The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Delinquent (Vol. IV, No. 5), May, 1914
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The Delinquent (Vol. IV, No. 5), May, 1914
Author: Various
Release date: October 29, 2023 [eBook #71979]
Language: English
Original publication: New York: National Prisoners' Aid Association
Credits: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Books project.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DELINQUENT (VOL. IV, NO. 5), MAY, 1914 ***
VOLUME IV, No. 5. MAY, 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.
* * * * *
Entered as second-class mail matter at New York.
* * * * *
SAFEGUARDING OUR YOUTHS FROM PRISON
BY A PRISON GRADUATE
[Written for The Delinquent by a “Long-Termer.”]
One dull grey morning during the closing days of September, 1912, I
sat poring over the records of the ---- State Prison at a desk in the
administrative offices where I was employed, when the shrill voice
of a woman rang out on the street directly outside my barred window,
attracting the startled attention of the prison clerk, the doorkeeper
and myself. They rushed into the room past me and raised the sash. And
what a sight met our eyes! There, beneath the stone ledge, stood a poor
wild-eyed Slav woman, tying a stout rope from behind both wrists of her
son, a lad of about twelve years, punctuating each knot with cuffs on
his ears and wild gesticulations and admonitions in her native tongue
and in broken English.
“Now you go to school, huh?” the woman cried when she had tied the last
knot behind the lad’s back. But the little fellow seemed as unmoved
and dogged as she was excited and persistent. With another cuff behind
his ear she sent him sprawling along the sidewalk. But never a whimper
from the lad. The doorkeeper, accustomed as he is to the hardest of
characters that pass in and out the grey prison doors, and to pathetic
scenes on visiting days, melted at the sight.
“What are you doing to that boy?” he shouted at the woman from the
prison window. She turned quickly, and with eyes ablaze, retorted:
“Dot’s not you’ business!” and then gave her attention to the boy,
cuffing and pushing him on ahead of her. “You’ll get arrested, if you
don’t stop treating your boy that way!” the doorkeeper warned her. But
the woman kept on cuffing and pushing the little fellow while shouting
back over her shoulder as she moved away: “Dot’s not you’ business!”
The doorkeeper and clerk shook their heads, looked at each other and
left the office in silence. We were stunned by what we had seen, and
marvelled that such a thing could happen in the capital city of one
of our foremost states in this civilized century which boasts its
wonderful advancement in every branch of life.
“Is that mother right?” I asked myself. “Will her boy bend and become
a dutiful son and worthy citizen? Or will he mistake his mother’s good
intentions, administered so cruelly, run away from home and finally
land here in prison?”
From whatever side I viewed it, the situation was pathetic. The poor
mother, no doubt, had great hopes for her boy through giving him an
education which, perhaps, she and her laboring husband were denied.
But what boy, with his misdirected faculties ahunger for adventure and
mischief, can see things with the mature eyes of an ambitious parent?
Would that the Slav woman might have known how much of the rod (in this
case the rope) to administer and how much to spare in her boy’s case!
But what parent knows?
I kept thinking of that Slav mother dragging her child along the
street on the end of a rope; thinking of the stubbornness of a boy,
so tender in years, yet so indifferent to such barbarous treatment.
I thought also of how much good so self-willed a lad was capable if
properly guided; how much harm, if nourished by evil influences.
My mind travelled into the interior of the prison, whither so many
men and women have drifted and are still drifting, from just such a
start as that truant boy’s. Not that their parents had tried to put
their good intentions into execution so barbarously, but the fatal
misunderstanding between parent and child was there just the same. I
have seen men come in, serve their time, go out and then come back
again and again for similar offenses. And yet they were once good
innocent boys, born of good, industrious and well-meaning parents, who
had great hopes for their future careers. In the end Society suffered
from the repeated damage they had done, their parents grieved in
disappointment and sorrow, and the erring boys finally become social
outcasts and parasites, of no use to themselves nor to any one else.
Surely, thought I, there must be something radically wrong or stupid
with a world that permits so much damage and misery to go on unchecked.
I thought of the terrible destruction caused by floods in times past,
and of the wonderful good that came from those same bodies of water
when harnessed to machinery or when floating our great ships, laden
with all the necessaries of life, to all quarters of the globe. The
same is true with respect to the possibilities--good and bad--of all
mankind. The population of our prisons is simply the misguided flood
of Society’s stream, destroying everything that obstructs it, and
polluting itself as it courses along its aimless path. The officials
of penal institutions are doing their best to guide the wayward
and polluted stream into cleaner channels of usefulness; but penal
institutions are, at best, but weak dams, unable to cope with the
situation unless something be done to check the cause, or source, of
the flood. That crime is increasing, criminals becoming bolder, the
prison population becoming larger each year, and new and larger prisons
are being built, is ample proof of this contention. Pondering these
matters, vital to society, to fond and ambitious parents and to growing
children, my thoughts finally crystallized themselves into a plan that
should at least prevent many future youths from swelling Society’s
destructive and polluted stream of crime.
Experience has shown how the reputations of many good men and women
have been blasted in moments of temporary weakness when temptation
beset them. They may have gone through life up to that time with little
or no temptation, knowledge of the wickednesses of the world being
withheld from them by watchful parents. Many have gone on offending for
a long time before they are exposed; while others, tempted on all sides
from youth upwards to commit crime, resist the temptations repeatedly
by sheer force of character and will power. The tendency of youths
in general, however, is in the direction of mischief when curiosity
and temptation beckon; and from the knowledge that our faculties grow
strong in proportion to our exercise of them, we may conclude that
it is far wiser that children be taught to cultivate the power of
resistance to evil than that that knowledge of evil be withheld from
them. We know not how or when temptation may overcome us or those dear
to us; but we do know that in the lives of even the worst of those
that have fallen from grace, _there was a first fall_! And the crucial
time, therefore, to begin crime prevention is _before that first fall_,
during the time of youth.
From what has been said it might be urged that crime prevention should
begin in and be confined to the home. No one will deny that the home
is the most potent factor in preserving the peace and purity of any
community. We know if our youths will but follow the teachings of the
religions of their parents, they will not fall into the error and
follow lives of crime. But religion is not practiced in every home; and
all parents do not know how to influence or control the minds of their
children any more than did the poor Slav woman, when in desperation,
she dragged her boy to school on a rope. Again, many youths turn out
badly in spite of religious parents and good homes, because of vicious
associations abroad. For these reasons, then, I believe that the
problem of crime prevention must be solved in our schools and colleges,
leaving to parents the matter of selecting neighborhood companions of
their children and of selecting respectable neighborhoods in which to
bring them up.
