "Switzerland," came to the place 
 where I was working, and told my em- 
 ployer that I was an ex-convict, and was 
 perhaps planning to rob his place. I 
 was discharged, my employer telling me 
 work was slack, which I knew to be a 
 lie, and shortly after I found out the 
 reason for my discharge and grew dis- 
 couraged. A short time found me back 
 with my old companions, the most reck- 
 less of them all, stopping at nothing, 
 and the end came by my being sent 
 here. Should you show my letter to 
 some of the police officials of New 
 
Branded. 
 
 37 
 
 York, no doubt they would smile and 
 say, "Why, Mrs. Booth, that is a most 
 dangerous man ! He is up to some 
 game; be careful of him; he wants to 
 impose upon you in some way." But 
 such is not the case, and you^ by your 
 kind words, can do more to aid me and 
 many another man to do what is right 
 than all the police officers in this world. 
 They have put me right where I am 
 to-day by not letting me do what was 
 right. As you spoke of the mother's 
 love, my thoughts went out to my own 
 dear mother, and the last time I saw 
 her in her little cottage home on the 
 outskirts of New York city. I can 
 even now fancy I see her standing in 
 
< ' 
 
 38 
 
 Branded. 
 
 the cottage door, her hand upon my 
 shoulder, telling me to be a good man, 
 and I saying, " I will,, mother ! " but 
 the very next day I was committing a 
 crime ; but the poor old mother has 
 died but a few months ago, and all I 
 have to treasure is her memory. 
 
 I tell you sincerely it is, oh ! so hard to 
 do what is right when a man once be- 
 comes what is known to the police as a 
 * "crook." No one will trust him; the 
 police hound him and want him to give 
 them information regarding others, and 
 no man who has the least spark of man- 
 hood left will do that and be the means 
 of others being sent to prison ; and if he 
 refuses to comply with their request they 
 
 A 
 
Branded. 
 
 39 
 
 will soon send him to prison, be he inno- 
 cent or guilty. 
 
 In speaking oj^* Hope Hall" I thought 
 what a nice place it must be ! Often 
 when speaking with my companions in 
 prison and out, how often have I heard 
 many of them (and I know a great many 
 of them, I assure you) speak of the so- 
 called Homes for discharged prisoners; 
 how they would speak of them and how 
 when a man would enter them he would 
 be looked upon by visitors of the " Home " 
 as a " freak." But what a difference in 
 Hope Hall ! Oh, what can I say to let 
 you know just how I feel towards you ! 
 Never during my experience have I heard 
 of such a work as you are engaged in, 
 
 ■ 
 
 A 
 
40 
 
 Branded, 
 
 and there are some noble and manly 
 Koung fellows in prison whom I know 
 your kind words will win. My own future 
 seems to look brighter than it has for a 
 number of years. A kind and Christian 
 officer in this prison has taken an interest 
 in me, and means to give me an oppor- 
 tunity to reclaim myself, and I will try 
 hard to do so. I know it will be a hard 
 battle, but I mean to try hard to win, as I 
 told this dear friend this evening whilst 
 talking with him. He earnestly- desires 
 me to become a Christian like himself, 
 but I tell him honestly I cannot. But I 
 guess he means to try hard to do so. 1 
 would like to give you his name but don't 
 like to, but I am going to ask him tc 
 
■?l F'^ry"- ' i r ^ y-f-^- 
 
 " -■ff . f ^w a^g-:'' 
 
 Branded. 
 
 41 
 
 write to you himself. He is always ready 
 with the kind word with us " boys," as 
 you term us; always ready to comfort 
 the needy, and it is something unusual 
 amongst the keepers, I assure you. If 
 he don't write to you, I will tell you 
 his name so that you can write and 
 thank him for his kindness to one of 
 your "boys." I am a New York boy, 
 and I want to be called one of your 
 "boys." 
 
 Could you but know v/hat pleasure your 
 visit gave us " boys " I am sure your work 
 would often call you here. Why, the 
 " boys " are going wild over you here I 
 Could you but hear some of their re- 
 marks I am sure it would please you. A 
 
42 
 
 Branded. 
 
 man sat next to me in church who is one 
 of the most noted criminals in the world, 
 and you made him cry. He looked at 
 me and laughed as he saw the tears in 
 my eyes, but a few moments after I 
 looked at him and one great big tear was 
 just dropping into his mouth, which was 
 wide open as he gazed at you. 
 
 What more can I say to you ? I told 
 my Christian friend I wanted to write to 
 you and he said, " Very well, do so ! " 
 But wait till he sees my letter ! Three 
 pages, and we are only allowed to write 
 one ! I should have said sheets, but ex- 
 cuse the mistake. All that I see any way 
 as I am writing this is a slight figure in 
 blue, pleading, oh, so earnestly ! It 
 
-J- ■■ Jtiaj ' tc^ r 
 
 Branded. 
 
