saving work. I warn people against contributing to
these grafters. If you have money to give to sweet charity, give
it to the poor in your own town; or if you wish to benefit the boys
in prison, contribute to the Nebraska Prison Association, Little
Block, Lincoln, Nebraska, an association that is genuine and does
much good. Stay away from these traveling grafters, no matter what
name they work under and no matter if they do come to your church
and get permission from your minister to preach there, for while
your pastor is sincere, the grafter is not. Leave them alone. Another
specimen of this same kind, has come to the prison for years and
has had access to the books, from which he copied the names of the
inmates as well as their friends. He is a sanctimonious looking
fellow, always ready to shake hands and call you "brother." Shortly
after I took office, he came, and as usual entered the vault and
took out the descriptive ledger. I watched him for a
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minute and saw him take down names in shorthand.
Is it not nerve, to go into a public office and take out the books
without even asking, and does it not show underhandedness to copy
in shorthand? So I said, "What is that you are copying there?" "Brother,
I am just copying a few names." "Do you copy the names
of all the prisoners, and why do you copy the names of their friends?" I
asked. "Well brother, I just do as the Lord dictates me to
do." "Well," said I, "the Lord dictates to
me that you are never to copy any more names as long as I am in
charge." He did not like it. While the inmates' names, their
sentences, and their crimes, are public records, the names of their
parents, brothers, sisters and friends' are not public property,
and I look upon this as a sacred matter and felt it my duty to
protect these people against being preyed upon by these wolves.
I know of a case where a young man was sent to prison from the
central part of the state.
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