New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-06-08
THE DISCIPLINE or PRISONS.

II ia a coincidence that the State Prison
Commission and tho National Prison Reform
Congress should be simultaneously in session
-tbe one at Sing Sing and the other II this
ctv. The one is an official body, the other
voluntary and philanthropic Each, controlled
by almost opposite interests ana motives
adopts its own methods. The Commission
considers the prisons, the Congress the prison.
ers The first is investigating the lnternai
economy of three great penitentlarcs'
their discipline, their labor contracts
and the fidelity Of their officers
Prison reform as discussed by the Con-
gress means reform of the moral influences
to which cOnvicts are subjected, with we" 10
their safe enlargement at the appointed
time In one respect however, there Is
community of action between the two DOnles
There can be neither pecuniary prosperity nor
moral reform without honest prison junction.
aries. Those who are practically will be also
morally efficient, or at least those who are
benevolent in management will probably be
honest in their bookkeeping The report OF
the Commission must be considered mainly by
tho Assembly-the proceedings OF the Congress
by the public of all classes.
There has been some complaint that the
sessions at Steinway Hall have been but thlniy
attended There is compensation, however, In
the quality of those who were present, or wh'
exhibited their interest by forwarding papers.
Gov. Seymour, the President of the National
Association, was necessarily absent, but his
place was well filed by the Rev. DR.. Bellows.
The Mayor of the city was properly in attend
ance, and Mr.. Bryant has not forgotten III his
are the goodwill to man which has charac-
terized his long and brilliant career. He spoke
with great good sense of the contagion OF
crime, and of making prisons something better
than semlnaries of violence. The different
essays contributed by the members, whatever
their particular topics may be, will have one OBJ
ject in yIew--a radical change in the character
of the prisoner and his return to freedom
Trustworthy and useful man.
There is something encouraging in the
general idea of On enterprise like this. 1t Is
recognition of the great opportunity which the
State secures by imprisonment OF diminishing
the number of the criminal classes. Or course
no merely selfish interest would lead to such n
reformatory labor-thcre must be kindness ana
sympathy and charity to begin with ; but not
the less is it apparent that while reforming
the character of the convict for his sake, so
cicty ia doing something which it might well
undertake for its own Mr.. Bryant stated
the truth succinctly when he said that one
purpose Of the Congress is " to prevent the
coniagion Of guilt from spreading" This,
too, is one of the purposes OF all prisons.
But the inmates cannot in the great majority
of cases remain there for more than few
years. IL they emerge worse men than when
they went in, ono object of their Incarceration
is n faiure-we have not diminished but in
creased the aggregate of crime. We have
punished them, it is true, and punishment
in itself is desirable but we have done
80 at too heavy cost. Made no better, they
must necessarily have become worse, bitterer
enemies of law and more virulcnt foes of or
der, reader than ever to propagate their
own unScrupulous audacities, and to keep up
the succession of wrongdocrs. The remedy
for this is partly in n moral education i'll
prison, in all possible cases, and partly in the
scientific classification of prisoners, that they
may not exercise an adverse influence upon
each other. In word, the experiment of
educating and training every prisoner must bc
tried There may he many failures to one sue
cess, but that success, in turn, may and proba-
bly, will compensate for many failures.