 43 
 
 was a sight I shall never forget, and has 
 done me a great deal of good, I assure 
 you. 
 
 I would be pleased to receive the Ga- 
 zette if you have any to spare. I would 
 send the money, but I am " dead broke." 
 My dear friend, I do hope your noble 
 work will be crowned with success. A 
 man who could and would try to impose 
 on you in any way would indeed be a 
 loafer and devoid of all manhood, and I 
 do earnestly hope no one will ever be so 
 mean. 
 
 I write this letter and try to speak 
 plainly and honestly, and hope it may give 
 you a little plea? ire to know that there 
 was one who most heartily appreciated 
 
 , 
 
i 
 
 44 
 
 Branded. 
 
 your kind words, and knew from experi- 
 ence that you spoke words of truth. 
 
 I will close my rambling letter by hop- 
 ing to hear you speak to us again ere long, 
 as we all want to see you. 
 
 May God bless and protect you and 
 yours from all want and sickness, and may 
 I some day in the future grasp your hand 
 and thank you for your eflforts to save me 
 and others. This is the earnest prayer of 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 Hundreds of prisoners to-day are look- 
 ing to their home-coming with joyful ex- 
 pectation, whereas they used to look at 
 it with gloomy foreboding. Had I the 
 money I could open other larger Homes 
 
 . 
 
u, 
 
 Branded. 
 
 45 
 
 
 . 
 
 at once, and oh, how I long to rent and 
 furnish them when I think of the many 
 who are coming to us ; but so far we have 
 had to be patient and wait until the pub- 
 lic sympathy is touched that will place 
 the means withiii our hands. 
 
 On one score I have no doubt, — the 
 men will come to us, and already so strong 
 a link has been forged that without the 
 slightest hesitancy their first thought will 
 be on leaving State prison to come straight 
 to our offices. They have learned to know 
 us in the prisons, and through their corre- 
 spondence we have come to know them 
 as individuals, learning not only the name 
 and cell number, but much about the past. 
 I feel most strongly that this work must 
 
 A 
 
46 
 
 Branded. 
 
 be the personal work of friend to friend, 
 or else the most needy and most sensitive 
 would go forth alone carrying their own 
 burden rather than share their hearts' 
 cares with strangers who might not under- 
 stand. 
 
 Of course one of the questions that 
 will be the most difficult for us to solve 
 will be the finding of work for our friends 
 when they have proved themselves at 
 Hope Hall as thoroughly reliable and in 
 earnest. All I can do in this direction is 
 to appeal again and again to Christian 
 gentlemen who are employers of labor, 
 begging them to help me by giving our 
 "boys" a chance. Every profession, 
 trade, and occupation will be represented 
 
Branded. 
 
 47 
 
 by those who come out from the State 
 prisons : the common laborer, the skilled 
 mechanic, the accountant, the clerk, the 
 man of education, gifts, and talents, which 
 make a position almost more difficult for 
 him to find than were he accustomed to 
 the common drudgery. Yet I think I 
 can say from my personal knowledge that 
 each and all of them will be ready and 
 willing to take any positi( n that they can 
 possibly fill, glad even at small wages to 
 get the chance to pui their foot on the 
 first round of the ladder that will mean to 
 them an upward rise. Are these men 
 worthy of help ? If you could see their 
 manful struggles, if you could know as I 
 do how sincere is their penitence and 
 
48 
 
 Branded. 
 
 how they long to atone for the past, you 
 would indeed feel them worthy of a strong 
 hand of help and sympathy. May I, 
 through these pages, appeal to the sym- 
 pathy of Christian fathers and mothers 
 whose own sons are guarded, to sympa- 
 thize with these boys who are somebody's 
 sons and to whom the great loving father 
 heart of God goes out in yearning? We 
 need money; we need the co-operation 
 of those who could help us in finding 
 work for these men ; we need clothing 
 for them ; we need all the sympathy and 
 help that can be given them, for this is a 
 problem which cannot be solved by one 
 or two, but which can only be lessened 
 as each sympathetic heart spreads an in- 
 
Brandjd. 
 
 49 
 
 fluence among the unsympathetic which 
 will break down the barriers of prejudice 
 and open up avenues of escape to those 
 who have so long been doomed. 
 
 Our work is but young, but in a few 
 years we will prove by living facts, what- 
 ever has been said to the contrary, that 
 the criminal can be reclaimed and the 
 one-time convict can be redeemed.