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diff --git a/old/54486-0.txt b/old/54486-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fc76ac2..0000000 --- a/old/54486-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1886 +0,0 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 54486 *** -T - - - - VOLUME IV, No. 1. JANUARY, 1914 - - - - - THE DELINQUENT - - - (FORMERLY THE REVIEW) - - A MONTHLY PERIODICAL, PUBLISHED BY THE - NATIONAL PRISONERS’ AID ASSOCIATION - - AT 135 EAST 15th STREET, NEW YORK CITY. - - THIS COPY TEN CENTS. ONE DOLLAR A YEAR - - T. F. Garver, President. - Wm. M. R. French, Vice President. - O. F. Lewis, Secretary, Treasurer and Editor The Delinquent. - Edward Fielding, Chairman Ex. Committee. - F. Emory Lyon, Member Ex. Committee. - W. G. McLaren, Member Ex. Committee. - A. H. Votaw, Member Ex. Committee. - E. A. Fredenhagen, Member Ex. Committee. - Joseph P. Byers, Member Ex. Committee. - R. B. McCord, Member Ex. Committee. - - - - -WHY DELAWARE USE THE WHIPPING POST[A] - -BY CHARLES R. MILLER, GOVERNOR OF DELAWARE - - [Delaware has received in recent months national - attention because a member of Congress asked in Congress - whether the use of the whipping post in Delaware cannot - be declared contrary to the provisions of the national - constitution. To flog prisoners seems to most people a - relic of barbarism. Is it justified? Do you agree with - the Governor of Delaware?] - - -Delaware has whipped criminals of certain types since 1656, and -will continue to whip them until the statutes under which corporal -punishment is indicted shall be repealed. - -Congress cannot, and certainly will not, interfere in the exercise -of proper authority under the law, and as the whipping post is an -integral part of the criminal law of Delaware every law officer must -consent to its use regardless of any personal views he may have in the -matter. Hysterical women, weak men, bullies, cranks and blackguards -in all parts of the country have written to me demanding that I set -aside the law and prohibit whippings for crime in Delaware. These good -souls give no heed to the fact that the whippings are quite as legal in -Delaware as imprisonment. Their demands amount to anarchy, so far as -law enforcement goes. They cry, “Down with the law!” without knowing -whereof they speak. - -I want every criminal, every sharper and every moral leper to know that -if he comes to Delaware and violates the law he will not only serve -a long term in our none too comfortable jails, but that he will be -whipped in public on his bare back before he enters his cell. I wish -this fact could be spread to the uttermost corners of the country. - -Delaware wants no undesirable citizen. This State offers nothing but -the whip and the workhouse for the gunmen, white slavers, panders, -highwaymen and common thieves which people the underworld of some of -our larger cities and who seem to get a certain amount of applause for -their more daring performances from the same type of people who demand -that I shall set aside a fundamental law of my State and defy the -decrees of our High Court. - -[A] From several newspapers. - -Delaware houses one-half of her population in the city of Wilmington. -All the rest of the State is strictly rural. Our people are of the -soil. They are typical farmers—plain, wholesome, God-fearing people -who obey the law and who punish crime with severity. We have neither -the means nor the machinery with which to patrol our rural districts -with armed officers. It follows, then, that we must have laws carrying -severe penalties and rigidly enforce them. - -Half the people in Delaware south of Wilmington never lock their doors -at night, window fasteners are uncommon, and thought of burglars is -totally absent from the minds of our people. Once in a long while some -half-drunken loon will enter a house at night. When he is not kicked -out as a mere intruder he is locked up, tried, convicted and whipped -according to law, and then locked up long enough to think it over -himself and to deter all others from a like offense. - -Those who criticise the whipping post adversely overlook the fact that -Delaware is the broad highway between four chief American cities. - -Our unthinking critics include those who do not know that time or -the loss of time means nothing at all to a very large proportion of -our population. A day, or a week, or a month, more or less, costs a -low-grade negro nothing at all in opportunity or in money. The native -negroes of Delaware know their place and make no trouble. They are far -above the average in habits and in intelligence, but we have a floating -negro population which is definitely bad, and we must safeguard our -people, white and black, against those who come from all parts of the -Shore country to the canneries, work a few weeks or months and then -pass on, only to give place to another lot just as bad, or even worse. - -The negro with city habits is a worse proposition than the farm trained -hand, who is usually law-abiding and useful. Delaware can handle her -own negroes with little or no force, but the passing throng of bad -men needs attention, and they file by with eyes front on the whipping -posts. Cells mean nothing at all to such men, white or black. - -Delaware is absolutely free from all forms of white slavery. This -particular form of crime is punished here without recourse to the -Mann Act or aid from the Federal authorities. Did the whipping post do -naught else but keep cadets out of Delaware it proves its eternal value -here. In every other State in the Union in which there is a large city -the white slave problem comes up with a degree of regularity. The same -people who condemn the whipping post wring their hands and wonder what -to do about the cadets and their wretched victims. Delaware answers, -“Whip the cadet!” - -Years ago a gang of desperadoes undertook to rob a Wilmington bank. -They tunneled under the building, and would have carried off $500,000 -in negotiable securities but for the suspicions of an alert watchman. -They were arrested, and on trial paid one attorney a very large fee -solely to the end that they might be saved from the public whipping. -The late great Chief Justice Lore sentenced them to long terms in -prison and to the utmost limit of the law as to pillory and lashes. - -There has never been a bank robbery attempted in Delaware from that day -to this by professional burglars. These men were bank robbers of the -first grade; the same men who managed one of the sensational robberies -in New York—the Metropolitan Bank, I think. That type of criminal never -considers Delaware now for a second. - -A prison term means nothing at all to him, but he would never dare show -his face in his usual haunts after the lash fell on his bare back in a -Delaware jail. - -All prison reformers and all humanitarians agree that the object of -all punishment is to prevent crime—remotely to cure the criminal. -We are not discussing the cure of criminals. We are discussing the -whipping post per se, and I submit that the whipping post has prevented -two of the most terrible of all crimes short of murder—white slavery -and burglary. There is a grave doubt in my mind if there has been a -single burglary in Delaware within twenty years committed by a man who -was entirely sane and wholly sober, and I do not recall any second -offenders. - -It will not be seriously questioned that society has a right to protect -itself. If the whipping post proves to be a perpetual and potential -protector against the burglar, the highwayman and the cadet, why cry -down its effectiveness? New York had an epidemic of gunmen; Chicago had -an epidemic of highwaymen; Boston and Philadelphia made war on cadets. -Delaware simply painted her whipping posts and multiplied school houses. - -Within recent weeks, in Philadelphia, Judge Norris S. Barratt declared -from the bench that nothing except a thoroughly good whipping at a -public post would serve to adequately punish a wife beater before him. -This learned jurist is intimately familiar with social and political -conditions in Delaware and, before the Sons of Delaware, most ably -defended the whipping post as an aid to crime prevention. - -Solitary confinement has been proved a failure. It rots out the -prisoner, destroys all ambition, and when his hour of freedom comes -he is without initiative, without occupation and without hope. Trades -are now taught these men, but day after day they are “lined up” as -professionals, and their lives become a misery to them. - -Now I repeat that the basic idea of punishment has to do with the -protection of society against the criminal. It would be a little beyond -me to explain the psychological effect of a public whipping upon the -mind of a professional criminal, but of course I had ideas. The fact -remains, however, that the mere prospect of such a whipping keeps men -out of Delaware who would not hesitate a second to “shoot up” a dance -hall in New York or Chicago. - -It is a fact of common knowledge that ship masters of undoubted -courage, of tested and proved valor, are as timid as little children -when ashore; that firemen who never give a thought to personal peril -at a conflagration, bawl and make an awful to-do about having a tooth -filled. Frank Gotch, the wrestler, who could tear an ordinary man apart -with his hands, bows with absolute submission, I am told, to the will -of Mrs. Gotch. - -Doubtless the men of science, the psychologists, have a definite name -for this phenomenon of the mind. I do not know this word, but I do -know that burglars and highwaymen who would brave the police force of -Philadelphia or any other large city will not even consider a “job” in -Delaware and that these men when asked why, invariably reply that they -will take no chance of the whipping post. It may be a display of vanity -more than fear. I do not quite know. - -I have no quarrel with those who want to reform prisons, but I am a -most earnest advocate of any and every method that prevents crime, and -this the whipping post does to a marked degree. - -The sense of shame that follows a public whipping is quite a different -matter from the innermost feelings of the same man flogged in privacy. -In the underworld, where there exist strata of preferment just as there -are social equations in organized society, a man who has done “a bit” -of long duration lives in a degree of reflected glory. A yeggman who -has served ten or twelve years in Cherry Hill, Sing Sing, Joliet or any -one of the other notorious prisons has a certain standing among his -fellows in crime. But it is a curious yet certain fact that the man -who is whipped in public loses caste at once and forever. It seems to -be that in having been sentenced to be whipped, the scene in the court -room, the display in the jailyard and the final flogging—all produce a -profound and a lasting mental shock. - -This is not true when a mere warder calls a man out of his cell, beats -him and then throws him in a dark hole. This performance is followed by -mere resentment. The victim of this system, and the prisoner is very -often a victim, merely promises himself to kill the warder if he ever -has a chance, or some like foolish threat. Not so when a High Court, a -Chief Justice, amid scenes of dignity and decorum, orders the whipping. -It is the effect upon the mind of the man whipped and the result of the -whipping upon the minds of other criminals that count. It is purely -psychic but it is none the less effective. - -None of the men whipped in Delaware is punished to the point that very -great physical torture follows. Such a lashing would create a martyr -of a criminal, and this must be avoided. - -Criminals of the type that hold up trains, raid banks and rob -Government buildings are jealous of their reputations in the -underworld. Once whipped they become objects of derision and contempt -in their own circles. Some of these men are inordinately vain. It is -quite likely that this vanity, affectation or love of even doubtful -glory deters them from invading Delaware and daring the post. - -Notice how the arrest of a notorious yeggman is always followed by -accurate reports of his record. Study these records and you will seldom -see that the prisoner was whipped in Delaware. It is