The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-09-04


Prison Association. comes to the front IN
the Forum with the common sense view
that criminals are not the victims oil
heredity. Vices themselves, solely - the
result Of moral impulse, Mr.. Rounds does
not believe 70 be Inherited; nor does he
believe virtue 20 be inherited. Nirtuous
children come Of the most vicious pa
rents: and on the other hand children OF
the most virtuous parents turn out the
most hardened criminals and the mos;
trouhgesome social subjects 20 deal with
We qaote:
Physical conditions likely 20 promote
criminalisy aside. believe that the child
Of the thief. apart from his environment
and possible training. starts well nigh as
fairly in the race of life as the child OF the
average citizen. IL IL environment ana
training. no; heredity. that give the most
favorable condition for the development OF
the criminal impulse"
Mr. Rounds holds the doctrine OF moral
responsibility as applying to every sane
individual. He does not believe that
crime is disease, nor by any necessity
the result Of disease; he does not believe
that crime and disease are identical.
cot the 700 criminals have examined,
have found that more than 500 had
clear motive and a sane motive. though
perfectly understood dishonest one and
criminal one; that in the conduct of their
affairs they showed intelligence, and in
the pursuit OF their, avocation deter
mined and comfortable will. l do not be-
Iieye that one-ffth Of this number were
ever in condition when they could not
have turned around, had they determined
10 do 50, and lived virtuous and upright
lives"
Mr.. Rounds believes that criminal is
TO be a criminal. and becomes v:rtuous
when II pays him TO become virtuous.
The moment he understands that honesty
is the best policy the average criminal be-
comes honest. Society, therefore,
plainly has to concern itself with meas
ures that shall increase the risk of crimi-
nal life and reduce its gains TO a mini
mum. Penal measures are the corrective
TO the criminal class. These measures, TO
| be efficient, must possess three elements:
certainty, severity and publicity. If the
active criminal knew that the chances
OF escaping after any violation of
the criminal code we're infnitesimal,
and that imprisonment was absolutely
certain to follow the detection of crime. he
would feel that he would much rather.
much better, spend his life out Of prison
than in IL, and would. doubtless, soon
cease to be criminal" Men are sent to
the Eimira refo.matory, first, that they
may be made to understand that il does
not pay TO be criminal; second, that
they may learn that IL is for them to be
other than criminals; third, that they
may be made other than criminals.
This Is the sound principle of prison
discipline. The man cannot leave until he
can earn his own living and can not leave
until q place Is found for him to work.
This reformstory has shown reformation
of 20 per cent. of its graduates. Mr..
Rounds sums up his theory of the proper
treatment of criminals i'm the following
straightforward propositions:
81. A criminal is like any other man.
- Too great Importance has been at
| tached TO the matter of heredity, both in
| the judgment Of criminals and in their
| treatment.
"3. Moral traits are not inherited, except
| in so far as they are directly traceable TO
| physical conditions.
II The ratio of punishment to crime is
| so small as 10 give the criminal such a
chance of escape as he distinctly counts to
| his advantage.
rs The criminal Is q criminal of his
own volition. and feels that he has an ad-
eauate motive for being a criminal. This
/ applies. of course, to the professional
| criminal who commits crime against prop
erty and only incidentally against per-
1 sons.
-. We cannot reduce the criminal popu-
iation until We can remove the motive for
| the crime.
~ The criminal when he becomes a
| ward of the state must be treated with
| severity. but under an intelligent meth cd
making wholly for his reformation.
"S. We cannot reform our criminals
| until We reform our prisons.
20 We cannot reform our prisons until
We take them out of politics.
40. We cannot take our prisons out OF
politics until special civil service rules are
fully enforced in our prisons or so long as
any prison office may be filled as reward
for political service"