Because the children of our public schools represent so many religious
denominations, it has been deemed politic to exclude religious
teachings therefrom; and the child, in consequence, is seriously
handicapped. There is a common ground, however, upon which all schools
and colleges, private, parochial and public may unite to make up
considerably for this handicap to the habit-forming youth. And that
is by establishing a system wherein teacher and pupil may co-operate
in mutual discussion of the various temptations that befall men and
women from time to time; what one should do under given circumstances;
the penalties of indulgence in evil; and the benefits of following
resistance.
The teachers should not confine themselves to lectures on the abstract
qualities of truth, honesty, purity, justice, etc., as these are
usually wasted when delivered to children. Let them take concrete
examples from the columns of our newspapers and impress upon the
pupils the moral lesson in each selected article, and thereby cause
the press to become a moral agency instead of a contaminator of weak
youthful minds. Let them discuss such matters as quarrelling, slander,
intoxication, fighting (as distinguished from manly defense), gambling,
smuggling, bribery, thefts from parent’s purses, from pantries, from
the family’s storekeepers, picking pockets on the streets, all sorts of
abuses and impurities, and the terrible consequences these lead up to.
There are innumerable examples to choose from in our daily life. The
teacher might formulate a series of real or imaginary situations and
catechise the pupils as to how they would act when confronted by them
in real life. These situations should be made dramatic enough to engage
the full attention of the children’s eyes, ears, minds and wills, so as
to leave lasting impressions upon them.
Parties of children could be formed to visit local jails and prisons,
where the teachers could hold up mirrors to them of young men, husbands
and fathers being torn from their loved ones and thrown into prison;
of the long hours of bitter anguish spent in solitary cells year
after year. Make this penal sacrifice of suffering mortals count for
something more than mere restraint and punishment of crime. Make it
the price paid in advance for the saving of youths in the future. The
pupils should be made to write essays on the subject of temptations met
and resisted, to discuss the traits of one another frankly, to commend
the good and discourage the vicious among their number; thus imbuing
the whole class with a feeling in common of protective fellowship.
It is the right of every child to be safeguarded in a way that it
may not, through ignorance or lack of proper guidance and warning,
be doomed to spend its life behind prison bars. It will surely be an
agreeable and noble task for our teachers to so safeguard the child. In
this way, it may fall to the lot of one of them to prevent that poor
Slav boy from ending his days with another rope about his neck. Who
knows?
THE MARYLAND PENITENTIARY
The annual report of the Maryland Penitentiary for the year 1913, which
has recently been issued, must be of particular interest to all those
that have followed the fortunes of that penitentiary during the past
years. The report is full of meat. But most interesting perhaps, is the
list of reforms instituted during the year, as given on page 14.
Night schools have been established for both male and female
illiterates. The lock-step has been abolished. The uniforms of the
male prisoners have been changed from stripes to dark grey, and those
of the female prisoners from blue check to dark grey. China dishes
and aluminum spoons are used instead of tinware. The male inmates
make a detour of the grounds in going to dining room and shops, and
are permitted to exercise in the open air for three-quarters of an
hour on Sundays. They march two abreast, and each inmate is allowed
to converse with his companion. The female prisoners are allowed to
exercise in the yard three times a day on week days, and on Sundays
for about two hours.
The convalescent sick are allowed to walk around the grounds the
greater part of the day, when the weather is favorable. The prisoner’s
hair is never clipped, except occasionally for sanitary reasons when
received. Inmates now receive two shaves a week and one haircut a
month _gratis_. They are allowed to smoke in their rooms. They are
permitted to converse in a low tone in the dining room. Instead of one
letter a month they now have the privilege of writing every ten days.
Entertainments are given on July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The
dark cell, whipping and cuffing-up have been abolished. Instead of
the dark cell a well-ventilated room is now used, in which a bed and
a blanket are placed at night. The punishments now in vogue consist
of bread and water diet, and the taking away of all privileges,
the forfeiture of commutation and in extreme cases, compelling the
prisoner who is locked in cell to stand at the door without tension,
during working hours.
A list is sent to the Prisoners’ Aid Association, on the 15th of
each month, so that, if necessary, provision can be made for their
care until they find employment. An interne has been appointed, thus
giving the institution the services of a physician instantly in
emergency cases. This work was formerly done by a prisoner. A steam
chest has been installed, so that all clothes from the hospital can be
disinfected and washed within the hospital grounds.
Surely, where so many and such reforms have been instituted during a
year there must have been room for reform, and congratulations for the
reforms are due.
HUMANIZING A COURT
By James A. Collins
Former City Judge of Indianapolis.
[A paper read before the National Conference of Charities and
Correction, Memphis, Tenn., May 12, 1914.]
It is not my purpose to present a theory for dealing with the poor and
unfortunate who make up the daily toll of police duty, but the actual
working of a definite plan.
Probation has been defined as a judicial system, under which an
offender against penal law, instead of being imprisoned, is given
an opportunity to reform himself under supervision and subject to
conditions imposed by the court, to the end that if he makes good no
penalty will be imposed.
The enactment of a law by the legislature of Indiana in 1907, under
which courts may exercise the right to suspend sentence or withhold
judgment in the case of adults, made possible the application of the
probation system in the administration of justice in circuit and
criminal courts and courts having concurrent jurisdiction.
The probation method of dealing with minor offenders in our State was
an attempt to follow the spirit of the constitutional provision that
“the penal code shall be founded on the principles of reformation and
not of vindictive justice.”
The aim of the City Court of Indianapolis during my term of four
years was to administer justice tempered with humanity. The welfare
of unfortunates, and the saving of women and children from hunger and
want, was to the court a matter of greater moment than the piling up
of a vast amount of fines and costs. If the efficiency of the court
was to be determined by the number of dollars and cents, wrested from
offenders, then the constitutional provision above referred to should
be rewritten and the law of 1907 repealed. Such a step, however, would
be to turn back the dial of human progress one hundred years. So long
as the constitution and the laws of the State permit, the people will
demand that justice shall be administered upon human lines.
