The morning news., 1892-02-01
The Incorri0ible Prisoner.

oners known as the "incorrigiblesT' The
question is not new; it has been discussed
by prison reformers and advanced thinkers
for years, without satisfactory answer.
Expedients have been adopted with special
reference TO the 'incorrigfbls" in Ohio and
Massachusetts, and possibly one or two
other states; but generally speaking. each
convict stands on the same footing with
every other convict under the ban Of the
same crime, except as the court may impose
the minimum or maximum sentence pre-
scrlbed by statute, according TO the circum-
stances Of the case and the reputation
of the prisoner.
The incorrigible prisoner is understood 70
mean one who has been sent by a court to
serve term, and having served it is set at
large again, without any reformation hav-
ing been accomplished, only TO commit
other crimes and be again returned TO the
cell. Three or four such returns are held to
warrant the belief that the prisoner is bent
on q career Of crime. and from him society
has right to demand protection. To deal
with this class Massachusetts Is has q law pro-
viding that 'incorrigiblesn shall be sentenced
20 On indefinite term, TO be terminated by
death or satisfactory evidence Of reforma-
tion. The Massachusetts law makes the
adjective capable of modification.
At a recent meeting Of the Prison Reform
Association in New York Judge Francis
Wayland, dean of the Yale Law School,
said it was undeniable that such class Of
criminals existed. He thought it necessary
that every state should have law enacted
for that especial class, and the Massachu-
sets law was the best yet formulated. The
Rev. DIR. Jackson took up the theo-
logical side os the question. and declared
that every man, criminal or otherwise, was
susceptible to the grace Of God and could be
saved. Several gentlemen present, familiar
with the subject, declared that they did
not believe there was any such thing as an
absolutely incorrigible'' boy. Among
these latter was F. G. Burnham, founder of
the Industrial Farm for Boys
Accepting Mr.. Burnham's theory and Mr..
Jackson's theological proposition as the most
readily believed from natural inclination,
the question arises. If boys are not naturally
bad beyond reformation, why do men be-
come so after having served more than
one term in prisons
One reply, and the one most readily un-
derstood and appreciated, is that our prisons,
under the regulations in force. are places Of
punishment and no: institutions of reforma
tion. The criminal code is founded on that
principle, and not upon the higher plane of
seeking to raise fallen humanity. In the
majority Of prisons, county or state. all
over the United States, no matter what the
youth Of "a prisoner or the conditions
of his crime, he is brought in
contact with tho very worst
elements Of civilization and no attempt is
made to save him from falling under their
influence. The fact of wearing the stripes
STILES self-respect, and after a stay among
hardened criminals on the same footing,
receiving the same rough treatment and
neglect of moral support, any spark of the
higher manhood that may have re-
mained, and which might have been famed
into a flame by proper means. is crushed
out. With self-respect gone. and ostraciLed
10y society and business, the ex-convict is
but one step removed from crime as a pro-
fession, and that step is more than apt to be
taken. A prison system founded on refor-
nation rather than punishment, 1t seems,
would tend to lessen the number OF "incor-
rigibles"
Metaphysicians claim that crime is caused
by diseased mind-indeed that crime is a
disease of the mind, just as rheumatism is
a disease of the body. If that theory be
correct. and cogent reasoning has been sub
mitted in leading magazines TO prove that it
is, then punishment for crime is all fallacy.
Obviously it would be oruel and unreason-
able TO punish man for having
rheumatism or toothache; but if crime is
q disease. it would be as just to
punish man for toothache as for theft.
But for physical ailments different course
is pursued; the disease is located, diagnosis
is made and remedies are prescribed TO
strike and remove the cause. And so
certain philosophers argue in regard to
crime They say, find the cause Of the dis
ease, remove it and your criminal is an
honest man. They advocate the reforma-
tory prison as the first means to that end.
Meanwhile the query regarding the in
corrigibles remains open, and cannot be
closed, except by statute law, until the
moral philosophers find the antidote and in
oculate all mankind against crime.