idle to assume -that these men are afraid to come to Delaware because we have police, -a militia and all the other agencies for the enforcement of law. These -are common to all communities. They are not in any degree afraid of -the physical punishment involved in a Delaware whipping. Many of them -in friendly boxing bouts are more thoroughly beaten up every few days -while exercising. It is the preliminaries, the mental picture of the -trial, the solemnity of the sentence, the ignominy of the performance, -and, last of all, the contempt, ridicule and humiliation at the hands -of their consorts, male and female, that produce the result first on -the individual whipped, and ultimately upon all of his kind. - -If there was nothing to it but a mere flogging by a prison warder -of doubtful authority; simply one man in brief authority beating up -another man but temporarily in his keeping, there would be, could be, -no such result, and the whipping of criminals would probably degenerate -into revolting performances with attending scandals. The Delaware -system precludes any such possibility. - -The women of the nation lead in all humanitarian work as they should. -In every large city in the United States, except Wilmington, Delaware, -some brute is sent to jail every day or so for wife beating. Chicago -has had to establish a Court of Domestic Relations for the almost -exclusive benefit of women who have been whipped by beasts who swore to -love and honor them. Delaware will never need any such court so long as -the whipping post is so near the court house and in such great favor -with our judiciary. There is no Judge sitting in Delaware who does not -strongly favor the last for wife beaters. - -Some of our good friends who call themselves penologists, -philanthropists, humanitarians and prison reformers overlook one all -important matter in their crusades. This essential is the prevention of -crime. Without discussion I will agree to everything that any of them -propose for the health and education and reformation of a criminal, but -I still insist that he is best off when he is kept from crime. - -The people of Delaware are not barbarians. In education, in culture, in -true charity and in man’s love for man the people of Delaware rank with -the best in the land and in patriotism second to none. It is absurd to -attempt the indictment of a people of a sovereign State. Delaware has a -proud place in the history of the country and is prepared to meet every -proper issue as it arises and Congressmen from the wilds of Montana -will do well to study the practical results following legislation in -Delaware before asking for Federal interference in a purely State -matter. - -Let every professional criminal in all the world know that Delaware is -no field for his operation; that crime here means public whippings on -the bare back, the ultimate of public disgrace, absolute enforcement of -the law and Delaware will be well served. Other States may toy with the -criminal; experiment with crime and multiply the police, but Delaware -will continue to prevent crime and thus save the criminal from himself -and protect the public from the criminal. - -There is no considerable sentiment against the whipping post in -Delaware. - - - - -TROUBLES OF THE TEXAS PRISON SYSTEM - -BY TOM FINTY, JR. - - [This is the second and concluding article by Mr. Finty. - The first article appeared in the December, 1913, - Delinquent. Mr. Finty’s two articles are an especially - interesting statement.] - - -In the foregoing I have attempted to outline the situation of the Texas -prison system, to show how a burden of loss and debt has followed -marked financial prosperity, and to indicate why the public is puzzled -over the situation. I shall now endeavor to outline the causes of this -condition, my statement being based not merely upon the conclusions -of the investigating committee of 1913, but also largely upon the -testimony taken by the committee, which testimony I heard and reported. -This statement necessarily will include something of a review of -provisions of the prison reform act of 1910, of criticisms of the same, -and of the revisions which the Legislature recently tried to make. - -When the prison reform act of 1910 took effect on January 20, 1911, and -Governor Colquitt appointed his prison commissioners, the system was -clear of debt except as to a small sum in current bills for supplies -just received and on hand. There was also outstanding $100,000 of bonds -secured by a direct lien on the Texas State Railroad. These bonds are -still outstanding, and they are not taken into account in any of the -statements hereinafter made. - -The prison population when the new law took effect was 3,578. Of -this number 1,046 were hired out; 831 were working on share farms (a -modification of the hiring-out system), and 1,701 were employed upon -State account, 586 of these within or near the walls, and 1,115 upon -the State farms. - -The acreage cultivated on the State farms was 18,097; on share farms -25,363, and on contract farms 18,680; total 62,140. - -The prison population on September 30, 1913, was 3,926, all of which -force is employed on State account, 733 of the prisoners being in or -near Rusk and Huntsville prisons and 2,965 on State plantations. These -plantations now include certain rented lands, adjoining the lands -owned by the State. The prison population is classified as follows: -White 1,244, blacks 1,919, mulattoes 335, Mexicans 405 and Indians 3. -The number includes 92 females, 7 of them white, and 85 black. - -The acreage cultivated by the 2,965 prisoners on State farms in 1913 -was 36,993, as compared with 62,140 acres cultivated by 2,807 persons -at the time the new law took effect. - -The reports of the prison commissioners and of chartered accountants -show that in the two years next following the date the act of 1910 took -effect the prison system’s losses from operation were $722,773.41; that -debts aggregating $1,528,458.04 accrued, and that $310,000 appropriated -from the public treasury had been expended. - -Marked difference of opinion as to the cause of this fiscal situation -exists. Obviously, the debt is due in part to the operating losses, and -both the debt and the losses were in part caused by lack of operating -capital. - -A part of the debt represents outlay for improvements and equipment -necessary to provide housing and employment for the convicts withdrawn -from the hiring-out system. A part of it, as already suggested, -represents lack of operating capital. - -When a large proportion of the convict population was hired out, the -men who hired the convicts furnished the land, mules, implements and -houses. When the State withdrew the convicts from hire, it had to -provide all of these things. - -When the convicts were hired out, their wages were paid to the State -monthly, regardless of the profits or losses of the contractors. This -income furnished an operating capital for the prison system as a whole. -It was a substantial income: the State received $31 a month for each -first-class convict, making a large profit after it had paid for food -and clothing and for guarding. When the convicts were withdrawn from -hire, this steady and dependable income stopped. Expenditures continued -steadily throughout the year; the bulk of the receipts came at the end -of the crop year, and, of course, the income was as uncertain as is the -weather and the crops. - -Thus, much of the indebtedness is explained. However, the wisdom of -the commissioners in abolishing the contract system almost three years -before they were required by law to do so has been questioned. It has -been asserted that if they had permitted the contracts to continue -during the three years, receiving the income therefrom, they would have -been prepared to enter upon a complete State account system with much -better chance for it to succeed. It should be noted, however, for what -it may be worth, that some of the contractors said they did not want -to keep the convicts under the conditions as to hours of labor, etc. -imposed by the act of 1910. - -In considering losses from operation of the prison system, it is -readily seen that expenses were increased by requirements of the new -law. The investigating committee says that $379,791.73 was thus added -to the expense account during the first two years. These requirements -were: - - 1. That 10 cents a day should be paid to each convict who - had earned a diminution of sentence by good behavior. - The commissioners advocated a repeal or modification of - this provision. It is almost generally admitted that the - provision in its present form is not only too sweeping, - but also that it fails of its purpose. It has had little, - if any, effect in the way of encouraging good conduct. - Evidently, however, this negative result is due not so - much to the fact that the per diem was paid as it is - to the fact that the per diem has not been paid. After - the system became involved in debt, and the $310,000 - appropriation above mentioned was exhausted, no further - payment of per diem was made, except as convicts were - discharged. - - 2. That convicts should be paid for overtime. The - comment upon the per diem item applies to this all the - way through. Most of the overtime has gone to cooks, - waiters and flunkers. Suspension of per diem and overtime - payments has caused much dissatisfaction among the - convicts. - - 3. That certain new offices should be created, teachers - be provided, and that the salaries of guards should be - increased. - - - 4. That better provision should be made for female - convicts. - - 5. That all new convicts should be brought to Huntsville - prison before being assigned to other parts of the - system. The commissioners recommended the repeal of this - provision, because, they said, medical examination could - be made at the farms as well as at Huntsville. They never - seemed to understand the purposes of the requirement, - which was, briefly, to assign the convicts to proper - industries, to prevent sending to outside work men who - were likely to attempt escape or to foment mutiny, and - to secure to all prisoners some training in prison - discipline. This purpose being misunderstood, prisoners - are sent to the farms on the next train leaving after - their arrival at Huntsville prison. - - 6. That discharged convicts should be furnished a - railroad ticket to any point in the State, instead, as - formerly, to the place where convicted. The commissioners - recommended the repeal of this provision. - - 7. That the State should bear the expense of sending the - corpses of convicts to their kinspeople upon request. - Repeal of this also was recommended. - -There were two other matters upon which the commissioners were not -in agreement. The first was the requirement of the law that convicts -should not be worked more than ten hours a day, this limit to include -the time spent going to and from work. The second was the abolition of -whipping. This latter was not required by the law, but was enforced by -executive order. - -Commissioners Tittle and Brahan attributed the losses from operation -largely to the fact that the convict population upon the whole was -not performing a reasonable amount of labor, as was indicated by the -falling off in acreage cultivated. This condition they ascribed largely -to the statutory limitation upon the hours of labor, and, further, to -the fact that the most effective means of punishment (whipping) had -been interdicted by executive order. The farm managers and sergeants, -and, in fact, very nearly every officer of the system, supported them -in these views. - -Chairman Cabell denied the truth of their deductions as to the -abolition of whipping, and he asserted that in his opinion these other -officers exaggerated the influence of the limitation upon the hours of -labor. - -Certain of the new officers of the system who testified before the -investigating committee said that most of the officers and guards, -having been trained under the old order, were not in sympathy with the -new law nor with its purposes. This suggestion was reinforced by the -testimony of such officers, as is indicated in the foregoing. - -The circumstances attending the abolition of whipping ought also to -be considered. The