In order that the best possible results might be obtained both for
society and the individual, the probation system as established in the
City Court of Indianapolis contemplated the following:
_1. The suspended sentence._
The power to suspend sentence where the circumstances seemed to justify
has saved many novices in crime from undergoing the harsh punishment
that would otherwise be meted out to them, and that seems to be
contrary to the constitutional provision that “all penalties shall be
proportioned according to the nature of the offense.” As has been well
said: “The system under which a father and husband pleading guilty to a
charge of larceny, based upon the taking of a bundle of oats or a loaf
of bread, was sent up, was often sure to work brutal injustice. That it
continued as long as it did is a remarkable fact.”
During my term I suspended judgment in 700 cases and withheld judgment
in 7559. Of this latter class less than 3 per cent. were returned for a
second or subsequent offense.
While there is no provision under the law for the employment of paid
probation officers, adequate supervision in 575 cases was made possible
by good citizens, volunteering to serve in that capacity. These
probationers were required to furnish the court a monthly report signed
by the probation officer. Time will not permit the details of these
reports. Each tells its own story of heroic efforts toward right living.
_2. Paying fines on installments._
The payment of money fines on installments was a new department in the
administration of justice. The old method of collecting money fines
which compelled the defendant to pay or replevy the same the moment he
was fined was always a source of great hardship on the poor. It was
unreasonable to expect a common laborer arrested late at night, and
convicted in the morning, to be prepared to settle with the State. If
he was unable to pay or make arrangements to have his fine staid for
the statutory period, he was sent to prison, not because the court had
given him a term of imprisonment, but because he was poor, which is in
effect imprisonment for debt. The pitiable scenes of wives and mothers
and sobbing children crowding the corridors of the court, pleading for
the release of a husband or father, against whom a money fine had been
assessed and who was utterly without money to stay or pay the same,
was a powerful argument in favor of a plan that would relieve such a
deplorable situation.
The power to parole a misdemeanant carried with it the power to direct
him to pay into the probation department a dollar a week toward the
satisfaction of a fine and costs to be assessed against him when the
final payment was made.
Such a plan as this requires no legislative action and could be
introduced into any court where the judge has such powers as are
granted the courts of Indiana.
In city courts, defendants may be divided into three classes:--Those
who can pay the fines assessed against them; those who would pay
if they had a chance; and those who wouldn’t pay if they could and
couldn’t if they would. The middle class represents very largely
mechanics, clerks and laborers, in no sense criminals, but who for
some breach of the peace are brought into court and who are generally
of a deserving character. It is to this class that the work has been
directed. A money fine is their punishment, but instead of imprisoning
them, they were paroled with instructions to pay into the probation
department each week one dollar or as much as could be spared from
the family treasury, until the amount indicated by the court is paid
in full. During the four years that this plan was in operation these
probationers paid into the court $34,014.
Out of 3832 persons placed on probation to pay fines, 3220 paid their
fines and costs in full, while 102 were given credit for partial
payments and committed to serve out the balance. However, 205 were
unable to pay anything and were committed to the jail or workhouse. In
152 cases, the circumstances of the families were such that the court
felt justified in withholding judgment rather than committing the
defendants. Out of the entire number placed on probation, 143 did not
live up to their agreement with the court, and re-arrests were ordered
in each of those cases.
The plan operated to the benefit of the individual in several ways.
It saved him his employment; it saved his family from humiliation and
disgrace; better than all, it saved his self-respect.
_3. Drunkenness and the Pledge System._
No unfortunates appeal more strongly to the court than the victims
of the liquor habit. In all cases of first offenders charged with
being drunk, and where the defendant had others dependent upon him
for support, the court made it a condition on withholding judgment or
suspending the sentence that the defendant take the pledge for a period
varying from six months to one year. Three hundred and eighty-two
pledges were taken, all of which were kept faithfully but 27.
When the family or relatives could afford it, persons were sent to
institutions for treatment, and the records show but one failure.
Where the financial condition of the defendant was such that he could
not pay for the treatment, arrangements were made for the payment of
the money into the probation department in weekly installments, thus
assuring the defendant the benefit of the treatment and the institution
the satisfaction of its debt. With the assistance of W. H. Roll, a
volunteer probation officer, supervision was successfully provided
for 136 men charged with drunkenness who had reached the down-and-out
stage. Without friends or relatives, and in many instances unemployed,
these men were drifting into a condition where they would soon become
public charges. The reports furnished the court show that this timely
help and assistance was the means of saving these men to useful
citizenship.
In the severe cases, where the defendant was bordering on delirium
tremens, he was committed to the workhouse and the superintendent
informed of his condition. While there were no special arrangements
for the treatment of inebriates at the workhouse, the superintendent
successfully provided a separate department in the wing formerly used
as the woman’s prison. These cases were thoroughly examined by the
physician in charge, and such medical and special attention was given
to them as the circumstances seemed to justify. While these facilities
were inadequate, yet a splendid work was done among this class of
unfortunate and harmless offenders.
_4. Medical and Surgical Treatment._
It was not an infrequent experience for the court to find persons
charged with offences of a character that disclosed physical or mental
defects. Arrangements were always made for medical care and treatment.
In meeting the problem presented by such conditions the court had
the co-operation and assistance of the superintendent of the City
Hospital, as well as some of the best known physicians and surgeons of
Indianapolis.
_5. Imprisonment of Minors._
One of the most difficult problems that confronted the courts was the
disposition of minors, when the offense was so serious that the best
interests of society would be subserved by incarceration. Through an
arrangement with the superintendent of the workhouse, an unused wing
of the building was set apart for such offenders, and in this way they
were kept separate and apart from the old and hardened offender.
_6. Restitution._
The criminal code of Indiana is absolutely silent upon the question
of recovery for loss or damage to property and injuries to the person
growing out of criminal acts, except that in cases of malicious
trespass the court may fine a defendant a sum equal to twice the amount
of the property damaged. To fine a person double the value of the
property damaged and, because of his failure to pay the same, place the
additional burden on the citizen of supporting him in the workhouse or
jail seems in itself an absurdity.
As a part of the probation plan, the court required every person
charged with any offense involving the loss or damage to property
and injuries to the person to make full and complete restitution to
the injured party before the final disposition of the case. Upon a
proper showing that restitution has been made, the court was then in a
position to take such action as the other facts in the case justified.
Under this plan $7,166.83 in restitution money was recovered and paid
over to the proper parties.
