Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-09-15
A CONVICT SCHOOL,
RESULTS OF A SINGULAR EXPERT. MENT IN PRISON MANAGEMENT.

The System Pursued in the Reformator,
 at Elmira, N. Y.-How Thorough ana
 Lasting Reform Is Obtained-The Intel l igent Criminals Mentality.
 most interesting product of convict labo,
 is in the shape of little book of 100 0,
 more pages, grouping together a number ot
 papers and reports regarding the singula, | experiment. in prison management which has
 been in progress for some years at the El.
 mira reformatory. It is printed by the pris.
 oners themselves. Comparatively little
 seems to. be known by the general public re- garolng the Elmira system. Only such con-
 Vlcts are sent there as are between the ages | or l6 and 50 and have never been in state prison before. They are sentenced for an in- definite term, subject to the discretion of the board of managers, but cannot be detained longer than the maximum period for which
 they might have been imprisoned under the law. II, for example, man has been con- vlcted of burglary, he may be kept in FL
 mira for ten years, but no longer, because that IS the maximum sentence under the
 law. But if the management, or rather the
 superintendent, Mir. Brockway-who is prac-
 Really the head of the nstitution-believes
 from his record there that he will lead an
 honest life on emerging, he may be dis
 charged at any time after one year.
 To obtain his release he must get perfect
 record i'll three branches-for conduct. zeal
 and efficiency as workman, and proficiency
 and diligence as ia scholar. In this latter field
 is found the distinguishing character of the
 Elnira system. It is, in fact, a school for
 conv1cts, and the results are surprising. On the average, it is said, 60 per cent of the con- vets released from state prisons find their
 way back, but thus far 80 per cent of the discharges from the Elmira reformatorv dur ing the eight years the experiment has been continued are believed to be permanent reformations. The full significance of this will not be understood unless it is remem- oered that ill the newer prisons every im- provement has been introduced, not incon- slstent with proper discipline, looking to the health and general well being of convicts.
 The Elmira system proceeds upon the principle that thorough and lasting reform can only be obtained through a decided change in tho intellectual character of the convict. Christmas dinners, the privilege of reading good books. and an occasional holiday, which are conspicuous among the ameliorating features of life in yari- ous prisons, are not believed to furnish sufficient radical treatment At Elmira the convict is not invited to read He is con- pelled to study and to work over his books as he does over his bench in the workshop. because it is only by making perfect record as scholar as we'll as in the other two branches that he can shorten his sentence. The schools are held in the evening after the elSht hours of labor required ill the shops have been performed. The subjects run as far up as tho higher mathematics, American
 
 ture and political economy One of the classes was in practical ethics. This began with only seventy pupils, because the con vlcts seemed averse to the idea Yet inter est in it grew so rapidly that the member ship increased to about eight hundred The discussions turned upon practical questions in the morality of daily life and had no bear ing upon religious dogma, so called
 The course in English literature became SO popular that the class increased in less than a year from sixty to more than 5O0-five- slxths of the entire convict population. The account given by the school secretary of the growth of this course in popularity reads al most like fairy tale. No regular class meet lngs were held except at examinations, but the study was followed in private by each prisoner, with helps and suggestions through circulars or in talks with the instructor. The history of English literature was taught through leaflets prepared by him, while the texts of the great masters were read by the pupil, each being assigned every month a portion of an author for study. As with the subject of practical morality, English litera- ture was regarded at the outset as a nuisance by the men selected to form the class They l looked upon it as another method of making 1 1t difficult for them to earn the marks which 1 would be necessary to secure a release. Many l showed a great distaste for the study, and 1 some exhibited positive anger. Yet it was | lot many months before the corridors of the l prison any night showed curious spectacle | -convicts boring over the Canterbury tales, | he story of Evangeline, and even pages of | Bacon and Browning.
 Tho experience of those engaged in this work is directly against the theory that in- ellectual development only increases the capacity Of the criminal for wickedness They find, on the other hand, that even the l Q called intelligent criminal seems mentally deficient as soon as be passes out of the groove n which ho has been accustomed to exercise lis cunning He takes narrow and distorted views of life. The process of intellectual cul- ure which is carried on in this institution, hey believe, broadens the convicts mind lntil he is lifted out of this narrow groove \ nd is able to see the wisdom of good morals. The experiment is unique and may have a nost important influence upon the future of 'enal science.-New York Tribune