prison act of 1910 did not prohibit whipping. It -limited it and provided safeguards against abuses. Many of the officers -of the system were not in sympathy with such limitations. In the -early summer of 1912, Chairman Cabell moved that the use of the “bat” -should be discontinued and prohibited. His motion was defeated by the -votes of Commissioners Tittle and Brahan. Thereupon, Governor Colquitt -ordered the commission to adopt Chairman Cabell’s motion. It did so, -unanimously. - -It was generally known throughout the system that practically every -officer thereof believed it impossible to control convicts or to make -them work unless the threat of whipping hung over them. Yet the first -news of the change in punishment methods went out through the press -during a political campaign. In many parts of the prison system, so the -investigation disclosed, the convicts got their first information of -the change from new prisoners. The effect was bad. Convicts reasoned -that the authority of officers directly in charge was negligible; that -these officers had said they could not control convicts or make them -work without the “bat,” and, therefore, since the bat has been taken -away, they could safely decline to work. - -The reluctance of these prison officers to shape their course to the -new requirements, I believe, was based upon sincere conviction. The -influence of their attitude upon results can only be conjectured. In -this connection it ought to be stated that these officers asserted -that whipping was less inhuman than the substitutes provided. These -substitutes were chaining-up and dark-celling. The former consists of -fettering the convict’s wrists at the end of chains suspended from -above at such height as to cause him to stand erect, but flat-footed, -with his arms extended as high as they will go. There have been some -complaints that convicts have been chained so high as to require them -to stand tip-toe. The possibilities in the use of the dark-cell were -illustrated in the Harlem farm tragedy. - -A part of the prison system’s losses from operation were admittedly due -to the following named causes: - - 1. Heavy damage to cane crop of 1911 by freeze. - - 2. Damage to cane and other crops in 1912 by drouth. - - 3. Burning of certain shops in Rusk and Huntsville - prisons, the losses aggregating $286,931. Neither the - indebtedness nor operating account were affected to the - full amount of this loss, for only about $60,000 was - expended in replacements. But both indebtedness and - operating loss were further swelled, to an unmeasured - extent, by reason of the interruption and disorganization - of industries; for a time there was no work for many of - the convicts to do. - -There was also evidence in the investigation to show that the plan -of organization was imperfect. For one thing, the commissioners were -serving under the statute, with their terms limited to two years, and -they were therefore subject to removal in the event of change in the -office of governor. Also, under this law, they were serving in the dual -capacity of directors and executive officials. The system, therefore, -had three heads of co-equal authority. Much of the testimony indicated -that this system did not work well. The men who wrote the prison bill -in 1910 did not originally intend to provide such a system, but at the -last moment they changed their bill in response to an eloquent plea in -behalf of the “commission form of government.” - -When the present Legislature met in special session in July, 1913, -prohibition was still an active issue. Moreover, there were rumors -that Governor Colquitt and former Governor Campbell would contest -for a seat in the United States Senate in 1916, or earlier should an -opportunity arise. Notwithstanding these difficulties or diversions, -the Legislature, upon the whole, seemed sincerely desirous of providing -a solution of the prison system problem. There was, however, no -leadership upon the subject which any considerable number of the -members seemed willing to follow. Indeed, the leaders were not in -agreement. Most of the members confessed their ignorance of the -subject, but in this situation many of them offered remedies of their -own devising. Pride of authority flourished. It had become quite the -style to advocate “humanitarianism;” accordingly many impracticable -propositions were advanced. Most of these were rejected; some found -their way into the bill finally passed. - -This bill provided that the members of the prison commission should -hold office for six years, their terms lapping; that they should be -paid $1,200 a year each, and should not be required to give all of -their time to the service. In other words they were to act as a board -of directors. They were authorized to appoint a general manager, and -were not limited to the State to find one. This general manager was -to receive not more than $6,000 a year, and to have full authority to -employ and remove all other officers and employees of the system. The -bill also modified most of the provisions of the act of 1910 which had -been criticized; the limitation upon the hours of labor was slightly -modified, and the per diem requirement was repealed. The provision -of the law authorizing whipping within limitations and with certain -safeguards was permitted to stand. - -These features were in line with the recommendations of Governor -Colquitt, but he vetoed the bill because of other provisions. One of -the objectionable features, this in lieu of the per diem requirement, -was an elaborate scheme for profit-sharing as between the State and the -prisoners. Many members of the Legislature and many citizens as well, -thought it ludicrous to embark upon a system of profit-sharing at a -time when there were no profits to be shared, and to bind the State -to stand all losses while sharing the profits of prosperous years. My -personal opinion is that the scheme, in the circumstances and in its -detail, was chimerical. - -Subsequent to the adjournment of the special session, as I have -heretofore stated, a new prison commission was appointed, this time -for six years’ terms under the constitution. W. O. Murray, a successful -merchant of Floresville, is the chairman. He served fourteen years in -both branches of the Legislature, devoting himself, as chairman of -the Committee on Appropriations, to the fiscal affairs of the State, -and he resigned from the Senate to become the chief officer of the -prison system. The second new member is C. J. Bass of Terrell, also a -successful merchant. The third new member appointed is W. O. Stamps, -a well-to-do farmer and saw mill man of Upshur county. Mr. Stamps -served two terms in the Texas Legislature and was a member of the -special committee which investigated the prison system in 1909. He is -not exercising the functions of the office to which he was appointed, -for the reason that Commissioner Tittle claims title to the place, and -has been sustained in this contention by a district judge. The prison -organization therefore will remain incomplete until the court of last -resort has passed upon the case. - -The new board is assisted by an appropriation of $1,350,860.27 to -pay debts, half of it not to become available until September 1, -1914. It will not clear up all of the indebtedness. The total amount -appropriated to the prison system since the act of 1910 became -effective is $2,210,860.27. - -The indebtedness has increased since January 1, 1913, if payments made -out of appropriations from the State treasury are not considered, but -a fair statement of present indebtedness or of losses from operation -in 1913 cannot be made until the farm products of 1913 have been sold. -Cane is harvested during the early winter. - -It is known, however, at this time that the crops of 1913 have not -turned out well and that the results of the year’s operations will show -on the wrong side of the ledger. Nevertheless, it is inevitable that a -large sum must be expended to plant and cultivate a new crop in 1914, -the returns from which will not be received until late in the year. - -The losses have been increased through damage to the plantations -through the recent floods of the Brazos River. It is estimated that -such damage will amount to $500,000. The indebtedness, however, has -been reduced in effect through a recent opinion of the Attorney -General, holding that the law authorizing per diem payments to convicts -is unconstitutional. The Prison System owed the convicts quite a large -sum of money upon account of per diem, and this indebtedness has in -effect been wiped off the books through the Attorney General’s opinion. - -In this situation, it is believed that Governor Colquitt will again -convene the Legislature in special session in January to further deal -with the problem. - -In my opinion, the chief needs of the prison system are a plan of -organization of the sort which the Legislature sought to provide in -its recent act; abandonment of the big plantation scheme, and adequate -operating capital. Many penologists coming to Texas from other states -have praised the big plantation scheme; the idea of working prisoners -in the open air and under “God’s sunshine,” rather than in shops, -appeals to them. A more intimate knowledge of the plantation system -might convince these persons that its alleged excellences are largely -moonshine. It should be remembered, for one thing, that most men in -Texas, whether in shops, stores or offices, get more open air and God’s -sunshine than do persons engaged in similar pursuits in more northerly -latitudes. I believed that the big plantation system was bad even when -it was financially profitable, or seemingly so. It has now ceased even -to be profitable. Heretofore, few people agreed with my criticism of -this system. There have been converts; yet, I am frank to say that not -a very great number of persons are in agreement with me. Many now are -opposed to operating the plantations now owned by the State, but most -of these would have the State buy other large farms in a different -section, abandoning the growing of sugar-cane. - -Practically all of the able-bodied convicts of the prison system -have been put to work on the plantations regardless of their former -occupations and regardless of their inclination to flee or to foment -trouble. The four big plantations are situated in the valley of -the lower Brazos River, in a wooded country which invites escapes. -Consequently, it is necessary to have a veritable army of officers and -guards. The pay-roll is enormous, although individual compensation is -small. Because the compensation is small there is a constant shift in -the guard personnel. As a rule most of the guards are unfit for the -service. This assertion is supported by the testimony of a number of -the officers of the system. Yet the convicts are directly and wholly -in the charge of these guards the greater part of the time, sometimes -being miles away from headquarters and officers. - -The plantations are in a rainy country; the heaviest work of the year, -cane harvesting, is done at a season when the weather generally is -inclement. It is true that free labor encounters the same conditions, -but it is practicable for free labor to go to shelter, while -impracticable to move large forces of convicts expeditiously. Moreover, -free labor, as its name implies, is free to lay off when it so desires; -prisoners, as the word implies, cannot do this. - -The Rusk and Huntsville prisons have cells in which usually one, and -not more than two convicts, are kept. But only 16 per cent. of the -total number of convicts are in these prisons. All others are on the -plantations. The act of 1910 called for fireproof cell buildings on -the plantations, but it did not provide funds wherewith to build them. -Moreover, the prison commissioners, like their predecessors in office, -deemed it impracticable and unnecessary to provide such buildings. -Accordingly the new buildings which they have erected are of the old -type, plus some improvements. These farm prison buildings are good of -their kind, but the kind is bad. - -They are wooden dormitory buildings. In each dormitory a large number -of convicts are housed, sometimes more than 100. They commingle and -converse freely within certain