Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-01

and rigorous discipline will deter from crime,
but they fear that great severity in the prison
discipline viii send the convict into society a
worse man. For example, they discharge
from this prison 20 month that would be
$50 year, or in ten years 4, 800 convicts, who
have been discharged from this prison, all of
whom may be presumed to be in this State,
or if they are not in this State, con-
victs from other States have come.
We make an exchange between commu-
mites of convicts. The disposition is
to leave and go away but the disposition of
those abroad is to leave and go away. So it
would be probably equalized in that way, and
We have probably five or six thousand con-
victs in the population of California. The in
huence of those ex-convicts in the way OF pro-
dueipg crime, encouraging crime, teaching
crime in the community, must be considered
by the State in dealing with this question. l
don't hold to the theory that the severe,
solitary and silent prison system has ten
dency to make a man mora q criminal Prob.
ably l can make myself better understood.
1t depends upon what is called the severity
of prison discipline.
MERE ISOLATION,
Under proper arrangements for industry,
isolated industry doesn't make a man bad.
But if the severity of the prison discipline
means brutal conduct on the part of those
who have charge of the prisons, by beating
them by being harsh to them, by using i'm
proper language and losing all moral control
of them; | grant you if that is what is
meant by severity, why, of course, grant
you they go out worse, because the nature of
is rebellious-resentful and if you find that
man is doing wrong and talk to him :
NOW, john" if he is your workman !;
"John, you should have done this in diff
ferent way. 1t amt the proper way to 60 it.
You should have done it so and so, 4" in a pleas
ant manner; but if you in brutal manner
commenced damning him up hill and down
dale, and commenced humping him, the first
thing that enters his head is whether he will
lick the fellow that is humping him. If he
can't, he simply says to himself: 81 will
get even with you some time" His nature is
rebellious He will get even with you yet.
How will be get even with you? By doing
something that man can't resent at the
time. We find that for some offenses great
disparity of sentences exists. In the silent
systems 1 have been describing to you, in
such a condition of things, one prisoner would
not know the term of sentence of any other.
INEQUALITY OF SENTENCES.
Q.-This inequality of sentences is some
times the result of compromises is it not !?
That fact wouldn't be known to the prison
authorities here?
A.-Yes, sir, in some instances they are.
Q.-Wbat do you mean by a compromise :?
A-Take for illustration a man with
wife and five or six children, who has come
here from Australia, or from any part of the
world, and is landed upon the dock here in a
strange country with some means, say two or
three thousand dollars. Maybe he is going
out farming, surrounded by his little wife and
children. By some misfortune thief robs
him. He is utterly cleaned out ; hasn't
dollar in the world. We suspect somebody
of having committed that crime. In fact we
accumulate proof enough to make it certain
that he did it. We get this man in prison,
and the first effort of course of any decent
hearted man is to endeavor to recover the
money for these poor people. The thief has
the key of the situation. He says: "What
will get if give the money up, He ad.
mits he has done it. '' But what do get if
wishes and the sympathy of the good peo-
ple." well" he says, "That won't do.
That don't benefit me bit in my circum-
stances. 1 simply want to know what 1 will
get if l turn this money up" Then if
he goes into Court and pleads guilty.
he will probably get off with one year or
two years. He may be second or third
| timer, and he may not be very young, but
this is done for the purpose of getting this
money back. Now the newspapers and
people who get upon
THE TOP PINNACLE OF MORALS,
They say that it is an outrage; you have no
business to compromise with a thief; it is
against public policy and public morals. But
they never once think of this poor fellow
with wife and five or six children in
strange land and community penniless. They
never once give thought to him. None of
their great humanitarian ideas are expended
upon this fellow with bis family, a stranger
in strange land and strange country. Not
once. 1t is all expended upon the convict
when he comes over here; not particle OF
it upon these poor people. That is what |
mean by the compromise. TIE officer takes
the humane idea OF the thing and does every
think he can to get this money back. He
finally succeeds by compromising with the
thief That to some extent makes these in
equalities of sentences. At times the Judge
is human and has got a big heart. Under the
law we have right to be put on the stand,
and we can there testify to the facts, and as
it were plead that this man. should have
lighter sentence because he gave up the
money.
Q-Captain, what effect has the suspicion
in the minds OF police officers generally
against ex-convicts upon their chances of re-
form?
A-No convict that ever came from this
establishment, that 1 know of. has ever had
any Just cause of complaint against the police,
so far as our city is concerned, il he was will
ing to work and do right Instead of their
bounding him and
PULLING HIN DOWN,
To my positive knowledge, they have always
aided him and sustained him, and people
have gone there and said: 1--WE know this
man, and he has reformed. He is good
man. Give him show. Give him some
thing to do" I vent within the last five
weeks and fought for two hours to get a man
his aggregate sentences were twenty-five
wears in the prisou-to get him job, because
[ felt that the man meant to do better; bat
his only falling WAS rum. He was not
naturally bad did not have that bad streak
in him. Ii he let drink alone he would
never have belonged TO that class of convicts.
I am speaking of regular officers.
On regard to the rearrest of conyicts.
THE CASES OF REARREsT.
A.-Well, those cases must stand by them
selves. There may be cases where it is per.
fectly just and proper to come here and re-
arrest the convict, but convicts for minor Of
fenses-thatis light larcenies and all that sort
of thiug-I think it would have tendency
to make a convict desperate. Ii he is coming
away and has served say five years term,
and gives evidence of reform, and he is met
at the door of the prison by the Sheriff ready
to arrest him for some other offense, indicted
from some other county, think that would
have tendency to make man desperate,
and say 81 have no chance in the world.
and there is no use of my trying to reform"
Hence it is a system that ought not to
be carried out Unfortunately. There are
instances where it would be perfectly proper.
For instance, surprising man who is con-
yict here goes to cur county and commits
crime, and also crime in Alameda county,
all in the space of month and we will
suppose he has got thousand dollars
thousand dollars in each county = and we
finally get him in San Francisco, and he is con-
victed for one offense. He comes over here
and the people who have been robbed
in Alameda county come over TO the
prison, knowing he has been convicted,
and they approach him and beg him
to restore their property, and he def
antly says: "No, 1 won't do it." l think
that man ought to be rearrested. 1t is the
duty of the officer to come here and get him,