_7. Separate Session for the Trial of Women._
To Amos W. Butler and Demarchus C. Brown, of the Board of State
Charities, was due the credit for the suggestion of a separate session
for the trial of women and girls. Acting upon this suggestion, the
court set apart Wednesday afternoon for the trial of such cases. To the
Local Council of Women was due the credit of putting the suggestion
into effect, by guaranteeing the expense of a woman probation officer
for the court. To make the separate trials of women and girls something
more than a perfunctory task an adequate system of investigating and
supervision was absolutely essential. Like all innovations connected
with matters pertaining to the work of the police, it was at first
looked upon as a fad, and predictions were freely made that the life
of the plan would be short because of the nature of the work and the
rapidity with which it must be discharged. But notwithstanding the
criticisms, it proved to be a sane and wholesome method of dealing with
the delinquent women of the city.
The legislature of 1911 enacted a law, providing for the appointment of
a court matron in cities of the first and second class, and this act
prescribed her duties as follows: “She shall, under the direction of
the judge of the city court, investigate and report to such judge upon
the past histories, conditions of living, character, morals and habits
of all women and girls awaiting trial in such city court and shall
have supervision of such women and girls while not in actual custody
until final disposition of the charges against them.” As a result of
this legislation a definite work is now being done throughout the State
in aiding and assisting a class of women, heretofore most shamefully
neglected.
The following report by Mrs. E. P. Hopkins, court matron, who has
charge of the investigation and supervision of women during my term,
tells its own story:
Total number of cases investigated 586
Judgment withheld 317
Fined 28
Committed to Women’s Prison and Jail 61
Dismissed 90
Discharged 26
Continued indefinitely 38
Judgment suspended 19
Sent to Grand Jury 6
Committed to House of Good Shepherd 1
Of this number, 69 were placed on probation under the supervision of
volunteer probation officers, and 72 were returned to their homes; 61
girls sent to the Faith Home were detained there until employment was
secured for them. The most important work, however, of this department
was the aid given to girls living in houses of prostitution. Through
the special work in this connection, 23 girls gave up their lives of
shame, and the reports show that they were all working and leading
better lives.
_8. Domestic Relations Session._
No more important problem was presented to the court than those cases
involving domestic relations. The need for a change in the method
of dealing stood, when one realizes the many things involved in the
imprisonment of the head of the family, especially when there are many
mouths to feed. In order to deal intelligently with these people and
to arrive at a just conclusion, Thursday afternoon was set apart for
their consideration. A thorough investigation was made by the court
matron of the conditions surrounding the man, his home, his employment
and his associates, and was presented to the court at this special
session, to the end that in the final disposition of the case the same
might be disposed of to the best interests of the family as well as the
individual. Since the establishment of this session and up to the close
of my term 440 cases were investigated, and were disposed of as follows:
Total number of cases investigated 440
Judgment withheld 155
Fines and costs 106
Workhouse and jail 34
Juvenile court 11
Dismissed 39
Discharged 27
Continued indefinitely 44
Grand Jury 6
Sentence suspended 18
_9. Employment._
Through the probation department, the court attempted to meet every
angle of the social problem as represented by the delinquents brought
before the court. To the need of employment could be traced many cases
of delinquency. To meet this condition, special efforts were made to
obtain employment for men. From a crude beginning, it developed into
a permanent plan, resulting in all of the larger employers of labor
looking to the probation department for their help. More than 600
persons secured employment in this way.
In the presentation of a subject like this one realizes that the
material side must always be at the forefront, but to one whose daily
life was spent in the very midst of these problems, and who viewed them
from every angle, there are many arguments that cannot be expressed in
facts and figures. The problems presented by 49,916 persons brought
into the court during my term were large and varied. To meet them was a
gigantic task, but the results have more than justified the effort.
Any innovation in the administration of justice is the subject for more
or less criticism, just and unjust. Did this work place additional
burden on the taxpayer? Emphatically, No! It reduced the number of
commitments to the jail and workhouse by more than 50 per cent. During
the first year of its operation there was a saving in the cost of
feeding prisoners in the county jail of $1,293 and in the maintenance
of the workhouse of $4,631. However, the results of a system of justice
are not to be measured by dollars and cents. Such a work aims at the
physical, mental and moral uplift of the individual rather than at
the cold satisfaction of the law. It aspires to restore the erring
to society as useful citizens and transforms our penal system into a
mighty influence for the uplifting of society.
The reports to the court showed that home conditions had improved; that
men had abstained from the use of intoxicating liquors; that employers
had been enlisted in taking a more friendly interest in employees; that
men had joined churches and in other ways added to a higher standard of
living.
This touch of humanity in the administration of justice in a criminal
court was not only a profitable investment so far as the public
was concerned, but better than all, it made possible the social
regeneration of thousands of men and women.
THE INDUSTRIAL FARM[1]
If results are ever obtained in the handling of unfortunates it will be
through right treatment. There must be a thorough investigation before
the stain of prison life sentence is passed. In a great percentage of
the cases for minor offences, rather than a workhouse sentence, these
unfortunates require nothing more than a dismissal with a friendly
word of encouragement from the court. Or, if in the judgment of the
courts they need supervision, they should be turned over to a practical
probation officer who will see to it that it is not necessary to commit
them to imprisonment. A prisoner should never be committed to jail
to serve time. The average jails of this country are a disgrace to
civilization and are cesspools for the breeding of diseases and crime.
Many of the cases that come to the police and criminal courts for
minor offences only require supervision, change of surroundings and a
new home. Institutional treatment should be the last remedy. What we
must do, is to abolish the fixed sentence and de-institutionalize our
institutions, and, finally, these people must be made to feel whether
in an institution or out of one they are working for home-making.
Modern penology must not be sentimental; it should be practical. Then
we must have prevention, which is formation, not reformation; for 95
per cent. of our subjects in the penal institutions and reformatories
of the country have never been correctly formed in their mental and
physical make-up.
Modern penology, in order to aid social progress, must sentence its
unkempt, immoral and diseased citizens to an indefinite term of
sunshine, fresh air and honest work, with such system as will make
of them an asset rather than a liability when returned to society.
Modern penology must be able to say that if this cannot be done, then
sterilization or definite isolation on the farm must be provided.
Modern penology, in addition to all this, must impress upon society the
importance of ideal administration for its wayward subjects; that of
humane, educated and trained employees in all departments of our penal
institutions.
We are attempting at the District of Columbia Farm to lay the
foundation and inaugurate a system that will be practical, a
system where the inmates will not suffer by having too much done
for them, a system where the inmates must be made to feel, whether
in an institution or out of it, that there is work for them to do
individually.