hours. Among the convicts in every -camp there are agitators, “congressmen” their fellows call them. The -conditions are such as to permit, if not indeed, to invite, immoral -practices, conspiracy and mutiny. - -The efforts to employ practically all the able-bodied convicts on the -farms, to cultivate a large acreage, and to meet the varying demands -for labor—this latter necessitating frequent transfer of convicts from -plantation to plantation, and from shops to the farms—has practically -defeated efforts at classification of prisoners as was required by the -act of 1910. - -I do not see much hope for the Texas prison system unless provision -shall be made for a business like organization; unless there shall be -substituted for the plantation system a line of industries which will -admit of the convicts being under the actual control of competent and -suitable officers instead of incompetent and poorly paid guards, nor -unless adequate operating capital shall be provided. - -In view, however, of the experiences here detailed, I am fearful that -before such reforms shall be enacted the people will grow weary of -footing the bills and will permit a restoration of the contract or -lease system, possibly in disguise. The present situation is not unlike -that of 1870 when the lease system was adopted. - - - - -THE PRISON SHIP “SUCCESS” - - -There is now being exhibited along the Atlantic coast the oldest and -strangest craft afloat in the world to-day. This is the old British -convict ship “Success,” now the only survivor of the “Ocean Hells,” as -the ships of England’s fleet of felon transports were called in the -first half of the last century. - -Built in 1790, at Moulmain, by the old pagoda “looking eastwards to the -sea,” the “Success” is now 123 years old. No ship of anything like her -great age to-day is seaworthy, yet this old hulk under her own sail -has succeeded in crossing the Atlantic, her time of 96 days, however, -creating no new record. - -Massively built throughout of solid Burman teak, the “Success” was -first launched as an armed East India merchantsman with beautiful brass -guns bristling from her sides and fitted handsomely for the reception -of princes, nabobs and the wealthy traders of the Orient, whose goods, -spices, aromatic teas, ivories, jewels and other costly luxuries she -carried over the seven seas to the ends of the earth. Her tonnage is -589, and she is 135 feet long and 29 feet beam. Her solid sides are 2 -feet 6 inches thick at the bilge, and her keelson is a solid teak baulk -of tremendous thickness, with sister keelsons little less massive. -Her square cut stern and quarter galleries stamp her at once with the -hall-mark of antiquity, and her bluff bow shows that she could never -have distinguished herself for a high rate of speed. - -Yet pains were taken to make her trim and smart, and fit to hold -a leading place among her sister ships of the Anglo-Indian fleet. -Remnants of great gilded scrolls upon a rich blue ground have been -brought to light, on scratching away the super-imposed coating. -The quarter galleries, too, were originally decorated with massive -and artistic carvings. Escutcheons can easily be traced at regular -intervals from stem to stern, and the fo’c’sle head, raised high aloft -forward, bears at its extremity a symbol of innocence and beautiful -womanhood in the original figurehead of exquisite design—a strangely -inappropriate emblem in the days when crime-stained convicts in -clanking chains put to flight all thoughts of innocence and beauty. - -Broken only by an occasional conflict with a pirate craft, the -“Success” had an honored life on the ocean until 1802, when she was -first chartered by the British Government to transport to Australia -the overflow of the home jails, the unfortunate wretches who at that -time were sentenced to from seven years to the term of natural life for -offenses that would now be considered trivial and petty, warranting at -most but a small fine. - -Some of the greatest writers of the 19th century devoted their pens -to horror-compelling descriptions of the voyages of the felon-fleet, -of which the “Success” was in her day the commodore or principal -devil-ship. “The Convict Ship” described by Clark Russell in his novel -of that title is in every detail an exact picture of the “Success” as -she is to-day, unchanged after all her years, nothing being omitted -but her human freight and their suffering from the cruelties and -barbarities perpetuated upon them. In “Moondyne,” too, John Boyle -O’Reilly described at first hand the “Hugomont,” a sister ship to this -ocean hell, with a faithfulness which anyone on visiting her must -realize. - -The human cargoes on these convict ships died off like rotten sheep. -Here is an extract from an official record of the maiden trip of the -“Success” as a convict ship. Dr. White, the colonial surgeon, reported:— - - “... of 939 males,” he says, in 1802, “sent out by the - last ships, ‘Success,’ ‘Scarborough’ and ‘Neptune,’ 251 - died on board, and 50 have died since landing, the number - of sick this day is 450, and many who are reckoned as not - sick have barely strength to attend to themselves.” - -In a further portion of his report, describing his first boarding -of the “Success,” Dr. White said that he found dead bodies still in -irons—nearly all convicts made the full voyage, often lasting nine -months, heavily ironed—below amongst the crowds of the living. Here is -his own words:— - - “A greater number of them were lying some half, and - others quite naked, without bed or bedding, unable to - turn or help themselves. The smell was so offensive I - could hardly bear it. Some of these unhappy people died - after the ship came into the harbor before they could be - taken on shore. Part of these had been thrown into the - harbor and their dead bodies cast upon the shore, and - were seen lying naked upon the rocks. The misery I saw - amongst them is inexpressible.” - -Engaged in this hideous trade, the “Success” continued to serve until -1851, in which year she was permanently stationed as a receiving prison -in Hobson’s Bay, Australia. - -Cells, strong and gloomy, were constructed on the ’tween and lower -decks, and in these the most desperate criminals that England and -Australia could produce were “accommodated.” The lower deck was devoted -to the very worst type of convicts, and only prisoners of the better -class confined in the ’tween deck cells. “Refractory” prisoners were -immured throughout the long days and nights in the noisome dungeons in -the dark depths of the lower hold, and were never allowed on shore on -any pretext. Their only exercise and opportunity of enjoying a breath -of fresh air was restricted to one hour in every twenty-four, when -they were marched from stem to stern upon deck. The exceptionally high -bulkwarks prevented them seeing aught but the strip of blue Australia -sky directly overhead; the white-winged gulls, as they glided over -the vessel, seemed to mock the prisoners in their heavy chains. From -long confinement in the dark cells the eyesight of the convicts was -generally ruined. - -The corner cells on either side of the lower deck are the dreaded -“Black Holes,” in which prisoners who had been guilty of some breach of -discipline or fractious conduct were punished by solitary confinement -lasting from one to one hundred days. These small and tapering -torture-chambers measure only two feet eight inches across. The doors -fit as tight as valves and close with a “swish,” excluding all air -except what can filter through the perforated iron plate that was -placed over the bars above the door, in order to make the hole as dark -and oppressive as possible. A stout iron ring is fastened knee high in -the shelving back of the cell, and through this ring the right wrist -of the prisoner was passed, and then handcuffed to the left hand; the -consequence was that he was thus prevented from standing upright or -lying down, but was obliged to stoop or lean against the shelving side -of the vessel as it rolled to and fro on the restless waters of the -bay. Starved, beaten and abused as they were, the wonder is that so -many of even the prisoners were able to endure punishment as they did. - -In 1857 the disclosures that had been made of the brutal and inhuman -treatment meted out to prisoners created a fierce outcry in Australia, -amounting almost to revolt against the English Government, and resulted -in the abandonment of the hulk system. For some years later—from 1860 -to 1868 the “Success” was used as a women’s prison; then she became -successively a reformatory ship and ammunition store, and later all the -prison hulks were ordered to be sold on the express condition that they -were to be broken up, and their associations lost to the recollection -of the residents of Melbourne. By a clerical error, however, that -condition did not appear upon the terms of sale of the “Success.” Hence -she became the only British convict ship afloat. It was not until -1890, however, that she appeared before the public as an exhibition -ship. In 1892 a gang of Sydney, N. S. W., residents stealthily boarded -her to revenge themselves for the outrage on their pride caused by -the exhibition of their ancestors, and all the figures were mutilated -beyond repair. The figures were replaced, but in order to make their -work more certain she was again attacked, scuttled and sunk in Sydney -Harbor, but after the lapse of some years and at enormous expense her -owners raised her, and since then she has been on exhibition not only -in the Antipodean colonies, but has circumnavigated Great Britain and -Ireland twice, and been shown five times in London. Her visitors have -numbered over 15,000,000 people, and have included the King of England, -the Prince of Wales, the Prince and Princess Henry of Battenburg, -and other members of the royal family, the German Emperor, Captain -Dreyfus of Devil’s Island, Lord Charles Beresford, the late Mr. W. E. -Gladstone, and other “notabilities.” - -In 1912 she attempted what was perhaps the greatest feat in all her -remarkable career—that was, to make the passage across the Atlantic -under her own sail, unaccompanied by tug or steamer. The shipping world -was aghast when the voyage was projected. “Impossible,” said every man -that ever sailed the seas in ships, “that this century and a quarter -old hulk could brave the spring hurricanes of the western Ocean!” -Lloyds refused her insurance, the British Government refused her -clearance and sea-captain after sea-captain refused her command, but -finally a stout old skipper, Captain John Scott, and a gallant crew of -adventurous souls under the command of Captain D. H. Smith, the owner, -hoisted sail and took her out of Glasson Dock on the very day that the -ill-fated “Titanic” sailed from the port of Southhampton. For 96 days -she battled bravely, her staunch old hull defying the crashing gales -and mountainous seas and at length made port in Boston Harbor with a -crew, worn out and half starved but bravely triumphant, to the applause -of press and public, who likened the splendid feat to the epoch-making -voyage of Christopher Columbus. - -Since then the “Success” has exhibited in Boston, Providence, New York, -Asbury Park, Philadelphia and is now being shown in southern seaports. - - - - -PROGRESS IN MASSACHUSETTS - -BY WARREN F. SPALDING - - Secretary, Massachusetts Prison Association, and Member - State Parole Board - - -The legislation actually enacted during 1913 constituted but a -small part of the progress made in prison reform. A combination of -circumstances caused a reference to the next Legislature of many -measures which had the hearty approval of the leaders in both branches. -The reorganization of the prison commission, late in session, led to -the postponement. It was felt that the new board should pass definitely -upon the proposed legislation. - -Governor Foss outlined in messages to the Legislature a program for -prison reform, the spirit of which is likely to be the basis of future -Legislation. The most important of his recommendations is that the -State assume the control and administration of all the county prisons, -on the ground that crime is against the State and not against counties, -and that the care of criminals is a