The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-17
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
Mr.. Witness Valuable History Of the
Penitentiary system.
From the Bowen-Merrill Company

|
Penitentiary System.
From the Bowen-Merrill Company
Punishment and Reformation: An His
torical Sketch of the Rise of the Peniten-
itary System" BY Frederic Howard Wines.
LII. D. This new and valuable work has
just come from the press and should COM
mand the attention of all readers.
| The author is a man OF international
reputation the subject he treats. His
| father to whose memory the book is dedi-
| Gated, was on a level with John Howard
as philanthropist and public benefactor,
and his name and memory are held in
reverence at home and abroad.
The author himself has had exceptional
| opportunities for acquiring special and
practical knowledge relating to his subject.
| He was for several years secretary Of the
National Prison Association and secretary
| of the State Board of Charities in Illinois.
| He was national delegate or more
| occasions to the International penitentiary
| congress, held in Europe, and in 1893 was
! president of that congress and of the con-
ference of Charities and Correction. held
| at Chicago in the series of Worlds con-
| crosses. He was special agent of the United
| States census in 1890 on the subjects OF
| crimes, pauperism, etc. He is a ripe schol-
al uiii5cHt StuucHN, VI ocNcid al
languages, and came to his work in writing
this book fully prepared Intellectually and
with astonishing mass of information.
making it possible to present it 10 readers
in manner to interest, educate and mate
rally aid in the creation of correct public
opinion, through which, only, can such
legislation be secured and enforced as will
lessen the number of crimes and criminals,
and tend to removal of the causes that
produce them.
There is subject of more Importance
to which the general public attention can
be directed and there is no important
subject of which the general public knows
| so little and TO which it pays so little
| attention, as the one presented by DR..
| Wines in this book. No person of ordinary
| intelligence can read it without being inter-
| ested and strongly impressed.
| The main object Of the work, as stated
| i'm the preface. is aid to legislation
! and the formation of a correct public opn-
| ion which must, in the end control legisla-
! ton. 1t contains fifteen chapters, followed
| by an exhaustive index. The chapters pro-
| coed in the following order.
| The question stated: What Is crime?
Retribution for crime. Early judicial pro-
| cedure. Intimidation and torture. Dawn of
icoCtioH. ne TeIOrifdtlOn OIL the CRIMINAL.
The Pennsylvania and Auburn systems.
transportation and the penitentiary sys-
TENS The Elm na system, Criminal au
theory Of punishment. The outlook.
| The titles of the chapters foreshadow the
| scope of the work, and given man of
i III. VINES ABILITY, education and practical
| knowledge of the conditions connected with
and relating to the subject, both at home
and abroad, we can realize in advance that
careful and studous perusal of the work
| will be interesting and profitable in many
ways 1t is not possible within the limits
erb review view to DO Tstce es to II
vengeance by the individual to the time
when 1t became tribal and later, when the
| vengeance on offenders. to a still later day
when some ameiorations began, but So
| of vengeance, the book proceeds rapidly, Yet
giving the progressive changes in public
sentiment. and tersely stating many ques
drive him to serious thought and reflection.
New suggestions present themselves in
Gearing on the whole subject. "s"'s
In the conflict with crime society may
be compared to a blind giant dealing
| foe, sometimes hitting the mark. but. alas.
too often missing it's one of the forcible
| encountered in dealing with crime and GRIM
inals. History needs to be read in the
h of r a ed ManS pr IN she
tinct mental image of either-an image that
will correspond nd, to the real and afford
| The IDEAS and conduct of men are in life
so inextricabiy interviewer that the subject
| order if we would reach right conclusions.
What is crime and what is the criminal?"
thought Of crime ana Of
| the criminal are merely two phases of one
and the same problem The criminal is
| the concrete expression of the abstract idea
| of crime" Until lately the fate of the
criminal has not attracted public notice and
mind deals first with the suppression of
crime. then with the fate of the criminal
| and his conversion or extirpation.
These extracts give the key to the au-
| thor's study and presentation in many
phases of the subject he treats. We have
also the basis of modern reasoning, and in
| the history of the evolution which has led
] to it we have some of the most interesting
Ph BesTng s'a1 in mind that crimes are acts
| declared by law to be such, and forbidden
| for that reason, and no other acts are
standard and reason about It both sepa,,
| rately and in connection with the moral
standards set up by the local or general
public opinion. and in face of the fact that
| prisons and punishment fail to lessen crime
| we are brought to the necessity for such
as XIII tbe but Tr isoate them me wheh
| is civil DEATH, We can get something OF, a
view of the magnitude Of the ;,le Dr.
| ntelligently bring TO the comprehension Of
| the common mind. And when We lay down
| the book we realize tnat MS Work Is a mas
| terIy one, whether the laymen does or does
| not fully comprehend its Importance.
| The chapters are as interesting and read
| able as so many novels, and on every page
| the scholar. the student and the analyst
| are apparent. The whole book is a sonor-
| Gus emphasis of facts and conclusions. The
| literary composition is peculiar-a style
| that has no model In some things ii re-
| minds one of MERCER on SANITY and In
| sanity" Facts, with dates and Incidents,
| mixed with short conclusions. piled
on to each other with .rapidity that some
| times staggers the reader. One can think
| of nothing to compare to it, unless it be
| a skillful mason rapidly laying bricks in
| slightly wall rising tier upon tier IN sym
| metrical order. III starts out like powerful
| horse in a race, and there is no slowing
down swcrvinS aside or lesSeninS OF
| energy from start TO finish. Being be-
| lever in an infinite overrllng Providence.
/ and in divine revelation, where hope would
| otherwise be invisible the author leans on
| this support for better conditions to come.
| declining all controversy with the vast
| world of agnosticism. Whatever agree
| of his conclusions in the latter chapters,
| there can be no question that, from his
| point of view, he has fortified himself so
| strongly as TO make his overthrow difficult
| by any other arrangement or his facts,
| however plausible may be other conclusions.
| Like the conclusions of orthodox religious
| believers. absolute proof is not possible in
| this subject.
| Many facts stated and some conclusions
| mer blows They come upon the conscious
| ness like shock. This is especially true
| of the chapter on criminal apthropology.
| ;peakinc of 10 view the criminal by "A