We believe that beneficial results cannot be successfully maintained
in the old-time prisons with high walls, locks and bars; we believe
that walls must come down and the locks and bars go to the scrap pile.
We believe that for every bar of restriction removed, more rays of
sunlight and hope will reach the heart of the convicted man.
With these preliminary thoughts, I will now briefly describe the
District of Columbia Farm, which less than four years ago was a
wilderness in the hills of Virginia, 20 miles south of Washington,
D. C. The farm consists of 1150 acres of land, costing the General
Government $18 per acre.
On this land we have constructed some 30 buildings, consisting of
dormitories, dining rooms, lounging halls, hospital, horse and dairy
barns. These are all one-story buildings, and are built of wood, with a
view of giving ample light and ventilation. The plan for the prisoners
is that of the congregate or dormitory system, having no cells, locks
or bars about the institution. Two hundred prisoners are taken care of
during the night in each dormitory, and as we have 600 male prisoners
this requires three buildings. Cots are arranged side by side in these
dormitories on raised platforms. Sufficient bedding, consisting of
mattress, sheets and pillows, blankets and comforts are given to each
prisoner. All the buildings are steam-heated and electric-lighted and
have ample water, both hot and cold, in each of the buildings, with a
modern and up-to-date sewerage system.
During the evening and after the days’ work is done and on Sundays the
men are taken to a large building known as the Rest Hall and Library,
where they are permitted to talk, play checkers, read the daily
newspapers, which are bought for them by the management, and they have
access to a library of over 4,000 volumes. On summer evenings and on
Sundays the inmates are permitted to take the benches out into the yard
where it is possible to enjoy more freedom and have an abundance of
fresh air.
In one of the buildings referred to there is a shower bath and
arrangements where the inmates make their toilets. In this building 125
men can be taken care of at one time. We have no wash basins, but have
a faucet for each man, which makes it more sanitary, and the men are
also furnished with individual towels and soap.
The fact that prisoners are sent to us for short sentences (the time
now being from 15 days to three years, our average sentence being
35 days) makes it very necessary and important that the sanitary
conditions should be closely looked after, as from 10 per cent. to 15
per cent. of the prisoners sent us, when received, have vermin on their
persons. This however is looked after so closely that though we handle
from five to six thousand people a year we are absolutely free from
vermin in all of the 30 buildings.
In working prisoners we give them, from 15 to 20 men, to an officer.
His part is to direct this number in a humane and intelligent manner,
and to have them understand it is our purpose to be helpful. With such
methods we have very little trouble so far as discipline is concerned.
Work on this 1150 acres of land consists of building roads, constructing
buildings, farming, making brick, crushing stone, building
and repairing wagons, painting and whitewashing the buildings, poultry
raising, dairy, etc.
At the present time we are working 70 head of horses; these are all
cared for by the inmates without an officer with them, and neither the
farm or the buildings are enclosed by as much as a fence. We lose very
few prisoners by escaping, less on an average than two per month. Our
results show we get a fair day’s work from each of our able-bodied
inmates.
In handling prisoners for the past sixteen years, starting with the
old-time methods of having a 30 foot wall, cells, locks and bars, with
stripes for clothing (and a prisoner when reported by an officer for
failure to comply with some order was taken into a room, his clothing
removed and lashed with a cat-o-nine tails by the officer who reported
him) convinces me that the open-air method, with as few restrictions
as possible so far as the inmates are concerned, will give us better
results from the standpoint of discipline and reformation.
We handle the women prisoners from the City of Washington with the same
system of buildings as are provided for the men. The female department
is managed by women and the two institutions are some distance apart.
The average population of the female department is about one hundred.
The women do the laundry work and make the clothes for the population
of the two institutions. In addition, a number of them work on the lawn
and in the garden, and do the painting and other sanitary work about
the buildings. The female department, like the male department, has
neither cell, lock or bar; the buildings are one story with neither
wall or fence around them. We have handled three thousand women in the
past three and a half years and have only lost three by escaping.
We have very little sickness, and this we attribute to our method of
work, sanitation, and to the construction of the buildings which give
open-air treatment at all times with plenty of sunshine. Ninety-five
per cent. of our inmates, both male and female, show decided
improvement on their discharge both in their mental and physical
condition.
The time is coming when the District of Columbia Workhouse will be
self-supporting, if not more. When it is, I believe an appropriation
should be provided whereby the dependent families of the inmates,
whether they be sent to us because of non-support or for other
violation of the statutes, should be paid a sum of money sufficient
to provide in a comfortable manner for their support during the
confinement of the offenders. If such a system were inaugurated, the
financial benefit received by the family would only be a secondary
consideration. The greatest benefit would be the lasting impression
made on the individual while at the institution, developing in him
industrial habits and self-confidence, which would help him to become
a self-supporting citizen, capable of caring for his family after he
is released. This certainly would be true in 60 per cent. of the cases
we have, if there could be brought about a change in the penal code of
the District of Columbia through having the inmates committed on an
indeterminate sentence rather than on a fixed sentence such as is now
being given.
[1] Read by W. H. Whittaker, Superintendent of the (Occoquan) District
of Columbia Workhouse, at National Conference of Charities and
Correction, Memphis, May, 1914.
A PRISON OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
By O. F. Lewis
General Secretary of the Prison Association of New York
[Reprinted from The Independent of May 18, 1914.]
The three-car train came out of the Canadian woods from the south and
stopped by the stationless road. Twenty-five young fellows jumped
down, formed in twos, and, led by an older man, and followed by two
older men, walked up the road over the concrete bridge to the prison
buildings. They were prisoners, convicted of crimes and serving time.
That morning they had left the Central Prison of Toronto--left the
forbidding old building, with its bolts, its gloom, its cells and
corridors; and now, but a few hours later, they were hastening without
shackles, without armed guards, without prison garb, toward the latest
Canadian prison, the Central Prison Farm of Guelph.
This means a new era, this method of treating prisoners--an overturning
of the old traditions of prison government, a serious break with the
past, an almost scornful disregard of the cherished traditions of bars
and cells, tortures and punishments. It means an amazing change in the
attitude of society toward the prisoner, and a startling change in the
feeling of the prisoner toward society.
You have read in recent months about the mutinies at Sing Sing in New
York State; how the prisoners have been for almost a century forced
into atrociously small cells, with insufficient light and air. You have
read how prisoners have been doubled-up, two in a cell, because of the
congestion of population. You have learned that prisoners have had to
stay in their cells some fourteen hours out of the twenty-four; that
these cells are carriers of tuberculosis and venereal disease. And many
other terrible things you have read.
