The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-06-05
HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
/ Visit to One Of The Political Ranches
Of San Francisco.
An Institution That Does Not Serve the Pur-
pose for Which It Was Created-A Sort Of
Refuge for Criminals With Pull.
Written for THE MORNING CALI.

Located side by side and within sight Of
passengers who travel on the Southern Pa
eifc Railroad and on the new electric rail-
way are two public institutions, the House
Of Correction and the branch County Jail,
formerly the Industrial School, both OF
which have greatly changed from the pur-
rose for which they were built and opened.
TIE Industrial School. which was the
first opened. was intended as a TefOrmatory
for the young, and the House Of Correction
was intended to correct and improve the
mind and condition of criminals who were
too young to send to the penitentiary, and
too old to be sent to the Industrial School
The School did not prove success, neither
did the House, which has been turned into a
branch penitentiary, and each became a
sort o. political ranch, to which are sent
political wire pullers to feed at the public
crib for services rendered the party or
boss during the political campaign imme-
diateiY preceding installment.
The House Of Correction was, as its name
implies, intended to be an institution for
the confinement of wrOngdoers. with view
to correct them, and, if possible, return
them to the path in which honorable and
straightforward people walk.
The act creating the House Of Correction
provides that 1t shall
Be used for the cafe keeping OF such prisoners
as shall be sentenced 10 be punished for crimes
by the criminal courts Of tie city and county Of
San Francisco, and are now or would be confined
70 The County Jail.
An amendment 10 the original act con-
tanned a provision that the Judge Of the
court imposing senience-
May sentence criminals to the House Of Cor
Feetlon, when, IN his Judgment, the criminal is
100 young TO be sentenced to the State prison,
or when it is deemed better for tie we'll being Of
sO
shall be sent 10 the House OF Correction Dy said
Judge. whose term OF sentence to the State
Prison would be more than two years.
But as tie French aptly put it, 'nous
svOns change tout celia" The Institution.
instead of being one for the confinement of
petty criminals and an occasional youthful
transgressor who might be corrected, has
been turned into place for the confne-
ment Of individuals who have committed
crimes against the State, who should be
punished by imprisonment in one OF the
Denitentiaries, maintained at the eXpense
Of the State and not supported by the
taxpayers of this city and county.
The last published report of the super
intendent OF this institution shows to
what extent the original intention Of the act
has been perverted. 1t shows that 1t con-
taIns not only prisoners whose terms, if they
had been sent to the State prison, would have
exceeded two years, or as the act has been
interpreted to mean that no prisoner should
% sent 70 TIE I1Uuot WIZ CUulu DC sent 10
The State prison for more than two years,
but prisoners who might have been i'm
Trisoned for any term from seven years to
life There is included in this list % pris-
ouers. who were under sentence for at
tempted burglary, burglary, forgery. grand
larceny, robbery and perjury, all crimes Of
the worst class, for they are never COM
nitted without Fermentation.
STUDY OF FACES.
A study of the faces of fully seven-tenths
of those who are cOnfnedsin the cells at the
House shows that they are OF class OF
beelers, repeaters and r0ckrollers who have
been useful to the bosses when ''men" were
wanted at the primaries to roll mp ma
jority for either one side or the other
They committed crimes, were so untor-
tunate as to be arrested, and still more nn-
fortunate in not having pull sufficiently
strong TO save them from conviction. put
sufficiently strong to keep them out OF the
renitentiary, where they rightly belong
This pull Of the bosses is always strong
enough to make the Judge come to the con-