function of the State. This would -make it possible to classify both prisons and prisoners. - -If the prisons are to remain in the control of the State, he -recommended that all the long-term men be gathered in a few of them, -and that schools which should give both mental and manual training be -established, at the expense of and under the control of the State, -making the reformation of such men the definite purpose of imprisonment. - -The State prison buildings are old, and the construction of a new -prison has been under consideration for several years. To the mind -of the Governor no steps in this direction should be taken until the -entire felon population of the State has been studied, with a view to -the construction of buildings which will provide for the classification -of such offenders, and the establishment of a system of grading and -separation of men who need different methods of treatment. This may -involve the use of the modern part of the present prison for the -worst men, and the construction of new buildings elsewhere, for other -classes, with ample facilities for outdoor work for those who can be -trusted. The Concord reformatory, built originally for a State prison, -and well adapted for it, could be used for the State prison. If that -should be done, it would be possible to have a new reformatory, built -to fit reformatory work. The buildings of the reformatory at Sherborn -are wholly unfit for such an institution, and the construction of -smaller buildings on the reformatory plan is one of the possibilities. - -It is expected that the prison commission will report upon these -matters to the next Legislature. - -Of completed legislation, the most important measure passed in -several years is the law establishing a board of parole. Heretofore -the prisoners in the State prison and the two reformatories have -been paroled by the prison commission. The work has been done in a -mechanical way, solely on the basis of the conduct of the prisoner, -his fitness to return to the community receiving little if any -consideration. Comparatively little attention was given to the -supervision on paroled prisoners, so long as they did not commit new -crimes. - -The new parole board is required to see all prisoners who are to be -paroled, and is making fitness for free life the main consideration in -releasing. Its members are paid for their work and can therefore give -to it all the time needed. When the work is fully in hand, it will have -information covering the entire history of every prisoner, enabling -it to pass intelligently upon the case. The prison commission, which -has the supervision of paroled prisoners, is changing its methods, and -eventually will know the whereabouts and conduct of every individual. - -The requirement that men shall become fit to be released is likely to -lead to changes in the prison system, as it is manifestly unfair to -require men to improve in confinement unless the State provides the -means for improvement, and makes that the first purpose in dealing with -them. - -The treatment of criminal drunkenness has attracted much attention -recently. There is general dissatisfaction with present methods—short -sentences for punishment—and a feeling that “drunks” should be -separated from other offenders. On the recommendation of the Governor, -a commission was created to study the whole subject of drunkenness and -its present treatment. - -In 1911 a law was passed, authorizing the establishment of departments -for “defective delinquents,” with a view to segregating those offenders -whose crimes were due to mental inferiority. No appropriation was -made however, and nothing could be done. The Governor recommended -the erection of buildings at the State farm, and at the reformatory -for women, but the Legislature, instead, authorized the Governor and -council to lease buildings for the purpose. Though the new jail at -Fall River, never opened, is not specified, it seems plain that the -intention was to use that. It is doubtful however if it will be found -suitable. - -An important change was made in the law authorizing a suspension of -sentence in cases of minor offenders who have been sentenced to pay -fines. The old law permitted this, but many judges used the power in -comparatively few cases. The new law compels courts to put fine cases -on probation, giving the offender time to pay, unless it is believed -that he will default. It is expected that this will greatly reduce the -number of commitments for non-payment of fines. - - - - -COMMISSIONER RANDALL’S REPORT - - [When the man that people like to speak of as “Frank” - Randall went to Massachusetts from Minnesota as chairman - of the Massachusetts Prison Commission it was expected - that he would be “frank.” Here is a summary, from the - Boston Herald of parts of Mr. Randall’s first annual - message.] - - -In an interview given the first of the year by Frank L. Randall, the -new chairman of the Massachusetts Prison Commission, he made several -suggestions for the improvement of the penal system of Massachusetts. - -In his six months’ service he has been taking stock of the situation. -While he has found many things that warrant the pride the State -has in her penal institutions, he has found also not a few serious -problems of which the general public know little or nothing. He pays -high tribute to the sheriffs and others engaged in the penological -work of the State. But he discusses a large number of suggestions as -to the supervision of the prison industries of the commonwealth, the -indeterminate sentence, the trying out of applicants for employment as -guards and in other capacities, the pardoning influence of the wardens -and superintendents, and especially as to the very large number of -persons on parole, of whom the State has lost track altogether. - -“Did you know,” he asks, “that in this State there are 1,056 persons -from the State reformatory, 217 from the State prison and more than 200 -from the woman’s prison who ought to be making regular monthly reports -to the proper authorities but of whom the State knows little or nothing? - -“This is a very serious situation. According to the records all these -persons were paroled. The terms of the parole in each and every -case was a regular report every month, that the prison officials, -representative of the power and supervision of the State, might know -exactly the situation of each convicted person who has been liberated -upon obligation to keep the State informed of his movements. - -“Some of these persons have never rendered a single report. Others have -reported for a time, and then ceased to trouble themselves about the -matter. In very many cases their whereabouts is unknown. - -“Now the sentences of these persons have not expired. They are still -nominally in the charge of the State, which has granted them their -liberty upon conditions. There ought not to be a single such case. -In no instance should the State be ignorant of the whereabouts of a -prisoner unless he is a fugitive from justice. These persons may not -be classed as fugitives, and their sentences have not expired, yet the -State has no trace of them. - -“This situation certainly shows a flaw in our system and a serious one. - -“I am strongly of the opinion that the prison industries of the State -ought to be differently managed. - -“Our boards now are primarily concerned with the welfare of the -prisoners, and properly so. The welfare of the inmate of a penal -institution must come first. But there is a service to the State which -he is rendering, and it is the part of business efficiency to make that -service as large and of as good quality as possible. - -“The industries of the penal institutions of the State are not managed -in a business way. Here are hundreds of workers making thousands of -dollars’ worth of goods, and no one who is expert in business affairs -is held responsible for the administration of this industrial system. -The wardens and the superintendents look after these details as one -of their duties. But neither they nor any other official can devote -the time and attention to these industries which they ought to have -in order that the State may get from them the largest return and the -workers themselves derive from them the greatest benefit for themselves. - -“The one officer who now gives all his time to the concerns of the -penal system is the chairman of the board, and he has a multitude -of matters to occupy every moment. There ought to be some person -of commercial ability, a trained business man, who should give his -whole time to the dollars and cents of the penal establishment of the -State. Let the commissioner give his attention predominantly to the -humanitarian side of the work. But let us have a trained expert who -shall develop new industries, improve the system of marketing the -product, and look in general after the business side of the prisons -just as the superintendent looks after these matters in any private -enterprise. It will pay the State to consider this matter.” - -As he proceeded in his discussion of these problems it became more and -more evident that to the commissioner prison service ought to be a life -work, a professional occupation, to which men should give their lives, -just as they go into law or medicine, and that this should be the case -with the guards as well as with the wardens and the heads of the penal -system of States. This appeared in his discussion of the warden’s -influence on the granting of pardons. - -“I myself got caught by my ignorance of one of the kinks in the -laws of the country some years ago,” he said. “It was this way. Out -in Minnesota there was an Indian boy in prison who was dying of -tuberculosis. I investigated his case, saw the proper parties, and went -to the executive with a plea for pardon that the lad might go where -there was a chance for the recovery of his health. I had the influence -of senators and prominent men. And at the last minute I found that I -could not get anything done because my name appeared upon the petition. - -“You see, it is assumed that it is not wise for the guard or the -warden to be in any way friendly with his prisoners and at the same -time to have influence for the securing of pardons. He might try to -use his influence for the advantage of his favorites, and give them -their liberty, not because they were ready for it, but out of personal -reasons. That was the old thinking on the subject. - -“But the new thinking is better. If you have the right kind of warden -there will be no danger of the abuse of any such power. He will be -so sincere a friend of each and every prisoner that he will not use -his influence to free a man until he is sure the convict is ready to -return to society with safety to himself and to his fellowmen. When you -have that kind of warden his opinion will be the very best that it is -possible to have. - -“The same point applies in the case of the guard. The old theory is -that the guard must not talk with a prisoner except on matters of -discipline. He might become interested in a prisoner and that would -be bad for discipline. The new and better idea is that we should have -guards who mean to make penology a serious professional occupation, -a life career, and then their attitude toward a prisoner changes -entirely, and the danger of favoritism disappears. - -“In most cases when a man applies for a place as guard we look him over -and tell him to put on a uniform if he bears scrutiny. He may pass -some simple tests in a civil service examination. But what about his -temperamental fitness for the responsibility of the care of prisoners? -That is, perhaps, the most important qualification. As it is, we have -no means of determining it. - -“I wish we might have some sort of central agency for the trying out -of prospective guards. When they have made good and manifested a -disposition seriously to study and practice the science of penology -then they become very valuable to the State. Men who go into the -occupation as a makeshift are expensive to the State in the long run. -If we could test him in practice the credentials a man would bring from -that central clearing house would be the best possible guarantee of -fitness. - -“The science of penology in this country has advanced with very rapid -strides. But the art of penology has not kept pace with it. And the -reason is suggested in what I have said. There are too few who mean to -make penology a real career. What we need is the type of man who can -see the possibilities of service to the State in his kind of work. - -“Another matter which has been already a subject of study with me here -in Massachusetts is the practice we have of mixing in our institutions -two classes who ought to be kept apart. We have the workhouse cases and -the prison cases. The former will include probably the older and the -more confirmed offenders, many who are less hopeful of reformation, the -careless and the professionally delinquent. They come and go and come -back again quite as a matter of course. - -“But very many of the prison cases will be younger persons convicted of -more serious offences. They will include many who can be appealed to, -that are not confirmed in crime, who will respond to influence of the -proper sort. - -“Now, it is not good policy to mix these cases. The one class comprises -many who are glad to be fed and lodged and sheltered by the State. The -others must not be permitted to learn to think of themselves as thus, -subjects of the State’s care. - -“I would have these men sentenced indeterminately, not to be released -until it is evident that they are ready for liberty. They must be -treated as individual cases and adjustments must be made in each -instance. I would place their release in the discretion of certain -officials who may be presumed to be best prepared to say whether or not -they are ready for release.” - -In general Mr. Randall referred to the need of the removal of the work -of prison officials from all political and partisan influences and -control. He named the State of Ohio as a community which has lately -taken a very advanced step in penal legislation. The State of Illinois -was referred to as an example of precisely the opposite sort. The -commissioner told of his experiences in attending the annual meetings -of the prison workers of the country, when year after year there will -appear different sets of officials from the same city or State. “How -can there be any real progress, or any development of the art of -penology, when there is so little tenure of office?” he asked with a -smile. - -“This country,” he added, “is regarded all over the world as a great -laboratory where all sorts of theories have a chance to be tried out. -This is because of our federal system. The United States has nothing to -do except with a few federal prisons. Each State of the forty-eight has -its own penal institutions. Thus, as you go about the country you may -see almost every sort of plan, the most advanced and the most belated, -in operation. For that reason deputations from foreign countries -are sent here often for observation and study. Massachusetts ranks -high, and deservedly so, although there are many opportunities for -improvement. - -“One thing that must be remembered is this, that it is almost -impossible to tell in advance how a plan is going to work. It may be -wrought out with great care. But we have human nature to deal with, -and exceptions to rules occur pretty frequently. Often a seemingly -unimportant provision may prove very valuable. Then it must receive -the place of importance that it deserves, and be adapted to varying -conditions everywhere. And often what has seemed to be important will -turn out to be of very subordinate consequence.” - -VERMONT’S STATE PRISON IN “THE HONOR SYSTEM LINE” - - [The Boston Globe has recently published the following - article. Warden Lovell of Windsor seems to be running - Sheriff Tracy a close second.] - - -Wilson S. Lovell, the superintendent of the Vermont State Prison at -Windsor, has advanced ideas concerning the management of convicts. - -“When I can’t treat them like human beings,” he says, “I’ll give up the -job.” - -Certainly his prisoners have privileges not generally accorded -elsewhere to offenders against the law who are serving sentences. - -They are permitted to keep razors and to shave themselves. - -If an occupant of the electrically lighted cells doesn’t like the -white-wash on the walls, he can replace it with a paint of cheerful red -or any other color which does not offend his artistic eye. - -Many of the men, who have nearly served out their terms, work about the -town under a keeper and on the prison farm. For the work about town -they receive approximately 50 cents a day for their own personal use. - -The prison cows are driven out to pasture, some distance from the -institution, but there is nothing in the garb or manner of the persons -who drive them to suggest that they are convicts, but nevertheless they -are. They are allowed to go unattended—in a word are trusted—put on -honor. - -The women inmates, who do all the housework of the prison with the -exception of the cooking, which is done by the men, have unprecedented -liberties. - -They are allowed all over the place. - -One can see them of a morning carrying baskets of clothes to the -clothes-yard outside the walls. - -They gather raspberries and strawberries in the prison garden, which is -unsurrounded by any barrier. - -In the afternoon, when their work is done, they are at liberty to read, -crochet or sew in their rooms, which are all in a separate building, -and quite as airy and well furnished as those of the officials. - -Supt. Lowell indulges them in automobiling, evenings, taking them -out three or four at a time, and when there is a band concert on the -village green they may be seen sitting on the benches of the lawn -facing the street, attended by the prison matron. - -Either there is something in the old saying “honor among thieves,” or -else, being treated so well, the prisoners have no desire to try to -escape from their “happy home.” At any rate they seem well content, -look well fed and well kept and are a credit to the “humane treatment.” - -Within the last two years there have been none on the sick list in the -prison hospital. - -Before the advent of Mr. Lovell the prisoners filed in line to the -yard three times a day, summer and winter, and received their bowls of -soup or plates of hash through a slide which extended outside from the -kitchen. Each one would then go to his cell and eat his portion. They -now have a large dining room with long tables running the length of the -room. Here they are fed upon “the fat of the land.” - -There is a splendid vegetable garden in the rear of the prison—the -pride of Supt. Lovell’s heart. Such large, juicy, red tomatoes, rows -of string beans, cucumbers, lettuce and watermelons, beets, squashes, -cabbages, and below a field of sweet corn! All of these vegetables are -used for the prisoners; nothing is sold outside. - -They are allowed from three to four ounces of meat a day. They eat -molasses on their bread on week days, great glass jugs of it being -placed at intervals on the long tables; but on Sunday they are given -butter. On holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving, etc., they have quite -as good a dinner as any one, a turkey and “all the fixings.” - -The men of the prison are mostly engaged in making shirts. There is a -long, well-lighted workshop, two stories high. The shop is exceedingly -well equipped with electric lights, electric fans, electric flat-irons, -sewing machines and cutting machines. - -At the rear of each man’s chair is a pail of water, a cake of soap, and -on the back of his chair a towel. Under the long work tables, suspended -by hooks, are small mirrors—the personal property of some of the vainer -fellows. So the toilet is not neglected, but scrupulously attended to -at the sound of the bell at noon, and at 5:30 in the afternoon. - -The men have a ten-hour day, beginning at 7:30 in the morning, taking a -half-hour off at noon, and finishing at 5:30 P. M. - -They seem interested in their work—looking up with good-natured smiles -at the curious visitor. - -The men also make their own wearing apparel, everything but shoes and -stockings. This work is done in the State workroom. Here they also -repair their shoes and darn their socks. They also use the room as a -barber shop, but the old fashioned ideas of the shaven poll are done -away with and the prisoner has just an ordinary haircut. - -An interesting feature is the store of the prison. In it are the -various specimens of the handiwork of the prisoners. These are for -sale, and comprise watch chains, charms, and hat pins in onyx, carved -wooden boxes, strange wooden birds with spotted wings, and worsted mats. - -One of the prisoners, who never took a drawing or painting lesson in -his life, has painted a picture of the River Dorderecht, Holland. It is -well drawn, and the coloring is extremely good for an amateur. - -There is a chapel in connection with the prison, and here, on Sunday -mornings at 9 o’clock, service is held, and visitors are welcome. The -choir is composed of some of the prisoners. The women are excluded from -the service, having one of their own in the afternoon, to which the -public is not invited. - -Mr. Ford, the white-haired chaplain, calls the men “my boys,” and he -certainly seems to have a wonderful influence over them. - -Evenings they sit in their cells reading by electric light, or engaged -in making various things to sell, for which, when sold, they receive -the money. At about 8 P. M. the guard, carrying a lighted torch, -proceeds along the tiers in the men’s section and stops at each cell -to give the occupant light. They are allowed to smoke a pipe, and the -tobacco is furnished by the prison authorities. - -An unusual privilege is an opportunity to procure little outside -luxuries with any money which they may have earned. Every Wednesday the -warden or the chaplain makes the rounds of the cells and inquires of -each one what he would like to have purchased. In this way they acquire -many little comforts which they otherwise would not have. - - - - -LEGISLATION IN KANSAS - -BY J. T. HOWE - -Secretary State Board of Control. - - -The last Kansas Legislature made few changes in the laws regulating the -treatment and government of prisoners in the several prisons. The State -has always endeavored to treat its prisoners as humanely as possible, -and but few laws were ever passed relative to this because the prisons -are under a board that has authority to make all necessary rules for -governing these institutions. - -The principal changes made by the last Legislature were in the scope of -the several boards. The penal institutions, namely, the Penitentiary, -Boy’s Reformatory, Boy’s Industrial School and Girl’s Industrial School -were placed under the Board of Corrections. The Schools for the Deaf -and Blind were placed under the control of the Board of Administration -which has charge of all the State Schools. The Board of Control has -charge of the charitable institutions, namely, asylums, State Orphans’ -Home and has supervision over all private hospitals, home-finding -societies and charitable institutions in the State. - -The two important laws passed were the parole law and the payment of -wages to prisoners. The new parole law permits the judge to parole any -person except in certain cases, before he or she has been committed to -an institution. The law best explains itself. - -“Any person convicted of any felony, except murder, forcible rape, -arson, or robbery, such convictions being for a first offense and -imprisonment in the penitentiary, Kansas State Reformatory, or -Industrial Schools for Boys and the Industrial School for Girls, the -court before whom the conviction was made may parole such person either -before or after sentence has been pronounced, if the court is satisfied -that if permitted to go at large he would not again violate the law. He -may be permitted to remain at large until such parole has terminated, -provided that the court shall have no power to parole any person after -he has been delivered to any of these institutions.” - -This is considered one of the best laws passed regulating paroles. - -The bill providing for the payment of wages to convicts provides that -the Board of Corrections may allow a prisoner not less than $.10 nor -more than $.25 each day for work done, over and above the day’s task -as assigned. This money is to be sent to