In the light of that story, hear this tale of a prison farm.
When I alighted from an earlier train I looked for Warden Gilmour in
vain. In the road stood a man in civilian’s clothes. “I’m Sergeant
Grant,” said he, “and the warden was to come on this train. He’ll come
later, though, with the draft.” We walked toward the prison. On the way
we crossed an attractive concrete bridge. “All built by prisoners,”
said the sergeant, “and we had hard work to find the bottom for some of
the piers. We made this macadam road, also graded up the approaches to
the bridge, designed the balustrades, and even hydrated the lime that
went into the concrete, after having quarried it from the limestone
quarries up there.”
Approaching the prison I looked for the wall and found none. Not a
thing apparently, to prevent the men from running away. I asked the
sergeant how many escapes they had. “About one and a half per cent.
of the population. We’ve lost from three to five this year. Fact is
there’s nothing in the way of guns to prevent the men from breaking
away any time. There isn’t a guard here that carries a revolver. The
warden says: ‘We haven’t taken away the guns from the guards, because
we haven’t ever given them guns!’ As a matter of fact, I carry a
revolver,” said the sergeant, “but I’ve never used it in eighteen
years. But I feel more comfortable with it.” Which made me smile,
because it was an example of an age-long tradition dying hard.
The dinner whistle blew at 11:45. Here I saw what in the old-line
prison would be the unbelievable. From all parts of the farm came the
men in to dinner. It was the reverse of the usual factory procession.
Here the crowd poured into the door of a factory building temporarily
used as a dining-room and kitchen. There was absolute order. The garb
was not unlike that of the average farmer’s helper. Even the customary
vizored cap of many prisons was absent, and the old straw hat had
taken its place. On the tables, for dinner, were meat and vegetables,
tapioca, soup and milk--a liberal amount.
Meanwhile Warden Gilmour had arrived with his detail of prisoners.
He has been in prison work for seventeen years; before that he was a
physician. He is regarded as one of the best prison administrators in
the country. He loves the land, not for what it produces alone, but in
humanity also. The frequency, moreover, with which bits of biblical
quotations drop from his lips leads one to believe that the injunctions
of Holy Writ form a considerable part of his sanction for life, and for
that of the men in his charge. There is nothing mawkish or apologetic
in his adherence to Holy Writ as a guide. There is a certain severity
of viewpoint in his daily work. Nothing is happy-go-lucky about the
Guelph Prison Farm; it has all been thought out, and the warden is the
dominant personality.
“Remember,” he said, “this is not run on honor, this prison. I don’t
believe in the so-called honor prison, as the word is generally
understood. This is a prison that is successful because the supervision
is successful. Supervision will do what formerly guns and wall
accomplished.
“We talk about the originality of a prison like this? Why, originality
consists in doing what other people are afraid to do. I have not been
afraid to build this prison without walls. But we are everlastingly
watchful. Thirty miles east of Toronto, at Whitby, I have a hundred
prisoners building an asylum for the insane on the cottage plan.
The plaster, the lime, the sashes and the window frames are shipped
from here. Here at Guelph we can perform with prison labor more than
seventy-five per cent. of the building operations.
“Punishments? We don’t have them here. That is, if a prisoner gets bad
here, disturbs the order of the place, and we cannot make him see that
he must conform to the rules, we send him back to the Central Prison at
Toronto. But most of the men prefer the life out here a thousand times.
We take men that generally have still some months to serve. We have
been taking men whose sentences run up to two years, but more recently
we have received men with longer sentences. Let me tell you about one
man who was here.
“I asked this boy, some time ago, who had been in the Toronto prison,
what he found the greatest difference between the prison in the city
and the farm out here. He said, ‘Warden, the getting away from that
cell! To sit there,’ the boy added, ‘on Sunday, every evening and on
holidays, and have that cell gate staring you in the face, is hell!’”
We walked toward the new building--all of them being built by the
prisoners. Under construction, in a kind of hollow square formation,
were kitchen and dining hall, several dormitories and cell buildings,
an administration building and officers quarters. One of the largest
and best dairy and hay barns that I have ever seen is already up; also
a little creamery building. Most of the work is of poured concrete.
As we went through one building, where some score of prisoners were
silently working at plastering, painting, carpentering and stone
cutting, Warden Gilmour said: “You see, I have my cells only on one
side of the central corridor. I mean that all the cells shall have
southern exposure. Each of the cells contains eight hundred cubic feet.”
I thought of the twelve hundred cells at Sing Sing, still used, which
contain less than two hundred cubic feet of air space, and have no
windows opening to the outer air as at Guelph.
“Then we have dormitories,” continued the warden, “not the big
dormitories of olden times, but comfortably small rooms that will
accommodate from twenty-five to thirty men. We are trying the
experiment. I don’t know yet how it will work out. We are expecting to
have here ultimately about seven hundred men.”
I asked him about the expense of all this. “Are you saving money or
saving men?” was his sharp retort. “Nevertheless, we are demonstrating
every day the economy of using prison labor, as well as the economy of
giving these men reasonable accommodations. I can’t give you as yet
the figures you want. We are teaching these men how to work, and the
usefulness of work. The bulk of them, when they leave here, are not
going upon farms, but back to the cities from which they came. So we
are teaching some city trades, but without neglecting farm industries.
We are raising about all we need to eat, as well as the stock we
raise for food. But a prison farm without important and diversified
industries is a mistake.”
I looked around the eight hundred acres. There was a sweep of horizon,
a tingling acid in the air, a quietude, a blessed monotony in
comparison with the feverish city, a spaciousness of possibilities,
as compared with the walled-in prisons like Sing Sing; in short, an
approximation to the sanest kind of normal life.
“Work?” The warden smiled. “Why, we’re working here ten hours a day;
seven to twelve, one to six. Each man that works here gets a gratuity
of two dollars a month, but he loses a part of that gratuity if he
offends against the rules of the place. They get the money when they
go out. Our payments to prisoners amount to between one hundred and
fifty and two hundred dollars a month. We discharge each month about
thirty to forty men. They get, in addition, a ticket back to the place
from which they were sent.”
I asked the warden if he was ultimately going to build a wall around
the place. “Not if I can help it. I don’t think bars on cell windows
are necessary; but supervision is. However, we may as well proceed
with reasonable speed in our modern ideas. Ultimately we may need the
protected windows.”
