The morning call., 1890-07-22

mans flesh or is he coarse in his physical
fiber. Next, his mental qualities. What
intellect has he? what quicknessP what
solidity? has he any training? is he bright
or dull? Then follows a thorough dag
nosis of his past life relating not to crime,
but to his capacity for good This exami-
nation determines the sort of treatment
that is best for him. He is washed, clad
and made fit for association in decent
prison.
CLASSIFYING.
In the reformatory there are three
grades-frst. intermediate and third:
The new-comergoes into the second
grade and he works up or down.
according to behavior. When he is
put in the second grade he is told the
maximum length OF his sentence. He is
informed as to the rules and what he has
to do to free himself from the institution.
In the second grade, in which he is first put.
his dress is very much like that OF any cit
iZen, being OF brown color, with Scotch
cap. If his conduct is good he is advanced
to the first grade, with blue uniform and
a soldiers cap. If, by bad conduct, he
goes backward, he is clothed in red gar
ment, in which he resembles the criminal
that he is. The first-grade men occupy bet
ter cells and have better fare. They dine
tuSGlu6l, DIS d6 Il HUleI-elSuL vi lbU db
table. They walk four abreast in hOnOra-
bic ranks, and are otficeTed by men chosen
from their own grade. These latter, the
sec0nd-grade men, take their meals in their
cells and march in ranks of two. The
third-grade men march in the prison lock-
step and take their meals in their cells.
which are not so comfortable as the other
cells. Any utterly incOrrigible prisoner
may be transferred from the reformatoTy
10 State Prison.
Each prisoner is credited for good per-
sonal demeanOr, diligence in labor and
study, and for all results accomplished, and
is debited for all derellctlonS, negllgenceS
and Offenses. An abstract OF the record of
each prisoner IS presented to the board at
regular meeting and if, after proper pres
entation he be deemed reliable and worthy,
and may with safety be liberated, the facts
are presented 10 the Judge OF the court
that pronounced sentence, who if he Sees
after consulting with the District Attorney,
no further reason for the detention OF the
prisoner, sends an order for his discharge.
Enforced idleneSS, owing to the opera
tons of certain laws in some States, pro-
duced bad results, and in order to overcome
the effects the prisoners were formed into
military companies ana drilled i'll military
tactics. This was found to be so adVan-
tageous that this feature has been pre-
served, after the necessity for it passed
away. The convicts are armed with
wooden guns and march to the music of a
brass band. They drill and march with
the utmost precision, and it is claimed that
the practice of military tactics exercises an
important influence III the work OF ref0T-
nation.
FEMALE OFFENDERS.
Before closing this portion Of the report,
which thus far has been confined to males,
Mr.. Devlins report of his visit to the In
diana RefOrmatOry Institution for Women
and Girls VIII be found interesting. The
is At fundamentals il undpr
the supervision OF Board OF Managers,
consisting of three ladies. There are two
departments-the penal ana the reforma-
tory. Financially 1t is not a success. as
last year its cost for maintenance was
$751; a. and the institution earned
S4041 80. The reformatory. department
was created for the purpose of assuming
charge OF girls under 10 years of age, who
might be sent to it by parents, guardians
or courts, and who required the restraints.
discipline and guardianship OF a school of
this character. The period Of detention is
from one to three years, and the aim of
each department is to teach each girl some
industrial employment, such as cane-seat-
ing, painting, whitewashlng, plain and
fancy sewing, cutting. fitting and draping.
Every girl is allowed to tell her own
story i'll her own behalf. The punish
mentS are mild. During last year forty
four girls were received, thirty were dis
charged, being of age, eighteen were out
on ticket-of-leaye when Mr. Devlin was
there and were giving ordinary satisfac-
ton, and ten had been returned for various
reasons, some doing wrong in order that
they might be sent back.
STATE PRISONS
With the report Of the State prisons it is
not necessary to go into such detail, as the
main object If Mr.. Devlin's investigations
was to ascertain matters most advantageous
to the proper management OF a school of
industry. His report covers the buildings
inside and outside. the character of the
prisoners, The discipline their wOrK, food
and daily lie, and every mlnutia connected
with the management Of these Institutions.
1t is understood that these prisons are in
tended for hardened criminals and that, as
q rule, the occupants OF the cells are of this
class. But even here the system of rewards
and punlshmentS Is in force, and the treat
ment OF prisoner and his commutation
depends entirely upon himself The priS-
oners are graded, taught trades, and good
behavior entities them TO certain privileges.
If his conduct has been irreproachable dur
ing the continuance OF his sentence 20 per
cent of his earnings is allowed him, but
at least one-fourth of this is retained for
him and given him upon his restoration to
liberty. II is a creditable report that in
many of the prisons the earnings are
greater than the prison expenses. In some
prisons the contract system prevails, the
prisoners being leased or farmed out to
contractors. In concluding his report Mr..
Devln says:
Il have endeavored to convey practical
Idea of the manner in which the best
managed reform schools are conducted,
and hope that the Information submitted
Will be of service to the board. | have re-
Trained from any remarks on abstract
questions, dealing only with the practical
side of the management Of these institu-
lions. The portion of this report devoted
to State prisons has been made longer than
perhaps was necessary, but it was deemed
best to present somewhat fully what | had
cleaned on this subject, i'll the hope that it
would prove not improbable in the super
intendence of the institutions of which the
board have charge. l was received with
uniform kindness and courtesy by all
whom | met, and desire to thank them one
and all for the assistance they rendered"