The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1888-12-14

Aesoroey.0eoeral Garland. In Uis Amman
Report. Makes m Urgent Appeal fnr IL
Estnls1lahment ~ National renks~n-
tlnrlea and neforma oriss Tor Uolte.s
States convicts.
WASHINGTON, Dec. Attorney "a eneraI
Garland, In his annual report, makes an
earnest appeal 20 Congress 70 provide f,r
the construction Of Government peniten-
tiaries and reformatories. Recent laws
that have been Enacted by States with re-
spect to the labor Of prisoners prove more
conclusively than ever, he says, the abso-
lutte need Of such institutions. Provisions
should 1T once be made looking ~ m.
erection Of NJ least one United States
penitentiary, and, II possible, reforms
at0ry. The objection In the. minds
Of many that the cost Of conducting
such an institution would be so much
greater than the existing arrangement il
being almost overcome by the fact thar
the favorable contracts which the depart
ment has heretofore been able TO enter in
70 can no longer be made. This arises
from the fact that laws passed recentlybv
several Of the States and by Congress
prevent the employment Of prisoners on
contract labor. This necessitates a resort
70 experiments In other systems, as pro-
vision must necessarily be made for the
working Of convicts, II discipline i "a b.
maintained and the prisoners health and
comfort considered. A large number az
prisoners convicted in United States
courts are those who have committed luz
. single offense, and who have but CON-
menced . career Of crime. II they could
be prevented from associating with hard
ened criminals and not confined in an IN
stitution which In every way suggests
criminal life, many, perhaps, could be re-
formed. Besides, many are young men
who have had positions Of trust and re-
sponsibility, and who, through tempta-
ton, have committed some crime against
the laws Of the country. These, and the
class referred TO above, should NOT
be confined in prison. but
the Government should provide =
suitable reformatory where proper
them and their reformation effected. as is
done now in several States. In addition
70 all this, he says, IL would seem that the
United States should have model prisons
and reformatories Of its own in which 10
confine its criminals, and provisions
could be made for the employment Of tie
minutes ~ r0fHt >ultdblS lu0u>tIit~ on "A
system OF labor which would not violate
the recent act Of Congress, nor be incon-
sistent with the laws passed by the sever
al States and the prevailing opinions rela-
tive to the subject Of contract labor.
The Attorney General recommends spe-
cial appropriation Of 1915, 900 for fees and
expenses Of United States deputy mar
shals, and a REIMBURSEMENT OF the marshals'
fee bill, which has not been revised for
thirty years. He also suggests the reor-
ganization Of the official force Of the de-
partment and an increase Of the force to
correspond with the increased amount Of
work done during the last four years. On
this subject the Attorney-General says:
THE work Of the department during the
past year was a continuation Of what has
been its policy during the whole OF
the present Administration: a strict and
vigorous enforcement OF the laws.
For nearly four years the department has
kept this object in view, and the results Of
its action are very apparent. Because OF
the diligent prosecution Of suits for the
cancellation OF fraudulent patents and
against timber trespassers and plumber
ers Of the public domain, il has come 10
be understood that the laws enacted for
the regulation Of the public lands, both as
10 their general disposition and manage
ment, and as granted TO railroads and
other corporations, are OF binding force.
and are to be rigidly and impartially exc
cuted.v