For the completed prison, Warden Gilmour is planning a number of
industries, all directly related to the life of the institution. There
will be tailoring, carpentry, shoemaking, a woolen mill, a machine
shop, a tile factory and other industries. And as for recreation, plans
are not failing. There is already a ball team that has beaten, with one
exception, all the teams that have come from the surrounding towns.
There is fishing and swimming in case of good behavior. And when the
warden gets the prison all built, he is going to turn much of the land,
which is not used for farming, in to a kind of natural park.
Up there, across the line, some thirty miles north of Lake Ontario,
where the summer heat gets into the nineties, and the winter cold sends
the bulb down to thirty and more below, there is going to be a radical
overturning of old prison regime. Inevitably the influence of Guelph
and of a dozen other prisons in the “States” will send the walls of the
older prisons crumbling. For Guelph means nothing else than a reversal
of the theories of prison administration.
The old prison believed in dungeons and bars. The new prison
substitutes therefor single rooms and God’s outdoors. The old prison
feared an escape like the plague. The new prison forces an escape
into its proper perspective as a serious episode in the training of
the prisoner for honest life. The old prison shut out life and hope
by monstrous walls. In the new prison, walls for all prisoners are
regarded as monstrous things. The old prison drove men like brutes to
work and often to mutiny. The new prison blows the whistle at noon, and
the men come in from all over the farm to dinner, and go to their rooms
or to the dormitories afterward for a short rest, and then back to
normal work. The old prison--and there are many of them still--believed
in squeezing the life blood out of the prisoners for the benefit of
the State and of private contractors. The new prison believes in the
working of the men for State profit, if for profit at all. And the
modern chiefs of new prisons are giving sober attention to a fairer
division of the profits of prisoners’ labor between the prisoner and
his compulsory employer, the government.
The old prison believed in wretchedly small cells, in a minimum of
fresh air, in messes of poorly prepared food; in the lock step, the
stripes and the shaven head; in punitive methods. The new prison
believes in an ample cell and an outdoor life so far as possible; in
decent food, the abolition of the lock step, a decent head of hair and
a decent uniform--in reformation, if possible.
As to the future, who can tell? The new prison is an experiment. So
far, it has worked in general remarkably well. Its sanction lies in
the fact that it makes on the average mind the impression of being a
common-sense proposition.
BOOK REVIEWS
_Young Delinquents._--Mary G. Barnett, London 1913, Methuen and Co.
Ltd., pp. 222.
Miss Barnett’s book is a very clear exposition of the British system
of Industrial and Reformatory Schools for taking care of children
fallen, or in the danger of falling, into criminal ways. As such an
exposition it very properly gives, after a few introductory statements
as to the chief causes of juvenile delinquency, the legal basis of
the system at present in vogue which is found in the Children’s Act
of 1908, by which the existing schools and their accessories take
their proper places in the scheme provided or sanctioned. Thus far
the book is merely the description of the fundamental determinants,
in a legal way, for a particular place--Great Britain. With the
description of the schools themselves, their physical conditions,
financing, management, difficulties of personnel, discipline, methods
of elementary, industrial and religious education, of social training,
of employment, inadequate facilities of proper aftercare, the methods
of administration of single institutions and of the whole system
of institutions, their inspection, and a horde of other things, we
get into territory that is as pertinent to our own problems in this
field as it is across the sea. The book shows that the author has
had an extended and intimate acquaintance with her subject, and has
made good use of her gift of observation. As one would expect, there
are numerous weaknesses in the system for which remedies should be
found. Such suggested remedies are included in the last chapter
of the book, in a resume of the findings and conclusions of the
Departmental Committee appointed in 1911 to look into the matter of
these schools. To give a complete list of all the recommendations of
that committee would be out of place here. But its most important
features should be, if only briefly, mentioned. First appears the need
for a special central authority, expert and responsible, to set a
standard and maintain it; there should be woman members on the boards
of managers; employees should be properly pensioned. The chief cause
of unsatisfactory conditions is found to be inadequate finances. In
reference to the children themselves, the principal demands are for
more intensive classification, particularly by age, more education,
especially physical training, less drudgery, less punishment, more
individual attention. Definite methods for rendering reports, for
extending after-care, for utilising voluntary aid are suggested, and
the uselessness is shown of some of the petty yet harmful restrictions,
as for example silence at meals.
Miss Barnett discusses conditions in a different land, but the greater
part of her discussion can be applied directly to our own conditions.
The book should be in the hands of every member of the board of
managers of a reform school.
P. K.
* * * * *
_Prostitution in Europe._ Abraham Flexner, New York, The Century Co.,
1914. Publication of the Bureau of Social Hygiene. Pp. 455.
A splendid contribution to the subject, especially useful to American
penologists and criminologists, who have been obliged to put up with
sporadic and often inaccurate reports of this very important and social
evil in Continental countries. Mr. Flexner promises a study shortly
of prostitution in the United States. Let us hope that it will meet
the high standard of the work under discussion. It is almost trite
to say that no library of a social worker should be without this
book. Mr. Flexner’s treatment is dispassionate, careful, thorough,
and broad. He has persistently gone after the facts. The book is
commendably free from propaganda. He defines prostitution, discusses
the demand and supply, and after showing the relation of prostitution
to law and law enforcement gives several chapters to the discussion
of regulation, after which he treats with equal detail the method of
treatment commonly called “abolition”. The last chapter, summing up the
outcome of European experience, is for Americans cognizant of the many
surveys of the social evil in American cities, of especial interest and
importance. “Prostitution is a modifiable phenomenon, arising out of
the complicated interaction of personal factors and social conditions.
The attempt to stamp it out completely by summary, even though
persistent action, cannot be hopefully regarded. Repression requires an
abundance of institutional facilities such as nowhere exists. Although
important good is achieved at the moment (by repression) and still
more in the long run, prostitution as a formidable problem will still
remain. Repression is what the physicians call symptomatic treatment.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Flexner, having shown that “regulation” does not
regulate, and that repression does not wholly repress, says in
conclusion that a direct frontal attack in the repressive spirit would
accomplish much. “It is well worth doing; it is, humanly speaking,
a possible undertaking. Let us not, however, deceive ourselves into
thinking that such a frontal attack absolves us from effort in other
and different directions. Further achievements depend upon alterations
in the constitution of society and its component parts.” And after
outlining the important social factors that make for prostitution,
such as ignorance, mental or moral defect, natural impulses, alcohol,
illegitimacy, broken homes, bad homes, low wages, wretched industrial
conditions--and their potential offsets through education, religion,
science, sanitation, enlightened and far-reaching statesmanship, he
continues: “Civilization has stripped for a life-and-death wrestle
with tuberculosis, alcohol and other plagues. It is on the verge of a
similar struggle with the crassest forms of commercial vice. Sooner or
later, it must fling down the gauntlet to the whole horrible thing.