the family of the prisoner, -which is dependent upon him for their care and keep. If the prisoner -have no family, the money can accumulate until the expiration of the -prisoner’s term and is then given to him. He may draw at any time -from such fund for his personal needs so long as he does not use it -improperly. This law does not fulfill its purpose. Its weakness is that -in the average prison, a convict is assigned about all the work he -can do and has but little time for extra work, owing to his physical -condition. A better plan proposed would be for the State to allow to -the prisoner a specified sum for each day at work, or for the county -from which the prisoner comes to pay the family a certain monthly sum, -paying such sum as may be agreed upon by the county commissioners. -By the old method, the Board allowed them $.033 per day. For certain -offenses the prisoners are fined and the fine is paid from this fund. -The payment of a wage or the providing of some plan of caring for the -needy families is a growing question, and so far Kansas has found no -satisfactory method, but this question will probably be taken up by the -next Legislature. - -Another law passed was that permitting the county commissioners, -in counties having over 35,000 population, to appoint a matron for -the county jails. This has often been done, but was never legally -authorized until the last Legislature. - -Taking the Kansas laws as a whole, they seem to be adequate to meet the -present prison conditions. The State law places all these institutions -under the Board who have exclusive control in their management and in -adopting of rules and regulations necessary to their government. The -only question is the proper method of dealing with the families of the -convicts. There has been little complaint regarding the treatment of -the prisoners and there will be but few changes in the laws until some -demand is made. - - - - -BOOK REVIEW - - _Manual for Probation Officers in New York State. State - Probation Commission._ Albany 1913, J. B. Lyon Co. Free. - - -The State Probation Commission should be sincerely congratulated upon -this most valuable manual. Although it is technically limited to New -York State, its usefulness will extend far beyond those limits. Its -principal merit lies probably in the fact that it is a well-indexed, -complete compilation of all the laws pertaining to probation in that -State. The presentation of the material in its analyzed form is an -invaluable addition. The laws are cited both in statutory and in -chronological order. Separate chapters are devoted to the discussion -of the provisions pertaining to the appointment and compensation of -probation officers; of court procedure and practice; of the duties, -powers and methods of such officers. Facsimiles of the forms of -records used, are also taken up in a separate chapter, similarly the -history and functions of the Commission. In the appendix, among other -interesting material, there is also a statistical statement of the -growth of the application of probation in the State. - -In a book so full of merit as to opportuneness, thoroughness and -analytical qualities a few suggestions are perhaps even more -justifiable than in a work of fundamental weaknesses. It would seem, -for example, that a chapter presenting the most important phases -of the work in a continuous story-like form, comprehensible to the -ordinary layman, would have increased considerably the reading circle -of the book, and made it available as propaganda material. In the -statistical appendix several improvements could be made. In Table 1, -for example, the totals for any year of all persons are not indicated; -in Tables 2, and especially 3, the development by years is not clearly -presented; in Table 3 it would be very interesting to show the change -in the relative percentages of “improved,” etc. The gaps in the tables -are not satisfactorily explained, and in Table 6, giving the number -of probation officers holding appointments, the totalling of the -individual years is a decided statistical fallacy. Such faults are, -however, of vanishing importance, compared with the immense usefulness -of the work. - -The manual may be had by all interested persons on application to the -State Probation Commission, at the Capitol, Albany. N. Y. P. K. - - - - -EVENTS IN BRIEF - - [Under this heading will appear each month numerous - paragraphs of general interest, relating to the prison - field and the treatment of the delinquent.] - - -_The Disgraceful Jails of Iowa._—Rev. Charles Parsons, of the Iowa -Society for the Friendless, is on the warpath. He says that “the jails -of Iowa have been condemned and relegated to the junk pile many times, -and yet they go on doing business at the old stand in the same old way, -as if they were the most scientific institutions possible. - -“I have spent enough time in the jails of our State during the past -five years to almost entitle me to membership in the jail fraternity. -If the jail has anything to be said to its credit, I have been unable -to find it, though I have searched diligently for it in most of the -jails within our borders.” - -“One step in the program for betterment would be to avoid imprisonment -through inability to pay a fine, but give the opportunity to pay the -fine upon installments. This plan would save the culprit his employment -if he has any. It would save his family humiliation and disgrace and -help to save his self-respect. - -“Another step in the line of progress would be to parole all offenders -where the penalty is less than 30 days. If they fail to make a right -use of the parole, give a work-house sentence. - -“A third step in the program for progress would be the establishment of -district custodial farms with work-house facilities for all prisoners -serving 30 days or more. These district institutions must and should be -under the management of the State. - -“Farming, gardening and diversified industries should be followed most -suited to the location of the institution, but such industries must be -used which are most easily acquired. That the labor of short term men -can be profitably utilized in such institutions has been demonstrated -in a number of instances. - -“The work-house of Minneapolis is a financial success with men whose -average terms is only 17-1/2 days. - -“That such labor can be used outside of prison walls with perfect -safety is shown by the success of the prison camp which has been in -operation for several months past, at Ames, and the hay pressing gangs -that have been working from Fort Madison. - -“During 1912, 3,739 inmates passed through the Minneapolis work-house. -All the men worked in the open without walls, yet during the year there -was only one escape.” - - -_Warden Scott of New Hampshire Retires._—Many are the caustic -criticisms directed at the Governor of New Hampshire, who recently -removed Warden H. K. W. Scott of the State prison, and who appointed in -his place a man of no equal prison experience. Warden Scott held office -from 1905, and has served under five governors of the State, receiving -his appointment from Governor McLane. - -The Concord Evening Monitor has published a large number of scathing -criticisms from the State press on the action of the Governor in -removing Warden Scott. - -Warden Scott, during his connection with the institution, has abolished -the striped suit, lock step, downcast eye, dark cell and corporal -punishment, which were practiced before his coming, and has instituted -a night school. Instead of a candle each man now has an electric -light in his cell, a grade system has been established and during the -last summer a prison baseball league was organized, in order that the -inmates might have outdoor exercise. Four teams were in the league and -games were played Saturday afternoons. - -During the last session of the Legislature Warden Scott worked for the -passage of an act to provide for pecuniary assistance of prisoners and -their families, whereby a certain per cent. of their earnings is laid -aside. The warden had submitted to the Governor and council a plan for -the carrying out of this act, which went into effect September 1, but -as yet no action has been taken. - -Charges preferred against him by Rev. Claudius Byrne, a former chaplain -of the prison, were investigated by Legislative committees and proved -groundless. - -Warden Scott says that for the present he will remain in Concord, N. -H., as his two sons are attending school. - - -_Sterilization Law Unconstitutional in New Jersey._—Upon the grounds -that she was denied the equal protection of the laws to which, under -the constitution of the United States, every person is entitled, -the Supreme Court of New Jersey, in an opinion by Justice Garrison, -has set aside the order of the Board of Examiners of feeble minded, -criminals, Epileptics and other defectives providing for the operation -of salpingetomy upon Alice Smith, an inmate of the State Village for -Epileptics. - -In reaching this conclusion, Justice Garrison holds that without -regard to the power of the State to subject its citizens to surgical -operations that shall render procreation by them impossible, the -statute creating the Sterilization Commission is invalid because it -denied to the victims of the law the constitutional protection to which -they are entitled. - -In the syllabus of the opinion Justice Garrison holds that the -artificial regulation of the welfare of society by means of surgical -operations for the prevention of procreation, being based upon -the suppression of the personal liberty of individuals, must be -accomplished, if at all, by a statute that does not deny to the persons -thus injuriously affected the equal protection of the laws guaranteed -by the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States. - -Commenting on this decision, the Springfield Republican says -editorially: - -It is constitutional to sterilize defectives and criminals in the -State of Washington, but it is unconstitutional to sterilize them in -New Jersey. The United States Supreme Court will have to settle the -question finally. To the lay mind it would seem that, if the State has -power to break a man’s neck by hanging, or to kill him by electricity, -it would have the lesser power to subject him to a surgical operation, -not in the least dangerous to life or limb, for the protection of -society. The question of constitutionality aside, it is to be observed -that sterilization involves various social questions whose seriousness -should compel caution on the part of Legislatures in authorizing its -practice in public institutions. It cannot be said that the problem -has yet been completely thought out and all the consequences fully -considered. A recent article in a medical journal by one of the -foremost advocates of sterilization was notable for the physician’s -frank admission that the objections to the operation, in their broadest -significance, were very weighty. An operation that leaves the subject -physically as fit as ever for the sex relationship, yet eliminates the -danger of the conception of children, would have very deplorable moral -and social results if it should become in the least common. It is a -question that may easily involve large classes of people outside of -prisons and asylums for the feeble-minded. - - -_Farm Work in Minnesota._—From the near northwest comes the tale that -twenty-five convicts are to be sent to the State lands near Walker, -Minn., from the State penitentiary at Stillwater, to begin a system -of intensive State farming and land reclamation, according to plans -announced by the State Board of Control, which is compelled to find -employment for more than two hundred men after January 1. - -The new laws prevent the prison from taking contracts, and the shoe -contract will accordingly be dropped. - -The announcement of the new plan was made after the board had bought -160 acres adjoining the prison farm at Stillwater. This land will be -farmed. - -The board has other land adjoining State institutions and owns a large -tract near the State sanatorium at Walker. The men prisoners will be -sent there to clear the land and put in crops. Only the prisoners with -best records will be sent to the farms. If the first detachment makes a -success