Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-06-14
NOVEL CORRECTIONAL SCHEME.
An Indiana Man Astonishes the Confer
ence of Charities.

An Indiana Man Astonishes the Confer
ence of Charities.
Sectional meetings of the Conference OF
Charities and Corrections We're the order OF
the day, and there was a sensation In the
section devoted to the treatment OF crime
C. H Reeve, of Plymouth, Ind, opened the
proceedings 10y reading paper on The
Philosophy of Crime" Mr. Reeve advanced
some views which made the reformers in
his audience look shocked. He held that
whatever happens to the individual is q
natural outgrowth and result of his organ
isms and environment. Crime Is an out
growth of evolution, Mr. Reeve said, and
all the laws for dealing with it should be
wiped off the statute books. Instead OF
cumbersome machinery of courts good
big prison is all that is necessary for deal
ing with criminals, who ought to be slowed
away where they can never offend again.
Mr. Reeve said society has right to deal
with crime, which is the result of diseased
mental or physical condition, as il deals
with cholera or smallpox. When a Grim
inal is arrested he should be examined in
order to determine the cause of his abnor-
NAL condition. If it can be remedied the
man may then be restored to the world. If
not, the prisoner should go into perpetual
retirement. His disappearance, never 70
return, would exert a force upon others
thousandfold greater as a preventive than
any idea or practice of punishment could
do or ever did do.
The state, moreover, should prevent the
marriage of criminals and should prevent
criminals under any circumstance from
having progeny and handing down their
vicious tendencies TO posteritv Mr.
Reeve said the subject of crime and Grim
mails Is purely Il matter of business in gov
eminent. No sentiment should enter into
it until after the criminal had been rem
dered harmless.
When Mr.. Reeve finished reading his
paper was assaulted by Dr. Mangasarian, of
Chicago. The latter found fault with the
writer's definition of crime, which was
something forbidden by government
This. DR. Mangasarian said, made crimi-
nails of Jesus and OF nearly all refoTTuers
since the Saviors advent.
Judge Follett. of Ohio. said that Mr..
Reeves philosophy was wrong. 1t had no
basis. and the writer of the paper had
failed to fix standard. He had never seen
a criminal who was so bad that there was
BOT something good in him. In dealing
with crime society should develop the good
in the criminal if possible.
Mr. Reeve took the floor and defined
crime again. Hesaid crime was not the
act but the motive prompting the act. and
in every case the motive springs from an
abnormal mental or physical condition.
So, he contended, his definition was all
right.
Dr. NuttinG of Rhode Island, said ne
had never come in contact with a criminal
in whom there was not spark of good.
There is always an emotional nature, and
more or less moral perception. With these
wanting there would be no of talking
about reforming prisoners.
Miss II. NJ. Todd. of Boston, told about
the new system introduced in Massachu
setts for the reformation of criminals by
putting them on probation. She was aq-
pointed by an act of the legislature TO in
vestigate the lives of women arrested for
crime. When prisoner is found guilty,
she said, the court maykuspend sentence
and allow him to go his way and sin no
more This system, Miss Todd said, had
worked well during the short time it had
been in operatiOn