This will be the real contest--a contest that will tax the courage, the
self-denial, the faith, the resources of humanity to their uttermost.”
O. F. L.
* * * * *
_Why Crime does not Pay._ Sophie Lyons. J. S. Ogilvie, New York. pp.
268.
A series of not uninteresting sketches of alleged actual adventures
in crime by one who claims to have been called the “Queen of the Bank
Burglars”. The publishers call her the most remarkable and greatest
criminal of modern times, a thief from the cradle. The burden of the
stories is that crime does not pay. She was associated with a number
of noted bank burglars, among them Ned Lyons, her husband, and George
Bliss, alias George White, who some half dozen years ago published a
strikingly well-written narrative of his own criminal career, entitled
“From Boniface to Bank Burglar”. Mrs. Lyons’ stories are circumstantial
and give detail accounts of daring and often successful burglaries.
O. F. L.
* * * * *
_A History of Penal Methods._--George Ives. Stanley Paul and Co.,
London, 1914. pp. 409.
A distinct contribution and a distinct disappointment. The amount of
research into the most diverse authorities is remarkable. For chapter
after chapter practically every sentence is annotated by reference to
the authority from which the fact is culled. The earlier chapters are
relatively full, and even laboriously worked out. The early methods
of compensation, of torture, of banishment, transportation, etc., are
fully treated--but almost entirely from the standpoint of English
experience. Rarely does one find so pretentious a book so insular in
its actual scope. The student desirous of knowing how penal methods
developed in France, or Germany, or the United States would be at
sea, save for the most occasional reference. And when we come to the
developments of the English penal system itself since the 70’s of the
last century, we obtain little. The reader, ignorant of recent English
development, would be very unclear at the end. There is little about
the treatment of juvenile adults, the Borstal system, the preventive
detention plan, the development of the work for discharged prisoners,
and other important and almost epoch-making innovations. In short,
instead of having a book that, on the basis of past penal methods,
studies illuminatingly the most recent developments, we have a book of
distinct value for early English penal history.
O. F. L.
* * * * *
_Causes and Cures of Crime._--Thomas Speed Mosby. C. V. Mosby Co., St.
Louis, 1913. Pp. 354.
Because the “cost of crime in the United States now amounts to
one-third the total cost of the Government, and because the burden
is yearly increasing”, Mr. Mosby has made a careful compendium of
the statements of many authorities, including his own opinions, on
the subject of the book. The reader finds the little volume a useful
manual. Etiology, prophylaxis, and therapeutics are the logical
divisions of the subject. The specialist will find little that is new;
the student will be grateful to Mr. Mosby for getting so much together
in available form. Like most writers of today, the author has little
use for the traditional penitentiary system. The book is not a quick,
hastily-compiled potpourri of what other people happen to say; it is
a carefully selected collection of material that we all want to have
handy. And what Mr. Mosby himself contributes is not a small part of
the product.
O. F. L.
* * * * *
_Beating Back._--Al Jennings and Will Irwin. Appleton’s, New York,
1914. Pp. 355.
A most readable narrative of the career of the “famous train robber”,
Al Jennings, who figured in a number of holdups and subsequently in
the Ohio State Prison and the Federal Prison at Leavenworth as inmate,
and still later as candidate for county attorney in Oklahoma, and
now as candidate for Governor of Oklahoma. Will Irwin has edited the
autobiography, and it reads many times better than the old-style “From
Log Cabin to White House” literature, besides being very human, and,
to penologists, more than interesting. Here is a man that, according
to his story, did not start out along criminal lines, but through
force of circumstances and considerable of a temper, swung into crime
in woolly Western days. He was finally caught, imprisoned, underwent
the pretty rigorous penitentiary discipline of Ohio and Kansas, and
discovered the importance of being honest. The tale is as good as a
novel of adventure; more moral than many a didactic screed; and more
just to prison regimes of the older days than many a diatribe of a
narrow-visioned reformer.
O. F. L.
NOTES.
The most “innovating” sheet of the Umpire is that on which the
schedule of baseball games, to be played this season at the Eastern
Penitentiary, is given. The following clubs are included: “Cubs, Ninth,
Shed, Band.” There are both home games and games on other grounds, but
all within the prison yard. Total number of games to be played, 56.
Contracts, protests, violations of agreements, ground rules, limitation
of number of players carried by each club, limitation by ground rules
(ball lodging on the roof to be counted for two bases only), furnishing
of balls by the home club, etc., are all down in black and white. Good
luck to the series! This is the institution that started by adopting
solitary confinement in all its severity. Even now the Pennsylvania
system is treasured as a great historical fact in Europe, and most
continental prisons are built largely on the architectural model of the
old penitentiary. How long will it be before the European prisons adopt
the new Pennsylvania methods?
* * * * *
Hereafter all executions in the State of New York must take place at
Sing Sing prison.
* * * * *
The first monthly report of Charles H. Girardeau, who was named warden
following the recent shake-up in the county convict camps of Georgia,
shows that whippings under the new regime have been reduced by more
than 50 per cent. He admits the truth of the report that the food
served the convicts was bad in some instances and makes a number of
recommendations for further reforms in the system.
* * * * *
The sale of convict labor to private contractors was condemned by the
investigators of the Chicago efficiency division of the city service
commission, who report that labor which sold for 38c. a day was worth
97c. a day to the city.
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, 135 East 15th St.,
New York City
Business Manager, O. F. Lewis, 135 East 15th St.,
New York City
Publisher, The National Prisoners’ Aid Association, 135 East 15th St.,
New York City
Owners, The National Prisoners’ Aid Association, 135 East 15th St.,
New York City
There are no bondholders, mortgages, or other security holders.
O. F. LEWIS, Editor and Business Manager.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 30th day of September, 1913.
H. L. McCORMICK, Notary Public No. 6, Kings County.
My Commission expires March 31, 1914.
Transcriber’s Notes
A number of typographical errors were corrected silently.
New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DELINQUENT (VOL. IV, NO. 5), MAY, 1914 ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