of the venture others will be sent out. - - -_Alumni Day at a Reform School._—It does happen! This was what occurred -at the Lyman School for Boys, Westboro, Massachusetts, on November 15, -1913. - -The trustees of the School, Superintendent E. L. Coffeen, and -Superintendent of the Parole Department, Walter A. Wheeler, sent -letters to all of the 144 boys who have become twenty-one years of age -the past year, inviting them to a dinner and celebration in their honor -at the school. About one fourth of them attended, and as many more sent -letters of regret, containing remarks of warm appreciation. Some of the -boys were in the Army and Navy; others had moved out of the State. For -any one of the boys to attend, meant the sacrificing of a day’s work -and the cost of carfare. - -The program included a football game between the present inmates and -an outside team, a reunion of boys with old officers and teachers, an -inspection of the new features of the school, which they had not seen -in the last five or six years, and finally a banquet. - -The usual speeches were made by the trustees, superintendents and -invited guests, but the feature was the voluntary address in behalf of -the boys made by one of their number. After thanking those present for -what the school training and the friendly oversight of the parole board -had done for him, he pledged the old boy’s interests in doing whatever -they could to help the younger brothers “make good” when released from -the school. - -It is intended to have a Home Coming Celebration every year, of which -this was the successful experiment. - - -_After Forty-Three Years._—Pardoned after forty-three years—the best -years of his life—in a State penitentiary! Seeing the new world for the -first time at sixty-six—such is the experience of John Taborn, pardoned -by Governor Cox, of Ohio! Why, it’s like coming to life again after -half a century of death, says the Bay City (Mich.) Times. - -When Taborn entered the State prison at Columbus in 1870, Grant was -President. The telephone was unknown; electric lights were not dreamed -of; there were not electric cars; skyscrapers in the largest cities -were four or five-story buildings; Edison had not conceived the -phonograph, while flying machines and wireless telegraphy were the -dreams of madmen. The United States navy consisted of a few iron-clad -and many wooden ships. - -When he was pardoned, Taborn was taken about Columbus by Warden Thomas’ -secretary to see that he was not confused by the traffic and injured. -He gazed in awe at the electric cars; he got lost in the revolving door -of an office building, the height of which astonished him; he enjoyed -his first ride in an elevator; he smoked a good cigar, but was puzzled -by the safety matches, which would not ignite when scratched on his -trouser leg; he heard a phonograph and talked over the telephone for -the first time in his life. - -Despite his sixty-six years, Taborn is active and has keen sight, -reading without glasses. In the prison he learned three trades—that of -machinist, shoe-maker and molding—and plans to begin his last span of -life as a machinist. - -When he left the prison he had about $100. The prisoners took up a -collection and gave him $30; the State turned over $20 and Taborn had -about $50 himself. He was placed upon an electric car for a trip to -Delaware, O., from which town he was sentenced for killing a man during -a quarrel. Then he will go to his old home in Cass County, Michigan, -and later to Hillsboro, N. C., where employment awaits him. - - -_Social Surveys of Delinquency and Vice._—The Russell Sage Foundation -Library publishes the following useful summary: - - _Chicago._ Vice commission. Social evil in Chicago; a - study of existing conditions, with recommendations. 399 - p. Chicago, the Commission, 1911. (50 cents) - - This report may be obtained through the American - vigilance association, 156 Fifth Ave., N. Y. - - _Cincinnati_ (Ohio). Bureau of municipal research. (The) - Juvenile court of Hamilton county. Cincinnati, O. The - Bureau, 1912. (2 cents). - - _Elmira_ (N. Y ). Women’s league for good government. - Vice conditions in Elmira. 76 p. Elmira. The League, 1913. - - _Hartford_ (Conn.) Vice commission. Report, July, 1913. - 90 p. Hartford, Conn. Woman suffrage association, 1913. - (25 cents) - - _Kneeland_, G. J. Commercialized prostitution in New York - City. 334 p. N. Y. Century Co., 1913. ($1.30 net) - - _Minneapolis._ Vice commission. Report. 134 p. - Minneapolis, Byron and Hillard, 1911. (40 cents) - - _New York_ (City). Committee of fourteen for the - suppression of the Raines law hotels. Social evil in New - York City; a study of law enforcement by the Research - committee. 268 p. N. Y. Kellogg, 1910. (Out of print) - - _Philadelphia._ Vice commission. Report. Philadelphia, - The Commission. (40 cents) - - This report may be obtained through the American - vigilance association, 156 Fifth Ave., N. Y. - - _Portland_ (Oregon). Vice commission. Report, January, - 1912. 216 p. Portland, The Commission, 1912. (Out of - print) - - _Potter_, Z. I. Delinquency, in Russell Sage Foundation, - Department of surveys and exhibits. (The) Newburgh - survey, 1913. Also in Russell Sage Foundation. Department - of surveys and exhibits. (The) Topeka improvement survey, - 1914. (in preparation) - - _Seligman_, E. R. A., ed. Social evil, with special - references to conditions existing in the City of New - York: a report prepared in 1902 under the direction of - the Committee of fifteen. 303 p. N. Y. Putnam, 1912, c - 1902-12. ($1.75 net) - - _Syracuse_ (N. Y.). Moral survey committee. Report on - the social evil. Syracuse, N. Y. Moral survey committee, - 1913. (40 cents) - - -_The State Use Problem in New Jersey._—The Newark News has a plain and -clear statement of the difficulty. New Jersey is finding in going over -from the contract system to the State use plan. - -The State Economy and Efficiency Commission is to-day investigating -State prison conditions. The problems before it should concern every -tax-payer, not to mention those who are interested in the great problem -of prison reform. The need for their investigation was indicated -yesterday by the report of the prison inspectors. - -The prison of this State is operated under the law of 1814 as it has -been amended from time to time. Its operation is based upon an obsolete -idea of prisons and their purpose: the idea that prisons are places of -confinement under the control of a keeper whose business is, as his -title implies, to _keep_ the prisoners. - -To secure revenue for the State, and incidentally, to preserve the -mental and bodily health of the prisoners, provision was made for -hiring out their labor and for this purpose a supervisor was appointed. -The State wards then fell under the jurisdiction of the keeper -and supervisor, whose duties were regulated by statutes requiring -interpretation by the courts. - -Then a Board of Inspectors was appointed to see to it that the keeper -kept the prisoners and that the supervisor kept the contracts for their -labor; but the board has neither authority nor responsibility. Finally, -a Labor Commission was appointed to devise a scheme for carrying out -the State-use system of keeping the prisoners busy; an undertaking that -it has proved unable, so far, to carry out. - -Two years ago the Legislature decided to put an end to the exploitation -of prison labor as fast as the existing contracts expired. The -contracts bring the State a revenue of practically $100,000 a year, -two-fifths of the cost of running the prison. By abolishing the -contracts, the State forfeits this revenue without decreasing the -expense of the prison. - -Employment for the prisoners must be found, and the State is committed -to the principle of employing them for State use, and, at the same -time, of providing healthful employment under the honor system in the -hope that it will prove reformatory as well as physically and mentally -beneficial. - -Immediately two difficulties arise. One is due to the fact that -the State law divides without clearly defining authority and -responsibility. The attorney-general has decided that the keeper is -responsible for keeping the prisoners, and the keeper demands that -whether they are kept in the Trenton prison, at the State road camps -or farm, they shall be attended by a greater number of guards than the -inspectors think either necessary or for their moral good. There is -here a question of expense, of the extension of outside work, of the -moral effect of modern prison methods. - -The inspectors are hampered, also, in the expansion of the State farm -and road making experiments by the supervisor, who is responsible -for keeping the contracts for prison labor; for the supervisor may -requisition as many of the prisoners as he wishes for contract proviso -of the law, of course; and the keeper must deliver them. - -The second difficulty is that existing plans for their work offer -employment for only a small percentage of the prisoners. At the -expiration of the contracts—very soon—the great majority will be forced -into idleness unless the contracts are temporarily extended. To meet -this situation, the inspectors confess they have already broken the law -in order to keep the prisoners at work. - -No plan has been devised, no equipment has been installed, for -furnishing labor to this great majority of prisoners. For this there -are several reasons, none greater, perhaps, than the fact that the -Trenton prison is not fitted for this employment unless the congestion -there can be relieved very materially. It might be necessary to make -provision elsewhere for two-thirds of those now confined there. - -The Legislature has failed to make appropriations for installing a -plant where the prisoners can make articles used by the State because -no definite plan has been presented to it upon which agreement could -be reached. The working out of the transformation of prison methods -contemplated by the law of 1911 must be evolutionary. It will take -time, and, meanwhile, contracts, it would seem, must be temporarily -extended, regrettable as it is. What is needed, first and foremost, -however, is a clear definition and concentration of authority and -responsibility. - - -_The First Woman Commissioner of Correction. New York City._—Miss -Katherine B. Davis, formerly superintendent of the New York State -Reformatory for Women at Bedford, took office on January 1, 1913, in -New York City as Corrections Commissioner. She has thus been appointed -by Mayor Mitchell as the director of the Tombs, the penitentiary, -workhouse, three branch workhouses, the Brooklyn city prison, the -Queen’s County jail, and a number of district prisons—enough of a -task even for Miss Davis’s recognized ability. She also has the -construction to attend to of the city reformatory for misdemeanants. -She has associated with her as deputy commissioner, Burdette G. Lewis, -a “social worker at City Hall.” Heartiest congratulations are being -extended to the new heads of the Department of Correction. The readers -of the “Delinquent” know Miss Davis well already. - -“Was it as big as my fist?” asked the judge, concerning a stone which -was responsible for a broken window. - -“It ban bigger,” replied the Swedish witness. - -“Was it as large as my two fists?” - -“It ban bigger.” - -“Was it as big as my head?” - -“It ban about as long,” said the imperturbable Swede, “but not so -thick.” - -STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, ETC. of THE DELINQUENT. -Published monthly at New York, N. Y., required by the Act of August -24th, 1912. - - NAME OF POST OFFICE ADDRESS - - Editor, O. F. Lewis, 135 East 15th St., New York City. - - Managing Editor, O. F. Lewis, ” ” ” ” ” ” - - Business Manager, O. F. Lewis, ” ” ” ” ” ” - - Publisher, The National Prisoners’ Aid Association, ” ” ” ” ” ” - - Owners, ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” - - -There are no bondholders, mortgagees, or other security holders. - - O. F. LEWIS, Editor and Business Manager. - - Sworn to and subscribed before me this 30th day of September, 1913. - - CHARLES D. IMMEN, JR., Notary Public No. 2. New York County. - - My Commission expires March 31, 1914. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 54486 *** |