Morning journal and courier., 1888-07-19
THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS.
Interesting Papers Read Before the
 Prison Reform Association.

Interesting Papers Read Before the
 Prison Reform Association.
 BosToN, July 16.-This afternoon the mem
 bers of the National Prison Reform associA-
 tion visited the Suffolk county jail and the
 State prison and took drive in the suburbs.
 This evening paper wss presented by Rich
 ard Vaux, president of the board of inspec-
 tors of the Eastern penitentiary, upon preS-
 ent prison systems and their effect on society
 and the criminal The treatment of p1is-
 oner, he said, should depend upon his crime
 associations, environment, training, instruc-
 tion and characteristics. This discipline is punishment and the end is the reformation
 of the criminal. For murder, arson, burglary and Instructions on railroads in which life is lost or put in peril and permanent injury to individuals results the penalty shonld be death. That senile loquacious humanitarian ism which sets up excuses to defeat justice is injurious to society because it is in many cases premium on crime and society, with out a word spoken for it's security, and the family of the murdered man is forgot ten in the humanitarianism devoted to the wretch who is the murderer. No punishment will ever eradicate crime from human nature. Crime is largely the outgrowth of vicious social influences which may be contracted by prevention and reform. Vicious youth should be given Q mechanical ! industry and proper mental training. Build small houses for twenty inmates each. Let each boy have separate bedroom which should be kept clean; teach trades that are an every day necessity such as horseshoeing, | blacksmithing and carpentering. Give the boy care of stock, teach farming and the care of flowers, have no locks, bars or bolts If ! boy ia too bad to be associated with others send him to reformatory where restraint is | the basis of treatment. Some judges lose sight for the time of social security when | they pass sentence, and are unduly influenced | by the forensic speeches of counsel. The es- say attacked the system of punishment which seeks to make the showing of good fiscal | year the chief motive in the management of a l prison. The convict and the machine work to- l gether and the labor of the man is punish ment and the labor of the machine is profit. 1 This is the sham of the method. Prisoners 1 should be taught trades or the use of tools, hand trained or head trained so that they l will be self-supporting when they return to | sociesy. There is difference between ap- piled labor in the gangs in manufacturing prisons and labor as a means of instructiHg and reforming a convict. Manufactories for profit where convicts are associated in gangs for work make criminals. They manufao- ture the crime class, which costs more than it earns. The plan of releasing prisoners be- fore the term of imprisonment has expired is most disadvantageous to society and tho proper administration of justice. The in~ dividual treatment plan is the best. Efforts to reach @ reformation of convicts are likely to be successful in large percentage of cases, but the punishment must be direct- ed to that end. There is only one way to
 begin; turn present systems inside out and
 discover what is bad and how to get the best. Il paper was also read by Dr. n. D. Wey
 on physical training for youthful criminals.